Our picksTikTok, China & the New Data Battleground | EMP Threat | What Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane, and more

Electromagnetic Pulses Are a Perfect Sneak Attack. Pentagon Developing Ways to Detect One. (David Hambling, Forbes)
EMP is the perfect sneak attack. The invisible, silent radio pulse is only apparent when electronics stops working. At present there is no way of telling when an EMP attack has occurred, or what it has affected, so the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency is working on sensors to detect and analyze EMP sensors under its Conventional Nuclear Integration/Battlefield Nuclear Warfare program.

American Democracy Is Less Broken Than You Think (Danny Oppenheimer and Mike Edwards, MIT Reader)
America has thrived despite a long history of ignorant voters making questionable decisions and unqualified elected officials implementing abysmal policies.
The true threats to democracy usually have little to do with the actions of any individual (even the president) or any particular event that might cause public turmoil. The true threats to democracy come from violations of the democratic norms and procedures that allow society to self-regulate and allow citizens to have a voice. President Trump’s offensive tweets, deceptive claims, and controversial policy initiatives do not harm American democracy nearly as much as his refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigations, his attempts to silence dissent, or his attempts to disenfranchise voters.

How Can We Ban Facial Recognition When It’s Already Everywhere? (Rebecca Heilweil, Vox)
A growing number of gadgets are scanning your face.

What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane (William Langewiesche, The Atlantic)
Five years ago, the flight vanished into the Indian Ocean. Officials on land know more about why than they dare to say.

How an Anti-Trump Flash Mob Found Itself in the Middle of Russian Meddling (Nona Jankowicz, Politico)
n October 19, 2018, a criminal complaint in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was unsealed. It lays out how the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency funded and implemented its online influence campaigns in the United States. The level of detail is astonishing. The complaint uncovers the budget of the so-called troll factory, or, as Mueller refers to it, “the Conspiracy.” It reveals the Conspiracy’s organizational structure. It details communications among employees of the IRA.