• Permanent Rupture: The European-Russia Energy Relationship Has Ended with Nord Stream

    Last Monday’s blasts that tore through the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have already blown up whatever was left of five decades of German energy policy. For Germany, abandoning the Nord Stream pipelines signified a fundamental transformation of Germany’s energy security strategy, and its approach to relations with Russia. “The Nord Stream pipeline was the last gasp of Ostpolitik and this week’s damage is likely fatal.” Emily Holland writes.

  • Making Each Vote Count

    MIT Ph.D. candidate Jacob Jaffe uses data science to identify and solve problems in election administration. A key takeaway from his ensemble of studies is that “while it’s relatively rare that elections are bad, we shouldn’t think that we’re good to go,” he says. “Instead, we need to be asking under what conditions do things get bad, and how can we make them better.”

  • Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis

    The Caribbean island, which shares a close yet fraught relationship with the rest of the United States, faces a multilayered economic and social crisis rooted in long-standing policy and compounded by natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, migration, and government mismanagement.

  • Russia Annexes Parts of Eastern Ukraine: What We Need to Know

    On Friday, 30 September 2022, Russia has formally annexed four regions in east Ukraine. The people in these four regions are not a single political bloc, even though most of the people in these territories do not want to join Russia.

  • Ukraine Warns of Looming Russian Cyberattacks

    Ukraine is again urging its companies and private organizations to immediately bolster their cybersecurity ahead of what could be a new wave of Russian attacks. The government advisory further warned that the vulnerabilities could allow Russia to launch a renewed series of targeted cyberattacks on Ukraine aimed at disabling communication and information systems.

  • U.S. Nuclear Testing Moratorium Launched a Supercomputing Revolution

    On 23 September 1992 the U.S. conducted its 1,054th – and last — nuclear weapons test. After the test, and with the Soviet Union gone, the U.S. government issued what was meant to be a short-term moratorium on testing, but the moratorium has lasted to this day. This moratorium came with an unexpected benefit: no longer testing nuclear weapons ushered in a revolution in high-performance computing.

  • Scientific Discovery for Stockpile Stewardship

    Following the U.S. last nuclear test in September 1992, the Department of Energy’s national labs convened to develop a strategy and map out an R&D effort that would come to be known as the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). Its mission was ensuring the readiness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent force without nuclear tests.

  • Local D.C. Elections: Measure to Allow Illegal Immigrants to Vote Advances

    A Washington, D.C., council committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance a measure allowing illegal immigrants to vote in local elections. In June, a judge struck down a similar law in New York City, arguing that allowing legal permanent residents to vote in local elections would be in conflict with the state constitution.

  • Pipeline Leaks Likely the Result of Deliberate Act

    European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday that all indications are that leaks from two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “are the result of a deliberate act.” The 1,222-kilometer-long Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been, until recently, a major source of gas for Germany. Nord Stream 2, which is 1,234 kilometers in length, has yet to go into commercial operation.

  • Importing Even More Crime

    The number of encounters with illegal immigrants recorded by the Border Patrol in FY2020 was 458,088. In FY22021, that number increased to about two million. The number of encounters with illegal immigrants who already had criminal records in FY2020 was 2,438. In FY2021, it rose to 10,763.

  • India Bans Islamic Group PFI Over “Terrorism” Concerns

    The Indian government called the Popular Front of India (PFI) an “unlawful association.” This month, at least 200 PFI members have been detained.

  • Suspicious Leaks in Baltic Sea Nord Stream Pipelines Connecting Russia and Germany

    Both Nord Stream natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany have developed apparent leaks within hours of one another. The cause is unknown, but some sources have hinted at sabotage.

  • The Same App Can Pose a Bigger Security and Privacy Threat Depending on the Country Where You Download It, Study Finds

    In a perfect world, access to apps and app security and privacy capabilities would be consistent everywhere. My colleagues and I found differences in app availability, security and privacy.

  • No Game Changer: Russian Mobilization May Slow, Not Stop, Ukrainian Offensive

    The Kremlin’s aim to mobilize up to 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine faces significant obstacles and — even if achieved — may not prevent Russia from losing more ground or losing the war, analysts said.

  • Getting Serious About the Threat of High Altitude Nuclear Detonation

    The ongoing commercialization of space with cost effective bulk electronics presents a tantalizing target for nations with a space disadvantage to target long-before a conflict could escalate to nuclear exchange. Robert “Tony” Vincent writes “the Department of Defense should get serious about planning for and countering the threat of high altitude nuclear detonations, starting with its various science and technology funding organizations.”