You can't 'work' with Putin. You can only isolate him.

A recent exclusive in the Washington Post exposes the fundamental error at the heart of the West’s policy towards Russia.

Russia continues to divide Europe and the world into spheres of influence, through an active hybrid war which masterfully utilizes manipulation of the media, influencing politicians, economic blackmail and military aggression in order to secure itself an outsized influence on global events.

Seth Rich’s family pleads to end conspiracy theories

Seth Rich was murdered in the early-morning hours of July 10, 2016 in Washington, D.C., on his way home from a local bar. He was found still conscious and breathing, but died of his gunshot wounds at a hospital. A year later, his death continues to fuel far-right conspiracy theories—so much so that Rich’s parents and brother are pleading with everyone to stop.

Black-market bots, duped humans are responsible for derailing elections with fake news

After combing through 17 million tweets in the 10 days leading up to the French presidential election, a new study was able to determine exactly when and how Twitter bots fueled a disinformation campaign against now-elected French President Emmanuel Macron, Venture Beat reported.

The study, led by computer science researcher Emilio Ferrara at the University of Southern California, discovered a subset of those 17 million tweets from more than 2 million Twitter users dedicated to spreading false documents dubbed the Macron Leaks that discussing the election.

Germany’s G20 blame game

BERLIN — If there’s one thing Germans hate more than most people, it’s admitting a screw-up.

It should come as little surprise, then, that the finger-pointing over the violence at the Hamburg G20 was in full swing even before the ink dried on the summit communiqué. Conservatives blamed Olaf Scholz, the Social Democrat (SPD) mayor of Hamburg who predicted there wouldn’t be any major disruptions to the summit, while some on the center left attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel for staging the meeting in a city with a long tradition of leftist violence. Though Scholz, once seen as a possible SPD leader, described the crisis as his “toughest hour,” he said he wouldn’t step down.

Cut the mouth-foaming: This is the cost of grinding a citizen's life into dust

A lot has been written about the apology and compensation the Trudeau government has given to Omar Khadr – much of it hysterical and inflammatory.

A question: Why do I feel as though we have all been transported back to Salem?

The Khadr commentary has been more foaming at the mouth than fact-driven – the outstanding exception being Michelle Shephard of The Toronto Star.

G20 violence prompts calls for new curbs on anti-capitalist militants

Allies of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, have called for new curbs on leftwing extremists, including a Europe-wide register, after her decision to hold the G20 world leaders’ summit in Hamburg ended in violent clashes and injuries to nearly 500 police officers.

The cost of the damage has not yet been established but is expected to run into millions of euros. Merkel, who faces a parliamentary election on 24 September, has said that Hamburg residents who suffered damage will be properly compensated.

How Israel’s 10-Year Blockade Brought Gaza to the Brink of Collapse

The stories read like dispatches from a nightmare, describing a reality that is almost too extreme to fathom: nearly 2 million people locked inside a land mass the size of Philadelphia, the borders carefully controlled, the movement of goods and humans severely restricted; as much as 72 percent of the population facing food insecurity and 41 percent struggling with unemployment; hospitals forced to rely on generators for life-saving equipment, while supplies of life-saving medicines dwindle to dangerous levels; and looming in the not-far-off distance, as water treatment and desalination plants stop working, the risk that drinking water will run out.

Donald Trump signs off on Obama’s Iran deal, which he promised to scrap

President Donald Trump has certified that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal reached under President Barack Obama, although he added in his message to Congress that Iran is also “unquestionably in default of the spirit” of the deal.

The Dangers of the Increasingly Dominant Alt-Right Presence on Social Media

This week saw President Trump cross yet another line in his use of his Twitter account.  Trump tweeted a meme of himself symbolically beating up CNN.  While to some it might have appeared to be a funny way to epitomize Trump’s feud with CNN, to many the meme was aggressive, immature and inflammatory. CNN took the attacks seriously and released a statement stating, “It is a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters.”

There are lots of questions to be asked about the tweet, not the least of which is what it tells us about the judgment of the president and those who work with him.  But the real story here is not about Trump; it’s about the increasing power and presence of alt-right communication on various social media platforms, from Twitter to YouTube to Reddit to Facebook.

Why Isn’t Voter Suppression Considered Political Corruption?

On Election Day last November, Gladys Harris, 66, of Milwaukee went to cast her vote for president of the United States. Harris had lost her driver’s license shortly before the election, but she was sure the process would go smoothly. After all, she is a U.S. citizen and brought her Social Security and Medicare cards, along with a county-issued bus pass with her photo to the polls to verify her identity. Still, Harris was denied the right to vote and turned away from the polls.