Excellent point, and phrasing. I get how tempting it is to assume things will “go back to normal” at some point-but we have to push ourselves to think much differently in this moment.
To all those colleague who told me repeatedly over the past year that Europe would never, ever move towards any sort of stand-alone military alliance or nuclear capacity--a reminder that we all need to unleash our political imaginations to even begin to grasp the world we live in today.
A good time to remember that @jakejohnsonmn.bsky.social is running to unseat Finstad in MN.
“Freedom is not free. We have to work at it. Nurture it. Protect it. Even sacrifice for it.”
The worst thing about this is that we know all have to learn what 'ultime avertissement' actually means
Grandeur is so back
This is who federal agents are ripping out of their communities and shipping across the country. This is the danger we're being protected from.
For some reason I'm reminded of this.
"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out."
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Read Christine's note, along with quotes from our Board and founders, below:
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No matter how many times I see these photos, there's just no inuring oneself to the terrible suffering of Hiroshima.
It's always worth connecting our work back to this reality—we carry the risks of this (+ much worse) every day
And dismissing that means embracing a festering analytical blindspot
Acton on the money here. It is deeply troubling that a spat over sanctions could escalate to "nuke threats by tweet" from Medvedev and Trump but there are likely no changes to US posture, force deployments, nor readiness. Nonetheless, this is still something we would all be better off without~
So lovely to be among such great company with my fellow Center for Climate and Security authors. If you haven't already, read the books in this post by @busbyj2.bsky.social and all the others who are apparently too cool to have @bsky.app accounts :)
@councilonstrategicrisks.org
“If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately." James Mattis
They fired the entire staff working on multilateral nuclear weapons issues connected to the NPT. Utterly disheartening and terribly dangerous.
Don't forget that foundational investments in the #NNSA's nonproliferation capabilities mean we have off-the-shelf tools for out-of-the-ordinary situations. With at least 400 kgs of enriched uranium in the wind, what would a regime collapse mean for global security? 1/5
You should follow my colleague @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social, who specializes in Iran and works with Farsi language sources.
The JCPOA was very good, actually.
Just going to point out that in just the last month we’ve seen the most intense, multi-modal warfare between two nuclear-armed states ever (India & Pakistan) and now possibly the largest-ever attack on nuclear-capable assets in a nuclear state (UA vs Ru, today).
The times they are a-changin’.
Lab director: Hey so, you guys haven't been doing anything to piss off the gods, right?
Me: no
LD: nothing Forbidden.
Me: no!
LD: because I don't know how often you read the news lately,
Me: *nervous* haha yeah the Chicago Pope
LD: No? I mean the-
*13 solid gold pebbles fall out of my pocket*
They are taking our lunch money
If you are, like me, trying to follow whats happening between India and Pakistan, please look to @nktpnd.bsky.social and his expert analysis in this moment.
With the events occurring in South Asia, this is a full court press moment for the international community. Anyone with levers anywhere should be putting all they got into pulling back from the brink.
I'll just take this moment to point out that the US Institute of Peace, just a few weeks ago, contained one of the finest concentrations of US expertise on India and Pakistan, and crisis management in South Asia.
Context here is key, the "space" that both states have to operate with is razor-thin—and narrowing.
A thought on nuclear escalation as "signaling"
The idea comes up a lot: that Pakistan, say, will reach for a tactical nuclear weapon to demonstrate resolve / draw the final red line.
Look at this map. There's almost nowhere you could slip a 20kt blast without obliterating multiple towns.
So...
At prepcom and will try my best to find!
"This historically bipartisan national security bulwark has quietly prevented nuclear, chemical, and biological weapon risks for three decades. Despite its hefty mission, this program costs the average American only around one dollar annually."
➡️ Jess Rogers on why cutting #CTR is reckless:
