• GAZA WARIt Is “Reasonable to Assess” that Israel’s Gaza Campaign Has Violated International Law: State Department

    The State Department told Congress Friday that the administration has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has violated international law, but that the department has not found specific instances which would justify the withholding of military aid.

  • CHINA WATCHTruth and Reality with Chinese Characteristics

    The Chinese Communist Party seeks to maintain total control over the information environment within China, while simultaneously working to extend its influence abroad to reshape the global information ecosystem. That includes not only controlling media and communications platforms outside China, but also ensuring that Chinese technologies and companies become the foundational layer for the future of information and data exchange worldwide.

  • COLLEGE UNRESTFeds Should Leave Campus Unrest to Others

    By Neal McCluskey

    The federal government should not inject itself into debates largely occurring in civil—free—society. It is not the proper federal role, and it threatens to reduce rather than promote harmony. Some of the things said during the pro-Palestine protests might well be horrible, inaccurate things to say. Those who say them might have antisemitic motives. But it is extremely dangerous to put such speech off limits.

  • EXTREMISMU.S. Department of Education Opens Investigation into Anti-Semitism at Berkeley K-12 Public Schools

    The U.S. Department of Education has opened a formal investigation into a complaint that the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) failed to address non-stop “severe and persistent” bullying and harassment of Jewish students in classrooms, hallways, schools yards, and walkouts since October 7, 2023.

  • EXTREMISMWhat Do Anti-Jewish Hate, Anti-Muslim Hate Have in Common?

    By Christy DeSmith

    Researchers scrutinize various facets of these types of bias, and note sometimes they both reside within the same person.

  • ALIENSAI May e to Blame for Our Failure to Make Contact with Alien Civilizations

    By Michael Garrett

    Could AI be the universe’s “great filter” – a threshold so hard to overcome that it prevents most life from evolving into space-faring civilizations? The great filter hypothesis is ultimately a proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox: why, in a universe vast and ancient enough to host billions of potentially habitable planets, we have not detected any signs of alien civilizations. The hypothesis suggests there are insurmountable hurdles in the evolutionary timeline of civilizations that prevent them from developing into space-faring entities.

  • OUR PICKSThe Conspiracies Swarming Campus Protests | Uncle Sam Wants You to Join the Mining Industry | Who Really Has Brain Worms?, and more

    ·  A Russian Influence Campaign Is Exploiting College Campus Protests
    A Kremlin-aligned network called Doppelganger has used faked versions of real news sites to push both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel disinformation

    ·  Who Really Has Brain Worms?
    A scientific inquiry

    ·  Drone Dilemma and the U.S. Air Force
    The problem with the argument about the Air Force’s supposed irrelevance is that it is missing the context of how control of the air is accomplished

    ·  Bird Flu Detected in Colorado Dairy Cattle − a Vet Explains the Risks of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus
    Bird flu is not new to Colorado, but this is the first time the disease has made cattle in Colorado sick

    ·  Uncle Sam Wants You to Join the Mining Industry
    A major talent squeeze is complicating Washington’s critical mineral ambitions

    ·  The Conspiracies Swarming Campus Protests
    Disinformation and conspiracies spun out of control last week when police departments raided college campuses across the country during pro-Palestinian protests

    ·  A (Strange) Interview with the Russian-Military-Linked Hackers Targeting US Water Utilities
    Despite Cyber Army of Russia’s claims of swaying US “minds and hearts,” experts say the cyber sabotage group appears to be hyping its hacking for a domestic audience

  • WORLD ROUNDUPGerman Atomwaffen and the Superweapon Trap | Taiwan Wants Suicide Drones to Deter China | Cold War Is Breaking Out Over Milei’s Lithium ‘Gold Rush’

    ·  Why a Cold War Is Breaking Out Over Milei’s Lithium ‘Gold Rush’
    Argentina’s Lithium Triangle in the Andes threatens China’s dominance of critical minerals

    ·  Blinken Says Israeli Units Accused of Serious Violations Have Done Enough to Avoid Sanctions. Experts and Insiders Disagree.

    Blinken told Congress that Israel had adequately punished a soldier who got community service for killing an unarmed Palestinian. Government officials call it a “mockery” and inconsistent with the law

    ·  German Atomwaffen and the Superweapon Trap
    Can nuclear weapons fix Germany’s or Europe’s complex security problems?The answer is “No,” and Berlin should not fall for the bait

    ·  The East and South China Seas: One Sea, Near Seas, Whose Seas?
    For all the attention they receive as contested Indo-Pacific maritime regions, the strategic differences between East and South China Seas do not always get their due

    ·  Sudan’s Descent into Chaos Sets Stage for al-Qaida to Make a Return to Historic Stronghold
    A year of brutal civil war has now plunged Sudan into the kind of chaos in which terrorist groups thrive

    ·  Biden Administration Won’t Conclude Israel Violated U.S. Weapons Deals, AP Sources Say
    A soon-to-be-released Biden administration review of Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in its war in Gaza does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for their use

    ·  Israel’s PR-War Pandemonium
    The chaotic rise and fall of the anti-Bibi protester who became Israel’s spokesperson

    ·  Taiwan Wants Suicide Drones to Deter China
    Taipei is seeking U.S.-made loitering munitions to help deter or ward off a potential Chinese invasion

  • IMMIGRATIONTrump Promises to Deport All Undocumented Immigrants, Resurrecting a 1950s Strategy − but It Didn’t Work Then and Is Less Likely to Do So Now

    By Katrina Burgess

    Donald Trump said he would follow “the Eisenhower model”  but on a much larger scale — referring to the 1954 “Operation Wetback” which aimed to deport hundreds of thousands of Mexicans. As an immigration scholar, I find Trump’s proposal to be both disturbing and misleading. Besides playing to unfounded and dehumanizing fears of an immigrant invasion, it misrepresents the context and impact of Eisenhower’s policy while ignoring the vastly changed landscape of U.S. immigration today.

  • FACIAL RECOGNITIONSeeing Behind the Mask

    There is a need for face recognition to be able to “see behind the mask” for security and safety. Researchers discusses the potential of new software which will allow facial recognition to work despite the mask you use.

  • CYERSECURITYKnocking Cloud Security Off Its Game

    By Daniel Meierhans

    Public cloud services employ special security technologies. Computer scientists at ETH Zurich have now discovered a gap in the latest security mechanisms used by AMD and Intel chips. This affects major cloud providers.

  • IMMIGRATIONThe Manufactured Crisis of Migrant Terrorists at the Border

    By Alex Nowrasteh

    Politicians and pundits have given rise to a flood of rhetoric about terrorists exploiting border chaos to harm Americans. But exaggerated threats of terrorists crossing the southern border lead to costly, disproportionate policy decisions.

  • CHINA WATCHChina Seeks to Harvest User Data from Global Apps to Boost Propaganda Efforts

    By Fergus Ryan

    In the global discussion around data privacy and security, much attention has been rightfully placed on the Chinese-owned platform TikTok, with concerns that the user data it collects is accessible to Chinese authorities. But the issue of data collection on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its integration into propaganda efforts, extends far beyond a single app.

  • TRUTH DECAYMore Feelings of Misinformation, More News Avoidance

    As people have more difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction in the United States, they are more likely to feel news fatigue and avoid news altogether, according to a new study. More than an unintentional avoidance because of lack of media exposure, the researchers say people actively avoid news.

  • NATIONAL RENEWALThe Sources of Renewed National Dynamism

    What does the historical record reveal about national recovery from long-term national decline? What factors distinguish cases of successful anticipatory renewal from those that fail? Is the United States entering a period of decline, and does it meet the preconditions for anticipatory renewal?

  • OUR PICKSThe New Propaganda War | Why Are More Chinese Migrants Arriving at the U.S. Southern Border? | Apple’s iPhone Spyware Problem, and more

    ·  The New Propaganda War
    Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world

    ·  Key January 6th Instigator, Nick Fuentes, Reinstatement on Twitter/X: The Implications
    Fuentes’s “America First” movement, dubbed the “Groypers,” is built on racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and misogyny

    ·  Why Are More Chinese Migrants Arriving at the U.S. Southern Border?
    Asylum-seekers and others are making the journey through the risky Darién Gap in the wake of the pandemic

    ·  The Alleged LockBit Ransomware Mastermind Has Been Identified
    Law enforcement officials say they’ve identified, sanctioned, and indicted the person behind LockBitSupp, the administrator at the heart of LockBit’s $500 million hacking rampage

    ·  Apple’s iPhone Spyware Problem Is Getting Worse. Here’s What You Should Know
    The iPhone maker has detected spyware attacks against people in more than 150 countries. Knowing if your device is infected can be tricky—but there are a few steps you can take to protect yourself

  • WORLD ROUNDUPGive France Credit for its Strategic Change | Just How Dangerous Is Europe’s Rising Far Right? | China Is Buying Gold Like There’s No Tomorrow, and more

    ·  No, Trump Was Not Good for US Alliances. And Without Changes, Trump 2.0 Will Be Worse.
    Alliances cannot be maintained without a clear understanding of what constitutes a friend and likewise what makes for an adversary, a delineation that Trump has historically blurred

    ·  Give France Credit for its Strategic Change 
    The change in French strategic thinking creates a window of opportunity to redesign the European security order

    ·  Just How Dangerous Is Europe’s Rising Far Right?
    Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots and an uncertain commitment to democracy are now mainstream

    ·  China Is Buying Gold Like There’s No Tomorrow
    The global price of gold has reached its highest levels as Chinese investors and consumers, wary of real estate and stocks, buy the metal at a record pace

    ·  The Chilling of the Fourth Estate After 10 Years of Modi
    The Indian prime minister has demonstrated that there is only one form of journalism he likes

  • CAMPUS PROTESTSNYPD Says Protesters Had Weapons, Gas Masks and 'Death to America!' Pamphlets

    By Tom Gantert, The Center Square

    Michael Kemper, a NYPD’s chief of transit, said protesters had weapons including knives and hammers as well as pamphlets with “Death to America!” written on them. “For those romanticizing the protests occurring on college campuses, ‘Death to America!’ is one sentiment that runs counter to what we believe in, what we stand for, and what many have fought for on behalf of this country,” Kemper said.

  • GUNSIn A Decade, Firearm Deaths Among Young Black People in Rural America Have Quadrupled

    By Fairriona Magee

    A new analysis of CDC data shows that gun fatality rates among Black children and teens in rural places are on par with cities, and are primarily driven by a rise in homicides.

  • NUCLEAR DETERRENCEIs Nuclear Deterrence Ethical and Legal?

    By Larence Freedman

    To state the obvious the nuclear situation will become more manageable and tolerable when great power relations are relaxed. When and if current tensions ease it would be wise to look for ways to reduce even more the risks of a nuclear calamity. If the weapons cannot be completely eliminated, however, then neither can the risks of the worst imaginable outcomes. Little can be gained by pretending otherwise.

  • TRUMP-PROOFING GLOBAL SECURITYTrump-proofing NATO: Why Europe’s Current Nuclear Deterrents May Not Be Enough to Face Biggest Threats Since WWII

    By Natasha Lindstaedt

    NATO’s concerns about Trump’s re-election were heightened by his flippant comment in February that he would encourage Russia to do whatever it wanted, if certain countries didn’t pay up, defying NATO’s principle that an attack on one constituted an attack on all. Trump’s comments represent a seismic departure for US foreign policy. No US president has made these types of threats before about its commitment to NATO, and this has forced Europe to prepare to deal with Russian aggression without US support.

  • TRUMP-PROOFING GLOBAL SECURITYTrump's Possible Return Reignites South Korea Nuclear Debate

    South Korean calls to acquire nuclear weapons, which were subdued for the past year following steps to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, are once again bubbling to the surface ahead of the possible return of former U.S. President Donald Trump.