Could deep boreholes solve our nuclear waste problem?
Chapter 14 – be sure to read the sections in the Supplement as well.
Materials for use in class – review ahead of time if you have the opportunity.
Demonstration of a software control system hack destroying an electrical generator
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Al Jazeera English: US judge says 9/11 families not entitled to Afghan bank funds
Netanyahu said to huddle repeatedly with military brass over possible attack on Iran
China refuses to condemn Russia’s Ukraine invasion during G20 deadlock
What is China’s peace proposal on how to end Ukraine war?
This is computer and Internet day! We have several chapters that deal with cyber operations and surveillance. You need to have a basic understanding of how the systems work to think clearly about the problems. I wish I could make the Supreme Court justices go through the material that we will review.
The Internet: 1997 – 2021 – One minute visualization of the growth of the Internet
Unit: Computers and the Internet – This is a series of Khan Academy videos that introduce the basics of computers and the Internet. I assume most of you have used Khan Academy lessons during K-12 and perhaps college. These are short, simple, and entertaining. Should take less than 90 minutes total to watch them all.
I will expand on these materials in class.
Putin suspends Russian involvement in nuclear arms pact over Ukraine tensions
Biden hails ‘rock solid’ Nato as Putin blames West for Russia’s war
What is the future of the internet? Don’t ask the Supreme Court– The problem with cyberlaw in the courts.
Given current events, we are going to read Chapter 15 for class on Thursday.
Also review:
Read Chapter 15 – Nuclear War – no slides – this is a discussion class
Duck And Cover (1951) Bert The Turtle – This is an example of what we saw in school when I was a kid. This is the modern version: https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-explosion
No US missile defense system proven capable against ‘realistic’ ICBM threats: Study
All intercontinental missiles are hypersonic, i.e., they travel at several times the speed of sound. What is in the press as hypersonic missiles are ones that stay low in the atmosphere, rather than going into space and coming down, making them much harder to detect and shoot down.
What Happens When a Nuclear Bomb Hits”
Nuclear Winter May Bring a Decade of Destruction
How a small nuclear war would transform the entire planet
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Long Term Health Effects
Long-term radiation (a few years) effects are low, as is residual radiation, at least for air burst bombs. Bombs that explode at ground level put a lot more dirt into the atmosphere and may leave more residual radiation, but we have no experience with this.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Close Calls with Nuclear Weapons (Apr. 2015) – summary
Resource document, you do not need to read for class.
Blundering into a nuclear war in Ukraine: a hypothetical scenario
CRS: Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons. Updated March 7, 2022
This is a clear guide to tactical versus strategic nuclear weapons prepared for Congress. Read pp 25-32 – Russian Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons after the Cold War to get a sense of the Ukraine problem. Is this a meaningful distinction?
Find a story about the Ukraine war that highlights a potential violation of the UN charter or the law of armed combat – jus in bello – and email it to me by Wednesday night so I can compile them for class.
Ukraine war day. Study the note in the Supplement and look at the Ukraine war news sites.
The Ukraine War and the Crime of Aggression: How to Fill the Gaps in the International Legal System
Why it takes a missile to shoot down a balloon made of Saran wrap.
Ordinary Russians Want Us to Freeze to Death
What is Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries in Ukraine?
Wagner Group Operations in Africa
U.S. designates Russian firm Wagner Group as criminal organization
Finish material from last class.
One of the major legal questions raised by the Ukraine war is whether Russian soldiers are committing war crimes. We need to review the law of war before we turn to the Ukraine war. This is also critical information for our later discussion of cyberwar.
First, watch this short video: Rules of war (in a nutshell)
Then read Chapter 9.
Slides – Chapter 9 – final
The law of war is operationalized in The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Land Warfare (2019). (Scan this, but you do not need to read it in detail.) This document incorporates the laws of war into the military standards for warfare, which are then subject to enforcement through the Uniform Code of Military Justice (2019). While does not make them general law, as would a statute, it does make them binding on the military. Read Chapter 1 of The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Land Warfare (2019) to CLASSES OF PERSONS, p. 1-11. Study the chart on p. 1-6 that summarizes the basic principles. Also, read the short supplementary materials for Chapters 8 and 9 that I have emailed you. These came out after the supplement was published.
Chinese spy balloon contained technology to monitor communication signals, US says
Finish the materials from last class.
Slides for Chapter 7 – revised
Slides for Chapter 8 – revised
We are going to hold the Ukraine war until next class.
‘Total miscalculation’: China goes into crisis management mode on balloon fallout
Neo-Nazi leader and Maryland woman allegedly plotted to ‘completely destroy’ Baltimore, Justice Department says – Charging documents
We are going to cover three short chapters next week, 6-8. These have companion materials in the supplement, including a substantial section on the Ukraine war on p. 34 of the supplement. We will look hard at the Ukraine war during this section.
Slides for Chapter 6 – revised
Slides for Chapter 7 – revised
Slides for Chapter 8 – draft