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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson

@jastucaz.bsky.social
5.8K followers 1K following 4.8K posts

Former U.S. Ambassador, retired career Foreign Service officer, still writing that long-delayed biography of Tudor humanist Mildred Cooke Cecil. Not as diplomatic as I once was.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Donald Trump is using the U.S. treasury and our tax dollars like it’s his personal piggy bank. And just like he squandered hundreds of millions given to him by dear old dad, he’s squandering our money now.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Landing in lovely London. Looking forward to Saturday’s study day at Christ Church Library on women and their books in early modern England and Scotland Mildred Cecil’s book donations to Oxford will be on show, among other intriguing things. (H/t to @susanwabuda.bsky.social for heads up on event!)
Sunny view of the Thames and Tower Bridge from plane landing at Heathrow. Tower of London can be glimpsed in the distance.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Truth.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
True diplomats know when to shut the fuck up. Poseurs don’t.
theguardian.com
Rubio says foreign actor was ‘clearly’ behind suspected RAF Fairford plot
US secretary of state, who offered no evidence for claims, also says many people ‘disturbed’ that five suspects released on bail
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Ambassador Luis G. Moreno (ret) @ambassadormoreno.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Supreme Court authorizing deportations to third countries in Africa is a sanctioning of cruel and unusual punishment. What are we becoming?
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
One day medical professionals and others will surely write learned papers on why these boys in DC all stand around talking about “super” this and that. I have my own views.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Taylor McKinnon @publiccarbon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Now: A Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit today targets approval of mining in the Patagonia Mountains, including habitat for jaguar, ocelot, Mexican spotted owl, western yellow-billed cuckoo, and four other threatened and endangered plants and animals. Read more: tinyurl.com/y73ya44b
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
JFC. Proof yet again not only are these guys fucking amateurs but they’re also full blown fools. At best. 
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“The State Department’s job was never really about diplomats. It was about you – markets that stay open, wars that get prevented, diseases contained before they reach us, Americans overseas who get help in trouble.” Important piece by my colleague Marc Ostfield @thesteadystate.org #holdfast
steadystate1.substack.com
We Built It for 80 Years. We’re Dismantling It in Months.
Diplomatic power took generations to build. The damage being done now could take generations to repair.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Don’t you love farce? Sondheim rules.
nine.com.au
Denmark denies making awkward song choice just before Trump entered room
As Marco Rubio entered the room, ‘Send in the Clowns’ began to play.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Wendell Albright @wendella.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
used to be you could be charged with crimes for looking at people's passport data without passport-related work duties
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Not good.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The administration is again breaking its international obligations under UN Headquarters Agreement (1949) regarding travel for UN business. Congress approved HQ agreement by joint resolution. Seems to me that true congressional oversight of the executive branch should trigger Hill hearings. 
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“[A]n aircraft using a deregistered aircraft registration flying along the state’s southern border, occasionally doing loops around border towns like San Luis and Nogales.” Secret surveillance drones on a peaceful border? 70 miles from my house? These bozos in Washington really have lost the plot.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 24/09/2026
Interesting. The Phillipines pivoted to the US, away from China, and now, under Trump, are beginning to regret it www.worldpoliticsreview.com/philippines-...
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Philippines Chose to Align with the U.S. Now It Regrets It
Despite Manila’s efforts, it is increasingly evident that Washington cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Traditionally, American presidents don’t do airport meet-and-greets with their visiting counterparts. Like never, at least in my experience of staffing official and state visits in DC over the years. This will be taken by Xi and everyone else as a sign of weakness. Good move, Donnie.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Jason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
8 Sailors in U.S.S. Lincoln Strike Group Attempted Suicide, Navy Says. The aircraft carrier with its crew of about 5,000 sailors has spent more than 300 days at sea. Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter... described the eight suicide attempts as a “disturbingly high number indicating a serious stress level”
nytimes.com
8 Sailors in U.S.S. Lincoln Strike Group Attempted Suicide, Navy Says
The aircraft carrier with its crew of about 5,000 sailors has spent more than 300 days at sea.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Spitballing Diplomacy open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com
Spitballing Diplomacy
A cartoon by Michael de Adder
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hurting the president’s feelings isn’t a national security threat Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The language of annihilating an entire state and its people should never be accepted as "the language of war". Ever.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nobody believes his bullshit.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Tahar 🇺🇦 🇵🇸 🇺🇳 🇪🇺 @rochaa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I watched Trump’s speech at the UNAG in a cafe in a MENA country, and the reaction of the people was something. When Trump said he’d annihilate Iran, the café erupted into a loud laughter. It was hilarious! They called Trump “mahbool” & “majnoon”—the insane. We are officially a laughingstock
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Delusional. And so goddamn embarrassing.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Raw Story @rawstory.com · 21/09/2026
Employees inside the State Department office overseeing President Trump's mass expulsion of migrants to third countries have grown so disturbed by the program that they are privately attaching trigger warnings to reports so colleagues can brace themselves before reading.
bit.ly
Disturbed staffers add trigger warnings to reports on what their own State Dept is doing
Employees inside the State Department office overseeing President Donald Trump's mass expulsion of migrants to third countries have grown so disturbed by the program that they are privately sharing news accounts of its human toll — attaching trigger warnings so colleagues can brace themselves before...
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A friend sent me this little gem but neither one of us can trace the creator. Would love to give credit where credit is due!
Presidents on Mount Rushmore watching a slumbering, slack-jawed Trump snoring and laughing about it.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The great Washington Post suck up strategy in full view. All those DOGE boys should be in jail. Without pizza.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The tragedy has been so knowable. This from seven years ago — and we’re still paying for so many Americans letting it happen.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
The Last Mile with USAID @thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com · 21/09/2026
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Blessed silence.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
To all the folks posting here today about the discovery of a new species of cat— you are my people! Now, humans, let’s not screw this up.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Dr. Jack Brown @drjackbrown.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Hello, Leopardus tilcayo. We are human. Most of us want to become much better stewards of our shared planet. May we live up to this responsibility – and leave you alone.
reuters.com
New cat species identified in Bolivia, first in over a century
A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia's cloud forest has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living cat species has been formally named and described ​i...
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Michael Fletcher @mefletcher54.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you thought their goal was freedom for the Cuban people, I regret to inform you that you were misinformed. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump and Rubio allies are vying for control of Cuba’s assets if regime falls
Washington and Florida insiders are exploring lucrative deals for a post-communist Cuba crushed by ever-increasing US sanctions
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The same DOGE boys who wrecked such havoc on the U.S. government at the start of this administration, including destroying USAID. God knows what they stole at that time. They should be in jail.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Everything this administration does… To a Binational Tribe, Trump’s Border Wall Feels Like Betrayal www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
nytimes.com
To a Binational Tribe, Trump’s Border Wall Feels Like Betrayal (Gift Article)
An escalating confrontation on Native land southwest of Tucson threatens to upend decades of uneasy cooperation between the Tohono O’odham Nation and the United States.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Joshua Foust 🪖🎮 @joshuafoust.com · 16/09/2026
This is basically USAID’s entire annual budget (with some wiggle room and depending on the year). Just a quick reminder that this administration and it’s centi-billionaire sponsor sentenced millions of people to die for absolutely no financial reason, just stupidity and malice.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
The Steady State @thesteadystate.org · 16/09/2026
The Steady State joined 32 civil-rights, women’s-rights, and veterans’ organizations calling on Secretary Pete Hegseth to address reported interference in military promotions and comply with congressional oversight. Read more here: zurl.co/r4UsZ
zurl.co
NAACP, NWLC and 31 Organizations Raise Deep Concerns About Sec. Hegseth's Reported Interference in Promotions of African Americans and Women Serving in Our Nation’s Armed Forces - National Women's Law Center
NAACP, NWLC and 31 organizations raise deep concerns about Sec. Hegseth's reported interference in the promotions of African Americans and women serving in our nation’s armed forces
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
VoteVets @votevets.org · 16/09/2026
Women have been meeting the standard since day one, that's more than we can say about Pete Hegseth.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
In Otter News @in-otter-news.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I'm packing now....
Short description: A photograph of Steve the otter peering through an aquarium window and extending his paw through a circular opening to shake a visitor’s finger.  
Text in image: “There is an aquarium where you can shake hands with otters.”
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
When the public finally learns the full accounting of the damage done in this war, it’ll probably be too late to hold anyone in the Trump administration accountable. But this is insane. And they’re lying to the American people.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Coward.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Trump's assault on the Kennedy Center is exactly as if he tried to add his name to the Washington Monument or the Jefferson or Lincoln Memorials or any gravestone at Arlington. Our worst president--in the running to be seen as the worst American ever--is trying to steal the glory of our heroes.
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“What makes a credible intelligence chief is not whether he agrees with the president. It is how he acts when the intelligence does not.” By every metric, Ratcliffe has failed.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Good thing there’s no US munitions shortage
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Truth.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Old enough to remember when flight to safety was to US....
nytimes.com
Carney Pitches Canada as a Haven of Investment Stability in a Chaotic World
The prime minister brought together about 100 money managers in Toronto to promote Canada as the ideal place for their investments.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Wendell Albright @wendella.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"Should we be in NATO?" she asks. "We show up, others don't." Lady, the only time Article 5 (the mutual defense clause) has been invoked was in defense of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; our European and Canadian allies supported us So, yeah, go to hell (or Moscow) all of you anti-NATO fuckheads.
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Molly McKew @mollymckew.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Russia steals Ukrainian children — and the people benefiting from it are funding the personal whims of the US president’s family. How are any of these people in charge of the nation, let alone “negotiating” with interested parties
Former high-level IBA officials said that Kremlev had a clear political agenda.
"Umar is guided by Putin. It was using the sport for soft political power," a former IBA board member told ProPublica. "It's geopolitics. That it's boxing is just happenstance." Kremlev, 43, is also heavily involved in an organization called Healthy Fatherland, run by his 23-year-old wife's twin sister. The group - which promotes healthy eating and youth sports
— is under Ukrainian sanctions for its alleged role in a program of abducting Ukrainian children from occupied territories and relocating them under the guise of "rehabilitation." (Healthy
Fatherland did not respond to a request for comment.)
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Reposted by Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson
Jim Goldgeier @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
When I was a kid in the 1970s, air quality in many places was just terrible. Look at photos from that time of cities like New York and LA. All the smog jokes Johnny Carson made on a regular basis on The Tonight Show. We should not be going back to that. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
EPA plans to scrap Biden-era rules that limit power-plant climate emissions
Agency chief Lee Zeldin had planned the repeal as part a slew of proposals he called “the largest deregulatory announcement in U.S. history.”
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Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson @jastucaz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
You have to wonder what the Saudis-now beset on both sides in the Gulf and Red Sea-are thinking about those hefty investments in Trump World now.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Exceptional journalism from @newyorker.com on Jared Kushner's catastrophic diplomacy, conflicts of interest, arrogance. He represents "a new kind of Washington figure, for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Jared Kushner’s Dollar Diplomacy
Jared Kushner represents the kind of Washington figure for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth.
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