Tag: North korea

  • Indian Brahmin Migration To Europe 8000 Years DNA Proof

    I have been trying to fathom the mystery of Human migration in the world.

    There are descriptions of Great Flood in almost all the mythologies,Jewish, Christian, Mayan,Incas, Sumerian.

    But the Great Floods do not get such detailed references anywhere as in Tamil Classics belonging to Tamil Sangam Era, which is erroneously dated around 3 BC.

    The internal evidence in the Texts, external references found in world literature, Vedic Texts and Geology assigns an earlier date.

    There is a study which states that the Tamils were very much an advanced civilisation around 74,000 years ago.

    Please refer my Post.

    And there is site reflecting Tamil Culture, 1 Million year old, in Pallavaram Cheanni, Tamil Nadu, India.

    Tamil quotes the Vedas and they quote Tamil.

    Read my Post on this.

    So it is well nigh impossible to assign exact dates for these two or which precedes the other because of the Time frame involved, on the available evidence now.

    Dating of these are verified by Astronomy, Astro-archeology and of course by Anthropology,Cultural,Linguistic similarities and Archeology.

    Yet another source is Genome Study, the Study of Genes.

    By studying  and comparing the Genes of the present population with the ancient skeletons found around the world, one can arrive at a conclusion.

    When one looks at Human population in the Europe, one finds that it seems to start abruptly, with the statement that People migrated from Asia.

    From where in Asia and Why?

    The Western science has been silent till now.

    Now research of DNA has come a long way and they prove that the migration took place from India, then called Bharatavarsha.

    Reference in The Bhagavatha Purana states that the ancestor of Lord Rama, Satyavrata Manu migrated from the South of Vindhya Mountains to Ayodhya and Manu’ son Ikshvaku founded the Ikshvaku Dynasty.

    Please read my Post, Rama’s ancestor Dravida, migrated from South.

    At the same time Shiva with his son Ganesha moved westwards  through Middle East ,Europe,Africa,South America, North America, Central America, Russia to Arctic where the Rig Veda was composed.

    Then they returned to India through the Khyber Pass and this event has been taken as Aryan Invasion of India.

    Please read my Posts on each point.

    Now that the far Eastern and American civilizations are traced to Santana Dharma, it is evident that the people of the far east( in relation to the west, here they mean the now Middle east), it is the Sanatana Dharma Tribes which migrated to these places.

    Read my Post Vedic Tribes.

    The Reports.

    Human Migration, In and Out of India.jpg Human Migration, In and Out of India.

    * I have provided this Map to inform readers of the other view that the initial Migration to India was from Africa.I disagree with this view.Check My Posts on this.

    A new study has revealed that Indians belonging to higher castes are genetically closer to Europeans than are individuals from lower castes, whose genetic profiles are closer to those of Asians.

    The study compared genetic markers—located on the Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA—between 265 Indian men of various castes and 750 African, Asian, European and other Indian men. To broaden the study, 40 markers from chromosomes 1 to 22 were analyzed from more than 600 individuals from different castes and continents. The comparison of the markers among these groups confirmed that genetic similarities to Europeans increased as caste rank increased.

    The study, led by Michael Bamshad of the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, and his colleagues, is reported to be the most comprehensive genetic analysis to date of the impact of European migrations on the structure and origin of the current Indian population. The article appears in the current issue of Genome Research.

    The caste system, defined in ancient Sanskrit texts, determines a person’s rank in society: The Brahmin, who were traditionally priests and scholars, held the highest rank in Hindu society. Warriors and rulers made up the Kshatriya who were the next in line to the Brahmin. Merchants, traders, farmers, and artisans were the third caste called the Vysya. The Shudra were the fourth rank and consisted of laborers. Because of strict rules forbidding marriage between men and women of different castes, these four classes remained distinct for thousands of years.

    Bamshad’s team found that Y chromosomes from the Brahmin and Kshatriya closely resembled European Y chromosomes rather than Asian Y chromosomes. The Y chromosomes from the lower castes bore more similarities to the Asian Y chromosome. The mitochondrial DNA showed the same pattern.

    The authors believe their results support the notion that Europeans who migrated into India between 3,000 and 8,000 years ago may have merged with or imposed their social structure on the native northern Indians and placed themselves into the highest castes.

    Analysis of the paternally transmitted Y chromosome among Indians in general indicated that the Y chromosome had a more European flavor. Maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA among Indians is more Asian than European. This suggests that the Europeans who entered India were predominantly male.

    . . .

    .

    That required developing new computational methods for genetic analysis. “Figuring out how these populations are related is extremely hard,” Reich says. “There’s a lot that happened in Europe in the last 8,000 years, and this history acts like a veil, making it difficult to discern what happened at the beginning of this period. We had to find statistics that were able to tell us what happened deep in the past without getting confused by 8,000 years of intervening history, when massive and important events occurred.”

    “What we find is unambiguous evidence that people in Europe today have all three of these ancestries: early European farmers who brought agriculture to Europe, the indigenous hunter-gatherers who were in Europe prior to 8,000 years ago, and these ancient north Eurasians,” Reich says. Further analyses showed that describing present-day Europeans as a mixture of the three populations is a good fit for most, although not all, populations.

    When the study began, the ancient north Eurasian population was a “ghost population”—identified based on genetic patterns without any ancient DNA. But in 2013, another group analyzed DNA from two skeletons found in Siberia, one from 24,000 years ago and one from 17,000 years ago, and found that it shared genetic similarities with Europeans and North Americans. The ghost, Reich says, had been found.

    Although DNA from ancient north Eurasians is present in nearly all modern Europeans, Reich’s team did not find it in their ancient hunter-gatherers or the ancient farmers. That means the north Eurasian line of ancestry was introduced into Europe after agriculture had been established, a scenario most archaeologists had thought unlikely.

    “We have this amazing observation that only two ancestries are represented among the first farmers, from about 7,000 to 5,000 years ago. And then suddenly everybody today has ancient north Eurasian ancestry,” Reich says. “So there must have been a later movement of this ancestry into Europe.”

    Anthropologists have long thought that densely settled populations would be resistant to the arrival of new groups. “But this is hard evidence that exactly such a major migration occurred,” Reich says. “It’s very important because it’s a major contributor to Europeans today.” The time of the ancient north Eurasians’ arrival remains to be determined, but Reich says their later-than-expected movement into Europe might help explain the complex mix of languages that exists there today…

    ..Anatole Klyosov is a friend of yours? That is positively awesome. The y-DNA R1a1a matter still seems to be shrouded in mystery to a large extent. There is a basic split between Northern Europe and Asia which has become apparent. Here is a blog post from the Polish Genetics and Anthropology Blog run by one of our very own forum members which summarizes the findings. A major division within R1a1a emerges: Southern Europe and Asia vs. Northern Europe

    As mentioned on this blog recently, there’s a lot of action on different fronts to try and decipher the story of R1a1a. Many new SNPs are being discovered, and one of the most fascinating found to date is Z93. This marker appears to be a signal of a major split within R1a1a, with most samples from north of the Alps and Carpathians coming back Z93-. These include Brits, Germans, Poles, Finns, Scandinavians and Russians. The Z93+ crowd features Italians, Spaniards, Indians, Pakistanis, Ashkenazim Jews, Hungarians, Turks and Arabs. Eventually, I’ll put together a comprehensive post about all the newly discovered SNPs within R1a1a, and what they might mean. Till then, the link below might be of use to all those interested in how things are going.

    Thus far, all the South-Asian participants of the Family Tree DNA R1a1a and Subclades Y-DNA Project have tested positive for the Z93 SNP, which, as mentioned, seems to be the defining SNP which separates Northern European and Asiatic R1a1a indviduals. From the R1a1a spreadsheet, I will list a few Indian individuals who have tested for the relevant SNPs in question;
    – An individual who lists his surname as Bajwa. The Bajwa are a Jatt clan from the Punjabi-speaking areas of Northwest India. This individual is listed as positive (+) for Z93.
    – An individual who is of a Nair background from Kerala, southern India. He is positive for both Z93 and L342.2+, which is downstream from Z93.
    -An individual who lists his surname as Kamath. Kamath is a very common surname among the Saraswat Brahmins of the Konkan coast of India. He is positive for L342.2. Given that this is downstream from Z93, it is likely he is also Z93+.
    – A Bihari Brahmin individual who lists his last name as Dikshit. As in the last two individuals, he has not tested for Z93 but is L342.2+ and L657+, both downstream from Z93.
    – An individual who lists his surname as Khokar. Khokar is a Punjabi-specific surname borne by a variety of clans of various ethnic groups in the Punjab region. While the individual doesn’t seem to have tested for Z93, he is L342.2+, thus he is likely to be Z93+ as well.

    I personally think it would be highly fallacious to form any conclusions based on such small sampling. More R1a1a South-Asians most certainly need to get themselves tested. But thus far, all the Indian individuals seem to be Z93+. I asked Polako, the forum enthusiast on everything R1a1a about all this, and this is what he had to say. However, going by the results thus far, I have no idea as to how we could possibly go about tracking the Indo-European migration to India and their patrilineal descendants (Brahmins, etc) if all South-Asian R1a1a individuals are indistinguishable from each other. This, to me, make absolutely no sense. I will refrain from concluding anything on the matter for now, though. The apparent lack of SNP differentiation between various South-Asian R1a1a individuals also doesn’t quite corroborate with the appreciable variation and differences in the autosomal DNA admixture proportions of the various castes and tribes of India.

    The T. Kivisild et al study is actually based on y-DNA and mtDNA Haplogroups, not autosomal DNA. The map which you posted is actually a multidimensional scaling plot of eight Indian and seven western Eurasian populations, using Fst distances calculated for 16 Y-Chromosomal SNP haplogroups. In terms of autosomal DNA however, the Punjabis cluster firmly within South-Asia, along with other more North-Westerly groups such as the Pathans, Sindhis and Kashmiris. Additionally, they tend to exhibit elevated amounts of West-Asian and Northeastern European admixture relative to other South Asian groups; which is quite typical of Northwest Indian and Pakistani groups.

    The Lambadis are a nomadic tribe affiliated with the Banjaras of Northwest India found in south and west India. The Castes and Tribes of South India (1909) by Edgar Thurston and K. Rangachari has an interesting introductory account on them;

    The Lambadis are also called Lambani, Brinjari or Banjari, Boipari, Sugali or Sukali. By some Sugali is said to be a corruption of supari (betel nut), because they formerly traded largely therein.”The Banjaras,” Mr. G. A. Grierson writes, “are the well- known tribe of carriers who are found all over Western and Southern India. One of their principal sub-castes is known under the name of Labhani, and this name (or some related one) is often applied to the whole tribe. The two names appear each under many variations, such as Banjari, Vanjarl, Brinjari, Labhani, Labani, Labana, Lambadi, and Lambani. The name Banjara and its congeners is probably derived from the Sanskrit Vanijyakarakas, a merchant, through the Prakrit Vanij-jaarao, a trader. The derivation of Labhani or Labani, etc., is obscure. It has been suggested that it means salt carrier from the Sanskrit lavanah, salt, because the tribe carried salt, but this explanation goes against several phonetic rules, and does not account for the forms of the word like LabhanI or LambanI. Banjari falls into two main dialects — that of the Panjab and Gujarat, and that of elsewhere (of which we may take the Labhani of Berar as the standard). All these different dialects are ultimately to be referred to the language of Western Rajputana (Rajasthan). The Labhani of Berar possesses the characteristics of an old form of speech, which has been preserved unchanged for some centuries. It may be said to be based partly on Marwari and partly on Northern Gujarati. It is noted by Mr. Grierson that the Banjari dialect of Southern India is mixed with the surrounding Dravidian languages.

    Oddly enough, the Lambadi of Andhra Pradesh according to the same Kivisild et al. (2005) study exhibited y-DNA R1b at 27%, which is quite atypical for Indians in general.

    Citation.

    http://www.hhmi.org/news/modern-europeans-descended-three-groups-ancestors

    http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/showthread.php/25479-Brahmin-caste-R-M17-affinities-with-Europeans-or-lack-thereof-(split)-mod?s=58e5b2b489abad795b20a2acde8a7a64

    http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_01/Indo-European.shtml

  • Media Ethics BBC Uses Students As Shield North Korea.

    The LTTE has been accused of using women and children in its war against the Sri Lanka Government.

    But to use them in peacetime and in a country where tensions are high, just for a Story?

    A BBC crew has just done that in North Korea.

    Investigative Journalism has its limits, Media Must realize.

    Story:

    The BBC risked the lives of students by using them as a ‘human shield’ for a controversial Panorama journalist and his film crew, it was claimed yesterday.

    The undercover team travelled with ten students from the London School of Economics to North Korea last month. Had the journalists been discovered, the whole group would have faced arrest, interrogation and possible detention.

    Parents and university officials claim the students – the youngest of whom was only 18 – were ‘deliberately misled’ by the BBC and have called on the broadcaster to apologise and drop the Panorama documentary, due to be aired tonight.

     

    The students were invited on the trip via an LSE club, only to learn much later it had been organised by Panorama as a cover for its investigation.

    Journalist John Sweeney insisted the students had all agreed to enter the rogue Communist state with him, but admitted he withheld some details of the trip on the advice of BBC risk assessors.

    The LSE said its students were not given enough information to give their consent and accused the BBC of taking unacceptable risks at a time when sabre-rattling by North Korea had already raised tensions with the West.

     

    Alex Peters-Day, general secretary of LSE Students’ Union said students and the university had been ‘manipulated’.

    ranting graphic.jpg

    ‘I think the trip was organised by the BBC as a ruse to get into North Korea and that’s disgraceful,’ she said. ‘They have used students essentially as a human shield in this situation.’

    Three of the students have complained, the university says. One said they were not told about key details of the subterfuge until en route for Pyongyang.

    Students have since received ‘threatening’ letters from North Korean authorities and one parent has complained in writing to new BBC director-general Lord Hall that their child was put in danger.

    The parent wrote: ‘The methods adopted potentially endangered a number of students who believed they were participating in an organised student tour. I am outraged that in this case the BBC, without obtaining “informed consent”… deceived, used and endangered these students to obtain a story from North Korea.’

    The row could prove embarrassing for Lord Hall, appointed after his predecessor George Entwistle quit in the wake of  the Jimmy Savile scandal and the botched Newsnight report which led to Lord McAlpine being wrongly identified as a paedophile.

    A producer for Panorama resigned earlier this month over claims the programme tried to bribe a security consultant to reveal information about a property developer.

    The LSE said it was not given any warning about the BBC’s plans until last week, after the group returned. It said the deception had put the students in danger and had jeopardised the safety of its academics working in other high-risk countries.

    The students volunteered for the trip through the Grimshaw Club, a student society linked to the LSE’s department of international relations. Sweeney’s wife Tomiko Newson, an LSE graduate, had organised a group tour of North Korea with the club in 2012 and students were told she was organising this year’s trip.

    LSE
    LSE

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308876/BBC-crew-used-students-university-human-shields-film-undercover-North-Korea.html

    BBC says “It is justified”

    A senior BBC executive said that it was worth risking students’ lives by sending an undercover reporter with them on a trip to North Korea for a controversial documentary.

    Ceri Thomas, the corporation’s head of news planning, said the decision to go ahead with the airing of tonight’s programme went ‘right to the top’ as he rejected claims that students from the London School of Economics had been forced in to taking unacceptable risks during the investigation.

    Yesterday it was claimed that the corporation used the students as a ‘human shield’ for a Panorama journalist and his film crew.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2309255/Panorama-Risking-students-lives-worth-says-unrepentant-BBC-insists-North-Korea-documentary-ahead.html#ixzz2QXN3eBOk

     

  • North Korean Might Photo Essay

    North Korea has been sabre rattling for quite sometime now.

    Leave alone US, even Soviets are concerned.

    To me it looks like a bluff Game.

    Better call it off.

    Better still Ignore it.

    Photos Source .The Atlantic.

    http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/03/north-korea-puts-its-war-machine-on-display/100481/?utm_source=Atlantic+Media

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) looks at the latest combat and technical equipment, made by unit 1501 of the Korean People's Army, during his visit to the unit, on March 24, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA)
    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) looks at the latest combat and technical equipment, made by unit 1501 of the Korean People’s Army, during his visit to the unit, on March 24, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA)
    The Korean People's Army conducts a military drill in North Korea in this undated photo. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS
    The Korean People’s Army conducts a military drill in North Korea in this undated photo. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS
    This undated picture released on March 12, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a long-range artillery sub-unit of Korean People's Army Unit 641 at an undisclosed place in North Korea. (KNS/AFP/Getty Images)
    This undated picture released on March 12, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a long-range artillery sub-unit of Korean People’s Army Unit 641 at an undisclosed place in North Korea. (KNS/AFP/Getty Images)
    North Korea's artillery sub-units, whose mission is to strike Daeyeonpyeong island and Baengnyeong island of South Korea, conduct a live shell firing drill to examine war fighting capabilities in the western sector of the front line in this picture released on March 14, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA
    North Korea’s artillery sub-units, whose mission is to strike Daeyeonpyeong island and Baengnyeong island of South Korea, conduct a live shell firing drill to examine war fighting capabilities in the western sector of the front line in this picture released on March 14, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA
    Soldiers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) take part in the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, as Kim Jong Un (not pictured) watched, in the eastern sector of the front and the east coastal area on March 25, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA)
    Soldiers of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) take part in the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, as Kim Jong Un (not pictured) watched, in the eastern sector of the front and the east coastal area on March 25, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA)
    North Korea's artillery sub-units, whose mission is to strike Daeyeonpyeong island and Baengnyeong island of South Korea, conduct a live shell firing drill in this picture released on March 14, 2013.
    North Korea’s artillery sub-units, whose mission is to strike Daeyeonpyeong island and Baengnyeong island of South Korea, conduct a live shell firing drill in this picture released on March 14, 2013.
    North Korea's artillery sub-units conduct a live shell firing drill to examine war fighting capabilities in the western sector of the front line in this picture released on March 14, 2013. Kim Jong Un and military officers attended the drill. (Reuters/KCNA)
    North Korea’s artillery sub-units conduct a live shell firing drill to examine war fighting capabilities in the western sector of the front line in this picture released on March 14, 2013. Kim Jong Un and military officers attended the drill. (Reuters/KCNA)
    Kim Jong Un talks with soldiers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) taking part in the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, on March 25, 2013
    Kim Jong Un talks with soldiers of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) taking part in the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, on March 25, 2013

     

  • Who Holds Nuclear Weapons and How Much? Updaed

    I have been curious to know some authentic information on Nuclear Weapon ownership State wise, Quantity wise.

    Read On. Seems to be authentic.

    Go Nuclear
    Nuclear Weapon

    Nuclear-Weapon States:

    The nuclear-weapon states (NWS) are the five states—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States—officially recognized as possessing nuclear weapons by the NPT. Although the treaty legitimizes these states’ nuclear arsenals, it also establishes that they are not supposed to build and maintain such weapons in perpetuity. Article VI of the treaty holds that each state-party is to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.” In 2000, the five NWS committed themselves to an “unequivocal undertaking…to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals.” But for now, the five continue to retain the bulk of their nuclear forces. Because of the secretive nature with which most governments treat information about their nuclear arsenals, most of the figures below are best estimates of each nuclear-weapon state’s nuclear holdings, including both strategic warheads and lower-yield devices referred to as tactical weapons. Russia and the United States also retain thousands of retired warheads planned for dismantlement, not included here.

    ChinaAbout 240 total warheads.

    FranceFewer than 300 operational warheads.

    Russia: Approximately 1,499 deployed strategic warheads [1]. The Federation of American Scientists estimates Russia has another 1,022 nondeployed strategic warheads and approximately 2,000 tactical nuclear warheads. Additional thousands are awaiting dismantlement.

    United KingdomFewer than 160 deployed strategic warheads, total stockpile of up to 225.

    United States: Approximately 5,113 nuclear warheads [2], including tactical, strategic, and nondeployed weaponsAccording to the latest official New START declaration, the United States deploys 1,722 strategic nuclear warheads on 806 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers [1]. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that the United States’ nondeployed strategic arsenal is approximately 2,800 warheads and the U.S. tactical nuclear arsenal numbers 500 warheads. Additional warheads are retired and await dismantlement.

    Non-NPT Nuclear Weapons Possessors:

    Three states—India, Israel, and Pakistan—never joined the NPT and are known to possess nuclear weapons. Claiming its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, India first tested a nuclear explosive device in 1974. That test spurred Pakistan to ramp up work on its secret nuclear weapons program. India and Pakistan both publicly demonstrated their nuclear weapon capabilities with a round of tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998. Israel has not publicly conducted a nuclear test, does not admit to or deny having nuclear weapons, and states that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Nevertheless, Israel is universally believed to possess nuclear arms. The following arsenal estimates are based on the amount of fissile material—highly enriched uranium and plutonium—that each of the states is estimated to have produced. Fissile material is the key element for making nuclear weapons. India and Israel are believed to use plutonium in their weapons, while Pakistan is thought to use highly enriched uranium.

    IndiaUp to 100 nuclear warheads.
    IsraelBetween 75 to 200 nuclear warheads.
    PakistanBetween 90 to 110 nuclear warheads.


    States of Immediate Proliferation Concern:

    Iran is pursuing a uranium-enrichment program and other projects that could provide it with the capability to produce bomb-grade fissile material and develop nuclear weapons within the next several years. In contrast, North Korea has the material to produce a small number of nuclear weapons, announced its withdrawal from the NPT, and tested nuclear devices. Uncertainty persists about how many additional nuclear devices North Korea has assembled beyond those it has tested. In September 2005, Pyongyang “committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.”

    Iran: No known weapons or sufficient fissile material stockpiles to build weapons. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the institution charged with verifying that states are not illicitly building nuclear weapons, concluded in 2003 that Iran had undertaken covert nuclear activities to establish the capacity to indigenously produce fissile material. The IAEA is continuing its investigation and monitoring of Tehran’s nuclear program.

    North Korea: Has separated enough plutonium for roughly 10 nuclear warheads.

    Syria: In September 2007, Israel conducted an airstrike on what U.S. officials have alleged was the construction site of a nuclear research reactor similar to North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor. Intelligence officials briefed members of congress on the airstrike eight months later in April 2008, discussing the evidence leading to their judgment that the site was an undeclared nuclear reactor. While the extent of Syrian-North Korean nuclear cooperation is unclear, it is believed to have begun in 1997. Subsequent IAEA investigations into the U.S. claims uncovered traces of undeclared man-made uranium particles at both the site of the destroyed facility and Syria’s declared research reactor. Syria has failed to provide adequate cooperation to the IAEA in order to clarify the nature of the destroyed facility and procurement efforts that could be related to a nuclear program.

     


    States That Had Nuclear Weapons or Nuclear Weapons Programs at One Time:

    Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons following the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse, but returned them to Russia and joined the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states. South Africa secretly developed and dismantled a small number of nuclear warheads and also joined the NPT in 1991. Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program prior to the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but was forced to verifiably dismantle it under the supervision of UN inspectors. The U.S.-led March 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein definitively ended his regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Libya voluntarily renounced its secret nuclear weapons efforts in December 2003. Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan also shelved nuclear weapons programs.


    ENDNOTE

    1. On Oct. 3, 2012 the U.S. State Department issued the latest fact sheet on its data exchange with Russia under New START, sharing the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads and New START-accountable delivery systems held by each country.

    2. On May 3, 2010, the United States Department of Defense released for the first time the total number of nuclear warheads (5,113) in the U.S. stockpile. The Defense Department includes in this stockpile active warheads which are operational and deployed or ready to be deployed, and inactive warheads which are maintained “in a non-operational status, and have their tritium bottle removed.”

    Sources: Arms Control Association, Federation of American Scientists, International Panel on Fissile Materials, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Department of State.

    Source:

    http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat

     

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  • North Korean Parade Seen From Space.

    “In North Korea, the choreography can be part of the geography

    North Korean Parade from Space
    From Space ‘North Korean Military Parade’

    The country is famous for organizing crowds of thousands of people using colored cards to spell out political slogans and images in stadiums or large squares, and the gathering last week to celebrate the 100th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung was no different.

    This time, however, the spelled out message in a central square in the capital of Pyongyang was big enough to be visible from space.

    An April 15 image of a celebration taken by a satellite and distributed by DigitalGlobe shows people in red and gold clothing gathered in Kim Il Sung Square and spelling out the word “glory” in Korean.

    The parade culminated with the unveiling of a new missile, although analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean rockets say they were fakes.”