It must be a clearing the inbox kind of day chez the ravens

[muninnhuginn]

Two very interesting pieces in Japan Times today. The first, a jaded review of mankind's progress into space by a former member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presents in the Kalashnikov one of those almost clichéed examples of clunky, outmoded Russian technology beating the snazzy state-of-the-art Yankee offerings. Almost clichéed until one progresses to the other article: U.N. strives to control real weapons of mass destruction. The real weapons are, of course, the small arms used in the on-going regional conflicts and terrorist/freedom fighters' campaigns that plague much of the world.

There's a chilling statement partway through this piece: "Half of the weapons in the world are said to be traded legally, but many of the legally exported weapons find their way into the black market." This rather implies that half the weapons in the world are traded illegally and of the half that are traded legally many end up on the black market. Presumably, therefore, most of the weapins in the world are traded illegally.

There's no mention either of landmines that continue to take their toll wherever military forces fail to clean up after themsleves.

It's enough to make us want to ship off planet, except, in a world where "overpriced tourism" looks like the only way, we don't have the dosh.