I know that some of this may be repetitious. but it has to be said again and again, because the opponents of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, Iran deal) continue to misrepresent it. About those “sunset clauses.” At least one opponent of the Iran deal has said he wants regime change. Read More
Russia is experiencing a wave of false-alarm bomb threat phonecalls that have resulted in the evacuation of more than 400,000 people have been evacuated from more than 1,000 shopping malls, airports, and government and other buildings around the country since last week (more). Nobody has claimed responsibility, and the government has not found the perpetrators. Read More
Apologies for the lack of substantive posts lately. There are so many things going on in news I might write about, it’s hard to keep up, much less write something. I prefer to write about what we know, rather than speculating. The North Korean nuclear test is still being figured out by the people with the seismographs, but I hope to write a post on that soon. Nikki Haley delivered a speech based on a great many wrong ideas about the nuclear agreement with Iran. And then there are the human rights issues, which are beyond the scope of this blog, but hard to ignore. I can’t figure out why the Trumpies want two more wars while causing major domestic upset.
Here are links to what other people are writing. Read More
Ugh. I am tired of photos of Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, and missiles flying. So no photo today.
The Cold War and America’s Delusion of Victory. From a new book.
Trump’s Business Record in Russia Is Humiliating.
Russian propaganda is an issue in the questions about the 2016 election. Sputnik News is an organ of the Russian government. If you’ve been thinking that it just provides another viewpoint, read this.
20 Questions That Should Be Answered by the Russia Investigations
Nice summary of what Trump’s threats against North Korea have done.
Backgrounder on Guam. Map of Guam at top from University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection. Read More
Excellent article by Vipin Narang and Ankit Panda on why Donald Trump’s threats against North Korea are so destabilizing. MAD doesn’t apply.
Second- and third-order effects of foreign policy actions. And every action has them. This is something that Trump chooses not to understand, or perhaps is incapable of understanding.
Seven experts: Are we on the brink of war with North Korea? Probably not.
Letter from 62 members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, asking Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to urge Trump to STFU on war with North Korea. Read More
Photo: Nixon and Khrushchev’s “Kitchen Debate” in 1959.
Long read: The Trump administration’s dangerous ignorance of the Department of Energy.
Now that the attempts at repealing Obamacare have been repealed, Trump is likely to go after the Iran Deal. Here is a refutation of some of the claims that have been made against it.
I drove up to Yellowstone last week and stayed at the Old Faithful Lodge. It was a great trip. Photo above. Read More
When you work at a place like Los Alamos, one of the potential job hazards is that the spy services of other countries may try to recruit you. Between required training sessions and the rumor mill stories about successful and other attempts, you learn how it’s done.
Rolf Mowatt-Larssen explains some of it. The Donald Trump, Jr., meeting was of a different sort than what I was warned against, although there are many similarities. Read More
Happy Independence Day! Here’s an excellent essay from a historian I respect. It puts today’s troubles in a longer perspective of American history. Read More
