Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Seeking a New Moral Compass on Nuclear Weapons Aboard the Golden Rule

2 9 19

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 11d

"Amidst the rich sea life around us, it was hard to imagine some of the largest nuclear weapons in history vaporizing distant parts of this same ocean... What feels abstract today were immediate realities for Bigelow and his crew…"

A sailboat that symbolized anti-nuclear activism in the late 1950s has been restored as a reminder of the need for arms control.

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 16d

I'm not that far behind you. We do our best here at UCS, but it is very much an uphill battle. There are so many difficulties facing young people they don't have the time or inclination to be as connected to this threat as we were when we were young.

How to Make the Next Trump-Kim Meeting a Success

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 17d

"We live in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape where the established rules and norms of the post–Cold War era are dissolving quicker than we can devise new ones to take their place. It’s a transition fraught with dangers but also ripe with new possibilities."

Kim Jong Un could be willing to agree to a nuclear weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia because it would threat North Korea the same as China, Russia, and the United States.

‘I have to do it’: Why one of the world’s most brilliant AI scientists left the US for China

2 2 4

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 22d

"They believe large language models, powered by neural networks, may be five to 10 years away from “takeoff”. Zhu insists that these ideas are built on sand."

In 2020, after spending half his life in the US, Song-Chun Zhu took a one-way ticket to China. Now he might hold the key to who wins the global AI race

www.theguardian.com

1 1 4

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 22d

"The Ellisons have also made no secret of their intention to move CBS News to the right. They are negotiating to acquire The Free Press, a heterodox publication co-founded by Bari Weiss that prioritizes criticism of “woke” culture, and put Ms. Weiss in a senior position at CBS News."

Opinion | The Billionaire Trump Supporter Who Will Soon Own the News

It’s Time to Rethink US Nuclear Weapons Manufacturing

1 2

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 23d

“As the United States revives production capabilities that haven’t been exercised in decades, it seems likely that the scope and cost of its ambitions will prove unwieldy. ...clumsy execution and failure to complete overly ambitious plans may actually undermine perceptions of US deterrence."

There is no technical justification for replacing the entire US nuclear arsenal—but the government is willing to spend more than $2 trillion to do just that.

China's trade with Africa outracing the rest of world, supplanting North America

2

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 26d

Opinion | Don’t Just Defend the Fed. Reinvent It.

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 26d

"A reflexive defense of the status quo is better than nothing. But that should not be confused with a political strategy….Do the Democrats have a vision beyond reaffirming the 1990s’ best practices?”

Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Is Part of a Trend: Spiking Gun Violence in Red States

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 27d

"Even when researchers control for big urban centers, the red-state murder problem persists. Remove the largest city from every red state, and their homicide rate still far exceeds that of blue states.”

Charlie Kirk’s assassination in Utah fits a pattern of gun violence run amok in red states.

theintercept.com

Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for Plotting Coup in Brazil

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 29d

"In at least 15 coups and coup attempts with links to the military since Brazil overthrew its monarchy in 1889, Thursday marked the first time the leaders of one of those plots have been convicted.”

We Deserve Better: Korea’s Investment in Georgia Must Be Secured, Not Shackled

4 17

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 29d

"For Koreans, this incident was more than a moment of indignity; it raised a fundamental question: Is the U.S. a safe and welcoming place for the very investments its leaders once championed? “

A South Korean National Assembly member discusses the damage done by the ICE raid on Hyundai’s plant.

thediplomat.com

1 5

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Sep 10

Excellent @sciam.bsky.social Golden Dome article details the lack of information about the proposed system, the enormous amount of taxpayer $$$s it will consume (even as it fails), & the negative ramifications for US security overall: www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

What’s the Plan for ‘Golden Dome’? Even Experts Aren’t Sure

A sweeping U.S. missile defense program comes with many risks, costs and uncertainties, analysts say

www.scientificamerican.com

9 26 40

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 9

@tayloraloy.bsky.social Apologies for lack of context. I agree that given public concern, venting into another container would seem logical and I voiced that to NMED. LANL rejected that option because it results in additional waste. Given the obvious public concern, another FTWC seems better to me.

1 2 5

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Sep 9

"Rushed Approval of Tritium Venting for Los Alamos National Laboratory Ignores Public Input, Alternatives" - statement by my colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social www.ucs.org/about/news/r...

Rushed Approval of Tritium Venting for Los Alamos National Laboratory Ignores Public Input, Alternatives

Statement from Dr. Dylan Spaulding on Los Alamos National Laboratory plan to release tritium gas in New Mexico, despite strong community opposition.

www.ucs.org

1 7 12

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 29

"That middle class has so eroded in size and in purchasing power, and the wealth of our top earners has so exploded, that America’s most important market today is its affluent. "

Opinion | Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class

High US tariffs on Brazil just re-routed global coffee markets: China will get it all.

4

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 26

You should budget more for #coffee in the coming months (and possibly years) and expect lower quality as US buyers look for alternative supplies.

China's "overcapacity" was always deliberate: US experts stunned by Chinese AI, declare race is over

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 21

US “defense” contractors are more interested in making money than in making weapons that work. Trump’s “Golden Dome” is aptly named and their dream come true.

www.ucs.org

1 2

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 21

Why Ukraine lost the war: our Military Industrial Complex makes money, not weapons

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 20

Nations don’t rise or fall. There are no laws of history. Individuals make decisions. Nations are abstractions with no will or agency. That said, it seems impossible to deny the “West” is failing. The individuals who own and run it are some combination of incompetent, irresponsible and corrupt.

public-inspection.federalregister.gov

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Aug 19

But wait! Like pit production, that new missile is also vastly over budget and behind schedule. Its costs went up 81% and the production schedule so far behind that the Air Force announced they may need to keep the existing Minuteman missiles until 2050! news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...

1 2 3

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Aug 19

Here's the good news. My colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social has already done a deep dive on plutonium pit production and concluded that there is no need for the US to produce new pits. They are not required to maintain US security. Here's the report summary: www.ucs.org/sites/defaul...

1 3 4

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Aug 19

The Department of Energy, correctly concerned about the NNSA's efforts to produce new plutonium pits, has mandated a review of the deeply troubled - and unnecessary - effort. Here's the DOE letter announcing the study, courtesy of the Los Alamos Study Group: lasg.org/MPF2/documen...

1 12 23

Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Aug 14

Friendly reminder that DOE also manages the nations nuclear stockpile.

Adam A. Marshall @a-marshall-plan.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Department of Energy HQ is purportedly cancelling all pending #FOIA requests submitted before October 1, 2024, unless the requester emails a specific address w/i 30 days asking the agency to continue processing.

This is wildly illegal.

public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-15490.pdf

2 3

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Aug 18

"In policy dialogues in Beijing this summer, Chinese scholars and decisionmakers repeated a simple phrase that captured their newfound sense of empowerment: “So what?” “There is a trade war. So what?” “Trump might dial up the pressure on China. So what?” More resignation than “enjoyment” IMHO.

China Is Enjoying Trump 2.0

How the trade war is helping Beijing prepare for long-term competition.

www.foreignaffairs.com