Les Guthman
@lesguthman.bsky.social
Documentary director & producer. Most recent “LIGO” & YouTube web series & e-book. Coming soon, “Squeezed Light” doc. Frm Disney, NBC News, Annenberg Foundation & Peabody Award-winning VISIONS series on PBS. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Pinned
Les Guthman
@lesguthman.bsky.social
· Aug 13
OTD in 2015 I interviewed LIGO’s Kip Thorne (2017 Nobel in Physics) on camera, the 1st day of what has become a ten-year, and multiple film, collaboration with @LIGO.org. My archive of LIGO’s astonishing discoveries now resides for researchers in the Les Guthman LIGO Video Archive @caltech.edu 🧪
Reposted by Les Guthman
The “kill them all” order by SecDef Hegseth would be a textbook war crime even if the original attack had been legal.
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 29, 2025 at 4:41 PM
The “kill them all” order by SecDef Hegseth would be a textbook war crime even if the original attack had been legal.
Reposted by Les Guthman
Thing is, we DID hear about it at his confirmation hearing.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Everyone should read this terrifying thread about Hegseth’s published views wrt war crimes. It’s pretty fucking radical …. We needed to hear about this in his confirmation hearing.
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 6:01 PM
Thing is, we DID hear about it at his confirmation hearing.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Reposted by Les Guthman
Demolishing the East Wing of the White House before finalizing plans for what will be built above its ruins is a near-perfect metaphor for Trump's approach to economic policy. The only difference is the wrecking crew doesn’t claim the rubble is evidence of unprecedented growth.
November 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Demolishing the East Wing of the White House before finalizing plans for what will be built above its ruins is a near-perfect metaphor for Trump's approach to economic policy. The only difference is the wrecking crew doesn’t claim the rubble is evidence of unprecedented growth.
Reposted by Les Guthman
For context: Jack served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel during the Bush administration. He’s widely regarded—especially in conservative legal circles—as a leading authority on executive power. The fact that he’s expressing this view in such stark terms is significant.
Harvard Law School’s Jack Goldsmith:
“In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’”
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
“In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’”
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
November 29, 2025 at 3:09 PM
For context: Jack served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel during the Bush administration. He’s widely regarded—especially in conservative legal circles—as a leading authority on executive power. The fact that he’s expressing this view in such stark terms is significant.
Reposted by Les Guthman
Reposted by Les Guthman
"If you look at job growth between January and September ... for the past 15 years, it's only been worse once, and that was during the pandemic ... It is the worst first nine months for the labor market in 15 years."
November 28, 2025 at 10:56 PM
"If you look at job growth between January and September ... for the past 15 years, it's only been worse once, and that was during the pandemic ... It is the worst first nine months for the labor market in 15 years."
Reposted by Les Guthman
This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn't and they weren't.
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:12 PM
This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn't and they weren't.
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
Reposted by Les Guthman
One of whom presented a Russian capitulation document as a US peace plan. That’s the headline. We need headlines that are true and not news jargon that washes out the basic facts.
President Donald Trump’s demand that Ukraine sign a deal by Thanksgiving appears to have softened as he leaves some of the most important details of the peace plan in the hands of his envoys, one of whom was just embroiled in a high-profile phone leak. https://wapo.st/481ZdYG
Trump steps back from Ukraine peace process, sends out envoys
Envoy Steve Witkoff, who in new phone leaks appears to have advised Russia on negotiations, heads to Moscow next week to discuss the peace plan.
wapo.st
November 28, 2025 at 10:55 PM
One of whom presented a Russian capitulation document as a US peace plan. That’s the headline. We need headlines that are true and not news jargon that washes out the basic facts.
Reposted by Les Guthman
People in the U.S. need to be paying attention to what’s happening in the U.K., because it’s going hand in hand with what is happening in the U.S., the agitators at work on both sides of the pond are working hand in hand with each other, and both have similar goals of ethnic cleansing.
YOU WANTED NET IMMIGRATION TO COME DOWN! THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE!
November 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM
People in the U.S. need to be paying attention to what’s happening in the U.K., because it’s going hand in hand with what is happening in the U.S., the agitators at work on both sides of the pond are working hand in hand with each other, and both have similar goals of ethnic cleansing.
Reposted by Les Guthman
As TSS’s Bruce Breton stated, “If the plan seems suspiciously aligned with Russia’s strategic goals, it’s because Trump’s foreign policy almost always mirrors the preferences of the last strongman he spoke to.”
steadystate1.substack.com/p/trumps-ukr...
steadystate1.substack.com/p/trumps-ukr...
November 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
As TSS’s Bruce Breton stated, “If the plan seems suspiciously aligned with Russia’s strategic goals, it’s because Trump’s foreign policy almost always mirrors the preferences of the last strongman he spoke to.”
steadystate1.substack.com/p/trumps-ukr...
steadystate1.substack.com/p/trumps-ukr...
“If foreign investors, including those tied to the Kremlin, are pumping money into a crypto vehicle connected to his family and to the Trump family, while he is simultaneously shaping the outcome of the war, this is the biggest foreign policy scandal in our lifetimes.”
WTF is going on with Witkoff carrying water for Putin? Look to World Liberty Financial for clues. open.substack.com/pub/thebante...
Peace Talks For Crypto Cash?
When the people negotiating Ukraine’s future are also profiting from Trump’s crypto empire.
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:49 PM
“If foreign investors, including those tied to the Kremlin, are pumping money into a crypto vehicle connected to his family and to the Trump family, while he is simultaneously shaping the outcome of the war, this is the biggest foreign policy scandal in our lifetimes.”
Reposted by Les Guthman
Reposted by Les Guthman
Reup: MAGAts Outraged Comey Indictment Dismissed on Same "Technicality" Trump's Was!
www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/25/m...
www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/25/m...
MAGAts Outraged Comey Indictment Dismissed on Same "Technicality" Trump's Was! - emptywheel
Right wing Trump supporters are outraged that Jim Comey's indictment was dismissed based on the very same "technicality" that Trump's stolen documents indictment was.
www.emptywheel.net
November 25, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reup: MAGAts Outraged Comey Indictment Dismissed on Same "Technicality" Trump's Was!
www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/25/m...
www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/25/m...
Reposted by Les Guthman
In 1968, a soldier named Hugh Thompson defied orders to save Vietnamese lives during the My Lai massacre. Eventually seen as a hero, in real time he was vilified and nearly court-martialed
It's Congress' job to stop Trump's war crimes, not the troops. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
It's Congress' job to stop Trump's war crimes, not the troops. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
The Catch-22 around Trump’s illegal orders | Will Bunch Newsletter
Plus, Pennsylvania chooses a budget over the planet.
www.inquirer.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
In 1968, a soldier named Hugh Thompson defied orders to save Vietnamese lives during the My Lai massacre. Eventually seen as a hero, in real time he was vilified and nearly court-martialed
It's Congress' job to stop Trump's war crimes, not the troops. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
It's Congress' job to stop Trump's war crimes, not the troops. My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
Reposted by Les Guthman
America has a major nursing workforce shortage. We need hundreds of thousands more.
Is it any surprise the Trump team has decided to make it *harder* for aspiring nurses to afford nursing school?
Yet another healthcare “policy” that will harm our future.
Is it any surprise the Trump team has decided to make it *harder* for aspiring nurses to afford nursing school?
Yet another healthcare “policy” that will harm our future.
November 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
America has a major nursing workforce shortage. We need hundreds of thousands more.
Is it any surprise the Trump team has decided to make it *harder* for aspiring nurses to afford nursing school?
Yet another healthcare “policy” that will harm our future.
Is it any surprise the Trump team has decided to make it *harder* for aspiring nurses to afford nursing school?
Yet another healthcare “policy” that will harm our future.
Reposted by Les Guthman
“It looks a lot like that Russians are seeking to bribe Americans to allow Russia to win a war it would otherwise lose.”
open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Russian Unreality and American Weakness
Notes from a bizarre moment of diplomatic history
open.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
“It looks a lot like that Russians are seeking to bribe Americans to allow Russia to win a war it would otherwise lose.”
open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Reposted by Les Guthman
Geneticist and microbiologist Rita Rossi Colwell was born #OTD in 1934. She was the first researcher in the US to use computers to analyze bacteriological data, and the first woman to serve as director of the NSF. 🧪 👩🔬
November 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Geneticist and microbiologist Rita Rossi Colwell was born #OTD in 1934. She was the first researcher in the US to use computers to analyze bacteriological data, and the first woman to serve as director of the NSF. 🧪 👩🔬
Reposted by Les Guthman
Fueling the Trump administration’s anti-voting efforts are election deniers in key positions who continue to spread conspiracy theories and, even more troublingly, work to undermine the fairness of future elections.
Here are some of the most important👇
https://bit.ly/3LKeRz6
Here are some of the most important👇
https://bit.ly/3LKeRz6
Trump’s Administration Is Full of Election Deniers — They’re Already Working to Rig the Vote
Read about the fight for democracy from activists, elected officials, legal experts and others.
bit.ly
November 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Fueling the Trump administration’s anti-voting efforts are election deniers in key positions who continue to spread conspiracy theories and, even more troublingly, work to undermine the fairness of future elections.
Here are some of the most important👇
https://bit.ly/3LKeRz6
Here are some of the most important👇
https://bit.ly/3LKeRz6
Reposted by Les Guthman
X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
November 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Reposted by Les Guthman
3/ The National Security Counsel's Legal Adviser Paul Ney (who earlier served loyally as Trump 1.0 Pentagon General Counsel) "had been among the lawyers who had raised concerns about the legality of lethal strikes."
He was cast out in May.
He was cast out in May.
November 22, 2025 at 3:22 PM
3/ The National Security Counsel's Legal Adviser Paul Ney (who earlier served loyally as Trump 1.0 Pentagon General Counsel) "had been among the lawyers who had raised concerns about the legality of lethal strikes."
He was cast out in May.
He was cast out in May.
Reposted by Les Guthman
Trump’s 28-point peace plan with Russia “is misnamed,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. “It 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.”
The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War
Who will benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
bit.ly
November 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Trump’s 28-point peace plan with Russia “is misnamed,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. “It 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.”
Reposted by Les Guthman
The basic truths that escape “both sides.”
Since January 2023, the New York Times has cited Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, in 78 stories. None mentioned that Norman secretly urged the Trump White House in 2021 to declare martial law – in effect, a military-backed coup. Norman wasn’t charged, but the NYT gave him a “pardon” anyway.
My newsletter.
My newsletter.
How the media ‘pardon’ political criminals
News outlets paper over the ugly pasts of right-wing extremists
www.stopthepresses.news
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The basic truths that escape “both sides.”
Reposted by Les Guthman
November 21, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Les Guthman
My Transition Co-chair Lina Khan and First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joined Starbucks workers on the picket line today because making NYC affordable means an end to unfair labor practices and a living wage for our workers. We are their partners in the fight to live in this city with dignity.
November 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM
My Transition Co-chair Lina Khan and First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joined Starbucks workers on the picket line today because making NYC affordable means an end to unfair labor practices and a living wage for our workers. We are their partners in the fight to live in this city with dignity.
Sad but pleased to release today our homage to LIGO’s wonderful Rai Weiss, who passed away in September just shy of his 93rd birthday. It is Episode 10 of our 9-year @ligo.org YouTube video series. In our last interview, he insisted that @NSF “is the hero of LIGO.” 🧪
youtu.be/hsiyG6Y0t4M
youtu.be/hsiyG6Y0t4M
EPISODE10 - "RAI WEISS: LIGO'S HEART AND SOUL
YouTube video by Advanced LIGO Documentary Project
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Sad but pleased to release today our homage to LIGO’s wonderful Rai Weiss, who passed away in September just shy of his 93rd birthday. It is Episode 10 of our 9-year @ligo.org YouTube video series. In our last interview, he insisted that @NSF “is the hero of LIGO.” 🧪
youtu.be/hsiyG6Y0t4M
youtu.be/hsiyG6Y0t4M