Bits and Pieces - January 27, 2011

In case you're wondering about that grand piano in Biscayne Bay.

First they came for the electronic fence, then for the airport orange alerts. Could this be a quiet start toward rolling back our dumb "security" measures?

Another example of wishful thinking in place of careful history.

Both houses of the Russian Parliament have ratified the New START treaty with much less fuss than the US Senate.

This is very embarassing to both New Mexicans and scientists.

Two years of progress in nonproliferation, and a strong start toward a fissile material control treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.

Russia is still saying that Stuxnet could have led to something like Chernobyl at Bushehr and wants a NATO investigation of the computer worm. Probably the Chernobyl claim is to distance themselves from whatever might go wrong at Bushehr. I dealt with that claim here.