This is a clown-car government elected on a seriousness ticket iandunt.substack.com/p/a-clown-go...

This is very good indeed on how Mahmood talks about race. To suggest that immigration policy and racism are linked "reflects this government’s biggest failing, which is that it is essentially incapable of saying that racism is wrong, full stop".

Alf Dubs is a 92 year old man who spent his life fighting for refugees, and in particular for refugee children. He fought the Tories tooth and nail during their last three terms, only to see Labour adopt far-right policies on immigration. “But to use children as a weapon ... I’m lost for words.”

🇰🇭 VERTIC is at the NACW of Cambodia for a 3-day workshop to assist with the drafting of biosecurity legal measures to further implement the BWC in the national system of Cambodia. We are looking forward to working with participants over the next three days! Thank you to @norad.no for their support!

Good to see some Labour MPs speaking out about today's announcement. I've already written to my own MP @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social and hope he will join the ranks of those doing the right thing.

Confiscating jewellery from survivors of a war zone makes you look like a fucking Nazi. And the obscene thing is, that is the intention. It's there to look appropriately harsh. Indecent. Filthy. A moral stain. And no-one of good character would have ever proposed such a thing in the first place.

The breadth of "You have no idea what crazy shit we've tried and shelved decades ago, youngling. Your stupid idea is both stupid and not new. Better people than you have been this stupid." in the nuclear weapons program is quite impressive.

King's researchers launch tracker to monitor disinformation about chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats www.kcl.ac.uk/news/kings-r...

Five Star Movement is *not* left-wing They claimed to be "neither left nor right", and had left-ish language on environment, nimbyism, and some economic issues, but on most areas they would break right in the end. I mean, they formed a govt with Salvini's Lega. Also, consistently pro-Russia.

What if #CBRN #disinformation was traceable? Join us this Monday to learn more #UNGA80 #FirstCommittee

As someone who is (as of 2 weeks ago) British, but not home grown, I second "what is this bullshit".

Timely and important, be sure to follow the Bulletin's investigations into how AI is shaping our world and the future.

Reminder of this event tomorrow!

I realise the audience for this would just be "me, and also maybe other foreigners" but I would love to read something on why Brits, who are happy to live in a country where their every movement outside is filmed by CCTV, hate the idea of having ID cards, something plenty of countries happily have

A GSTE-NDV would be a generational goal: concrete international collaboration in discussing crucial practical aspects of nuclear disarmament. Join us next Friday for an online discussion of how this could work, and why it's so necessary!

Join NPSGLOBAL Foundation and VERTIC for a timely global webinar that will explore how a Group of Scientific and Technical Experts (GSTE-NDV) could strengthen multilateral nuclear disarmament verification. Friday 3rd October, 9am New York Learn more and register: www.vertic.org/2025/09/glob...

Ah yes, I remember when I negotiated with the Russians and Chinese and North Koreans and Iranians that the best way to maximize your impact is to admit up front that it is all a negotiating position and not a deeply held policy. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

What next in Iran? A new piece by @thebulletin.org, including comments from my VERTIC colleague Hugh Chalmers

In a recent project, VERTIC & KCL joined forces to look at options for verification & monitoring under the BWC - what paths a proliferator might take, & how long-standing proposals and new technologies could come together to identify them. Read more @thebulletin.org thebulletin.org/2025/09/how-...

How can we look at different options for BWC verification? exciting work with a great team, @filippalentzos.bsky.social, Jez Littlewood and @haileywingo.bsky.social. Read the article on @thebulletin.org now, and wait for the full report to drop soon! thebulletin.org/2025/09/how-...

Good new article in @thebulletin.org by @filippalentzos.bsky.social @haileywingo.bsky.social Jez Littlewood & @albertomuti.bsky.social on options for verifying BWC: How new technology could make it easier to identify covert bioweapons programs thebulletin.org/2025/09/how-...

Comments by our colleague Hugh on @thebulletin.org

Come see us next week at the BWC Working Group! I'll be there talking about options for BWC Compliance Verification, while my colleagues will be talking about their outstanding work on supporting legal implementation of the BWC.

Letter of the day (in the Times)

It's rare to see my hobbies break containment and end up on my timeline for this account - but this thread was a delight, and Band of Blades is a memorable, memorable game.

This was an excellent workshop!

Meanwhile, the political and normative costs accumulate: erosion of IL, weakening of nonproliferation norms, and the creeping normalisation of preventive force. At some point, we’ll need to ask whether all this performative force is masking a deeper strategic vacuum.

Not to be petty, but I find it especially delicious that the source of this graph is Albright's ISIS, who were the standard-bearers of attacking the JCPOA for being "insufficient".

This meme is patently wrong: it ignores that time in 2011 when guided weapons and air power made ground operations obsolete in Libya.

If the Khamenei regime does ever fall you end up with the question of who gets there hands on 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium whose location in Iran is currently unclear

When reason fails, I can at least count on being an Italian stereotype.

*stares at the guitar collection*

We now have an explanation: "island of strangers" means "lack of social cohesion", nothing to do with Powell. This is now The Truth; insisting on the matter is gauche and misguided. BUT Labour MUST have known how a Reform voter - an audience they think about a lot - would hear it. (cont'd)

Starmer's anti-immigrant speech today wasn't just a moral and political embarrassment. It was also an intellectual embarrassment. inews.co.uk/opinion/star...

After reading more news, I should also apologise for my role in inflicting "incalculable damage" to this country.

Incredibly depressing day. I've spent my entire life being told by British governments how dreadful immigration is. New Labour did it. The Coalition. The Brexiters. Now Starmer. All of them accusing the ones who came before them of failing to clamp down. The same old vacant mean-spirited bollocks.

Once again, as an immigrant, I'm being blamed.

You are a "citizen of nowhere", they said. A "queue-jumper", they said. Now I am a "squalid chapter", they say. A risk as I might make this an "island of strangers", they say. I am "pulling the country apart", they say.

Ah yes, "a squalid chapter" and "Failed experiment" in the UK's history. Sorry, I thought of them as the last 14 years of my life, studying, building a career here, buying a house, paying taxes. Glad to hear it was a misunderstanding.

Same line as John Bolton during the last round of DPRK negotiations, as memory serves.

been waiting for the cow tools tiny desk

What a good day to be flying out of DC. Love it.

This was a great event - stay tuned for more on this project as we conclude it!

Last week, VERTIC hosted a seminar on current global prospects for nuclear disarmament & verification in collaboration with the African Nuclear Disarmament Verification Hub & the Radiation and Health Physics Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand. Read more here: www.vertic.org/2025/02/vert...

The current vandals trying to overturn the US Government will certainly destroy all sorts of records and databases that would be crucial to rebuilding. I sure wonder how many people are desperately tying to use their accesses to download and save things to safe locations.

Trust & Verify No.175 is out! Featuring a lead article on the establishment of the new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team for implementation of UNSCRs relating to North Korea, plus pieces on North Korea’s enrichment programme & the use of AI for tracking dark ships www.vertic.org/2025/01/trus...

It may be trite to say it, but, fuck nazis.

"Democracy Dies in Darkness" is kinda like "Don't Be Evil" as a slogan. It's a bit worrying when you choose it, but it's a lot more worrying when you take it down

Finally some italian representation on Bluesky 🤌

🚨New VERTIC commentary Recent events in Syria present potential opportunities and challenges for verifiably eliminating chemical weapons stockpiles. Our latest piece explores the future implications for #CWC national implementation. Read our commentary here: t.co/v075n5NwXz