Our picksISIS killer drones; economics of migration; Cuba’s sonic weapons, and more

Published 19 September 2017
  • Moscow takes U.S. meddling tactics to German vote
  • The U.S. may close its embassy in Cuba after possible sonic weapon attacks
  • 100 years after the lethal 1918 flu pandemic, we are still vulnerable
  • Time has come: ISIS improvising own killer drones
  • The economics of immigration
  • This Department is the last hideout of climate change believers in Donald Trump’s government
  • Is Russia practicing a dry run for an invasion of Belarus?
  • No nuclear weapon is safe from cyberattacks

Moscow takes U.S. meddling tactics to German vote (Levi Maxey, CipherBrief)
Russia has shown a propensity for taking subtle, and not so subtle, measures to sow confusion and undercut political opponents in the West – most prominently in last year’s U.S. elections that may have helped bring the administration of Donald Trump into power. Russia’s cyber-enabled influence campaigns seek to exacerbate societal divisions by disseminating false narratives and leveraging hack-and-leak tactics that promise compromising and salacious material on critical voices.

The U.S. may close its embassy in Cuba after possible sonic weapon attacks (Alex Ward, Vox)
That would reverse one of the Obama administration’s top diplomatic accomplishments.

100 years after the lethal 1918 flu pandemic, we are still vulnerable (Catharine I. Paules, Anthony S. Fauci, Scientific American)
Our public health infrastructure has improved, but without a universal influenza vaccine, a similar virus could result in a worldwide catastrophe.

Time has come: ISIS improvising own killer drones (Jason C. Ditz, American Conservative)
U.S. opened Pandora’s Box, now anyone can deploy them.

The economics of immigration (Alex Nowrasteh et al., Cato Journal)
Immigration is an emotional subject for many Americans. About a quarter of us are immigrants or their children. Virtually all of us can point to relatively recent ancestors who came here from a foreign land. Similarly, many Americans are outraged that so many illegal immigrants have violated American laws.

This Department is the last hideout of climate change believers in Donald Trump’s government (Michael T. Klare, The Nation)
But can we count on them to speak up?

Is Russia practicing a dry run for an invasion of Belarus? (Andrew Wilson, Foreign Policy)
With tensions worsening between the two countries, Russia’s massive military exercise is firing a couple thousand warning shots at a reluctant ally.

No nuclear weapon is safe from cyberattacks (John Denley, Wired)
There hasn’t been a cyberattack on a nuclear weapons system yet, but it’s becoming much more difficult to guarantee their safety