Jon Letman
@jonletman.bsky.social
Hawaii-based independent journalist covering human rights, the environment, and the impact of US foreign policy, militarism, and nuclear weapons in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
📣Journalists--The @ntbgarden.bsky.social journalism fellowship is being held in Miami, Florida for the first time this fall! Get your applications in.
Apply for the National Tropical Botanical Garden's Environmental Journalism Program at The Kampong in Miami - National Tropical Botanical Garden
Offered in Miami, Florida November 8-14, 2026 The Hawai‘i-based National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) is […]
ntbg.org
One of the saddest lines in this piece: "Gambling has become a more common leisure activity than reading a book: Last year, 57 percent of Americans placed a bet."
The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 3w agoThe advent of reading “altered people’s consciousness and politics, along with the intellectual feats they were capable of,” @rosehorowitch.bsky.social argues—and the decline of reading will bring about changes of the same magnitude:
“Winning at all costs would not serve the public interests, Washington concluded…He wanted to form an American nation by uniting its people, not by dividing them.” — from Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership by Edward J. Larson
RIMPAC takes place on and below #Hawaiian waters, on land, in the air, and in space and cyber domains...and provides an opportunity to test unmanned systems and robotic surface vessel-fired missiles. truthout.org/articles/as-... #Hawaii #wargames
Every two years, Hawaii hosts RIMPAC, the largest international military exercises. Supporters say it brings security and economic benefits but many are questioning the true costs of endless militarism. I wrote about it here for @truthout.org: truthout.org/articles/as-...
As Hawaii Hosts International War Games, Residents Question Costs of Militarism
Rim of the Pacific — the world’s largest maritime exercise — unleashes five weeks of intensified pollution on Hawaii.
truthout.org
Fighter jets tearing across the sky, roaring and ready for war over the island of #Kauai. RIMPAC is back.
"We are maybe of different color. We are maybe of different area, but we belong to this one Mother Earth, and despite our difference of color, language and other things, we belong together." —Gabra pastoralist elder Molu Kulu of northern Kenya speaking at the IUCN WCC in Honolulu 9/3/2016.
"Totalitarianism, however, does not so much promise an age of faith as an age of schizophrenia. A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lots its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud.
"War! It's coming soon, that's certain. 1941, they say. The bombs, the streamlined bullets. But it wasn't the war that matters, it's the after-war. The world we're entering, the Hate-world, Slogan-world…
C2c Delta March
ALT: C2c Delta March
static.klipy.com
#nukesky A rare referendum on whether nuclear weapons make Americans feel safe – particularly, the Americans that live in and around warhead plants – took place recently in South Carolina. Check out what locals had to say and how opponents greatly outnumbered boosters in my story below:
Inkstick Media@inkstickmedia.com · 3mo agoA recent hearing in North Augusta, South Carolina drew large local opposition to new nuclear warhead production in and around their communities. By: @tkbarnes.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/rare-referen...
"Once a place of entertainment and culture, a theater in Ukraine staged a new kind of drama as residents organized themselves, scavenged materials, gathered food and prepared meals, and tried to manage sanitation, record keeping, healthcare, and the endless task of repairing bombed-out windows."
The Story Behind the Ukraine War’s Defining Atrocity
An interview with James Verini about his new book, The Theater: Courage and Survival in the Defining Atrocity of the Ukraine War.
inkstickmedia.com
Abruptly abandoning talks to launch a bombing campaign against Iran sends the message that the U.S. is not an honest broker and unless you have a nuclear deterrent, you are subject to its attacks.
The US-Israeli War on Iran Is Incentivizing Nuclear Proliferation
As nuclear-armed countries violate international law, others may turn to proliferation as a form of deterrence.
truthout.org
“When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen.”
Even as it feels like the world is spinning out of control, important work to protect nature and fragile ecosystems is ongoing. Read about the riparian ecosystem restoration being done by @ntbgarden.bsky.social on the #Hawaiian Island of #Kauai ntbg.org/stories/a-va...
A Valley’s Renewal: Restoring Limahuli’s Riparian Ecosystem - National Tropical Botanical Garden
For over thirty years, our team has been dedicated to restoring the health of Limahuli […]
ntbg.org
Trump says waging a war on Iran will prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. I asked some experts on arms control and proliferation and this is what they said. truthout.org/articles/the...
The US-Israeli War on Iran Is Incentivizing Nuclear Proliferation
As nuclear-armed countries violate international law, others may turn to proliferation as a form of deterrence.
truthout.org
Politicians hide themselves away They only started the war Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor www.war.gov/News/News-St...
As civilians are being killed, livelihoods, cities, and cultural heritage is being destroyed, air, water and land being poisoned, and untold chaos and instability is spread throughout the Middle East and around the world, trump and his sycophant administration execute a needless war
Why didn’t @kristenwelker.bsky.social stop this pro-military commentator when he misleadingly said a U.S. objective in Iran was to “take care of the nuclear weapons” when she knows his statement wrongly suggests Iran has nuclear weapons. She should have quickly pointed out his inaccuracy.
Writing for @inkstickmedia.com, I interviewed journalist Neil Shea about his reporting from across a rapidly changing #Arctic: inkstickmedia.com/the-arctic-i... #Greenland #Canada #Norway #Alaska
The Arctic Is Changing Faster Than We Understand
In a new book, Neil Shea reflects on two decades of reporting on the Arctic — where climate change, Indigenous knowledge, and geopolitics collide.
inkstickmedia.com
“When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen.”
Read this. And this. And this. *I wish those in Trump administration had done so years ago
For 70 years, the U.S. has practiced what it calls extended deterrence, which includes the so-called “nuclear umbrella” for its NATO allies in Europe. Countries under the umbrella agree not to develop their own nuclear weapons with the understanding that the U.S. could theirs on their behalf.
Growing Tensions With US Could Lead Europe Deeper Into Nuclear Proliferation
The US controls nuclear weapons in five NATO countries, but Europe may choose a new path amid strained relations.
truthout.org
Asia’s most iconic species is making an ‘improbable return’ in the forests of Russia and China. But will geopolitics get in the way of conservation?
Asia’s Tigers Benefit When Scientists Collaborate Beyond Borders
Asia’s most iconic species makes an ‘improbable return’ in the forests of Russia and China.
buff.ly
“National leaders … must take the lead in finding a path away from the brink,” writes the Science and Security Board in the 2026 Doomsday Clock statement. “Citizens must insist they do so.” Watch the announcement: buff.ly/BGu0Zse
Greenlandic people are obviously very strong and smart if they can survive in such an unforgiving environment. Instead of threatening them, why don't walk talk with them and learn from their culture, history, and wisdom. I am sure they have so much to teach us. #Greenland 🇬🇱
