Steven Aftergood: CRS on US Army Out-Gunned & Out-Armored

INNOVATION IN FOREIGN ARMY SYSTEMS Several nations are independently pursuing development of ground combat weapon systems that are comparable or superior to their U.S. Army counterparts, says a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Accordingly, there is a “possibility that in the not-too-distant future, foreign armored vehicle design and capabilities could surpass existing U.S. …

SPECIAL: Trump Trips; Preibus-Spicer Betrayal; Deception, “Gaslighting,” and Lies –The War Between Two Alternative Forms of Fake News

Below are three offerings, from Chuck Spinney, Mike Lofgren, and Jon Rappoport. Each deals with competing forms of fake news — the Trump version versus the Empire version. Both are wrong but between the two, the Empire version is more wrong. I’ve done all I can to help Donald Trump — in my view Reince …

Kevjn Lim: China Buys Into Israel

Israel and China’s Silk Road With BRI now at play, three implications and opportunities arise that transcend bilateral economic cooperation: infrastructural and trade interconnectivity, a closely-related “information Silk Road”, and Israel’s potential as mediator between the world’s two leading powers. The nexus of infrastructure, transport and communications transmission routes paves the way for an unprecedented …

Worth a Look: Parag Khanna on Technocracy & Democracy in America (Not Good Enough)

American democracy just isn’t good enough anymore. A costly election has done more to divide American society than unite it, while trust in government–and democracy itself–is plummeting. But there are better systems out there, and America would be wise to learn from them. In this provocative manifesto, globalization scholar Parag Khanna tours cutting-edge nations from …