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
Sweden is talking with France and the UK about cooperation with their nuclear weapons programs breakingdefense.com/2026/01/swed...
Sweden weighs Franco-British nuclear weapons cooperation - Breaking Defense
"I say that when we joined NATO, we are fully involved in all discussions, including those in Europe revolving around nuclear weapons," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
breakingdefense.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Sweden is talking with France and the UK about cooperation with their nuclear weapons programs breakingdefense.com/2026/01/swed...
"Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the missile, says it is now working with the Air Force to try to re-accelerate the program, which is now years, if not decades, behind schedule." www.twz.com/nuclear/trou...
Troubled Sentinel ICBM Program Still Being Restructured Nearly Two Years After Cost Breach
A top Air Force general sees a long future for Sentinel after it enters service, but there is still a lengthy road ahead to get there.
www.twz.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:52 PM
"Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the missile, says it is now working with the Air Force to try to re-accelerate the program, which is now years, if not decades, behind schedule." www.twz.com/nuclear/trou...
Is that good www.reuters.com/business/aer...
Trump's Golden Dome missile shield marks one year with little progress
One year after its launch, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense initiative has made little visible progress, bogged down by technical disputes and concerns over space‑based compon...
www.reuters.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Is that good www.reuters.com/business/aer...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
The behavior of the administration toward Canada since Carney’s Davos speech continues to confirm the thesis of Carney’s speech.
Bessent: "I'd encourage Carney to do what he thinks is best for Canadians, not his own virtue signaling. We do have a USMCA negotiation coming up. He rose to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump message. That's not a great place to be when you're negotiating w/ an economy multiples larger than you"
January 28, 2026 at 4:32 PM
The behavior of the administration toward Canada since Carney’s Davos speech continues to confirm the thesis of Carney’s speech.
Need a revival of this aesthetic and its politics
January 28, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Need a revival of this aesthetic and its politics
“Gottumukkala is currently the senior-most political official at CISA, an agency tasked with securing federal networks against sophisticated, state-backed hackers from adversarial nations” www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT
The interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency triggered an internal cybersecurity warning with the uploads — and a DHS-level damage assessment.
www.politico.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:44 PM
“Gottumukkala is currently the senior-most political official at CISA, an agency tasked with securing federal networks against sophisticated, state-backed hackers from adversarial nations” www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
The interim head of CISA "uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT last summer, triggering multiple automated security warnings that are meant to stop the theft or unintentional disclosure of government material from federal networks," per DHS sources.
Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT
The interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency triggered an internal cybersecurity warning with the uploads — and a DHS-level damage assessment.
www.politico.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:17 PM
The interim head of CISA "uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT last summer, triggering multiple automated security warnings that are meant to stop the theft or unintentional disclosure of government material from federal networks," per DHS sources.
This song is so good open.spotify.com/track/2J88Gg...
Ancients
open.spotify.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:28 AM
This song is so good open.spotify.com/track/2J88Gg...
Taking her at face value, it’s fascinating to me how an editor in chief making a clear statement of a media company’s political position somehow doesn’t count as bias.
Bari Weiss, editor in chief of CBS News, told the staff that she wanted the network to appeal to political moderates.
“We’re for the center. We’re for the center-right, and we’re for the center-left,” Weiss said.
“We’re for the center. We’re for the center-right, and we’re for the center-left,” Weiss said.
Bari Weiss to CBS News staff: Without a shift in strategy, ‘we are toast’
The CBS News editor in chief said the network needs to produce journalism people want as she named a raft of new contributors from her website, the Free Press.
wapo.st
January 27, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Taking her at face value, it’s fascinating to me how an editor in chief making a clear statement of a media company’s political position somehow doesn’t count as bias.
Reposted by John Carl Baker
“Yes, it’s expanding the surveillance state, and yes, it’s destroying the education system, and yes, it’s being trained on copyrighted work without permission, and yes, it’s being used to create lethal autonomous weapons systems…but…I forget my point, but ultimately, I think you should embrace it.”
Please Don’t Say Mean Things about the AI That I Just Invested a Billion Dollars In
“[Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang Is Begging You to Stop Being So Negative About AI” — Headline from Gizmodo
- - —
Guys, enough is enough. Bullying is a s...
www.mcsweeneys.net
January 27, 2026 at 8:36 PM
“Yes, it’s expanding the surveillance state, and yes, it’s destroying the education system, and yes, it’s being trained on copyrighted work without permission, and yes, it’s being used to create lethal autonomous weapons systems…but…I forget my point, but ultimately, I think you should embrace it.”
North Korea is now producing art about its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
N. Korea's Kim inspects sculptures, artwork honoring soldiers killed in Ukraine war | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected sculptures and ar...
en.yna.co.kr
January 27, 2026 at 7:02 PM
North Korea is now producing art about its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
Meanwhile, US-South Korea friction continues en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
(LEAD) White House official says S. Korea made 'no progress' despite Trump's tariff cuts | Yonhap News Agency
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS more info in paras 5-8)By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, J...
en.yna.co.kr
January 27, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Meanwhile, US-South Korea friction continues en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
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...
"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."
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