Planet Watch
Doomsday Clock: 2.5 minutes of midnight
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the minute hand of its symbolic Doomsday Clock from three minutes to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight.
Tag: politics of cyberspace
Greater Middle East
Saudi Arabia: seven years for tweeting
Saudi Arabia's specialized anti-terrorist court handed down a seven-year term for a Twitter post deemed insulting to the ruling al-Saud family.
North America
Yes, the Russians. Wake up and smell the vodka.
Amid disingenuous demands for the "evidence," all the political logic points to Russia being behind the hacks in an intentional strategy to throw the US election to Trump.
Inner Asia
Russian blogger jailed for protesting Syria war
A Russian court sentenced blogger Alexei Kungurov to two-and-a-half years in prison for "justification of terrorism" over a post criticizing Moscow's military intervention in Syria.
Iraq
‘Factually Incorrect’ with Bill Weinberg: episode 1
Bill Weinberg fights the post-truth plague by taking down fiction-spewing bloviators whether of the left or right—starting with Jimmy Dore of “Aggressive Progressive” vlog.
Europe
Poland’s victory: can it happen in US?
Poland's increasingly authoritarian government capitulated after days of angry protests and agreed to scrap a proposed law that would have imposed harsh restrictions on the media.
Europe
UK mass surveillance bill becomes law
The UK's Investigatory Powers Bill was given royal assent and became law, providing intelligence agencies broad powers to monitor the online activity of all citizens.
North America
Trump’s ‘election’: Russian-backed fascist coup?
With Cossacks joining the Klan in celebrating Trump's victory, stateside activists are demanding a recount in swing states, citing fears the vote was hacked by Russian agents.
North America
Dakota Access CEO cheered by Trump victory
Trump has holdings in the company building the Dakota Access pipeline, whose CEO says he is "100%" confident construction will be completed under the new administration.
East Asia
China approves controversial cybersecurity law
China's government approved a new cybersecurity law—over the protests of international rights organizations, who say it enforces censorship and surveillance of online activities.
North Africa
Algeria: five years for ‘insulting prophet’ online
An Algerian appeals court upheld the conviction of Slimane Bouhafs, accused of slandering the Prophet Muhammed in a Facebook post and now facing five years in prison.
Watching the Shadows
Propaganda and the dystopia of social media
Bill Weinberg rants against the totalizing propaganda environment of social media, destroying our ability to think, analyze and access information outside a "confirmation bias" bubble.