I Read All of Kash Patel's Children's Books
They are super-weird.
Good Evening:
Today on #DogShirtTV I was alone. Bereft of a guest, abandoned by my co-hosts, I was left to free-associate about Bitcoin, South Korean democracy, the Feast of Sol Invictus, Kash Patel’s children’s books, and the nomination process. The estimable Laura Donna dropped in to discuss whether my audience is more of a Collegium than a Greek Chorus, a topic on which I invite your input as well, and the estimable Antti Ruokonen came by to ask after my nemesis, Ric Grenell. All in all, not a bad solo act:
Today on Lawfare
In today’s The Situation column, I do a deep content analysis of Kash Patel’s three children’s books:
Noted children’s book author Kash Patel has written three books for young kids. Only the first, The Plot Against the King (2022), has won particular notice amid the writer’s newfound celebrity.
But the other two, which I am not making up—The Plot Against the King 2,000 Mules (2022) and The Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King (2024)—merit attention as well. In fact, the trilogy warrants a careful read as a series, since it reveals a fair bit about the author and his thinking and intentions. Indeed, the latter two books are arguably more important in this regard than the initial one, though the press has focused almost entirely on Patel’s first offering.
France’s Gravely Mistaken View on Immunity at the International Criminal Court
Chile Eboe-Osuji evaluates France’s decision to consider leaders of states not party to the Rome Statute immune before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Eboue-Osuji argues that France’s determination contradicts the foundations of international law, including the “doctrine of the right of states to punish transgressions against the law of nations” that allowed the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals to take place after World War II:
The announcement from Paris must, of course, mean in their view that the ICC may not prosecute Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing, whose arrest warrant the ICC prosecutor has also requested for international crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya. And it must mean that the ICC may not prosecute Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and at least five other Russians in leadership positions against whom the ICC has issued arrest warrants for international crimes they allegedly committed in Ukraine.
What is more, the French government announcement must also mean this: Should Putin decide to invade any other European state after Ukraine—that being the visceral fear of many Europeans—neither the ICC nor any other court outside Russia may prosecute Russian leaders as the Nuremberg Tribunal did leaders of Germany at the end of World War II.
The Rush for AI-Enabled Drones on Ukrainian Battlefields
David Kirichenko discusses the use of artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) drones in the Russia-Ukraine war. Kirichenko considers how AI-enabled drones could give one side an “edge” over the other in the conflict, how drones have made sophisticated electronic warfare tactics critical to military success, and the rapid development of AI drone technology:
FPV and kamikaze drones have emerged as essential assets in this new era of combat. These cost-effective, scalable tools excel in reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and direct strikes, proving highly effective at targeting enemy positions. The accessibility of drone technology has empowered smaller nations to use inexpensive systems to disrupt traditional military operations typically led by larger, well-funded forces—making Ukraine a “war lab for the future.” Ukraine’s battlefield experience shows that warfare has begun evolving toward the use of unmanned systems, where intelligent machines capable of rapid decisions are poised to dominate future battles—raising both practical and ethical concerns.
Podcasts
On the Lawfare Daily podcast, I sit down with Andrew Yeo to discuss the recent tumultuous events in South Korea, including President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, the National Assembly’s quick action to rescind Yoon’s declaration and immediately begin proceedings to impeach him, and what this all might mean for the future of U.S.-South Korea relations in a second Trump administration:
On the Rational Security podcast, Scott R. Anderson sits down with Anastasiia Lapatina, Eric Ciaramella, and Francis Farrell, to talk through what Trump’s return to the White House might mean for Ukraine. They discuss how Ukrainians feel about the current state of the conflict, what President-elect Donald Trump’s early national security appointments reveal about his plans for Ukraine, and what Europe’s regional security might look like by 2028:
Webinars
Today, I talked to Lawfare Senior Editors Quinta Jurecic, Anna Bower, and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien, and Lawfare Executive Editor Natalie Orpett for the last regular episode of “Lawfare Live: Trump’s Trials and Tribulations”:
Today We Learned
On Tuesday, the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab released a detailed report on Russia’s kidnapping and forced adoption of Ukrainian children, entitled “Russia’s Systematic Program of Coerced Adoption and Fostering of Ukraine’s Children.” We’ve known about this particular Russian atrocity for some time, obviously, but this is the largest and most comprehensive analysis yet, and it puts the scale of Russia’s child kidnapping operation in stark relief.
These researchers compared media and government reports of missing Ukrainian children to Russian child placement databases and eventually identified more than 300 children taken from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. By tracking these children, they were then able to identify the facilities where Russian authorities are holding abductees, the transport methods used to kidnap them, the legal channels by which they are forced into Russian citizenship, and the Russian organizations and officials with direct responsibility. This report offers a detailed account, documenting not only that this mass-kidnapping operation is occurring, but how.
It’s an impressive work of scholarship, for all that it makes for revolting reading. I really encourage you all to at least read the key findings of the report and download and read the full text if you have the time and stomach.
A reminder that the #DogShirtDaily Sol Invictus Sale is going through the end of the year:
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is the orca, specifically this orca, J27 Blackberry, seen here wearing a dead salmon on his head:
Scientists in Washington state have observed at least one orca balancing salmon on its head, a trend known as the “dead salmon hat”. They spotted the stylish killer whale this autumn in Puget Sound.
It is likely that these marine mammals are not just sporting these hats to look chic for their deep-sea neighbors. These fishy accessories are multipurpose, allowing the wearers to enjoy a snack as they travel along on their oceanic journey.
The strange phenomenon was first documented in 1987, when a female orca was observed to be wearing a salmon hat for nearly the duration of that year. Within a few weeks, two other orcas, creatures known for being highly intelligent and social, began to adopt her unique fashion.
Yet the trend seemed to disappear just as suddenly as it had appeared – as the salmon hats already seemed to be out of fashion by 1988.
But as all fashion is cyclical, the accessories have seemingly made a comeback as of November.
I really appreciate J27 Blackberry’s daring retro fashion experiment, and I suggest that dead fish hats may be coming into style more broadly soon enough. Consider how a rotting salmon on your head might accent your look for an inauguration ball this January!
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