CGI Democracy

Max Boot, remarking on Duterte’s midterm poll victory in the Philippines tweeted “undermining democracy is popular”. It’s more than’undermining’ but rather fake democracy. The new tactic in hybrid warfare is for strongmen to make dictatorship look like democracy. Just as politicians have learned the art of making war in secret they have perfected the skill …

Now the spying probe

Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was “lawful and appropriate,” a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday. AP

Chicken in the Gulf

Iran’s probably think it’s in their interest to try pull US forces back to the Middle East by engaging in asymmetric provocation. It is something Trump will resist. But some damn fool thing can always happen. History shows that once escalation occurs it becomes unpredictable. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted hardliner Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad in …

Singapore outlaws fake news, allows govt to block, remove it

By blocking certain users social media assumed the responsibility of publishers. This may destroy them. The law bans falsehoods that are prejudicial to Singapore or likely to influence elections and requires service providers to remove such content or allows the government to block it. Offenders could face a jail term of up to 10 years …

Restaurants to offer penance at meals

Selling indulgences to Gaia. A future historian might write: “Indulgences became increasingly popular in the 21st century as a reward for signaling virtue, hugging rough trees, and going on pilgrimage to environmental summits; for putting on processions and marches; associations demanded that their meetings be rewarded with indulgences. Good deeds included tax donations of money …

Columbiner Subculture

“The phenomenon is feeding on itself,” said Peter Langman, a psychologist who is the author of “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters” and who runs the website SchoolShooters.info. “It’s gaining momentum, and the more there are, the more there will be.” National Review