BRUCE LERRO—Speaking of cops, research on mass psychology has shown that most of the time, contrary to Le Bon, riots are started by the police, not the crowd. Furthermore, crowds assemble and disassemble at ballgames and concerts without any police necessary. Once gathered crowds do not stick together like honey. They easily disperse and really do not need the police to do so. I have been to many a Yankee and Knicks game in which the crowd, anywhere from 15 thousand to 30 thousand people leave the game, peacefully get on the train and talk about the ballgame. There is no need for police because nothing controversial happens. For conservatives like Le Bon, they cannot imagine that crowds regulate themselves. For them crowds are filled with animalistic, hedonistic barbarians who need the police to whip them into order.
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PETER KOENIG—In 1990, Alberto Fujimori, a little-known Rector of and professor at the Agrarian State University of Lima, with the support of Washington, became President, defeating Nobel Prize-winner [and hidebound reactionary] adversary Mario Vargas Llosa, in a landslide victory of 62.4% against 37.6%. Fujimori imposed neoliberalism in Peru from the get-go of his presidency in 1990. He followed closely the mandates of the IMF and the World Bank. His other main objective was to finish off the Shining Path.
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MOA—Amazon, Bezos’ main company, also gets billions in subsidies and does not pay taxes. Bezos, Musk and other billionaires are errors in our economic-political systems. They should be eliminated. I am fine with subsidizing Bezos’ or Musk’s flights to space. But don’t make it round-trip tickets.
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RICHARD WOLFF—Capitalism is fragile. It is not a secure and solid system. And capitalists know this. They just don’t let their media or politicians acknowledge it.” The lack of stability of the capitalist system and its recurring crises are both inevitable and hard-wired in its core dynamic and social relations, argues Prof. Wolff in this comprehensive and at times semi-satirical chat.
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SCOTT RITTER—The most recent defense expenditure authorization required that the ODNI establish a “social media data analysis center” to coordinate and track foreign social media influence operations by analyzing data voluntarily shared by US social media companies. Based upon this analysis, the ODNI would report to Congress on a quarterly basis on trends in foreign influence and disinformation operations to the public. As envisioned by Congress, the intelligence community would determine jointly with US social media companies which data and metadata will be made available for analysis.
In short, the intelligence community, using data obtained from the social media accounts of American citizens, will report to Congress how this data influences the political decision making of these same American citizens. If this does not make the most ardent defender of the US Constitution ill, nothing will.
