OUR PICKSA Scandalous Resignation | Decivilization May Already Be Under Way | Was Henry Kissinger an AI “Doomer”?, and more

Published 13 December 2024

·  A Scandalous Resignation

·  Was Henry Kissinger an AI “Doomer”?

·  Decivilization May Already Be Under Way

·  Chinese Hackers Are Deep Inside America’s Telecoms Networks

·  Trump Crypto Venture Partners with Platform Linked to Middle East Militants

·  Man Planned Terrorist Attack at London Law Firm to ‘Intimidate’ Immigrants

·  Terror Victims’ SCOTUS Case Will Test Palestinian Groups’ Due Process Rights

A Scandalous Resignation  (Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic)
FBI Director Christopher Wray, like so many Republicans who couldn’t stomach Trump’s demands, decided to go gentle into that good night.

Was Henry Kissinger an AI “Doomer”?  (Economist)
A posthumous postscript on a hair-raising topic.

Decivilization May Already Be Under Way  (Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic)
The brazen murder of a CEO in Midtown Manhattan—and the cheering reaction to his execution—amounts to a blinking-and-blaring warning signal for a society that has become already too inured to bloodshed.

Chinese Hackers Are Deep Inside America’s Telecoms Networks (Economist)
Rooting them out is proving a challenge.

Trump Crypto Venture Partners with Platform Linked to Middle East Militants  (Alexandra Ulmer and Simon Lewis, Reuters)
A crypto venture recently unveiled by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his new Middle East envoy, billionaire Steve Witkoff, has partnered with a crypto platform that authorities and financial experts say has been used by criminals and Iran-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
World Liberty Financial Inc , founded by the Witkoff family two months before November’s U.S. election with Trump as a financial beneficiary , presents concerns over ethics and conflicts of interest, say six specialists in U.S. government ethics.

Man Planned Terrorist Attack at London Law Firm to ‘Intimidate’ Immigrants  (P.A. Media, Guardian)
Cavan Medlock found to have committed act of making a threat to kill and the preparation of terrorist acts.

Terror Victims’ SCOTUS Case Will Test Palestinian Groups’ Due Process Rights  (Alison Frankel, Reuters)
he U.S. Supreme Court will have to decide some profound questions about the original meaning of the 5th Amendment’s due process clause when it hears a pair of cases that will determine whether American victims of attacks allegedly orchestrated by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority can sue the groups in U.S. courts.