It gives me no pleasure to say ‘I told you so’ on this topic but over a decade ago I said we are looking at a world where proliferation, not non-proliferation, of nuclear weapons was the norm. The jeopardy over Iran and the relative lack of jeopardy for North Korea should make that case. Who exactly is going to stop the Japanese or Germany from getting nuclear weapons if they really want them? Can’t see it happening.

Still, we need to be informed and just because proliferation feels inevitable, that doesn’t mean it is or that we should just stop campaigning for peace.

Here is the latest collection of articles, photos and videos on this topic that I’ve collected from around the interweb:

The picture at the top of this post was taken from inside a mountain and the NORAD command facility. You can see more of them here: Inside NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Combat Center, c.1966. A look around the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Cheyenne Mountain Combat Center underground facility. (HT: Kottke)

• Ranked: Nuclear Weapon Stockpiles by Country
• How the world learned to love the bomb
• Is a nuclear arms race inevitable?
• Rory Stewart: There will be a huge acceleration of nuclear weapons

And if you’re interested in the work going to counteract the madness check out:

• Where the world stands on the ban
• The Cornerstone Report: ICAN’s (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons) latest report on the Non-Proliferation Treaty

This video below is absolutely bonkers. It turns out that the country that America has detonated the most nuclear bombs on is…America! And for on how powerful nuclear explosions are read this: The World’s First Nuclear Explosion Forged an ‘Impossible’ Crystal