Our picksThe Kremlin’s Plot against Democracy | How Viruses Shape the World | Child Separation, and more
· U.S. Says Maduro Is Blocking Americans from Leaving Venezuela
· Trump Is Openly Pushing Russian Propaganda against Biden
· The Kremlin’s Plot against Democracy
· The Trump Campaign Accepted Russian Help to Win in 2016. Case Closed.
· How Viruses Shape the World
· Suffering in the Sahel: A Coup in Mali Is Unlikely to Make Matters Better
· Homeland Security Testing Lab Wants to Hear about the Best Temperature Screening Tools in the Market
· Trump Cabinet Officials Voted in 2018 White House Meeting to Separate Migrant Children, Say Officials
U.S. Says Maduro Is Blocking Americans from Leaving Venezuela (Reuters)
The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is blocking U.S. citizens in the country from leaving, rebuffing efforts by Washington to arrange humanitarian evacuation flights, a State Department spokeswoman said Thursday. “We have made offers in the past that would allow U.S. citizens to leave, but all were rejected by Maduro and his cronies,” the spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, said in an emailed statement, adding that Washington was looking at all options to ensure the secure return home of U.S. citizens.
Trump Is Openly Pushing Russian Propaganda against Biden (Cody Fenwick, Salon).
It’s happening again. The Muller Investigation report concluded that “[The] investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.”
Trump is welcoming Russia’s help once again. On Sunday, Trump shared a tweet that included audio that U.S. intelligence has determined to be Russian propaganda.
The AP reported:
By amplifying the recording to his more than 85 million Twitter followers, Trump underscored the ease with which pro-Russian narratives can seep into American public discourse ahead of the 2020 election despite being flagged by intelligence officials as the product of a concerted Russian effort.
Russia has also published disinformation under the guise of legitimate news stories, U.S. officials say, reflecting something of a shift in tactics from 2016, when Russia relied on a social media campaign to sow discord and also orchestrated the release of stolen Democratic emails.
The Kremlin’s Plot against Democracy (Alina Polyakova, Foreign Affairs)
· “As Putin positions himself to be Russia’s leader for life, undermining faith in democracy writ large is still very much in the Kremlin’s interest. … A big part of the risk is that Russia is no longer the sole danger. The lack of serious retaliation or long-lasting consequences for its behavior has effectively left the door open for others to follow Russia’s lead. To these newcomers, the Kremlin’s 2016 operation against the United States offers a handy step-by-step guide.
