Prof David J Galbreath
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djgalbreath.bsky.social
Prof David J Galbreath
@djgalbreath.bsky.social

Professor of War and Technology at the University of Bath. Working on digital battlefields. Occasional work on Ukraine.

Political science 90%
Sociology 5%
This week I am writing about obeying illegal military orders.

Happy to hear any informed views and of any interesting/useful information, on or off record.

DMs open.
This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is.

The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Nicolas Guillou, French ICC judge sanctioned by the US: 'You are effectively blacklisted by much of the world's banking system'
Six judges and three prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the Trump administration. In an interview with Le Monde, Guillou discusses the impact of these measures on ...
www.lemonde.fr
We saw it with big tobacco, we saw it with the fossil fuels industry. When their own internal research showed the harm from their product, the defunded the research and attacked independent researchers coming to the very same conclusions.
#ScienceUnderSiege
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

'Kremlin claims it has received no official US "peace plan" and is unwilling to discuss it' www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...
Kremlin claims it has received no official US "peace plan" and is unwilling to discuss it
The Kremlin has claimed it has not officially received any new US proposals on ending the war in Ukraine.
www.pravda.com.ua
Make Article I great again. Congress is complicit in the ongoing attack on the Constitutional authorities granted to it.
An important piece of reporting. Even congressional Republicans wanted to include appropriations-bill language to protect Congress's power of the purse. But Russ Vought has pressured them to cut the language, and the House Republicans rolled over. www.notus.org/congress/mar...
A Top Republican Wanted to Reclaim Congress’ Spending Authority. The White House Stopped Him.
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, a top appropriator, tried to add guardrails from ‘pocket rescissions’ in an appropriations bill. But then Office of Management Budget Director Russ Vought talked to him.
www.notus.org

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Federal agents used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times — even after a judge said to stop.

Contrary to federal claims about attacks on agents, most of these incidents appear to involve nonviolent protesters or bystanders. blockclubchi.co/47PoaXb
New: I can confirm hasty US-Russia proposal being pushed to Ukrainians via Dmitriev-Witkoff to Umerov. It would amount to Ukraine’s capitulation, with people familiar saying it’s Kremlin’s maximalist demands.
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Drone footage shows strikes on energy facilities in the occupied territory — hits on the Zuivska and Starobesheve thermal power plants.

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

🚨🚨 "Ukraine’s kill zone: How drones ended trench warfare
Abandon ideas of World War I — drones have turned the front lines into a different kind of hellscape." Excellent report by @nikamelkozerova.bsky.social. Brief 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/surv...
Ukraine’s kill zone: How drones ended trench warfare
Abandon ideas of World War I — drones have turned the front lines into a different kind of hellscape.
www.politico.eu

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Just released. The most important, under-reported story of the Russo-Ukraine War since Trump became President is how the Chinese now feel that they can pile in with Russian support. They are now helping Russia across the board, with components, technical help… open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
The Biggest Under-Reported Story of 2025
Since Trump has become President, China has ramped up its support for Russia to hammer Ukraine.
open.substack.com
"Agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including ICE, ERO, and CBP intend to implement a comprehensive plan to target Spanish-speaking churches across the country during the upcoming holiday season between Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, and Christmas, Dec. 25."
Exclusive: Trump DHS Plans Immigration Raids on Churches Over Holidays
The Trump Dept. of Homeland Security is briefing federal agencies on plans for immigration enforcement operations inside churches over holidays.
thisweekinworcester.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

We know the familiar pattern: “Moscow still loves a loser: failed journalists, has-beens, also-rans, sex pests and disgruntled narcissists end up going to work for the Kremlin.”

More essential reading from @michaeldweiss.bsky.social.

open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
How Russian Spies Infiltrate U.S. Institutions
Read a 1988 KGB textbook on how to recruit agents working for the U.S. government abroad.
open.substack.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

◾ >9 years since Tees Valley voted for supposed benefits of Brexit

◾ >8 since Houchen was elected Mayor of Tees Valley

◾ >6 since Johnson promised to level up left-behind areas

...Middlesbrough remains the local authority with the highest proportion of most deprived neighbourhoods in England.
Houchen’s deprivation failure exposed – official
Middlesbrough remains the local authority with the highest proportion of most deprived neighbourhoods in England
northeastbylines.co.uk

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

A Russian blogger shared that many Russians do not realize how many Russian soldiers are dying in the war against Ukraine.

"For these two small cities [Pokrovsk and Bakhmut], Russia has already killed 80-100 thousand of its own soldiers. It wasn't Ukraine that killed them, it was Russia," he says.

Will that takes the SOF out. Don’t they all have beards?

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Trump and Albanese talk about some type of “agreement” between US and Australia to involve rare earth sourcing.

Having learned our lesson(s), I will not report on this UNTIL I SEE AND PUBLISH the actual document. Then we discuss.

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Russian hackers leak documents linked to eight UK military bases as MoD launches probe

According to The Mail on Sunday, the Russian hacker group Lynx breached the systems of one of the MoD's maintenance and construction contractors, Dodd Group.
Russian hackers leak documents linked to eight UK military bases as MoD launches probe
Russian hackers have published internal documents related to eight British military bases. The materials contain the personal data of employees along with protocols for maintaining cybersecurity, The ...
theins.press

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

"The same hackers who doxed hundreds of DHS, ICE, and FBI officials now say they have the personal data of tens of thousands of officials from the NSA, Air Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, and many other agencies."

... by digging through their caches of stolen "Salesforce" customer data
Hackers Say They Have Personal Data of Thousands of NSA and Other Government Officials
The same hackers who doxed hundreds of DHS, ICE, and FBI officials now say they have the personal data of tens of thousands of officials from the NSA, Air Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, and many ...
go.stonking.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

Mark Hertling, former CENTCOM commander, while speaking to CNN, called the speeches "shocking and offensive", adding "this is not how you lead professionals... It's an insult to the oath we swore to the Constitution, not a person."
Did Trump cross a line with Quantico hectoring? From 'unconstitutional', 'moral erosion' to ‘great move’, how veterans reacted
Trump and Defence Secretary Hegseth’s Quantico speeches were praised by conservatives and criticised by some veterans and politicians for politicising the military, damaging morale and constitutional ...
www.wionews.com
Mike Johnson on the shutdown: "It can provide an opportunity to downside the scope and scale of government, which is something that we've always wanted to do. So in a way Chuck Schumer has now handed the keys to the kingdom the executive branch under President Trump."

America is not open for business
"China’s move to stop buying US soybeans underscores how Trump’s ambitions to use tariffs as a lever with Beijing have repeatedly backfired...

"Agriculture exports to China were down 53% in the first 7 months of 2025, compared with the same period last year"

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
China weaponizes ag imports to target Trump and US farmers
China’s freeze on U.S. soybean purchases hits a key GOP constituency in the run-up to 2026 midterm elections
www.politico.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

⚡️The Economist maps Russia’s hybrid-warfare attacks across Europe.
The Deputy Chief of Staff... is in charge of military strikes? Do we even have a president?
Stephen Miller takes leading role in strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats
Exclusive: Miller’s homeland security council has played a key part in coordinating operations, sources say
www.theguardian.com
I wrote about the weird all generals meeting, why it seems super-dumb, and why it’s causing me to recall the dumbest movie plots ever. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-most-b...
The Most Bizarre Test of U.S. National Security Is Happening This Week
Or, how the Trump administration does not understand centralized vulnerability.
danieldrezner.substack.com
Downtown Chicago, today.

The little girl …
"China’s move to stop buying US soybeans underscores how Trump’s ambitions to use tariffs as a lever with Beijing have repeatedly backfired...

"Agriculture exports to China were down 53% in the first 7 months of 2025, compared with the same period last year"

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
China weaponizes ag imports to target Trump and US farmers
China’s freeze on U.S. soybean purchases hits a key GOP constituency in the run-up to 2026 midterm elections
www.politico.com

Reposted by David J. Galbreath

AI models are using material from retracted scientific papers www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/23/1...
AI models are using material from retracted scientific papers
Some companies are working to remedy the issue.
www.technologyreview.com