Sanity Sunday Musical Break- Chill Mix

by Nomad

Time to kick back and mull over the events of the past week and to try and speculate what's to come. Watching the president helpless thrash and flail as the ship of state slowly begins to right itself is, in a strange way, entertaining and reassuring.

This week's Sanity Sunday Musical break is a pretty random mix of relaxing "chill" tunes. Hope you enjoy the selection.

The Truth about Donald Trump's Particular Kind of Lies

by Lee McIntyre, Boston University

President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside of the White House. AP/Evan Vucci

Recently, I heard an interesting remark by Russian-born journalist Masha Gessen. She compared three larger-than-life politicians, Vladimir Putin, Silvio Berlusconi, and Donald Trump. Specifically, she compared the manner in which they deceive the public and why they do so.

The way Putin lies, the way Berlusconi lies, and the way Trump lies are exactly the same. They all lie in a blatant way, you know... They do something that to Americans has been very difficult to absorb which is that they lie about things that are obviously not true in order to assert power.

Operation InfeKtion: The Worldwide War on Truth - Part 3

by Nomad

Taking Action Against Active Measures

When it comes to mounting a defense against Russian disinformation, targeted governments from Pakistan to Mexico, from the UK to the USA, have shown themselves to be woefully ill-equipped.

Sanity Sunday Musical Break- Stéphane Grappelli

by Nomad

French jazz violinist, Stéphane Grappelli, might not be a familiar name to many of you. Grappelli has been called "the grandfather of jazz violinists" and certainly has a distinctive style.

Throughout his career, Grappelli collaborated with my top musicians like Jean-Luc Ponty, Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, and most famously, swing guitarist, Django Reinhardt. (For a more complete biography, click here.)

Operation InfeKtion: The Seven Commandments of Fake News - Part 2

by Nomad

Operation InfeKtion: The Seven Commandments of Fake News is part two of a three-part NYT op-ed series takes a closer look at Russia's highly developed disinformation campaign and why it has, so far, been so effective.

A Closer Look at Trump's Amoral Defense of Saudi Arabia's Murder of Jamal Khashoggi

by Nomad

Gangsters Defending Gangsterism

Yesterday's statement from President Donald J. Trump about the US stand on Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Khashoggi murder seems worth a closer look.
Never in America's history have we seen such an appalling repudiation of international law and order by a sitting president. In a word, it is a disgrace.

Operation InfeKtion: Meet the KGB Spies who Invented Fake News - Part 1

by Nomad

"If you don't know who to trust anymore, this might be the thing that's making you feel that way. If you feel exhausted by the news, this could be why. And if you're sick of it all and you just want to stop caring, then we really need to talk."

The Art of Deception

Supreme warfare is achieved by overcoming one's enemy without fighting. That's a fundamental precept from the Chinese military general Sun Tzu's "The Art of War.

All warfare, writes Tzu, is based on deception. And the most successful type of warfare is that where the enemy does not recognize the battlefield and the type of weapons used. The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.