Extremists & Cryptocurrencies | Extremists Travelling to Afghanistan | Near-Limitless Clean Power Source, and more

Mr Kahl said Al Qaeda remained closely linked to the Taliban and would be able to operate more freely in Afghanistan in future, and could seek to re-establish training camps in the country. He told a London School of Economics event that both Al Qaeda and ISIS-K had profited from the departure of international troops and the security services of the former Afghan government.

Crypto and the Far Right: The Charm of Cryptocurrencies for White Supremacists  (Economist)
White power, dark money.

A New Low for Global Democracy (Economist)
More pandemic restrictions damaged democratic freedoms in 2021.

How the Ukrainian Crisis Would Be Addressed if Our National Security Strategy Was a Narrative  (Paul Cobaugh, HSToday)
Once we are behind in delivering our meaning, it is exceptionally difficult to dislodge a false, adversarial narrative.

U.K. Cuts Terror Threat One Level to ‘Substantial’  (Bloomberg)
The U.K.’s terrorism threat level has been reduced from severe to substantial. In a statement to Parliament, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has reduced the UK national terrorism threat level from severe to substantial. This means that a terrorist attack in the UK is likely. “JTAC previously raised the UK national threat level from substantial to severe following two terrorist attacks in the UK in quick succession, in October and November 2021. “When the threat level is at severe it means an attack is highly likely. “JTAC judges that, despite these two attacks, the current nature and scale of the UK terrorist threat is consistent with the level of threat seen prior to the attacks.

Alleged Member of Extremist Group Indicted on Weapons Charge  (Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times)
In the garage of a Murrieta house last fall, Matthew Chen opened a PowerPoint presentation on his computer for a group of men. A caption on the screen was a vulgar insult directed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives. The first slide read, “Everything you are not supposed to know about suppressors.” The gathering was a meeting of the Cali Bois, a group associated with the “boogaloo” movement — a loose collection of extremists who espouse the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Chen also had with him that night silencers that dampen the sound guns make when fired. As the meeting concluded, he allegedly sold one of the devices to an undercover FBI agent posing as a group member for $400. A few months later, he sold the agent other accessories that convert handguns into fully automatic weapons, according to court records. Chen was arrested late last month and indicted on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles on charges of illegal firearm possession. Chen could not be reached for comment. He is currently free on a $120,000 bond. He is at least the seventh person with alleged ties to the boogaloo movement to be charged in California. In 2020, one of the men fatally shot a security guard outside a federal government building in Oakland and then killed a Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy to avoid being captured, according to an affidavit written by an FBI special agent.

A Giant Donut-Shaped Machine Just Proved a Near-Limitless Clean Power Source Is Possible  (Danya Gainor and Angela Dewan, CNN)
Scientists working in the UK announced that they more than doubled the previous record for generating and sustaining nuclear fusion, the same process that allows the sun and stars to shine so brightly.