in case you were wondering whatever became of the us institute of peace, the once-venerable congressionally chartered think tank is now a propaganda site www.usip.org
David Kaye
@davidakaye.bsky.social
californian. human rights, free expression, tech, international law. uc irvine. fulbright. article 19. prior: UN special rapporteur, GNI chair. edu coalition (dm for details) go bears!
still insane that a president of the united states filed a suit like this against a foreign public broadcaster
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social · 3h agoJUST IN: Trump files emergency motion to try to block BBC from getting details about finances of his business empire in connection with $5-10 billion defamation suit he filed against the network www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
NEW: Police in Wisconsin used Flock to determine that a man “travels to Michigan frequently,” where marijuana is legal, then back to Wisconsin, where it is illegal. They then used his travel across state lines as tracked by Flock as part of the probable cause justification to search his car.
Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed
"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.
404media.co
New: police are being explicitly told to hide the fact they're using Flock to pull people over and arrest them. Basically, do not mention this in official police reports. If the tech is completely legal and acceptable, like law enforcement say, why hide it? www.404media.co/do-not-menti...
‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock
“DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE. DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE IN YOUR REPORT OR COMPLAINT."
404media.co
![AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, LEONARD BRIGHT, VANITA REDDY, LANDON SADLER, and AARON GEORGE,
Plaintiffs,
V.
ROBERT L. ALBRITTON, JAY GRAHAM, DAVID
C. BAGGETT, JOHN W. BELLINGER, JAMES R.
BROOKS, MICHAEL A. HERNANDEZ III,
WILLIAM MAHOMES JR., KELLEY SULLIVAN GEORGIADES, and SAM TORN, in their official capacities as members of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents,
Defendants.
CIVIL ACTION NO.
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs American Association of University Professors ("AAUP"), on behalf of
its members in the Texas A&M University System ("Texas A&M"), and individually named member professors Leonard Bright, Vanita Reddy, Landon Sadler, and Aaron George (collectively, "Plaintiffs") challenge Texas A&M System Policy ("System Policy") 08.01's prohibition on teaching "gender and race ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation, and gender identity" in academic coursework (the "Censorship Policy" or the "Policy").
On its face, the Censorship Policy imposes a complete prohibition, in all core-
curriculum courses, on courses "advocat[ing]" particular disfavored views of race or gender, or
any topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, but the Policy does not impose any corresponding ban on opposing views on these issues.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jcats4toei4ybf5ibk3njty3/bafkreidml3fbnbiivajg7rverpx3nckfhv3zdron6klbxc7kaffoyslpty)
the trump admin & its allies relentlessly talk abt 'free speech', all of which is propaganda to distract from repressive policies and weaponization like this
How ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against Its Critics
The agency says its surveillance program searches for threats to agents, but critics see free-speech infringements.
wsj.com
🧵Alert: The backstory on this story may interest you. Or it may bore you. Either way, here it goes. I first asked the FCC for Chairman Brendan Carr's 2025 financial report on June 24.
FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount
Citing a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about to...
propublica.org
this piece connects the AAU letter and the new loan limits on “low-paying” degrees. Our state institutions (and others) are out ahead of this, already terminating programs in part based on ostensible workforce studies of the return to degrees
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 2d agothe department of education today issued a 'national call to action' - which, in plain english, is a call for capitulation to trump administration's assault on higher ed. www.ed.gov/media/docume... note how this doc deploys recent yale & vanderbilt reports
But why is the professors union endorsing candidates that fight against this i wonder 🤔
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 2d agothe department of education today issued a 'national call to action' - which, in plain english, is a call for capitulation to trump administration's assault on higher ed. www.ed.gov/media/docume... note how this doc deploys recent yale & vanderbilt reports
The reliance on AAU and the Yale/Vanderbilt reports shows that the administration (or at least McMahon) still cares about the imprimatur of academic support for policies most academics oppose. They are also pushing this now because they know such policies won't be tenable in 2028.
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 2d agothe department of education today issued a 'national call to action' - which, in plain english, is a call for capitulation to trump administration's assault on higher ed. www.ed.gov/media/docume... note how this doc deploys recent yale & vanderbilt reports
the department of education today issued a 'national call to action' - which, in plain english, is a call for capitulation to trump administration's assault on higher ed. www.ed.gov/media/docume... note how this doc deploys recent yale & vanderbilt reports
Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister: "We have detected intensive Russian propaganda campaign across Europe using pictures from Ceuta to sow destabilisation." Far-right from EU (& US!) falls with open eyes for hybrid threats from the weaponisation of migration, even fan the flames. #unity #solidarity
i suspect this won't get nearly the coverage it deserves, but the implications are obvious: trump admin does not want coverage of its failing, illegal wars except on its own (lying) terms. nb: looks like the times is helping defend cole, which is 💯 b/c freelancers don't always get that.
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 4d agoonce you go after reporters & their sources, you can start to kiss natsec journalism goodbye
once you go after reporters & their sources, you can start to kiss natsec journalism goodbye
Justice Dept. Subpoenas Times Freelancer in Effort to Identify Sources (Gift Article)
A previously undisclosed subpoena, involving reporting on a failed SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, reflects the government’s expanding campaign to investigate leaks of secrets.
nytimes.com
systematic IHL violations ordered by senior officials, every one of whom should be held accountable.
Brian Finucane@bcfinucane.bsky.social · 5d ago“A former U.S. military official told CBS that the value of hitting energy infrastructure would be to impact the Iranian military's ability to provide services and effectively govern.” Yeah, that doesn’t meet the test for being a lawful military objective.
New from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
What "on earth"? The prioritization of ground truth for journalism, and our shared sense of reality - is less important to Google than "custom images to help you visualize history, create real estate plans, and more." And no, us checking every image is not the answer. blog.google/products-and...
Transform any place with Nano Banana in Google Earth
Custom images — generated from Google Earth satellite, aerial, and 3D imagery — help you redesign any location.
blog.google
feels like a story likely to be repeated/retold soon: “The real question is how did anyone invest so much money, and then lend so much money, to a . . . kid with no personal experience and no infrastructure?”
How Leopold Aschenbrenner, the ‘golden child’ of the AI trade, was laid low
The $20bn hedge fund manager’s wild ride ended with a call to Ken Griffin
giftarticle.ft.com
A felony for exercising his 4th Amendment rights.
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · last wk.what this article doesn't note is the extraordinary power of full device access & the serious potential for abuse by law enforcement or border police. seizure/access, without constraint, is itself disproportionate.
Seeing people confused about Fauci taking the Fifth even though he was pre-emptively pardoned by Biden. Pardons only cover past conduct; they don't immunize future lawbreaking. Fauci's claim is Trump II DOJ would gin up a perjury investigation into him based on anything he says today.
what this article doesn't note is the extraordinary power of full device access & the serious potential for abuse by law enforcement or border police. seizure/access, without constraint, is itself disproportionate.
A U.S. Citizen Deleted His Phone’s Data. Now He Faces a Felony Charge. (Gift Article)
Federal prosecutors charged a man returning to the United States with obstruction because he gave them a passcode that erased his smartphone during a customs search.
nytimes.com
total cruelty & a wicked TSA-ICE collaboration to instill fear in those lawfully in the country.
ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive (Gift Article)
Federal agents are arresting spouses of Americans, tech workers and others whose visas have expired, including many who have active applications to stay in the country.
nytimes.com
Just came across an article I wrote in 2012 warning against an Israeli attack on Iran and how a post-attack Middle East could be the worst of all outcomes, including for Israel. But Netanyahu never believed this and unfortunately neither did Trump.
Israel's Risky Option on Iran
While a nuclear-armed Iran that hasn't been attacked is dangerous, one that has been attacked may be much more likely to brandish its capabilities, to make sure it does not face an attack again, write...
rand.org
this is not even remotely surprising, given putin's broad criminalization of expression, association & assembly in russia
Russia closes window for dissent as Ukraine’s attacks stir public dismay
Moscow is coming under increasing pressure over Kyiv’s relentless drone strikes. Ukraine’s president is due to meet in Washington with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
wapo.st
really clear example of disinformation & an anti-science movement making its way to presidential policy, disregarding the enormity of the threats to children's and the broader public's health
Trump Turns Up the Heat on RFK Jr. to Cut Back Childhood Vaccines
The president is focused on the shots’ alleged tie to autism, even though White House advisers wanted to tone down attention to the issue ahead of the midterms.
wsj.com
trump is creating opportunities for explicit erasure of him -- from currency, from buildings, from other places he's trying to colonize. lots of future teaching.