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1-ON-1 WITH MIEKE EOYANG: THE URGENT NEED TO RETHINK CYBERSECURITY

Cyber-risk is literally everywhere.  Everyone is vulnerable.  We have never faced such a challenge before.  And whereas the defense establishment has some pretty sophisticated defenses and offenses developed, the reality is that any city, any country, any person in America can be a target of an attack.  How do we address this massive new threat?  Mieke Eoyang, VP for National Security at Third Way, is helping to lead an effort to generate new thinking in this regard and in this one-on-one discussion, she shares her insights into where it might lead. Listen here

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Stories We’re Watching

Deadly Week: Violence Looms Large as US Prepares for Midterm Elections

The US is experiencing an uptick in violence as midterm congressional elections draw nearer. On Saturday, in an attack against the US Jewish community, a Philadelphia man shot and murdered 11 people in a Synagogue in Pittsburgh. On Friday, a Florida man, who used the US postal service to mail IEDs to prominent Democratic figures, was arrested. On Wednesday, after being prevented from entering a church, a Kentucky man walked into a retail shop, shouted racial epithets, and murdered 2 individuals. Eight days remain until the midterm elections, and amid the violence, President Trump has been reluctant to consistently condemn hate speech and violence. Analysts and law enforcement point to social media platforms which have played a major role in spreading extremism. Critics point out to that President Trump has routinely defunded programs to counter violent extremism and hate speech.

• The Cut: All About the White Man Who Shot and Killed Two Black People at a Kentucky Kroger

• Independent: Cesar Sayoc in court – LIVE: Mail-bombing suspect ‘had list of people in hundreds’ to send pipe bomb packages

• The Atlantic: After Pittsburgh, All Eyes Are on Trump Once More

• Dept of Homeland Security: Statement by Secretary Jeh Johnson Announcing First Round of DHS’s Countering Violent Extremism Grants  (Official)

• Government Executive: Trump Shut Down Programs to Counter Violent Extremism

Merkel Not Seeking Reelection

Earlier today, at a meeting of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she will not seek reelection as chancellor but plans to carry out the remainder of her current term. Merkel further announced that she would also be stepping down as CDU party leader later in December. Merkel was her party’s leader for 18 years and Germany’s chancellor for 13. The CDU party lost seats in the last two German state parliamentary elections. Earlier this month Merkel’s local party (CSU) lost seats in the Bavarian state election, as the hard right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party saw their vote share increase.

• Deutsche Welle: Angela Merkel will not run for CDU party chair again – live updates

• The Guardian: German chancellor Angela Merkel will not seek re-election in 2021

• NPR: Germany’s Angela Merkel Says She Won’t Seek Re-Election, Will Leave Party Role

• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Germany’s Merkel To Step Down As Chancellor At End Of Current Term

Central Tunis hit by suicide bomb blast

Earlier today, a woman blew herself up in front of the trendy Palmarium shopping center in Tunis’ city center. Investigators believe that the bomber’s target was a group of police officers on Habib Bourguiba Avenue. The Tunisian interior ministry reports that, so far, there have been no fatalities, but that nine individuals were injured. Eight of those injured are believed to be police officers.

• Reuters: Woman blows herself up in central Tunis, nine hurt: ministry

• The Guardian: Central Tunis hit by suicide bomb blast

• Al Jazeera: Nine people wounded in Tunis suicide bomb attack

• The Wall Street Journal: Female Suicide Bomber Wounds Nine in Heart of Tunis

Brazil Elects Far-Right Candidate Jair Bolsonaro

Jair Bolsonaro, the right wing candidate of Brazil’s Social Liberal Party (PSL), was elected president on Sunday. Political analysts say that Mr. Bolsonaro’s rise was buoyed by nationwide anger and frustration over the the years-long corruption probe, high crime rates, and the twin economic pressures of unemployment and inflation. Bolsonaro quickly won 55% of the vote despite years of public statements including hate speech against women, the gay community, black individuals, and indigenous people. Bolsonaro has also publicly voiced support for torture and dictatorships, which unsettles some given Brazil’s history of rule by brutal dictatorships. Regional experts are bracing for a likely shift in Brazil’s foreign policy.

• The Economist: Jair Bolsonaro will be Brazil’s next president

• Vice News: Far-right Authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro Is Brazil’s New President

• Washington Office on Latin America: Brazil’s Elections: How Did This Happen?

• The New York Times: What the Brazilian Dictatorship Did to My Family

Social Media Under Fire for Inciting Violence and Spreading Extremism

Analysts and law enforcement are scrutinizing the role that social media platforms have played in inciting violence and spreading disinformation around the world. From the recent US pipe bombs to the Rohingya massacre to the election of Brazil’s far right candidate, social media platforms have generated as much outcry as the horrific acts themselves. The social network Gab was taken down earlier today following its role in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. Gab has also been criticized for its role in the Brazilian elections. Earlier today Twitter announced plans to remove the ‘like’ feature from the app. And Myanmar military personnel instrumentally used Facebook as a tool for ethnic cleansing to fuel the murder, rape and forced migration of the Rohingya.

• CNN Business: Gab, the social network used by the Pittsburgh suspect, has been taken offline

• The Telegraph: Twitter to remove ‘like’ tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate

• The New York Times: A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military

• Buzzfeed: This Is How We Radicalized The World

Standard Chartered (SCBFF) to become 1st foreign lender to hold assets of local investors in China

Earlier today the China Securities Regulatory Commission granted a custodian license to a foreign bank for the first time. Based in London with a focus on emerging markets, Standard Chartered (SCBFF) will be the first foreign bank to hold locally-owned assets in China, a key piece of the nation’s financial system. The license lifts the rule banning foreign banks majority ownership and allows SCBFF to act as a custodian for  investments sold locally and internationally. Custodianships can generate significant revenue. Last year JPMorgan Chase generated $3.9 billion in revenue for its securities services alone. This license is part of a larger package of reforms aimed at opening up China’s domestic financial markets.

• CNN: China takes another big step to open its financial markets

• South China Morning Post: From Citibank to Standard Chartered, rattled global banks curb China travel after UBS executive is barred from exiting

• The Business Times, Singapore: StanChart first foreign bank to get China fund custody license

From Deep State Radio

DAVID ROTHKOPF: Trump Didn’t Pull the Trigger on Jews in Pittsburgh, but He Certainly Prepped the Shooter

In the past week, America and the world have witnessed the metastasization of Trumpism. The process has been on-going since even before the U.S. president was elected, but it accelerated once he assumed office. We saw it in the first attempts to bar refugees from the United States on the basis of their religion. We saw it when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia. We saw it when the people of Puerto Rico were denied the full support of their federal government in the wake of a devastating hurricane – and the president’s history of anti-Latin racism was clearly a contributing factor.  Read more here

HISHAM MELHEM:  Slouching Towards an American Dystopia?

I am a naturalized American citizen. I lived most of my life, and intend to spend what is left of it in my beloved state of Virginia. Becoming entrenched in my American identity took years. As a journalist interpreting America with all its grandeur and magisterial if tepid march towards a ‘more perfect Union’ and its occasional hubris, to almost two generations of Arabs through print, television and radio, became the passionate mission of my life. Continue here