Free Republic

A Russian pilot tried to ‘dogfight’ American jets over Syria in an effort to provoke the US. Russian pilots have been buzzing US fighter jets over the last several weeks. This is the new norm under a Joe Biden presidency. A nuclear power is trying to provoke the US and draw us into World War 3. In March two Russian Su-27 aircraft attacked a US Reaper drone and dumped fuel on the drone over the Black Sea. CNN reported: Russian pilots tried to “dogfight” US jets over Syria, according to a spokesman for US Central Command, part of a recent...

What does looking into the hearts and minds of online trolls tell us? That's the question Australian researchers tried to answer in a new study that investigates the psychological profile of trolls — that is, computer users who engage in the disturbing 21st century practice of deliberating provoking, demeaning, and threatening others online. Researchers at Australia's Federation University used an online questionnaire to look closer at a handful of traits — psychopathy, sadism, and empathy — among those who engage in online trolling. The survey included 415 participants, approximately one-third male and two-thirds female, with a median age of 23...

The violence that turns a small-town protest into a fiery national spectacle like the one that has played out this month in Missouri is often unwittingly provoked by police, according to researchers at UC Berkeley. The research team, which studied clashes between police and activists during the Occupy movement three years ago, found that protests tend to turn violent when officers use aggressive tactics, such as approaching demonstrators in riot gear or lining up in military-like formations.

Privately, some Georgians are already wondering how long Saakashvili will last. "I don't think he'll stay," said Dato, a 21-year-old artist in Tbilisi. "I think the aggression was on our side."

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2008 – Three U.S. Navy vessels took evasive actions after five Iranian boats buzzed the ships transiting the Straits of Hormuz yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Whitman called the Iranian provocation “a serious incident.” The fast Iranian boats approached at “distances and speed that showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent,” he said. The incident lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, he said. The Navy ships were going into the Persian Gulf when the Iranian boats confronted them. “Small, Iranian fast boats made some aggressive maneuvers against our vessels and indicated...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah's harsh — and unexpected — attack on the U.S. military presence in Iraq could be a Saudi attempt to signal to Washington its anger over the situation in Iraq and build credibility among fellow Arabs. The kingdom has taken an aggressive leadership role to quiet Mideast troubles, and wanted to show other Arabs it was willing to put their interests above its close ties to the United States. The White House, in a rare public retort Thursday, rejected the king's characterization of U.S. troops in Iraq as an "illegitimate foreign occupation," saying the United...

17 August 2006, 11:26Holocaust caricature exhibition will provoke Islamophobia - Russian human rights activists Moscow, August 17, Interfax - Russian human rights organizations have stated that the Holocaust caricature exhibition in Tehran will entail an upsurge of Islamophobia and called on the Iranian authorities to close it down. In an appeal to the Iranian embassy and the UN office in Moscow, they called ‘to listen to the public voice and to close down the exhibition in order to prevent unrest throughout the world, to prevent the prerequisites for Islamophobia’. ‘The caricatures mocking the Holocaust tragedy amounts to jeering at the...

Conversational Terrorism All of the techniques listed in this document have actually been witnessed, told to us by someone else, or dreamed up. They are described in first person for clarity of motive. The intent of detailing and naming these insidious tactics is so that the reader may AVOID USING THEM, to quickly recognize if someone else is using them, and for fun. There is much humor in the way people (consciously or unconsciously) conversationally cheat. It is hoped that exposing these tactics will help muzzle the growing abuse in our conversational landscape. Give copies to both perpetrators and victims...