Alina Polyakova asks What do Russian disinformation campaigns look like, and how can we protect our elections?: As technological capabilities progress, the threat of political warfare is becoming an even more serious threat to democratic elections. David M. Rubenstein Fellow Alina Polyakova analyzes past disinformation campaigns and political warfare tools employed by hostile foreign actors…
Putin
Propaganda, Putin, Russia
Hardly New
by JOHN ADAMS •
Hardly new. It was developed to combat the truth being available on the internet in Russia, instead of China-style censorship. Then it was exported against Russian-speaking neighbors and then used globally by 2015. https://t.co/qEohvkRDIy — Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) September 9, 2018
Documentary, Film, Putin, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
Review: Active Measures
by JOHN ADAMS •
Active Measures is a 2018 documentary describing Russian (derived from Soviet) techniques to undermine American democratic institutions, and those of our democratic allies. (Active measures: “A Soviet term for the actions of political warfare conducted by the Russian security services to influence the course of world events.”) The film is now in limited theatrical release,…
America, Fellow Traveler, Fifth Columnist, Putin, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
Another Fellow Traveler Heard From
by JOHN ADAMS •
A fellow traveler is someone who supports a group – typically used pejoratively as a group adversarial to one’s society – without being a member; a fifth columnist takes active, but hidden, steps to undermine one’s society on behalf of a foreign adversary. (Neither term, of course, applies merely to people who like to vacation abroad…
America, Foreign Affairs, Putin, Russia, TrumpRussia
We Unhelpful Many
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at The Atlantic, Danielle Pletka of the conservative American Enterprise Institute scolds critics of Trump, as she believes The Anti-Trump Hysteria Isn’t Helping: President Donald Trump’s press conference with Russia’s Vladimir Putin was a debacle. The president went from an anodyne prepared statement to a question-and-answer session that ping-ponged between stunning and appalling (with…
Putin, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
Senate Panel Confirms the Obvious: Putin Tried to Help Trump
by JOHN ADAMS •
Via The Committee to Investigate Russia. Intel Committee Releases Unclassified Summary of Initial Findings on 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment Press Contact: Caitlin Carroll (Burr) (202) 228-1616 Rachel Cohen (Warner) (202) 228-6884 Intel Committee Releases Unclassified Summary of Initial Findings on 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr…
America, Foreign Affairs, Military, Putin, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
The Return of the Second Fleet
by JOHN ADAMS •
Russia, ruled by a dictator and oligarchs friendly with Trump, has made herself a political and military adversary of the United States. One reads that The Navy is resurrecting a fleet to protect the East Coast and North Atlantic from Russia: The U.S. Navy has reactivated a fleet responsible for overseeing the East Coast and North…
Authoritarianism, Bigotry, Putin, Trump, TrumpRussia
America, Russia…
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s true that a well-ordered society would not be governed by (an unrepentent) former KGB agent. It’s just as true that a well-ordered society would not be governed by a bigoted, autocratic, dissolute liar. Yet here we are, and there they are. .@tolokno was imprisoned for speaking out against Vladimir Putin’s presidency in Russia. She…
Putin, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
The Definitive Timeline of the Trump-Russia Connections
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the Definitive Timeline of the Trump-Russia Connections (at least as publicly known so far) — ?
Putin, Russia, TrumpRussia
Russian Journalist Yevgenia Albats on Putin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Concern about Putin’s interference in our elections springs from one’s love for American democracy. I’ve mentioned before the fine Frontline series on Putin, entitled Putin’s Revenge (Parts 1 and 2 are online). The series also includes the full interviews with those who appeared in the two-part program. In the interview above, Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats talks…
Elections, Federal Government, Putin, Russia
Sessions Admits He’s Not Even Followed Up
by JOHN ADAMS •
United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions admits he’s not followed through on promises to protect American elections from Russian interference:
Authoritarianism, Foreign Affairs, Putin, Russia
Frontline: Putin’s Revenge (Part 1)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Watch the first part of “Putin’s Revenge” wherever you are tonight — on @PBS , on Facebook Live or on our website: https://t.co/GbH41aBls3 pic.twitter.com/MyGFa0oPD9 — FRONTLINE (@frontlinepbs) October 25, 2017
America, Law, Liberty, Putin, Resistance, Russia, Trump, TrumpRussia
The Erosion of Political Norms (Concluding Part 4 in a Series)
by JOHN ADAMS •
More than one small town has struggled for years under the debilitating influence of political & economic conflicts of interest, misguided priorities, and dodgy or grandiose claims. These conditions where those that That Which Paved the Way for Trumpism. Those locally who carried on this way made Trumpism more likely, the way a moderate illness might weaken…
America, Elections, Putin, Russia
Committee to Investigate Russia: ‘This is No Movie Script’
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the video above, Morgan Freeman reminds Americans that Russian interference in our electoral process is ‘no movie script’; Vladimir Putin is a dictator, murderer, and inveterate enemy of America and our democratic traditions. The newly-formed Committee to Investigate Russia (https://investigaterussia.org) made its début yesterday. The CIR is a nonpartisan group – with both conservative, liberal,…