Katherine Lawlor🌻

One fun thing about doing analysis is when you’re very wrong you have to reevaluate your entire mental model, but when you’re very right it’s almost universally bad news for the world. I wish @Mason_R_Clark and I were reevaluating. isw.pub/RusUkrAnnexati…

As part of our work at Bellingcat we've written guides about dealing with traumatic imagery. The first is How to Prevent, Identify and Address Vicarious Trauma — While Conducting Open Source Investigations in the Middle East by @h_e_ellis bellingcat.com/resources/how-…

NEW REPORT | #Iran has embraced an offensive regional strategy to adapt for modern conflict and pursue external objectives more effectively. Read @NicholasACarl’s @criticalthreats and @aei report here: criticalthreats.org/analysis/pivot…

@johnson4b06 @bourgeoisbantu Would I prefer not to be asked? Sure, since my dog’s harness reads SEEING EYE in big letters. But better to be asked legal questions than for fake ID. This is the compromise we made to avoid some kind of required federal registry and allow folks to train their own service dogs.

@johnson4b06 @bourgeoisbantu Except it’s the law, per the ADA. If it’s obvious what service the dog is providing, they aren’t supposed to ask at all. But if it’s unclear, there are two questions legitimate service dog handlers expect and appreciate.

Restaurants used to be professional

@BarredinDC Judge service dogs based on their behavior and the two legally allowed questions, not fake paperwork assholes buy on Amazon. Even a legitimate service dog can and should be kicked out of a business if they are misbehaving (barking, growling, peeing, out of control in any way).

@BarredinDC Last Call is 100% in the right. There is no federal registry/paperwork for service dogs. My guide dog’s school provided ID but asked that we not use it unless we have to—it makes other service dog handlers’ lives much harder if businesses think they can expect fake “paperwork.”

Last Call got this Google Review, and here’s their response

@BarredinDC I try to treat those interactions like an educational opportunity, but you know the “paperwork” question is from all the people who pretend that their pets are service dogs, then fail to control them when they’re a nuisance to the business & threaten my exquisitely trained guide.

@BarredinDC Thanks for this! DC businesses often have no idea about the two questions they are legally allowed to ask, and usually want to see “paperwork” or “ID” for my Seeing Eye dog. I (and every handler I know) *love* to be asked the two questions. It shows they train their staff.

Here's the ADA guidance/rules on service animals - FYI ada.gov/resources/serv…

Wheels of Justice are turning: I applaud the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over forcible transfer of Ukrainian children. International criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes.

NEW: Russian forces have regained the initiative in #Ukraine and have begun their next major offensive in #Luhansk Oblast. 🧵(1/8) isw.pub/UkrWar020823

@JonathanLordDC As a bright-eyed hilltern from non-coastal Washington, I made a bad joke about Chinese geoduck import bans in front of @SenatorCantwell. Turns out she takes geoducks VERY seriously, and her interns should, too. The WA delegation does not mess around with Pacific seafood.

I know I’m biased because I worked for one of them and got to know a few others, but can affirm that the Washington delegation is pretty great. Good people all around. Just don’t get caught eating, ordering, or talking about Atlantic salmon in front of any of them.

@MaggieCaroline1 incredible news 💕

for @Kat_Lawlor

Our dog joined a weekly pack walk a few months ago. She loves other doggos, but as a former bait dog who also works as a medical alert dog for me, socialization can be tricky. She has decided that she loves pack walks so much that she refuses to walk alone except w me. 😐

Iraq should throw a real curve ball and just start calling it the Gulf of Basra.

"I want to give credit here to one particular source of information on the war. I read a lot on this issue, but by far the thing that I find most informative and most useful to be the daily report on the war that's put out by the @TheStudyofWar ." -@MichaelJMorell

@AnneKirstineR Not a book, and from 2021, but I always recommend @renadmansour’s Networks of Power to those aiming to deepen their understanding of Iraqi politics. chathamhouse.org/sites/default/…

Twitter brain, I am putting together a reading list for 2023. What are the best recent books on #Iraqi politics?

Second grade me got it.

I didn’t expect to be charmed by an email entitled “[First Name] Q1 2023” But I also didn’t know that he was married, or had a cat. I’m also not sure I’d admit in a professional context that my wife’s cat didn’t like me.

It’s well-written and structured. It’s like a professional Christmas letter, complete with cute cat pics. Is this A Thing now? Do others send such newsletters? And where does it fall on the spectrum of cringeworthy to useful?

A friend from undergrad sends out a quarterly networking / life update email newsletter, including personal news & any professional asks he may have. I was initially appalled, but w/ the death of Facebook, this actually seems like a good way to create opportunities for engagement

⁦@FT⁩ letter from retired defence attaché. Early lesson for historians out there