Black Genocide: Classifying the Transatlantic Slave Trade and U.S. Slavery of Africans as a Genocide
The American slave trade remains one of the most horrific periods of American history. Many in the United States classify the Atlantic Slave Trade, the American slavery system, and the Jim Crow laws as reprehensible acts, crimes committed by White Americans and English, and a stain upon the United States, and rightly so. However, these events should also be classified as genocide as they meet the legal criteria for such crimes and also follow a very similar line when looking at other, more internationally recognized forms of genocide.
Brazil’s insurrection as taught by the United States
The insurrection that took place in Brazil on January 8, 2023, is eerily similar to the attacks on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Both Trump and Bolsonaro use the same authoritarian playbook that utilises disinformation to mobilise the public.
The Lasso of Truth: The American National Security Workforce and the Polygraph
Polygraphs are an incredibly popular tool. They are used in criminal and civil cases, by the prosecution and defense alike, to determine the credibility of sources, defendants, and suspects. However, polygraphs are incredibly problematic. As has been shown by various scientific reports and assessments, they have zero scientific basis, are far too open to individual bias and partial interpretation, and incredibly unreliable. Yet they are in use by nearly every federal law enforcement agency for employment and investigative purposes and are utilized by the courts in certain circumstances. My own view on polygraphs is rather negative, having personally researched the issue and been the subject of such an exam for employment purposes.
