In SpyTalk, veteran intelligence reporter Jeff Stein reviews a diverse slew of recent books in the realm of espionage and national security. Three recommendations A Hollywood feature on The Trial of the Chicago Seven, coming October 16, starring Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Frank Langella, among others, as the colorful anti-Vietnam War defendants, their lawyers and...
Category: Torture
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The Undercover Mission of the New International Spy Museum
The new International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. is, not surprisingly, an institution in disguise, an undercover operation executed in plain sight. The museum’s beveled glassy front is more stylish than its neighbors–the bland façade of the Post Office to the west, the neo-expressionist face of the General Services Administration to the north. Yet the...
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‘Electronic Authoritarianism:’ How MBS Rose to Power in Saudi Arabia
A new biography of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), by Ben Hubbard, describes how he perfected “electronic authoritarianism.” From Fred Hiatt’s review in the The Washington Post the most fundamental change the headstrong crown prince has brought about, Hubbard shows, is to turn a “soft-gloved autocracy” that featured multiple centers of power, and...
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Russian Anti-Fascists Say FSB Tortured Them
The Putin government goes after a left-wing group known as Set, which is Russian for “Network.” A court in Penza has sentenced the seven members of Set to prison terms between six and 18 years, according to Mediazona. The activists’ supporters chanted “freedom to political prisoners” in the courtroom after the judge read out the...
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Egypt Activist Faces Charges of ‘Harming National Security’
In Egypt the security forces of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are cracking down on dissent. The latest victim is Patrick Zaky, a graduate student and human rights activist. Zaky appeared before the public prosecutor on Saturday in his hometown of Mansoura, 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Cairo in the Delta region, security and judicial...