Mastodawn

Dr. Jim Ellsworth

151 Followers

74 Following

4.9K Posts

I'm a retired, General Officer level U.S. Army Intelligence leader who's been in INFOSEC since the 1980s, when it was mostly mainframes & Novell. Certifications came after, when I was off leading in the PSYOP / counternarrative side of IO, so I don't have any & cannot claim to be any sort of technical expert--but I can still (in sha' Allah) talk intelligently with folks who ARE technical experts & help connect such discourse to strategic outcomes.

I'm also coming onboard as Associate Director of an academic Global & National Security Policy Institute, a Twitter refugee sold on the fediverse as the most resilient architecture to avoid getting co-opted by billionaires or governments, an observant Muslim & aspiring alim, and a senior EDUCATIONAL Technology scholar.

As I said in my old Twitter bio, "Yep--weird." :-D

LinkedIn	https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellsworthj/
UNM OILS	https://ulls.unm.edu/people/directory/e/ellsworth-jim.php
UNM GNSPI	https://gnspi.unm.edu/
AUSA	https://www.ausa.org/people/james-b-ellsworth
Surviving Change (my book)	https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED443417

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Dr. Jim Ellsworth 2h ago

It would be ironic if it was the Iranians, liberating US. 😅

Or #RussianWindowCancer....

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 2h ago

Dwight

5h ago

"My one-hour special “Rick Steves Iran: Yesterday and Today,” which helps humanize 90 million Iranian people, is streaming free and ad-free at www.ricksteves.com/iran"
Iran | Rick Steves' Europe TV Special
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/tv-specials/iran/iran-pledge-special

Iran

Join Rick as he explores the most surprising and fascinating land he's ever visited: Iran. In a one-hour, ground-breaking travel special on public television, you'll discover the splendid monuments of Iran's rich and glorious past, learn more about the 20th-century story of this perplexing nation, and experience Iranian life today in its historic capital and in a countryside village. Most important, you'll meet the people of this nation, whose government so exasperates our own. This film was produced in 2009, well before the current conditions in Iran. It is a cultural — not political — window into Iran.

Rick Steves

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 2h ago

It IS, after all, #TACO Tuesday.

#Alhamdulillah, in any event.

He STILL needs to be removed, as a clear and present danger. #Impeachment? #25thAmendment? Other?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/trump-iran-war-ceasefire

US and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire with Tehran saying it will reopen strait of Hormuz

Last-minute intervention led by Pakistan cancels Trump ultimatum for Iran to surrender or face annihilation

The Guardian

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 3h ago

Yikes. But I can't say we haven't EARNED it. In sha' Allah they'll recognize that the perpetrators of the Chechen Genocide and the Uighur Genocide are no more worthy of their trust than the (would-be?) perpetrators of the Persian #Genocide, and come to understand--as I have, painfully--that it's time for THE REST of the world to unite to lead a more just global order that's not dominated by or beholden to ANY current or rising superpower (including the perpetrator of the GUJARAT Genocide).

Even if "normal" American democracy survives and reasserts itself, OUR role needs to be to SUPPORT that evolution, offering advice and resources humbly when asked--but otherwise to sit down and shut up for a while. It's gonna be a long road back to trustworthiness--and THAT is the necessary first step.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/america-has-lost-arab-world

America Has Lost the Arab World

Wars in Gaza, Iran, and elsewhere have sunk Washington’s reputation—maybe for good.

Foreign Affairs

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 4h ago

As much as I hate the prices I just paid at the gas station, im glad to see this fail. For all its flaws and crimes--and there are many!--the #FauxlamicRepublic of Iran is the victim of unprovoked armed aggression, illegal under the UN Charter, that by the aggressors' own admission existentially threatens it and has already killed much of its leadership. Closing the strait is its "nuclear option" to resist this aggression, and the world needs to be grateful for its example, showing that bullies that HAVE nuclear weapons, like Donald Trump’s America and Benjamin Netanyahu's #IsraelAtWarCrimes CANNOT run roughshod over what's left of international law and expect everyone else to just play Melos to their Athens.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/04/china-russia-veto-scaled-back-hormuz-resolution-un-security-council

China, Russia veto scaled-back Hormuz resolution at UN Security Council

The vote came hours before the US deadline for Iran to reopen the global chokepoint.

AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 5h ago

#YeetTheRich

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tzy4hibtkautrntsz5f3ns37/post/3miwnlmxzuk2u

A.R. Moxon (@juliusgoat.bsky.social)

By 2028 I can and will put Elon Musk on Mars.

Bluesky Social

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 5h ago

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@evacide/116365193083422127

Sadly, I think with the #Donjjal at the helm, the answer may be "apoc-ellipses"...

Dr. Jim Ellsworth 5h ago

emptywheel 5h ago

In October I wrote, "When Pam Bondi and Kash Patel had Jim Comey charged two weeks ago, they may have signed their own arrest warrants." That logic may explain why Todd Blanche was so obsequious today: The Comey precedent makes it child's play to indict him. emptywheel.net/2025/10/08/h...

How Kash Patel and Pam Bondi b...