Recent articles, videos and podcasts from on the ground in some of the most fragile places in the world by wonderful alum and Convisero mentor Christina Goldbaum.
Convisero mentors meet at J-Street event on Palestinian and Israeli attitudes post-October 7th
Sherman left, Kahil Shikaki (Founding Senior Fellow of Brandeis Crown Center for Middle East Studies) middle, and Convisero mentor Padraig O'Malley right
J-Street recently hosted an event on Palestinian and Israeli attitudes post-October 7th. Their values hold the belief that only a negotiated resolution agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians can meet the legitimate needs and national aspirations of both peoples.
Padraig left, Sherman middle, and Dahlia Scheindlin (fellow at Century International, based in Tel Aviv)
Working in the American political system, in the Jewish community and with others with whom J-Street shares core values, they advocate for diplomacy-first American leadership and policies that advance justice, equality, peace, and democracy in Israel, in the wider region and in the United States as well.
Convisero mentor Ted Kurland convening: Politics War Room with James Carville and Al Hunt
This live show was held on November 3, 2024. A note of acknowledgement to Convisero mentor Ted Kurland who convened this event.
Al Hunt, Dorris Kerns Goodwin, and James Carville
Political strategist James Carville and revered journalist Al Hunt convenes a war room each week to discuss the “battle for the soul of the nation!”
This episode centered on the U.S. presidential election, the significance of polling data, and the implications for democracy. The speakers reflected on the qualities of effective leadership, drawing parallels between historical figures like Lincoln and Roosevelt, and emphasized the importance of character in leadership, among other seminal topics.
Their podcast featured here includes my question which can be found on minute 1:20:31.
International Court of Justice Proceedings in The Hague by Columbia Prof. James Hansen
The International Court of Justice is hearing from scores of nations before it issues an advisory opinion on the "Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change." The key issue is whether international law requires nations to phase out production, distribution and use of fossil fuels and otherwise pay damages to the most vulnerable and hardest-hit of nations.
The other panelists are:
Eelco Rohling, Professor of Ocean and Climate Change at the Earth Sciences Department at Utrecht University.
Appy Sluijs, Professor of Paleo-oceanography at the Earth Sciences Department at Utrecht University.
Ingrid Robeyns, Professor of Ethics of Institutions at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University.
Dan Galpern, General Counsel of Climate Protection and Restoration Initiative, and my long-time legal and policy adviser. [Dan's backgrounder on the proceedings is here.]
Convisero mentor Sherif Mansour: "Investigating Gaza" at Source!
Convisero mentor Sherif Mansour hosts a panel at Source! Center for Investigative Journalism Symposium. Seen here is the link to his event.
Investigating Gaza: Given the difficulties of getting reporters into Gaza, journalists have been using remote methods – like AI and open-source technology – to find out what is going on there. Two reporters talk about the difficulties and opportunities of these methods, and the battle to uncover the truth.
Featuring: Krishna Karra and Abu Bakr Bashir
Chair: Sherif Mansour
Remembering President Jimmy Carter: National Security Archive
From Convisero mentor Tom Blanton’s National Security Archive. More can be found at the National Security Archive here.
The late President Jimmy Carter, contrary to the views of some critics, was typically focused, knowledgeable, and strong-willed on matters of foreign policy, often responding sharply to attempts by his most senior aides to bend his thinking, according to a review of the voluminous documentary record on Carter’s presidency.
A case in point is Carter’s relationship with his national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski. Every week, Brzezinski sent the president a memo intended to combine both factual reporting and personal observations on global affairs. Carter often wrote brief marginal notes on those memos in reply, which in retrospect open a window into his own thinking about the world and approaches to foreign policy.
A revealing example is Brzezinski’s April 21, 1978, “NSC Weekly Report,” an 8-page memo that immediately launches into a page-and-a-half appeal to modify and toughen administration foreign policy by doing more than just “negotiating agreements and devising formulas.” What was missing in the U.S. approach, Brzezinski wrote, was a hardnosed effort to “influence attitudes and to shape political events.” Sounding for all the world like his famously realpolitik predecessor, Henry Kissinger, Brzezinski called for a slew of other tactics, including an occasional “demonstration of force ... to infuse fear;” “saying publicly one thing and quietly negotiating something else;” “letting problems fester until they are ripe for action;” and using “black propaganda to stimulate difficulties for our proponents.” “The world,” he ended, “is just too complicated and turbulent to be handled effectively by negotiating ‘contracts’ while neglecting the need also to manipulate, to influence and to compel.”
Carter’s handwritten replies to most of these ideas are no more than a few words but they are graphic in conveying the president’s disapproval and even sarcasm regarding Brzezinski’s ideas. Next to the mention of force, he writes “Like Malaguez?” – a reference to a forcible rescue operation of a merchant ship (the Mayaguez) off Cambodia in 1975 that ended disastrously. Next to “saying publicly one thing,” he scribbles “Lying?” – an allusion to his core campaign pledge to reject the public dishonesty of the Nixon/Kissinger years and never to lie to the American people. In other places, he simply underlines the passage and puts a question mark in the margin. Finally, reacting to Brzezinski’s statement that he plans to develop some of these ideas further for the president, Carter writes: “You’ll be wasting your time.”
Wrap-up of 2024 - Best of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
Warm regards from the ISYP Advisory Board, on which I serve.
Calculated retreat of the Great Aletsch Glacier during the 21st century. (Figure modified from Jouvet and Huss, 2019). This figure is from an article featured as a 2024 Bulletin magazine highlight, "The Alps’ iconic glaciers are melting, but there’s still time to save (most of) the biggest."
Reposted from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists:
The best of the Bulletin's bimonthly magazine, 2024
By Dan Drollette Jr
Melting glaciers, demagogues, climate crises, fusion bombs, breadfruit trees, and the Greta Thunberg of AI. Each of these subjects was at the center of articles from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' bimonthly magazine in 2024, and each of those articles was among our best magazine articles of the year. Read more, and stay tuned for highlights in upcoming newsletters.
We cannot afford another lost year for food and climate action
By Emile Frisson
Last year, organizers of the annual UN climate negotiations finally got around to dealing with agriculture as a source of carbon, using the occasion to unveil a so-called "roadmap" for bringing the world's food production into line with global climate goals. But has the UN gone far enough? Read more from this highlighted 2024 magazine piece.
BEST OF 2024
Emerging experts of 2024: Fresh thinking about the military (and TikTok)
A naval research analyst. A journalist covering arts and culture. A PhD candidate in international studies. A former Navy helicopter pilot turned military professor. And a master's student in management science and engineering. These were among the emerging experts the Bulletin published in 2024.
Bulletin editor Dawn Stover collected 2024 highlights from our "Voices of Tomorrow" section. Selections are below, and check out the article for more on killer robots and nuclear petting zoos.
Who needs a government ban? TikTok users are already defending themselves
By Hali Mecklin
TikTok will be banned in the United States as of January 19th, unless its Chinese owner sells the platform to an American company—or the Supreme Court (which will hear oral arguments on the case on the 10th) rules that the ban passed by Congress violates the First Amendment. Most users aren't worried about the alleged national security threat, but some are quitting TikTok for a different reason. Read more.
Escalating to de-escalate with nuclear weapons: Research shows it's a particularly bad idea
By Daniel R. Post
Many strategists believe that escalating a conflict—by threatening the "limited" use of nuclear weapons, for example—may be an effective way to compel an adversary to back off. The author's research, however, strongly suggests that escalating a nuclear conflict is much more likely to provoke an adversary into continued resistance and possibly counter-escalation. Read more.
By sending nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom, could the United States be fueling nuclear proliferation?
By Janani Mohan
An air base in the United Kingdom is being upgraded with the expectation that the United States may station nuclear weapons there for the first time in 15 years, as a response to the growing instability caused by Russia's war on Ukraine. Stationing can address near-term security concerns, but expansion of this practice runs the risk of increased proliferation. Read more.
How many people were killed by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Video by Erik English
One of our foremost multimedia publications of the year, the Bulletin released a video based on Alex Wellerstein's research, first published in "Counting the Dead at Hiroshima and Nagasaki." The video features footage of Hiroshima prior to the bombing, generously provided by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and highlights the difficulty of quantifying the devastating human toll of nuclear weapons. Watch now.
Convisero mentor Izzeldin Abuelaish’s interview with The Guardian: "I refuse to hate"
Palestinian doctor and five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Izzeldin Abuelaish, has experienced immense personal tragedy. In January 2009, an Israeli tank shell hit his home killing his three daughters and one of his nieces and in October this year, 22 members of his extended family were killed in Jabaliya refugee camp by an Israeli airstrike. Dr. Abuelaish speaks to the Guardian about how his personal loss has made him determined to push for peace.
Oleander Initiative in Japan - Directed by Convisero mentor Ray Matsumiya
Convisero mentor Ray Matsumiya is leading the Oleander Initiative as its Director. Below is a summary of the program’s description:
Program Summary
Ray Matsumiya
2024 Oleander Initiative Participants, from Canada, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States
Months after the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, a small patch of red oleander flowers bloomed out of the irradiated rubble. Since then, red oleander has symbolized both the dangers of nuclear war and the hope of a more peaceful future. In a similar spirit, the Oleander Initiative leverages the “power of place” of the city of Hiroshima – the first city to be devastated by nuclear weapons – to harness the power of education to promote more peaceful societies.
The Oleander Initiative gathers educators from communities around the world to work together and transform the lessons of Hiroshima into relevant and impactful peace education activities for their students. The Oleander Initiative generates deep awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons and equips participants with intellectual tools for conflict resolution and mutual understanding.
Program Description
During early August in 2016 and 2017, educators from the Middle East, North Africa, Japan and the US gathered together during the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, today a vibrant metropolis known as the City of Peace. During the program, Oleander educators developed lesson plans for their students informed by interactions with atomic bomb survivors, schoolteachers from the city of Hiroshima, and from experts on the humanitarian impact of nuclear war. These lesson plans — fine-tuned and co-developed with Oleander staff and fellow participants during the program — have a concrete and tangible impact on their students and communities. They raise consciousness about the catastrophic global impacts of nuclear war and inspire our next generation to work locally to promote peaceful societies.
Program Activities
Instruction from top academics in the fields of peace education and nuclear weapons issues
Testimonials from hibakusha atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 6thatomic bombing memorial ceremony hosted by the city of Hiroshima
Educational collaborations with teachers and students from Hiroshima
Attendance at the World Conference against A & H bombs, the oldest and largest of its type
Personalized guidance to assist development of educational activities best suited for Oleander educators’ local contexts
Visits to Miyajima and Hiroshima Castle
Cultural Activities including Kagura performance, tea ceremony, and calligraphy
Three day visit to Nagasaki
Two day orientation activities in Tokyo