Our picksSyria Restarts Chem Weapons Program | Are Incels Terrorists? | Protesting Safely, and more

Published 3 June 2020

·  Rare NSA Advisory About Russia-Based Cyberattacks Unlikely to Stop Them

·  Israel Believes Assad’s Syria Is Restarting Its Chemical Weapons Programs

·  Why a Vaccine May Not Be Enough to End the Pandemic

·  Small Military Nuclear Reactors: In Need of Global Safeguards

·  How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

·  ‘Nonlethal’ Anti-Protest Weapons Can Cause Serious Harm

·  ‘Uncomfortable Mission’: Pentagon Tries to Retreat from Trump’s Call to ‘Dominate’ Protests

·  Coronavirus Is the Day of Reckoning for the Anti-Vaccine Movement

·  Incels Are Radicalized and Dangerous. But Are They Terrorists?

·  Antifa’s Complex Origins: ‘Terrorism’ or Anti-Fascism?

Rare NSA Advisory About Russia-Based Cyberattacks Unlikely to Stop Them (Robert Lemos, Dark Reading)
The Sandworm group — behind disinformation and election-hacking campaigns and responsible for a 2016 power outage in the Ukraine — is now targeting e-mail servers.

Russia and China target U.S. protests on social media (Mark Scott, Politico)
Both countries have flooded Twitter with hashtags and other content experts say is aimed at sowing dissent across the country.

Israel Believes Assad’s Syria Is Restarting Its Chemical Weapons Programs (Sebastien Roblin, Yahoo News / National Interest)
Breaking Defense ran an article by Israeli defense journalist Arie Egozi with commentary from an anonymous, “very senior” Israeli officials connecting Israeli airstrikes inside Syria on March 5 and March 31 to efforts by Syria to rebuild its chemical weapons capabilities, and vowing that Israel would “…continue such attacks as more intelligence is gathered.”

Why a Vaccine May Not Be Enough to End the Pandemic (Umair Irfan, Vox)
We need to plan for many different Covid-19 vaccine scenarios. These four factors will influence the outcome.

Small Military Nuclear Reactors: In Need of Global Safeguards (Victor Gilinsky and Henry Sokolski, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
The US Defense Department recently awarded three contracts totaling $40 million to kick off a design competition to build small mobile nuclear reactors that can “be forward deployed with forces outside the continental United States,” including at “remote operating bases.” The notion of small reactors accompanying troops in battle raises all sorts of military, logistical, and international legal issues. But one that has received little attention is that the program shines a light on a growing loophole in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance (Andy Greenberg, Wired)
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.

‘Nonlethal’ Anti-Protest Weapons Can Cause Serious Harm (Louise Matsakis, Wired)
Rubber bullets and tear gas are billed as relatively safe. They’re anything but.

‘Uncomfortable Mission’: Pentagon Tries to Retreat from Trump’s Call to ‘Dominate’ Protests (Erin Banco, Spencer Ackerman, and Asawin Suebsaeng, Daily Beast)
Pentagon officials say it was the White House, not the Defense Department, pushing for military might in the streets—with Trump seeking details on “tanks” that could be used.

Coronavirus Is the Day of Reckoning for the Anti-Vaccine Movement (Matt Reynolds, Wired.uk)
Stoked by poor communication and disinformation, fears of a coronavirus vaccine are brewing online. But if we get things right, Covid-19 could restore lost faith in vaccines

Incels Are Radicalized and Dangerous. But Are They Terrorists? (Justin Ling, Foreign Policy)
Canada is searching for new frameworks to tackle ideological violence.

Antifa’s Complex Origins: ‘Terrorism’ or Anti-Fascism? (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
In many ways, the US concentration on Antifa has amplified the group’s presence or people’s awareness of it, such that it may gain a following without having actually had much of one.