John Carl Baker
@johncarlbaker.bsky.social
nuclear weapons, foreign policy, Korea, the left - occasional antiquity and cocktail posts
Words: Nation, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NK News, US Institute of Peace, Jacobin, New Republic, elsewhere
seniores tollunt omnia
Words: Nation, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NK News, US Institute of Peace, Jacobin, New Republic, elsewhere
seniores tollunt omnia
Pinned
Sen. Charles Sumner attacking the whole notion of white supremacy in 1866
Interesting note in Hartung and Freeman’s The Trillion Dollar War Machine: Eisenhower, who coined the term “military-industrial complex,” was particularly bothered by contractor advertising.
November 17, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Interesting note in Hartung and Freeman’s The Trillion Dollar War Machine: Eisenhower, who coined the term “military-industrial complex,” was particularly bothered by contractor advertising.
Reposted by John Carl Baker
From our recent @crisisgroup.org statement on the risks of regime change in Venezuela.
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
November 16, 2025 at 10:55 PM
From our recent @crisisgroup.org statement on the risks of regime change in Venezuela.
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
“There is no such thing, so Maduro can hardly be its boss," Phil Gunson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles."
Listen to my colleague Phil.
Listen to my colleague Phil.
November 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
“There is no such thing, so Maduro can hardly be its boss," Phil Gunson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles."
Listen to my colleague Phil.
Listen to my colleague Phil.
Appreciated this @cgmaisano.bsky.social review of two recent books grappling with the relationship between liberalism and socialism dissentmagazine.org/article/coal...
Coalition Socialism - Dissent Magazine
The intertwined relationship between liberalism and socialism offers important lessons for today’s fractious intra-left fights.
dissentmagazine.org
November 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Appreciated this @cgmaisano.bsky.social review of two recent books grappling with the relationship between liberalism and socialism dissentmagazine.org/article/coal...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Roughly a fifth of all deployed US naval ships are in the Caribbean, according to Stars & Stripes and USNI News
November 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Roughly a fifth of all deployed US naval ships are in the Caribbean, according to Stars & Stripes and USNI News
Today in “isolationism”
A few days ago the Department of Defense said that the USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group entered the U.S. Southern Command region. Today the ships, including destroyers and several fighter squadrons, officially entered the Caribbean. www.dvidshub.net/news/551190/...
Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Enters Caribbean Sea
The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), transited the Anegada Passage and entered the Caribbean Sea, Nov. 16.
www.dvidshub.net
November 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Today in “isolationism”
It is undoubtedly true that proletarianization is a major driver of professional-managerial class radicalism but another one is that many PMC members look at our ruling class, see a bunch of incompetent buffoons, and think “I could do better than that.”
November 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
It is undoubtedly true that proletarianization is a major driver of professional-managerial class radicalism but another one is that many PMC members look at our ruling class, see a bunch of incompetent buffoons, and think “I could do better than that.”
“In 2022…there were 46 distinct conflicts across the globe, and in 34 of those conflicts, one or more parties to the war possessed weapons supplied by the United States, meaning that sometimes US weapons were being fired on both sides of a conflict.” - from Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman’s new book
November 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
“In 2022…there were 46 distinct conflicts across the globe, and in 34 of those conflicts, one or more parties to the war possessed weapons supplied by the United States, meaning that sometimes US weapons were being fired on both sides of a conflict.” - from Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman’s new book
So he did mean explosive nuclear weapons tests www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/p...
Exclusive: Department of Energy officials to meet with White House to tamp down Trump’s idea of explosive nuclear testing | CNN Politics
Top energy and nuclear officials in the Trump administration are planning to meet with the White House and National Security Council in the coming days to dissuade President Donald Trump from resuming...
www.cnn.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
So he did mean explosive nuclear weapons tests www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/p...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
He said he had a bit of a Nazi streak and the president then offered him a different job
Trump taps Ingrassia for new role after texting scandal
Trump taps Ingrassia for new role after texting scandal
Paul Ingrassia, who withdrew his nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel last month, says in a farewell email that he’s moving to the GSA.
dlvr.it
November 13, 2025 at 11:54 PM
He said he had a bit of a Nazi streak and the president then offered him a different job
Pretty funny that the Trump regime is revitalizing the religious left
Buried in here: UMC pastors in Chicago told me they were going to keep doing this for a wide spectrum of Methodists who have legal battles amid the ongoing mass deportation effort in the city — immigrant families, pastors who have been arrested, etc.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
NEW: So, the courtroom at the "Broadview 6" arraignment in Chicago yesterday featured lotsa Methodist pastors.
Why? They were supporters of defendant/fellow Methodist Brian Straw.
"If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,” one pastor said. religionnews.com/2025/11/13/m...
Why? They were supporters of defendant/fellow Methodist Brian Straw.
"If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,” one pastor said. religionnews.com/2025/11/13/m...
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Pretty funny that the Trump regime is revitalizing the religious left
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Buried in here: UMC pastors in Chicago told me they were going to keep doing this for a wide spectrum of Methodists who have legal battles amid the ongoing mass deportation effort in the city — immigrant families, pastors who have been arrested, etc.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
NEW: So, the courtroom at the "Broadview 6" arraignment in Chicago yesterday featured lotsa Methodist pastors.
Why? They were supporters of defendant/fellow Methodist Brian Straw.
"If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,” one pastor said. religionnews.com/2025/11/13/m...
Why? They were supporters of defendant/fellow Methodist Brian Straw.
"If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,” one pastor said. religionnews.com/2025/11/13/m...
Methodist pastors march into courtroom with 'boring suburban dad' indicted for protesting
CHICAGO (RNS) — ‘If you come for one United Methodist, you have come for all of us,’ said a Chicago area UMC pastor.
religionnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Buried in here: UMC pastors in Chicago told me they were going to keep doing this for a wide spectrum of Methodists who have legal battles amid the ongoing mass deportation effort in the city — immigrant families, pastors who have been arrested, etc.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
Some serious denominational solidarity here.
Today in "isolationism" www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-v...
Top officials present Trump with military options for Venezuela in the coming days
The potential operations for Venezuela presented to Trump included options for strikes on land, multiple sources said.
www.cbsnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Today in "isolationism" www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-v...
I know you like propaganda so I put some propaganda on your propaganda en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
N. Korea's press committee signs media cooperation agreement with Russia | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's committee for press affairs has signed a med...
en.yna.co.kr
November 13, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I know you like propaganda so I put some propaganda on your propaganda en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
Next year is the 20th anniversary of the first North Korean nuclear test and the G7 is out here acting like total disarmament is a real near-term possibility en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
G7 top diplomats reaffirm commitment to 'complete' denuclearization of N. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
By Song Sang-ho WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of the Group of Seven ...
en.yna.co.kr
November 13, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Next year is the 20th anniversary of the first North Korean nuclear test and the G7 is out here acting like total disarmament is a real near-term possibility en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2025...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED apnews.com/article/iran...
UN watchdog hasn't been able to verify Iran's stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium in months
The International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to verify Iran's near weapons-grade uranium stockpile since Israel struck its nuclear sites in June.
apnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED apnews.com/article/iran...
Uh huh - and how's that going? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/w...
November 13, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Uh huh - and how's that going? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/w...
Takaichi's "past comments and refusal to commit to the pledge upheld by Japanese administrations since 1967 has raised the possibility she may seek to revise the third principle, which prohibits nuclear weapons entering Japan's territory." www.reuters.com/world/china/...
www.reuters.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Takaichi's "past comments and refusal to commit to the pledge upheld by Japanese administrations since 1967 has raised the possibility she may seek to revise the third principle, which prohibits nuclear weapons entering Japan's territory." www.reuters.com/world/china/...
Reposted by John Carl Baker
State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war from foreign relations publication - records that are still available in public. Trump fired independent committee tasked to oversee the records and seeks to replace it with loyalists. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Regan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war from foreign relations publication - records that are still available in public. Trump fired independent committee tasked to oversee the records and seeks to replace it with loyalists. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
it’s almost like the ruling class is unfit to rule
November 13, 2025 at 3:59 PM
it’s almost like the ruling class is unfit to rule
Reposted by John Carl Baker
…For wealth has a strange power to get to places sacred and profane, and to places from which a poor man, even if he effects an entry, could not get what he desires. For wealth makes an ugly person beautiful to look on and an incoherent speech eloquent.” Or incoherent emails, it would seem.
November 13, 2025 at 3:56 PM
…For wealth has a strange power to get to places sacred and profane, and to places from which a poor man, even if he effects an entry, could not get what he desires. For wealth makes an ugly person beautiful to look on and an incoherent speech eloquent.” Or incoherent emails, it would seem.
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Sophocles (fragment from The Sons of Aleus): “It is money that finds friends for men, and also honours, and finally the throne sublime of royalty, nearest to the gods. And no one is an enemy to money, or if they are, men deny their hatred of it…
November 13, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Sophocles (fragment from The Sons of Aleus): “It is money that finds friends for men, and also honours, and finally the throne sublime of royalty, nearest to the gods. And no one is an enemy to money, or if they are, men deny their hatred of it…
Reposted by John Carl Baker
Want to hear the bottom-line on why Golden Dome - & all long-range missile defenses - might _sound_ good but in reality are technically unrealistic, wildly expensive, and deeply destabilizing? My super smart @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social has all that & more in this Burn Bag podcast.
The Nuclear Threshold: Will Missile Defense Systems Really Save Us? featuring Dr. Laura Grego - The Burn Bag Podcast
The Nuclear Threshold is a three-part Burn Bag mini-series exploring how deterrence, defense, and diplomacy shape nuclear risk in the 21st century. Across three conversations with leading experts, we ...
burnbag.buzzsprout.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Want to hear the bottom-line on why Golden Dome - & all long-range missile defenses - might _sound_ good but in reality are technically unrealistic, wildly expensive, and deeply destabilizing? My super smart @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social has all that & more in this Burn Bag podcast.
incredible breakingdefense.com/2025/11/guam...
November 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
incredible breakingdefense.com/2025/11/guam...
Russia says they still haven't gotten clarity from the Trump administration about potential nuclear testing. They reiterated that if others test, they will too. www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...
If Trump resumes testing of nuclear weapons, Russia says it's going to do it too
Russian officials say they are waiting for an explanation from President Donald Trump about nuclear testing. He hasn't given one.
www.usatoday.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Russia says they still haven't gotten clarity from the Trump administration about potential nuclear testing. They reiterated that if others test, they will too. www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...