Writers are under pressure not to participate in Dubai's book festival, because of Dubai's repression.

Iran is accused of assassinating two Iranian exiles that were living in the Netherlands.

Iran accuses them of violent rebellion. I have no basis to judge the truth of those claims, but if the claim against Notamed is true, we would have to weigh it against the scattershot execution policies of the Islamic Republic in 1981.

The Thai military have postponed elections, which has stimulated protests.

The bullshitter threatened Turkey with economic warfare if it attacks the Syrian Kurds.

A threat like that might be an effective defense measure if issued by someone who keeps his word.

The troops constitute a kind of commitment: if attacked, they will by default fight back. That constitutes a deterrent, notwithstanding the bullshitter's unreliability. A mere threat doesn't do that, so Erdoğan may ignore it.

Beto O'Rourke sought to break the power of the thugs' union in El Paso, not to prevent them from getting away with crimes, but just so as to pay them less.