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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 2h

The incompetence and malice of agreeing to buy Russian diesel, demanding that Ukraine stop refinery attacks while Russia rains missiles on Ukraine’s energy sites, and then announcing an energy ceasefire that neither side had actually agreed to is just stunning. Can we survive 2 more years of this?

nytimes.com

After Russian Diesel Deal, Trump Faces New Crisis Over Ukraine (Gift Article)

President Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel stunned Ukrainian and European officials, who were meeting with U.S. envoys at an exclusive golf club near Miami.

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Kate McNamara @katemcnamara.bsky.social · 4h

Apply to the Institute for Advanced Study's School of Social Science (below) to experience the luxury of time & the richness of amazing conversations with brilliant colleagues. So lucky to be here this year!

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Stephen Gutknecht @roundsparrow.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

UK PM won't admit this "Foreign politicians talk about Russia's interference in elections and referendums around the world. In fact, the matter is even more serious: Russia interferes in your brains, we change your conscience, and there is nothing you can do about it."

newsweek.com

Russia Meddles With Your Brain, Putin Adviser Says

Election interference is not the main thing Americans should be worried about, said an adviser to the Russian president.

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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Immediately after Ukraine took out two of the five data centers run by the Russian tech giant Yandex, pro-Trump and pro-MAGA posts on American social media sites plummeted. The same happened to posts boosting Germany's far-right AfD. Russia is engaged in MASSIVE election interference.

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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Trump is telling Americans that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities is the reason diesel prices are high. THAT IS A LIE. Ukraine's attacks had no perceptible impact on diesel prices; Trump's Iran war is the cause of the spike. Here's the data, straight from the Trump Administration itself.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 10/10/2026

One day after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals came out against the Pentagon’s plan to livestream an execution, Pope Leo has published a tweet reiterating the Catholic Church’s opposition to the death penalty.

Pope Leo XIV • @Pontifex• •4h
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The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment: effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It's getting less attention bc it was a long time ago, but Navi Pillay was also an absolute trailblazer in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa, winning a ruling that brought those incarcerated on Robben Island, including Mandela, the right to counsel. She knows apartheid when she sees it.

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Vali Nasr @valinasr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

In our new piece in Foreign Affairs Narges Bajoghli and I discuss Iran’s theory of victory, why Tehrans calculations are different from common conceptions in the West www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/irans-t...

foreignaffairs.com

Iran’s Theory of Victory

Tehran’s fight for great-power status in the post-American Middle East.

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Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Out of touch with the American public: As the US imposes sanctions on the ICC, Americans across the partisan divide strongly want the US to defend human rights globally and say the best way to do so is through international organizations, such as the UN!

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Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

NEW: President Trump announced an agreement with Vladimir Putin on Oct 9 to waive sanctions on Russian diesel to increase diesel supply to the US and global markets — a decision which will fund Russia’s war effort and protract Russia’s war in Ukraine.🧵(1/) Read more: isw.pub/UkrWar100926

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

On the Massachusetts man who was sending tiny bits of plutonium through the mail, the release about his indictment, and the affidavit in support of pre-trial detention, make entertaining reading. Child porn, guns, bombs, toxic chemicals, radioactive material -- he was into it all.

justice.gov

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Sigh. The Trump administration is STILL continuing its foolish, destructive, and illegal campaign to try to bar Harvard from admitting international students. Removing the insights and experiences foreign students bring would worsen the education for American students.

bostonglobe.com

Trump administration continues to try to ban international students from attending Harvard - The Boston Globe

Last year, President Trump attempted to invoke national security powers to ban students from obtaining visas to study at Harvard.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A sad and sober day -- remembering all those killed and attacked amid the horrors of October 7 three years ago, and all the horrors that have occurred since. We must somehow find a path to a world where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and freedom.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My colleague Juliette Kayyem in The Atlantic: "surely the job of addressing the perils of AI shouldn’t be left to executives who stand to earn billions from the technology." She argues that a deadly AI-triggered event should lead to civil and criminal liability. @juliettekayyem.bsky.social

theatlantic.com

Destroying Humanity Is Against the Law

Don’t wait for a mass-extinction event before holding AI developers accountable.

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Active Measures, LLC @activemeasures.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Happy birthday to Putin and the 10th anniversary to the day ODNI/DHS released a statement about Russian election interference at 3pm EDT, WaPo published the Access Hollywood tape at 4pm or so, and WikiLeaks began dumping the Podesta emails around 7pm* www.yahoo.com/news/64-hour...

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FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Troy Jackson: Eight years ago today, Maine women begged Susan Collins not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. She did it anyway. He helped overturn Roe v. Wade. And today, she says she has no regrets. Would you trust her to pick the next Supreme Court justice?

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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Dear Mainers, I'm reposting this as the election nears. #SusanCollins #Maine

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

You can’t make this stuff up—guy convicted on weapons and child porn charges then started selling tiny amounts of plutonium from Soviet era smoke detectors and selling it through the mail. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/u...

nytimes.com

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Plutonium From Russia (Gift Article)

The man, Jacob Miller, 44, had sold the material to dozens of customers through a business he operated from his home, prosecutors alleged.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Of course, the other reason not to rely on corporate self-regulation is that our society's future shouldn't ONLY be decided by the tech bros in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In a democracy, a much broader set of voices need to be heard.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The first episode of Face Off: Nuclear Anarchy? has dropped! Check out Jane Perlez talking to the NYT's David Sanger on the new nuclear age we're all facing -- and then discussing the issues with me. Follow us! Leave us a review, and tell us what you think! @sangernyt.bsky.social; @nytimes.com

podcasts.apple.com

The New Nuclear Age

Podcast Episode · Face-Off · S4 E1 · 54m

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Council on Strategic Risks @councilonstrategicrisks.org · 05/10/2026

📢 Applications are now open for the Second Cohort of the #AI and National Security Convergence Fellowship. This Fellowship is open to mid-career AI and natsec experts and has four major components: a bootcamp, a staff ride, exercises, and networking opportunities. ➡️ Learn more and apply today:

councilonstrategicrisks.org

Applications Open: AI and National Security Convergence Fellowship 2026-2027 - The Council on Strategic Risks

Applications are now open for the second cohort of the AI and National Security Convergence Fellowship. Applications are due by 5 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, October 20, 2026.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

First episode drops tomorrow! Full episode list is here: www.belfercenter.org/face-nuclear...

belfercenter.org

Face Off: Nuclear Anarchy?

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Moreover, the companies have a concentrated interest in making profit, while society's interest is broader and more diffuse. They get a disproportionate share of benefit and too little of the risk. All this is literally the 1st day of any reasonable class on risk regulation.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

This is WHY there's regulation of air safety, vehicle safety, nuclear safety, etc. etc. etc. If society could safely rely on companies' own incentives, there'd be no need for those regs. Many smart people are dumb about some things; is Huang dumb about this, or does he think we are?

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Nvidia CEO Huang misses the most basic point about why we can't rely on AI companies self-regulating: their incentives are DIFFERENT from those of broader society. For them, the worst that can happen is they go bankrupt. For society, the worst that can happen is FAR more catastrophic.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Jensen Huang Thinks A.I. Alarmism Has Gone Too Far

Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, does not want you to be afraid of A.I.

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Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Without a deal, Iran is more likely to lash out than to surrender; it retains plenty of missiles and drones it could use to target oil facilities and ships across the region. Indeed, in recent days, Iran has stepped up attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. bit.ly/4j5qcbI

bit.ly

More Oil, Same War: Why Increased Exports Aren’t a Sign of Iran’s Collapse | Council on Foreign Relations

Oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded, fueling claims that the United States is winning its war with Iran. But the Strait of Hormuz remains treacherous, Tehran isn’t any closer to accepting ...

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PolitiFact @politifact.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

President Donald Trump said multiple times in March that the war in Iran would last four to six weeks. He did not distinguish between a timeline to get rid of the nuclear threat and the overall war. His rewrite is False. buff.ly/5lSQsEx

buff.ly

Trump rewrites Iran war timeline, blames press

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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The last line of this piece makes a key point and should raise more questions about this unusual move: "An Iran-backed plot to commit an attack in Britain would be a major escalation by Tehran against a Western country in apparent retaliation for the American-and Israeli-led war against Iran."

nytimes.com

U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats

The withdrawal came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

To think that there is nothing to be learned and innovated on from the safety practices of other industries is lunacy. AI tools are power. They are not magical or exempt from safety practices that work for other complex systems. Governing AI requires disenchantment; break the spell.

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. If they want to direct more money to quantum and AI, they should propose that and have Congress debate it.

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François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

AI doesn’t need rogue "superintelligence" or evil intent to start a nuclear war. In @thebulletin.org, Paul Slovic & Herbert Lin show how today’s AI—combined with ordinary human fallibility—could trigger catastrophe. 🧵

A large blue robotic hand points towards a person seated at a desk in a grand, ornate room with yellow lighting. (Illustration by François Diaz-Maurin; source images from The White House and canva.com)

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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The fact that volunteers are finding key actions of AI agents that were otherwise undetected reveals the total inadequacy of the safety and monitoring approaches at the leading companies. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

washingtonpost.com

The volunteer internet sleuths hunting down rogue AI agents

An informal network of hackers and researchers is exposing new details about misbehaving AI that meddled with corporate and government websites.

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Jon B. Wolfsthal @jonatomic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

thanks to @davekearnjr.bsky.social for his insightful piece proposing alternatives to the use of nuclear weapons for the defense of Taiwan. He is right that the logic of those calling for US enhanced reliance on NSNW is debatable and that US has options. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/H6RJT...

tandfonline.com

Limited nuclear war and the defense of Taiwan

This article assesses proposals to address the challenge of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan with the threat of first use of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States. While it is not clear that a ...

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AliVaez.bsky.social @alivaez.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Seven months in, Iran & the U.S. each believe they have tools to make the other blink, fortitude to wait the other out, and disinclination to make concessions the other seeks. My latest for @ForeignAffairs 👇 tinyurl.com/4vudctak

tinyurl.com

The New Forever War

Why America and Iran fight on without victory.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The 2020 election has been relentlessly studied by our most experienced experts and by our most craven partisan hacks for 6y now, and every examination has wound up demonstrating the integrity of Biden’s victory in that election and the malignity of Trump’s obsession with undermining it.

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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Privacy Center at Georgetown Law and Tech Policy Press are launching "The Edge Dialogues" on Oct. 22, featuring special guest Dr. Alondra Nelson. No "AI governance" buzzwords. Just urgent conversations about power, labor, war, justice, privacy, art, community and human consciousness. Join us!

luma.com

Save the Date: The Edge Dialogues · Zoom · Luma

This is not your normal tech policy conversation. The Privacy Center at Georgetown Law and Tech Policy Press are launching "The Edge Dialogues" on October…

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John Garrison Marks @johngmarks.com · 01/10/2026

To lose visitors in the year you HOST THE WORLD CUP and celebrate a big anniversary is truly incredible.

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European Policy Institute in Kyiv (EPIK) @epik-ukraine.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In 1991, Ukraine inherited the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal from the collapsed Soviet Union. By 1996, that arsenal was gone. In exchange, Ukraine received not security guarantees, but "assurances" from the US, UK, and Russia — a distinction that would prove consequential.

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 01/10/2026

Lawmakers must investigate recent incidents of AI agents going rogue. Here are questions to ask AI companies about what they can control and what they failed to do: bit.ly/4xLckHb

brennancenter.org

How Congress Should Investigate Threat from Rogue AI Agents

The government must evaluate systemic failures with an eye toward establishing meaningful regulation.

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Jon B. Wolfsthal @jonatomic.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I support strong, government centric regulation of frontier labs in close cooperation with the labs and with strong international work to share info and report incidents and normalize strong model containment. But saying “and verification” with no explanation of how is silly.

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