• Novichok: How Are Victims Surviving Poisoning?

    Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is likely to survive a suspected poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok, according to the hospital treating him. There have now been at least six known cases of serious Novichok poisoning in the past two years. But only one victim tragically died from it. Why is that? Is the substance less lethal than previously thought? Or could it be that the stockpile of the nerve agent is degrading?

  • The Role of Russian Espionage in Re-Shaping the West

    Arthur Martirosyan writes that despite “the incomplete evidence, Harding’s hypothesis [the Russia controls Donald Trump and Boris Johnson through money and compromising information] is embraced enthusiastically by many. After all, it may very well be that for lack of direct evidence, the treasonous crime has gone unpunished. It will take time, but above all, political re-configurations in the U.S. and U.K. allowing new investigations to provide proof and refutations, to establish not the intent—which very few argue even in Russia—not the interference—which has been established—but the impact on political processes. This only means that the book will be in high demand for the foreseeable future especially among readers who are seeking data to confirm their conclusion that Putin somehow controls Trump and Johnson.”

  • NSA’s Post-9/11 Mass Surveillance Program, Exposed by Snowden, Illegal: Court

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence’s surveillance program exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden was unlawful, and possibly unconstitutional. Critics of the program say that in addition to violating privacy rights, the program’s was ineffective: Billions of phone calls and email messages were collected and scanned over the years, but only a handful of terrorism suspects were seized, and even fewer were convicted.

  • Navalny Poisoned with Nerve Agent Novichok

    Germany says scientists have “proven beyond doubt” that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the chemical nerve agent novichok. Navalny was poisoned ten days ago by operatives of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, in the Siberian city of Omsk.

  • As Trial Begins in Paris for Charlie Hebdo Attack, the Magazine Republishes Cartoons of Mohammed

    Yesterday (Wednesday, 2 September 2020), the trial of fourteen people, accused of participating in the plot to attack the editorial offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015, begins in a Paris court. As the trial begins, the magazine is reposting the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad who had made the satirical weekly a target of jihadists.

  • Charlie Hebdo, Freedom or Death

    The pencil against the Kalashnikov, the schoolboy humor against the holy war … At first glance, yes, the battle is lost. The more so as a constant cowardice dressed in silliness makes entire sections of society fall into the trap of the fight against “Islamophobia.” Saint Matthew said that “It is the violent who win.” Our enemies choose the targets, not the other way around. That’s why we must not give up. History bears witness to this: it is when it is sure of its strength, of its rights, that the free country prevails over the “violent.”

  • DHS Blocked Circulation of a July Intelligence Bulletin Detailing Russian Disinformation Attacks on Biden

    DHS, in early July, blocked publication of a departmental intelligence bulletin which warned intelligence and law enforcement agencies of a broad Russian effort to promote “allegations about the poor mental health” of former Vice President Joe Biden, according to internal emails and a draft of the document obtained by ABC News. Critics of DHS’s decision say that the perplexing decision would fuel fears that U.S. intelligence is being politicized. “By blocking information from being released that describes threats facing the nation,” said John Cohen, the former undersecretary for intelligence at DHS under President Barack Obama, “it undermines the ability of the public and state and local authorities to work with the federal government to counteract the threat.”

  • How Do Terrorists Make Decisions?

    A new guide, released by CREST, focuses on the insights criminology can provide into terrorist decision-making. It looks at what terrorists do and how they do it. The guide addresses the following questions: How do men and women decide to commit an act of terrorism? Do they plan wisely? How do they choose their targets? How do they evaluate the risk of a single operation? How is decision-making affected by the emotions felt during planning and operational phases? Can law enforcement be usefully informed by what we know about the behaviors of those who commit other kinds of crimes?

  • Watchdog Warns of ‘Limited Progress’ in Africa Counterterror Fight

    Terrorist organizations appear to be tightening their grip on multiple regions of Africa, despite ongoing efforts by the United States and its allies to degrade their capabilities and limit their reach. The findings, part of a new report released Tuesday from the Defense Department inspector general, come as U.S.-led efforts have been forced to adjust, and in some cases, scale back activities because of the coronavirus making its way across the continent.

  • Why the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” Is Still Pushed by Anti-Semites More Than a Century after Hoax First Circulated

    Surely no outright forgery in modern history has ever proved itself more durable than the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, concocted by Tsarist police in the early twentieth century. Why is it that this demonstrably false document continues to hold sway today? Perhaps the simplest explanation is human irrationality, which neither education nor enlightenment has ever managed to defeat.

  • Antifa Protester Suspected of Killing Trump Supporter in Oregon

    For the first time, a self-identified member of the militant movement known as antifa has been implicated in a fatal shooting and is reportedly under investigation in the killing of a supporter of President Donald Trump on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. If Reinoehl is implicated in the case, it would mark the first time in recent years that an antifa supporter has been charged with homicide, said Brian Levin, an expert on terrorism and extremist movements. Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist, says “We’re getting these situations where people with opposing perspectives are going in as volunteers” to enforce their views in violent ways, while the police “are not exactly sure what to do in this circumstance,” he said. “I think it’s going to be inevitable if you keep having situations like this, things are going to get out of hand.”

  • What – or Who – Is Antifa?

    The movement called “antifa” gets its name from a short form of “anti-fascist,” which is about the only thing its members agree on. Antifa as a decentralized collection of individual activists who mostly use nonviolent methods to achieve their ends. There are more militant anti-fascists, too, who mostly engage in non-militant activism but are willing, at times, to use more confrontational tactics. These people are more open to counterprotesting, sabotage and the use of force, which includes acts of violence.

  • Something Is Happening Here: The Portland Killing, Pt. 1

    On Saturday, a follower of antifa allegedly shot and killed Aaron Danielson, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer. Experts on terrorism and extremist movements note that if the charges against the alleged shooter are proven, then, as far as can be ascertained, this will be the first killing by an antifa follower. The important question is whether the killing is a one-off, or whether it signifies something deeper and more menacing. Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist, said: “We’re getting these situations where people with opposing perspectives are going in as volunteers” to enforce their views in violent ways. “I think it’s going to be inevitable if you keep having situations like this, things are going to get out of hand.”

  • French Headscarf Ban Adversely Affects Muslim Girls

    New research has shown that the French ban prohibiting Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in public schools has had a detrimental effect on both the girls’ ability to complete their secondary education and their trajectories in the labor market. “In response to rising immigration flows and the fear of Islamic radicalization, several Western countries have enacted policies to restrict religious expression and emphasize secularism and Western values,” the co-authors write. “Despite intense public debate, there is little systematic evidence on how such policies influence the behavior of the religious minorities they target,” said one researcher.

  • Would You Fall for a Fake Video? Research Suggests You Might

    Deepfakes are videos that have been manipulated in some way using algorithms. As concerns about election interference around the globe continue to rise, the phenomenon of deepfakes and their possible impact on democratic processes remains surprisingly understudied.