Woes of the World

The long third-place member of the "Axis of Evil" has rocketed to the top of the list with its attention-grabbing tactics. If past United Nations resolutions elsewhere are any indication, yesterday's resolution against a nuclear North Korea and what exactly it means is hard to predict. It's incredibly difficult to enforce economic sanctions on a nation that has counterfeit American dollars as one of its past primary exports.

While coverage of the crisis has been solid, I've had a question bumping around in my head. Why aren't we journalists looking, not just at North Korea, but the tens of other countries believed to be enhancing nuclear capability?

The beginning of a new trend in coverage may have emerged in a startling report in today's New York Times. William Broad and David Sanger examine how as many as 40 nations may possess the ability to build a nuclear weapon. Hundreds of companies are seeking out uranium, the story reports, where only dozens did just a few years ago.

The nuclear issue on air and in print is only going to be amplified. In the coming weeks and months, perhaps we'll see a resurgence in coverage of another frightening element of our nuclear world. Since the 2004 election, we have heard little about what nations, including our own, are doing to reclaim thousands of unaccounted for "loose nukes." The story has sat idle for too long.

City Jitters

I write this from the 35th floor lobby of the Mandarin hotel on Central Park’s West Side. What a plush hotel, on one of the nation’s greatest parks.

It’s interesting to be here now. Let me quickly share a story from yesterday. Many New Yorkers still seem jittery after the Upper East Side plane crash Wednesday. On the shuttle in-bound from La Guardia we were about to enter the Queens-Midtown Tunnel which spits out a few blocks south of the UN. We were waiting to pay a toll when there was sudden “BOOM!” The concussion shook the van I was riding in. I along with the other Super Shuttle passengers, almost in unison, began asking “what was that?” People stopped in neighboring lanes began whipping their heads around. The episode became even more jarring when our native New York driver exclaimed “that was pretty crazy!” As we inched closer to the toll, I noticed a NYPD or Port Authority officer standing by calmly. A colleague walked up beside him, and the two began laughing. ‘False alarm,’ I thought to myself, though nonetheless a testament to the nervousness that seems ever present in this city.

Meanwhile cross-town, the United Nations Security Council could vote tomorrow on a resolution regarding North Korea. There are some very major implications there and I’ll share a few thoughts on how the story has been covered so far.