Nukes Around the World

Red - Five "nuclear weapons states" from the NPT
Orange - Other known nuclear powers
Purple - States formerly possessing nuclear weapons
Gold - States suspected of being in the process of development
Pink - States which at one point had nuclear weapons and/or research

Graphic and stats from Wikipedia

~Nuclear weapons states~

Country Warheads ~ active/total* ~ Year of first test

United States ~ 5,735/9,960 ~ 1945

Russia (as USSR) ~ 5,830/16,00 ~ 1949

United Kingdom ~ <200 ~ 1952

France ~ 350 ~ 1960

PR of China ~ 130 ~ 1964

India ~ 200-700 ~ 1974

Israel ~ 75-200 ~ none or 1979 (see Vela Incident)

Pakistan ~ 65-90 ~ 1998

North Korea ~ 1-05 ~ 2006
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North Korea announced that they tested a Nuclear bomb yesterday. There has been some disagreement about the "success" of the test...

Russia estimated that it was a relatively large - equivalent to the force that would be unleashed by 5,000-15,000 tons of the conventional high-explosive TNT.

But France and others had far lower estimates, ranging from 500-1,000 tons of TNT, prompting the French defense minister to comment ``that there could have been a failure.''

...While there is evidence that North Korea got Pakistani help with its nuclear program, the isolated, communist country also has had to figure out a lot of technical bomb-making details itself - another likely factor in a possible failed test, said Vladimir Orlov of the PIR Center, a nonproliferation think-tank.

``Both intellectually, technologically and financially, they are really in practical isolation, which is relatively good news,'' said Orlov.

The apparent low yield, he added, ``indicates that the North Koreans really have trouble making what ordinary people would call a nuclear bomb, they really have a primitive nuclear device.''

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One thing that I was thinking about in relation to all this - is that the idea that has been pushed is that "only the good countries should have nukes" and that "bad" countries should not be allowed. But "good" was defined (or so I thought) as countries who practiced diplomacy and restraint - who didn't go bombing people out of malice or some other such reason.

And here the USA is threatening, intimidating, and torturing people, and bombing and invading countries whether those people have actually done anything to harm us or not. North Korea is considered a threat just for possessing and testing a bomb. If they are a threat - what does that make the US? And what about Pakistan - they seem to be the terrorist capital of the world? ("Oh - but they work with us" - so that makes it ok ??? )

Meanwhile, the World Net Daily (right-wing nuts) was alleging a year ago that "Al-Qaida nukes already in U.S." If that's the case (and I'm not assuming that it is) - I don't know what "Al-Qaida" is waiting for. Maybe - for the Bush administration to decide that it's time to bomb Iran? (It's so much easier to sell a war when you can make the other guys look like the aggressors).
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The creators of "The End of the World are going to have to update their flash video - what with North Korea in the mix. Though it's pretty much the same story.