Author | Lightnews

Don't Get the Wrong Takeaway from 'A House of Dynamite'

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Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · 5d

Our @ucs.org Scoville fellow Sean Manning has this important piece on #HouseofDynamite, laying out exactly how throwing billions or trillions of $$$ at missile defense is not how we solve the nuclear threat. We need solutions that reduce that threat instead. inkstickmedia.com/dont-get-the...

Director Kathryn Bigelow's new nuclear thriller 'A House of Dynamite' hinges on the failure of the US anti-missile system.

inkstickmedia.com

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 6d

Ice Silk Road opens up vast Arctic to China and Russia. Western companies aren't interested.

Washington's neglect of South Korea’s security concerns is a proliferation problem

www.youtube.com

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 8d

"The problem may not be just that Washington may be failing to assure its Korean ally, but that it no longer considers such assurance—and the nonproliferation it is meant to underwrite—necessary."

To deflate Seoul's nuclear ambitions, Washington needs to make its commitment to South Korean security credible and demonstrate that it sees its ally as an equal partner.

thebulletin.org

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 10d

"For over a century, Chinese intellectuals grappled with this challenge: how to achieve modernity without losing cultural identity, how to become powerful without abandoning what made China distinctive.

That historical chapter may now be closing. China appears to have found that path”

The Great Reckoning - The Ideas Letter

The world feels unsettled, as if history itself were changing tempo. The familiar landmarks of the modern age are blurring, slipping away, and the stories we once told ourselves about…

www.theideasletter.org

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 13d

Probably the most important thing you need to know about the risk you’ll be killed if someone launches a nuclear-armed missile in your direction.

A House of Dynamite Explodes the Missile Defense Myth

It is no wonder the interceptors fail in the film. This is an accurate portrayal of what is likely to happen in a crisis.

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Gregory Kulacki

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · 18d

"Humanity cannot coexist with nuclear weapons forever."

- critical takeaway from my @ucs.org colleague Jenn Knox's must-read piece "Five Things to Know Before Watching A House of Dynamite," the @netflix.com movie premiering in theater's tomorrow:
blog.ucs.org/jknox/five-t...

Five Things to Know Before Watching A House of Dynamite

The new film A House of Dynamite depicts what happens when a nuclear missile is launched at the United States. The real-world possibility is just as scary.

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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · 29d

"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.

How to Make the Next Trump-Kim Meeting a Success

Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 25

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.

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 23

"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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 19

"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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 18

"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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 17

“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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 14

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

youtu.be

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 14

"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 · Sep 13

"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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 12

"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.”

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

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

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Gregory Kulacki @gkucs.bsky.social · Sep 12

"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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.