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Michael Bloomberg (image by AFGE  via Wikimedia Commons) Billionaire business mogul and ex-mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg is reportedly preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary  . Last March Bloomberg had ruled out running for president, but he is now "increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned" to defeat President Trump, as his adviser Howard Wolfson told NPR. Wolfson was a high-profile aide on Hillary Clinton's 2008 primary campaign. What exactly prompted Bloomberg to change his mind is not clear, but it is possible that he feels increasingly concerned about the rise of left-wing candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Other wealthy individuals, like Bill Gates, have recently expressed their opposition to wealth tax plans. Bloomberg's entry into the primary race clearly shows what is wrong with the American political system, dominated by elites who think that the US gover

West Exit of Zhengzhou East Railway Station. Zhengzhou, in China's Henan province, is famous for its "iPhone City" (photo by  Windmemories   via Wikimedia Commons) Automation has become a major topic of debate in the United States. A recent study by Oxford Economics claimed that robots could take over 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world by 2030. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has made the fight against automation's disruption of the labour market one of the central themes of his campaign. "Technology is quickly displacing a large number of workers, and the pace will only increase as automation and other forms of artificial intelligence become more advanced," Yang wrote on his campaign website. "⅓ of American workers will lose their jobs to automation by 2030 according to McKinsey. This has the potential to destabilize our economy and society if unaddressed." Amid Donald Trump's "trade war" with

Kremlin, Moscow (by Минеева Ю. [Julmin] , retouched by Surendil via Wikimedia Commons)) In his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election Special Counsel Robert Mueller described how Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) spread propaganda and disinformation and manipulated American public opinion through the use of social media. "The IRA conducted social media operations targeted at large U.S. audiences with the goal of sowing discord in the U.S. political system," the document stated. These operations are described by the report as "active measures," a term that refers to the Russian intelligence's methods of propaganda and subversion directed at foreign governments. Originally, the phrase was used in the context of the Soviet Union's secret service, the KGB, but its practice has continued after the fall of the Soviet Union and has once again become a central part of Moscow's strategy. Oleg Kalugin , a f

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meet at the 2017 G-20 in Hamburg, 7 July 2017 (Source http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55006/photos , by Kremlin.ru) On April 18, a redacted version of the "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election," commonly referred to as the " Mueller Report ," was released to the public.  The 448 pages-long document details Russia's propaganda and manipulation tactics through social media,  as well as cooperation between the Trump Campaign and Russian entities for the purpose of damaging Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.  The following excerpts from the Report describe Russia's "active measures" on social media: ---- II. Russian "Active Measures" Social Media Campaign The first form of Russian election influence came principally from the Internet Research Agency, LLC (IRA), a Russian organization funded by Yevgeniy Viktorovic

Starbucks Coffee in Yu Garden, Shanghai (by Haluk Comertel via Wikimedia Commons) On January 27 Howard Schultz , the former CEO of Starbucks, told CBS' "60 Minutes" that he is considering running for president of the United States as an independent .  Schultz has hired former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt and Democratic consultant Bill Burton. Schmidt was involved in the presidential campaign of George W. Bush in 2004, while Burton was a member of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and later served as deputy White House press secretary. Schultz, who as of January 30 is worth US$3.4 billion according to Forbes , stepped down as executive chairman and board member of Starbucks in June 2018 and is now chairman emeritus. He owns more than 37.7 million shares of the company's stock. Many have criticized Schultz's presidential bid, worrying that it might help re-elect Donald Trump by taking votes away from the Democratic candidate. But

2017 Venezuela protests (by Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons) On January 23 United States president Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate president. The citizens of Venezuela have suffered for too long at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime. Today, I have officially recognized the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela. https://t.co/WItWPiG9jK — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019 Opposition leader Guaidó had previously declared himself interim president in an attempt to remove from office incumbent president Nicolas Maduro. Other countries, including Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and other South American governments , soon joined the United States in recognizing Guaidó as Venezuela's president. The European Union released a statement calling "for the start of an immediate political process leading to free and credible elections, in conf