Tag: Reading
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Threats, Lies and Videotape: Prigozhin’s Long-Running War on Free Media – bellingcat
Threats, Lies and Videotape: Prigozhin’s Long-Running War on Free Media – bellingcat In our previous article from this investigation series, we described the origins and the state-run nature of Russia’s shadow military units, known collectively under the name “Wagner PMC” (private military company). We also identified the close collaborat via bellingcat: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2020/08/20/threats-lies-and-videotape-prigozhins-long-running-war-on-free-media/ In addition to…
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U.S. Diplomats and Spies Battle Trump Administration Over Suspected Attacks – The New York Times
U.S. Diplomats and Spies Battle Trump Administration Over Suspected Attacks (Published 2020) American officials in China, Cuba and Russia say U.S. agencies are concealing the true extent of the episodes, leaving colleagues vulnerable to hostile actions abroad. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/us/politics/diplomat-attacks-havana-syndrome.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage One of the biggest questions centers on whether Trump administration officials believe that Mr. Lenzi and…
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New York Post Published Hunter Biden Report Amid Newsroom Doubts – The New York Times
New York Post Published Hunter Biden Report Amid Newsroom Doubts (Published 2020) Some reporters withheld their bylines and questioned the credibility of an article that made the tabloid’s front page on Wednesday. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/business/media/new-york-post-hunter-biden.html The New York Post’s front-page article about Hunter Biden on Wednesday was written mostly by a staff reporter who refused to…
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As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place – The New York Times
As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place (Published 2020) A nationwide operation of 1,300 local sites publishes coverage that is ordered up by Republican groups and corporate P.R. firms. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/technology/timpone-local-news-metric-media.html Maine Business Daily is part of a fast-growing network of nearly 1,300 websites that aim to fill a void left…
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Moxie Marlinspike Has a Plan to Reclaim Our Privacy | The New Yorker
Taking Back Our Privacy Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of the end-to-end encrypted messaging service Signal, is “trying to bring normality to the Internet.” via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/26/taking-back-our-privacy In Pittsburgh, Marlinspike uncovered an Internet vulnerability that affected nearly every popular browser. It enabled malicious actors to mount what is called a “man-in-the-middle attack”—a type of…
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Alexey Navalny Has the Proof of His Poisoning | The New Yorker
Alexey Navalny Has the Proof of His Poisoning The Russian anti-corruption activist, who nearly died in August, talks about his recovery and his future. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/alexey-navalny-has-the-proof-of-his-poisoning Because you think rationally. There are a million ways to isolate someone or kill them, but this is like some trashy thriller. I find myself living…
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Inside the Fall of the CDC — ProPublica
Inside the Fall of the CDC How the world’s greatest public health organization was brought to its knees by a virus, the president and the capitulation of its own leaders, causing damage that could last much longer than the coronavirus. via ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-fall-of-the-cdc When the next history of the CDC is written, 2020 will emerge…
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Opinion | Donald Trump: The Worst President in Modern History? – The New York Times
Opinion | End Our National Crisis (Published 2020) The case against Donald Trump. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/16/opinion/donald-trump-worst-president.html Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents, shattering the norms that have bound the…
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When Armed Vigilantes Are Summoned With a Few Keystrokes – The New York Times
When Armed Vigilantes Are Summoned With a Few Keystrokes (Published 2020) Kevin Mathewson, who quickly organized the Kenosha Guard on Facebook, said the Wisconsin city’s police were outnumbered during protests. The streets turned deadly after his call to arms. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/us/kenosha-guard-militia-kevin-mathewson.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage Tapping on his cellphone with a sense of purpose, Kevin Mathewson, a former wedding…
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Trump and Biden Spar From Afar at Town Halls – The New York Times
A Combative Trump and a Deliberate Biden Spar From Afar at Town Halls (Published 2020) With less than three weeks left in the campaign, there was no sign that either candidate was diverging from the political tracks they laid down months ago. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/politics/presidential-town-halls.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage President Trump spoke positively about an extremist conspiracy-theory group, expressed skepticism…
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Who Is a Domestic Terrorist? | The New Yorker
The Growing Threat of American Political Violence As a fraught election approaches, the potential for domestic terrorism is the highest it has been in decades. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/who-is-a-domestic-terrorist Matthew Feldman, a professor at the University of York who studies right-wing extremism, said that November 3rd has all the hallmarks of being a potential…
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How One of the Most Stable Nations in West Africa Descended Into Mayhem – The New York Times
How One of the Most Stable Nations in West Africa Descended Into Mayhem (Published 2020) Burkina Faso once looked like a success story for U.S. military aid. But now it’s contending with a growing insurgency, an unfolding humanitarian crisis — and a security force targeting civilians. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/magazine/burkina-faso-terrorism-united-states.html Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department…
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Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itself | The New Yorker
Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itself The platform is overrun with hate speech and disinformation. Does it actually want to solve the problem? via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/19/why-facebook-cant-fix-itself In retrospect, it seems that the company’s strategy has never been to manage the problem of dangerous content, but rather to manage the public’s perception of the problem. In Clegg’s recent blog…
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An Arrest in Canada Casts a Shadow on a New York Times Star, and The Times – The New York Times
An Arrest in Canada Casts a Shadow on a New York Times Star, and The Times (Published 2020) A top editor is now reviewing Rukmini Callimachi’s reporting on terrorism, which turned distant conflicts into accessible stories but drew criticism from colleagues. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/business/media/new-york-times-rukmini-callimachi-caliphate.html That assumption appeared to blow up a couple of weeks ago, on…
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Trump’s Swamp: Taxes Trace Payments to Properties by Those Who Got Ahead – The New York Times
The Swamp That Trump Built (Published 2020) A businessman-president transplanted favor-seeking in Washington to his family’s hotels and resorts — and earned millions as a gatekeeper to his own administration. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/10/us/trump-properties-swamp.html As president-elect, he had pledged to step back from the Trump Organization and recuse himself from his private company’s operation. As president, he…
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Inside the Trump White House After His COVID-19 Diagnosis
The Entire Presidency Is a Superspreading Event Down in the polls, high on steroids, and clinging to good health while endangering everyone else’s. via Intelligencer: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/donald-trump-covid-19-white-house.html Statistically, the coronavirus is more likely to cost Donald Trump the White House than his life, though the threat to the latter isn’t helping the former. A little more…
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Trump’s Taxes Show He Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016 – The New York Times
Trump’s Taxes Show He Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016 (Published 2020) Over $21 million in highly unusual payments from the Las Vegas hotel Donald Trump owns with Phil Ruffin were routed through other Trump companies, then directed to Mr. Trump. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/09/us/donald-trump-taxes-las-vegas.html The new findings, part of The Times’s continuing investigation, cast light on…
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The Vampire Ship | The New Republic
The Vampire Ship How the seizure of Europe’s largest heroin shipment created bloody fallout throughout the world—and sparked still-raging political corruption scandals in Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East via The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/159252/noor-one-vampire-ship-heroin-turkey-greece-corruption-scandal?utm_content=buffer5e059&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer The Kurds had spent years preparing for the heroin’s arrival. They had negotiated to pay more than $20 million for the…
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George Floyd 911 call: What should happen to CUP Foods for calling the cops?
The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd Is Facing a Painful Reckoning A teenage clerk dialed 911. How should the brothers who own CUP Foods pay for what happened next? via Slate Magazine: https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/10/cup-foods-george-floyd-store-911-history.html The brothers can’t help but feel that if only one of them had been there that night, things might…
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How the “QAnon Candidate” Marjorie Taylor Greene Reached the Doorstep of Congress | The New Yorker
How the “QAnon Candidate” Marjorie Taylor Greene Reached the Doorstep of Congress “There’s nothing she can do to lose my vote, unless she murdered a baby or something,” a local Republican official said. “Nothing.” via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/how-the-qanon-candidate-marjorie-taylor-greene-reached-the-doorstep-of-congress When I asked Greene about the alleged affair, she replied by texting me a series of…