Ian Platz
@ianplatz.bsky.social
Security Governance | Irregular Warfare | Nordics/Baltics and East Africa/Red Sea | Aspen Strategy Rising Leader ‘23 | Be a grizzly | Views are my own | He/Him
I spent much of my career at State working on Mozambique CT and urge everyone to read this piece. It shows the combined devastation of a well-funded terrorist group, inept security forces, and complete Western disinterest in one of the world’s most beautiful places.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/w...
This Part of Mozambique Was Like Paradise. Now It’s a Terrorist Hotbed.
Islamic State militants have rampaged across the northern Cabo Delgado Province for more than seven years. The government says the situation has stabilized. Residents tell a different story.
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I spent much of my career at State working on Mozambique CT and urge everyone to read this piece. It shows the combined devastation of a well-funded terrorist group, inept security forces, and complete Western disinterest in one of the world’s most beautiful places.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/w...
A great read, though not surprising, as the USG and its security partners have been purchasing ad data for quite some time. Yet another example of why phone data collection needs stricter regulation.
WIRED has tracked thousands of US military & intel personnel coming & going from classified sites, incl. NSA hubs & nuclear vaults. We know where they sleep, what they eat, and which brothels they visit.
It's an ocean of blackmail & national secrets within reach of every spy agency in the world.
It's an ocean of blackmail & national secrets within reach of every spy agency in the world.
Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking US Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany
More than 3 billion phone coordinates collected by a US data broker expose the detailed movements of US military and intelligence workers in Germany—and the Pentagon is powerless to stop it.
www.wired.com
November 20, 2024 at 6:58 PM
A great read, though not surprising, as the USG and its security partners have been purchasing ad data for quite some time. Yet another example of why phone data collection needs stricter regulation.
There’s nothing like sharing the Udvar-Hazy Center with your little one for the first time.
November 16, 2024 at 5:54 PM
There’s nothing like sharing the Udvar-Hazy Center with your little one for the first time.
Saddened by the loss of Vice News and with it, all the weird stories I've read since I was a young twenty-something, but there's one story that has lived in my brain for more than a decade. Yes, it is Paintballing with Hezbollah. www.vice.com/en/article/e...
Paintballing with Hezbollah
We figured they'd cheat; they were Hezbollah, after all. But none of us—a team of four Western journalists—thought we'd be dodging military-grade flash bangs when we initiated this.
www.vice.com
February 23, 2024 at 2:13 PM
Saddened by the loss of Vice News and with it, all the weird stories I've read since I was a young twenty-something, but there's one story that has lived in my brain for more than a decade. Yes, it is Paintballing with Hezbollah. www.vice.com/en/article/e...
Nat N. Kinney in 1883, probably: 'I am going to create a militia that will one day be heavily featured in an Ozarks amusement park. Children will create and wear versions of our raiding masks to celebrate this.'
www.news-leader.com/story/news/l...
www.news-leader.com/story/news/l...
Final salute to Fire In The Hole: Thousands of guests say goodbye to the 51-year-old ride
The new, second-generation Fire In The Hole is expected to open in March 2024. The ride will be the largest indoor coaster at Silver Dollar City.
www.news-leader.com
January 1, 2024 at 10:41 PM
Nat N. Kinney in 1883, probably: 'I am going to create a militia that will one day be heavily featured in an Ozarks amusement park. Children will create and wear versions of our raiding masks to celebrate this.'
www.news-leader.com/story/news/l...
www.news-leader.com/story/news/l...
**Nods in Ozarks**
Happy Everyone Leave Gypsy Rose Blanchard Alone Forever Let That Woman Live in Peace Day to all who celebrate
December 28, 2023 at 4:10 PM
**Nods in Ozarks**
Well, this feels a tad accusatory.
December 9, 2023 at 6:42 PM
Well, this feels a tad accusatory.
Thrilled to have contributed to this piece on the often-underappreciated threat posed by malicious soft power in U.S. professional sports. www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/u...
www.aspeninstitute.org
December 7, 2023 at 6:43 PM
Thrilled to have contributed to this piece on the often-underappreciated threat posed by malicious soft power in U.S. professional sports. www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/u...
A dash of interesting geopolitics at Home Goods.
November 26, 2023 at 5:51 PM
A dash of interesting geopolitics at Home Goods.
I feel this deeply; those early weeks were crucial in shaping my mindset of 'It's Got to Be Done' (thanks to Bandit from Bluey for capturing it perfectly). There's much to dislike about DC's government, but the family medical leave option is not one of those aspects.
19thnews.org/2023/11/pate...
19thnews.org/2023/11/pate...
Paternity leave study suggests that daddies are made, not born
More solo time with their newborns helps dad’s brains adjust to being caregivers in the long term, strengthening the case for paternity leave.
19thnews.org
November 21, 2023 at 6:24 PM
I feel this deeply; those early weeks were crucial in shaping my mindset of 'It's Got to Be Done' (thanks to Bandit from Bluey for capturing it perfectly). There's much to dislike about DC's government, but the family medical leave option is not one of those aspects.
19thnews.org/2023/11/pate...
19thnews.org/2023/11/pate...
I'm grateful that this situation turned out not to be serious, but I'm especially thankful for Arlington County's quick and transparent response, as well as for the deputies who have been posted near Congregation Etz Hayim for the past several weeks. www.arlnow.com/2023/11/17/n...
NEW: Bomb threat at Arlington synagogue | ARLnow.com
(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) Police responded to a bomb threat at an Arlington synagogue tonight. Arlington County police were dispatched to Congregation Etz Hayim, along Route 50 in the Arlington Heights ...
www.arlnow.com
November 18, 2023 at 9:13 PM
I'm grateful that this situation turned out not to be serious, but I'm especially thankful for Arlington County's quick and transparent response, as well as for the deputies who have been posted near Congregation Etz Hayim for the past several weeks. www.arlnow.com/2023/11/17/n...
If you happen to be the kind of person who wants tickets to Zoo Lights but can't find them on the National Zoo's non-user friendly website, here you go: secure.nationalzoo.si.edu/zoolights/17...
October 26, 2023 at 3:14 PM
If you happen to be the kind of person who wants tickets to Zoo Lights but can't find them on the National Zoo's non-user friendly website, here you go: secure.nationalzoo.si.edu/zoolights/17...
Reposted by Ian Platz
Gathered my thoughts in a big form.
Postcard from a frontline city
Zaporizhzhia is a large industrial city in the south-east of Ukraine. Before the full-scale invasion, it was home to nearly 1 million people. Now, it’s 50 km from the front line, and half-empty.
www.pravda.com.ua
September 29, 2023 at 3:01 PM
Gathered my thoughts in a big form.