Foreign Affairs

* While President Trump might not be impressed, the European Commission officially confirmed that Russian disinformation was detected in last month’s European Union elections. No, this issue–Russian meddling to suppress turnout and influence voter preferences–or Trump, is not going away soon enough.

* Hong Kong, the former British colony, is in the news. Again. It’s what happens when pro-democracy protesters hit the streets and have to wear masks to stay ahead of China’s authoritarian, police-state surveillance. They take measures to mask their digital footprints. They miss freedom, autonomy and their jailed leaders. They want full universal suffrage, not Beijing’s version of “1984.” They’ve never missed Mao.

While no one would advocate for–or wax nostalgic for–colonialism, the erstwhile British crown colony days never looked so good. Come to think of it, British Honduras is looking better by the Tegucigalpa day. Honduras, the most murderous country in the world, is nearing failed-state status.

* I’ve seen the HBO miniseries on Chernobyl, the infamous Ukrainian site of a 1986 nuclear disaster.It’s compelling. But not nearly compelling enough to want to go there. Yet we’re seeing a surge in bookings for trips to the site and the nearby town (Pripyat) that were abandoned after the nuclear accident. Tourists turning Chernobyl into a radiation theme park?  Flint never seemed so appealing.

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