Matt
@mattaiesi.bsky.social
Dad, husband, noted round-Earther and mediocre lawyer.
I think the Law of Armed Conflict is good and that Russian propaganda is bad.
All views + opinions are my own.
Posts, likes, RT do not imply USG endorsement.
I think the Law of Armed Conflict is good and that Russian propaganda is bad.
All views + opinions are my own.
Posts, likes, RT do not imply USG endorsement.
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Bonus points for hard mode with no Star Wars or Trek, LOTR, Marvel, Disney or Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Bonus points for hard mode with no Star Wars or Trek, LOTR, Marvel, Disney or Pixar.
Reposted by Matt
The only time Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was invoked was to defend us, not for us to defend Europe. European soldiers and civilians died fighting with us and working next to us in Afghanistan. Europe was not attacked on September 11, 2001.
December 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The only time Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was invoked was to defend us, not for us to defend Europe. European soldiers and civilians died fighting with us and working next to us in Afghanistan. Europe was not attacked on September 11, 2001.
Reposted by Matt
Boat Strike Survivors Clung to Wreckage for Some 45 Minutes Before U.S. Military Killed Them
“There are a lot of disturbing aspects. But this is one of the most disturbing.”
theintercept.com/2025/12/05/b...
“There are a lot of disturbing aspects. But this is one of the most disturbing.”
theintercept.com/2025/12/05/b...
Boat Strike Survivors Clung to Wreckage for Some 45 Minutes Before U.S. Military Killed Them
“There are a lot of disturbing aspects. But this is one of the most disturbing.”
theintercept.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Boat Strike Survivors Clung to Wreckage for Some 45 Minutes Before U.S. Military Killed Them
“There are a lot of disturbing aspects. But this is one of the most disturbing.”
theintercept.com/2025/12/05/b...
“There are a lot of disturbing aspects. But this is one of the most disturbing.”
theintercept.com/2025/12/05/b...
Reposted by Matt
On left:
President Trump Statement Sept. 2, 2025:
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States."
On right:
(Under penalty of law) military leaders told Congress headed to Suriname.
President Trump Statement Sept. 2, 2025:
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States."
On right:
(Under penalty of law) military leaders told Congress headed to Suriname.
December 5, 2025 at 10:38 PM
On left:
President Trump Statement Sept. 2, 2025:
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States."
On right:
(Under penalty of law) military leaders told Congress headed to Suriname.
President Trump Statement Sept. 2, 2025:
"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in international waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States."
On right:
(Under penalty of law) military leaders told Congress headed to Suriname.
Reposted by Matt
NEWS --> Tons of fresh detail on what video of the strike shows: Rep Adam Smith says two men are sitting on capsized boat, drugs aren't visible. Rationale officials gave for killing is they *may* have been able to keep trafficking.
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details
The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services committee tells TNR after watching the video: “This is a big, big problem.”
newrepublic.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:52 PM
NEWS --> Tons of fresh detail on what video of the strike shows: Rep Adam Smith says two men are sitting on capsized boat, drugs aren't visible. Rationale officials gave for killing is they *may* have been able to keep trafficking.
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Reposted by Matt
This is horrifying. Please read.
The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’ www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’
The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
This is horrifying. Please read.
Reposted by Matt
Thank you, @carriealee.bsky.social
The Soldier in the Illiberal State is a Professional Dead End
The American political system today is indeed in crisis. Government function is in doubt, the administration has politicized and weaponized a previously
warontherocks.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Thank you, @carriealee.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt
In Dnipro as a result of a Russian missile strike on the city, 4 people were killed and another 27 were injured‼️
Bastards! Child murderers!
Bastards! Child murderers!
December 1, 2025 at 12:04 PM
In Dnipro as a result of a Russian missile strike on the city, 4 people were killed and another 27 were injured‼️
Bastards! Child murderers!
Bastards! Child murderers!
Fun fact from the Law of Armed Conflict:
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 is not technically “common”.
Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
Is slightly different than GC I, III and IV
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 is not technically “common”.
Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
Is slightly different than GC I, III and IV
November 30, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Fun fact from the Law of Armed Conflict:
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 is not technically “common”.
Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
Is slightly different than GC I, III and IV
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 is not technically “common”.
Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
Is slightly different than GC I, III and IV
Reposted by Matt
“A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder” By Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith (a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & former head of the Office of Legal Counsel) 1/
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder” By Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith (a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & former head of the Office of Legal Counsel) 1/
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org
November 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
“A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder” By Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith (a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & former head of the Office of Legal Counsel) 1/
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder” By Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith (a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & former head of the Office of Legal Counsel) 1/
Reposted by Matt
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
November 29, 2025 at 3:02 AM
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
Reposted by Matt
Friends, I ask you for a small favor that will cost you 5 seconds, but will change everything for me and help my Ukrainian handicraft survive💙💛
Like this post, share it, leave any comment. If you like something, place an order.
More of my work here:
www.etsy.com/shop/NadiiaJ...
Thank you!🫂❤️
Like this post, share it, leave any comment. If you like something, place an order.
More of my work here:
www.etsy.com/shop/NadiiaJ...
Thank you!🫂❤️
October 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Friends, I ask you for a small favor that will cost you 5 seconds, but will change everything for me and help my Ukrainian handicraft survive💙💛
Like this post, share it, leave any comment. If you like something, place an order.
More of my work here:
www.etsy.com/shop/NadiiaJ...
Thank you!🫂❤️
Like this post, share it, leave any comment. If you like something, place an order.
More of my work here:
www.etsy.com/shop/NadiiaJ...
Thank you!🫂❤️
Reposted by Matt
As I wrote about the “peace” deal, it was a plan for Russia & the US to divide up resources that should go to Ukraine in a sweeping attempt to comprise American security
Today’s WSJ has the goods on how people who only believe in money are the most dangerous people:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Today’s WSJ has the goods on how people who only believe in money are the most dangerous people:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 29, 2025 at 12:10 PM
As I wrote about the “peace” deal, it was a plan for Russia & the US to divide up resources that should go to Ukraine in a sweeping attempt to comprise American security
Today’s WSJ has the goods on how people who only believe in money are the most dangerous people:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Today’s WSJ has the goods on how people who only believe in money are the most dangerous people:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Couldn’t the United States just *not* inflict economic harm to a democracy that sent troops to fight with us and is now fighting off the world’s cancer that kidnaps, tortures, rapes, and murders Ukrainians for fun?
Slava Ukrainii 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Slava Ukrainii 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
“Witkoff encouraged Ukrainian officials to try another tack: What good was a handful of missiles going to accomplish? Instead, he encouraged Ukraine to ask Trump for a 10-year tariff exemption. It would supercharge their economy, he said.”
Gift Link:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Gift Link:
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine
The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board.
www.wsj.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Couldn’t the United States just *not* inflict economic harm to a democracy that sent troops to fight with us and is now fighting off the world’s cancer that kidnaps, tortures, rapes, and murders Ukrainians for fun?
Slava Ukrainii 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Slava Ukrainii 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Reposted by Matt
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
November 28, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
I have noticed a remarkably high number of brand new UCMJ experts around recently.
November 26, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I have noticed a remarkably high number of brand new UCMJ experts around recently.
Reposted by Matt
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Matt
“The notion that American anti-Semitism is an outside influence operation rather than a homegrown menace is a comforting story. Unfortunately, it’s not true,” @yair-rosenberg.bsky.socialwrites. “Foreign actors may exploit our divisions, but they don’t create them”:
People Are Underestimating America’s Groyper Problem
Rising American anti-Semitism isn’t a foreign influence operation.
bit.ly
November 25, 2025 at 10:56 PM
“The notion that American anti-Semitism is an outside influence operation rather than a homegrown menace is a comforting story. Unfortunately, it’s not true,” @yair-rosenberg.bsky.socialwrites. “Foreign actors may exploit our divisions, but they don’t create them”:
Reposted by Matt
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Derek understands men’s clothing and the corrosive ecosystem of American social media and the broken political system it reinforces.
I hope he gets to live in a walkable neighborhood soon.
I hope he gets to live in a walkable neighborhood soon.
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Derek understands men’s clothing and the corrosive ecosystem of American social media and the broken political system it reinforces.
I hope he gets to live in a walkable neighborhood soon.
I hope he gets to live in a walkable neighborhood soon.
Reposted by Matt
This excellent WSJ annotation of the Molotov/Ribbentrop … sorry, Witkoff/Dmitriev … “peace deal” for Ukraine shows how ridiculously vague and utterly unworkable this thing is
Free link
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Free link
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Trump’s Peace Plan for Ukraine, Annotated
Here’s a breakdown of some of the key points in the plan and how Ukraine and its European allies might respond.
www.wsj.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:42 PM
This excellent WSJ annotation of the Molotov/Ribbentrop … sorry, Witkoff/Dmitriev … “peace deal” for Ukraine shows how ridiculously vague and utterly unworkable this thing is
Free link
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Free link
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Appeasing war criminals promotes aggression.
Failing to punish war criminals allows them to rewrite their atrocities.
Rewarding war criminals by giving them everything they want incentives them and others to continue kidnapping, sexual assaulting, torturing, looting, and murdering.
Failing to punish war criminals allows them to rewrite their atrocities.
Rewarding war criminals by giving them everything they want incentives them and others to continue kidnapping, sexual assaulting, torturing, looting, and murdering.
November 22, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Appeasing war criminals promotes aggression.
Failing to punish war criminals allows them to rewrite their atrocities.
Rewarding war criminals by giving them everything they want incentives them and others to continue kidnapping, sexual assaulting, torturing, looting, and murdering.
Failing to punish war criminals allows them to rewrite their atrocities.
Rewarding war criminals by giving them everything they want incentives them and others to continue kidnapping, sexual assaulting, torturing, looting, and murdering.
Reposted by Matt
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace
Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:11 AM
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Matt
"In recent weeks, junior officers in the military, fearing potential legal exposure, asked military lawyers, judge advocates general, for written sign-off before taking part in strikes. It does not appear that such memos were furnished."
wapo.st/43FXQfO
wapo.st/43FXQfO
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
wapo.st
November 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
"In recent weeks, junior officers in the military, fearing potential legal exposure, asked military lawyers, judge advocates general, for written sign-off before taking part in strikes. It does not appear that such memos were furnished."
wapo.st/43FXQfO
wapo.st/43FXQfO
Reposted by Matt
In March, the America in the World Consortium will be hosting a one-day workshop for early-career scholars and practitioners on US nuclear policy in the 21st century.
Paper proposals due December 15.
www.awconsortium.org/about/call-f...
Paper proposals due December 15.
www.awconsortium.org/about/call-f...
CALL FOR PAPERS: America's Nuclear Crossroads: Deterrence, Diplomacy, and Disarmament in the 21st Century - AWC
The America in the World Consortium invites Ph.D. students, early-career scholars, and early-career policy practitioners to submit paper proposals for a one-day conference on the multifaceted dimensio...
www.awconsortium.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In March, the America in the World Consortium will be hosting a one-day workshop for early-career scholars and practitioners on US nuclear policy in the 21st century.
Paper proposals due December 15.
www.awconsortium.org/about/call-f...
Paper proposals due December 15.
www.awconsortium.org/about/call-f...