John Carl Baker
@johncarlbaker.bsky.social
nuclear weapons, foreign policy, the left - occasional antiquity and cocktail posts
Words: Nation, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NK News, US Institute of Peace, New Republic, elsewhere
seniores tollunt omnia
Words: Nation, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NK News, US Institute of Peace, New Republic, elsewhere
seniores tollunt omnia
Pinned
No one is less prepared for the foreign policy of Trump 2.0 than people who think “isolationism” is an accurate description of administration policy
Have said this before but boy was I wrong about Trump II's approach to China www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Exclusive | Trump Administration Pushes Out Key Officials Focused on China Tech Threat
The departing staffers worked for a Commerce Department office charged with protecting the U.S. from Chinese technological advances.
www.wsj.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Have said this before but boy was I wrong about Trump II's approach to China www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Co-authored by Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor to George W. Bush
This terrible essay takes it for granted that the US needs more leeway to operate in Greenland than the 1951 defense agreement allows (a dubious assertion) and then says that the problem can be solved with "shared sovereignty."
Resolving the Greenland challenge through shared responsibility
Focusing on shared responsibility through shared sovereignty would be to the mutual benefit of the United States, Denmark, Greenland, and NATO.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
January 27, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Co-authored by Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor to George W. Bush
"These dangerous trends are accompanied by another development that undermines efforts to deal with major global threats: the rise of nationalistic autocracy in countries around the world, including in a number of countries that possess nuclear weapons."
The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board is a select group of globally recognized leaders with a specific focus on nuclear risk, climate change, & disruptive technologies. In the 2026 Doomsday Clock statement, they explain why the Clock is now at 85 seconds to midnight.
Read more: buff.ly/17yAznF
Read more: buff.ly/17yAznF
January 27, 2026 at 3:59 PM
"These dangerous trends are accompanied by another development that undermines efforts to deal with major global threats: the rise of nationalistic autocracy in countries around the world, including in a number of countries that possess nuclear weapons."
This is only half the psychology, though. The flipside is they *desire* to be under the boot. They want to both dominate and be dominated.
This is embarrassingly on-the-nose textbook “psychology of fascism” stuff. Bitter, impotent tools getting to feel powerful by proxy watching brutality done on their behalf.
Tim Pool: “I’m not licking the boot. It’s my boot. I voted for it. I’m the one stomping…”
This mindset is genuinely pathetic.
It’s an alpha fantasy: watching state violence and imagining you’re exercising power rather than the one submitting to it.
/1
This mindset is genuinely pathetic.
It’s an alpha fantasy: watching state violence and imagining you’re exercising power rather than the one submitting to it.
/1
January 27, 2026 at 2:07 PM
This is only half the psychology, though. The flipside is they *desire* to be under the boot. They want to both dominate and be dominated.
Real banger from Thomas Paine:
"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance;" (1/2)
"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance;" (1/2)
January 27, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Real banger from Thomas Paine:
"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance;" (1/2)
"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance;" (1/2)
“Early hominins in Europe were creating tools from raw materials hundreds of thousands of years before Homo sapiens arrived there” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/s...
430,000-Year-Old Wooden Tools Are the Oldest Ever Found
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:44 PM
“Early hominins in Europe were creating tools from raw materials hundreds of thousands of years before Homo sapiens arrived there” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/s...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
January 24, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Metaphor alert www.bbc.com/news/article...
Nuclear bunker in East Yorkshire topples from crumbling cliff
The brick building, on the East Yorkshire coast, is now sitting at the foot of a collapsed cliff.
www.bbc.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Metaphor alert www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Yep. I had a strictly policed word-limited rant about Golden Dome and its sillyness (as a nuclear missile shield) here: www.astro-politics.org/articles/gol...
January 26, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Yep. I had a strictly policed word-limited rant about Golden Dome and its sillyness (as a nuclear missile shield) here: www.astro-politics.org/articles/gol...
Rep. Seth Moulton: "Golden Dome will make nuclear war more likely, not less."
He's right. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
He's right. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
Debatable: Trump’s Golden Dome
The missile shield proposal — and its price tag — has policymakers at odds.
www.semafor.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Rep. Seth Moulton: "Golden Dome will make nuclear war more likely, not less."
He's right. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
He's right. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
Not only is this not going to happen - they won't be anywhere close to it spacenews.com/golden-dome-...
January 26, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Not only is this not going to happen - they won't be anywhere close to it spacenews.com/golden-dome-...
Ariel Petrovics on New START:
"The choice...is not between perfect verification and no agreement. It is between maintaining a platform that can support verification in the future and eliminating the last framework capable of containing strategic uncertainty" foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/u...
"The choice...is not between perfect verification and no agreement. It is between maintaining a platform that can support verification in the future and eliminating the last framework capable of containing strategic uncertainty" foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/u...
Why Trump Should Accept Putin’s New START Offer
Extending the nuclear treaty is not about trust—it’s about pragmatism.
foreignpolicy.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Ariel Petrovics on New START:
"The choice...is not between perfect verification and no agreement. It is between maintaining a platform that can support verification in the future and eliminating the last framework capable of containing strategic uncertainty" foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/u...
"The choice...is not between perfect verification and no agreement. It is between maintaining a platform that can support verification in the future and eliminating the last framework capable of containing strategic uncertainty" foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/u...
Another one bites the dust:
"More than 50 senior military officers and defense-industry executives have been placed under investigation or removed from office in the past 2½ years" www.wsj.com/world/china/...
"More than 50 senior military officers and defense-industry executives have been placed under investigation or removed from office in the past 2½ years" www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Exclusive | China’s Top General Accused of Giving Nuclear Secrets to U.S.
Bribery allegations have also been leveled against Gen. Zhang Youxia, whose downfall carries implications for the country’s military readiness.
www.wsj.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Another one bites the dust:
"More than 50 senior military officers and defense-industry executives have been placed under investigation or removed from office in the past 2½ years" www.wsj.com/world/china/...
"More than 50 senior military officers and defense-industry executives have been placed under investigation or removed from office in the past 2½ years" www.wsj.com/world/china/...
National Defense Strategy:
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support" www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support" www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Pentagon to reduce its role in deterrence of North Korea
US policy document suggests South Korea take primary responsibility, as Pentagon prioritises defending US homeland
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:14 PM
National Defense Strategy:
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support" www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support" www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
fontainebleau hilton, miami beach, florida, 1982
January 26, 2026 at 11:36 AM
fontainebleau hilton, miami beach, florida, 1982
Reposted by John Carl Baker
traymore cafeteria, 2nd avenue & 4th street, st. petersburg, florida, 1979
January 24, 2026 at 11:36 AM
traymore cafeteria, 2nd avenue & 4th street, st. petersburg, florida, 1979
Reposted by John Carl Baker
The left is excluded so much they exist only as a mental caricature to many of these guys. I will be open to them when they demonstrate being open to anybody but themselves
January 26, 2026 at 10:37 AM
The left is excluded so much they exist only as a mental caricature to many of these guys. I will be open to them when they demonstrate being open to anybody but themselves
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Which is why, out of all the horrible things happening in the world right now, I think ChatGPT might be one of the worst, because it will cut an entire generation off from any understanding of what language is & how it works, rendering it into 'prompts', weird Silicon Valley magic spells.
January 26, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Which is why, out of all the horrible things happening in the world right now, I think ChatGPT might be one of the worst, because it will cut an entire generation off from any understanding of what language is & how it works, rendering it into 'prompts', weird Silicon Valley magic spells.
Reposted by John Carl Baker
I never went to no fancy University, despite what my impeccable posting style might imply. What I had was one really excellent schoolteacher in the otherwise grim Christian Brothers school I attended. He taught us to understand the logic of language, speech & thought. Once you know that, you're set.
January 26, 2026 at 1:02 PM
I never went to no fancy University, despite what my impeccable posting style might imply. What I had was one really excellent schoolteacher in the otherwise grim Christian Brothers school I attended. He taught us to understand the logic of language, speech & thought. Once you know that, you're set.
“Abolish ICE” - ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
January 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM
“Abolish ICE” - ICE www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
no doubt was such a good band
November 16, 2024 at 4:12 AM
no doubt was such a good band
This was cool - Criterion has a “Nordic Noir” collection right now.
First Norwegian film directed by a woman! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_I...
First Norwegian film directed by a woman! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_I...
Death Is a Caress - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 25, 2026 at 5:25 PM
This was cool - Criterion has a “Nordic Noir” collection right now.
First Norwegian film directed by a woman! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_I...
First Norwegian film directed by a woman! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_I...
Great Latin term from Cassiodorus: artes lubricae (“slippery arts”)
January 25, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Great Latin term from Cassiodorus: artes lubricae (“slippery arts”)
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Never forget that the reason they are so convinced you’re all getting paid is that they are all getting paid.
The fact that every right winger with influence screams "who is paying for all of this" tells you exactly how awash in cash they all are, and how much they rely on that to keep their movement afloat.
James O'Keefe says he's never seen anything so organized as the anti-ICE movement, observers--he seems to think this term is code--everywhere he goes. Who is paying for it??? he demands to know. It's like he can't even imagine people caring for one another.
January 25, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Never forget that the reason they are so convinced you’re all getting paid is that they are all getting paid.
Another regime weakness: to the extent Trumpism had any kind of “mass base,” they basically stopped cultivating it the minute they took state power. But the opposition clearly does have a mass base, which is growing and getting organized.
January 24, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Another regime weakness: to the extent Trumpism had any kind of “mass base,” they basically stopped cultivating it the minute they took state power. But the opposition clearly does have a mass base, which is growing and getting organized.