Sophisticated surveillance, once the domain of world powers, is increasingly available on the private market. Smaller countries are seizing on the tools — sometimes for darker purposes. By Mark Mazzetti, Adam Goldman, Ronen Bergman and Nicole Perlroth.

Law enforcement in Davao City familiar with the IBM program said the technology had assisted them in carrying out Duterte’s controversial anti-crime agenda. By George Joseph.

Why does the US government always crack down on Huawei? To achieve this, it even uses some disgraceful measures, including slandering the company by exerting its national power. The US moves have sparked questions as to why the US fears the Chinese company so much. Why does the company annoy the US?

The city’s district attorney not only declined to charge the officers involved in Stephon Clark’s death, but implied the victim wanted to die. By Jamil Smith.

Matt Stoller reflects on our love for Hamilton and why liberals came to embrace one of our most dangerously reactionary founders.

I circulated this letter to NBC colleagues on January 2 and since it quickly leaked and got recirculated all over, I’d thought I’d post it here... By William M. Arkin.

Sixteen Shots for Laquan, Three Years for Van Dyke. By Paul Street.

Would the F.B.I.’s smear campaign against Martin Luther King Jr. work today? By Beverly Gage. (Nov. 11, 2014)

When George H.W. Bush arrived in Washington as vice president in January 1981 he seemed little more than a sideshow to Ronald Reagan, the one-time leading man who had been overwhelmingly elected to the greatest stage in the world... By Seymour M. Hersh.

Trump's AG pick was top cop during the federal siege and killing of Randy Weaver's wife and son. By James Bovard.

From James Baldwin to Susan Sontag: the American authors labelled enemies of the state. By Douglas Kennedy.

Former President George H.W. Bush claimed to have trouble remembering where he was when John F. Kennedy was shot — in Bush’s own state. Helping refresh Bush 41’s memory leads in some fascinating directions. By Russ Baker.

We spoke to Bernard Harcourt about his latest book, “The Counterrevolution,” and what makes the Trump presidency unique. By Jeremy Scahill.

Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. Prosecutors, including future Trump labor secretary Alexander Acosta, cut Epstein an extraordinary plea deal. By Emily Michot, Julie K. Brown.

If Assange is successfully prosecuted for doing the same thing other mainstream publications do to hold power to account, there will be little stopping the US government from going after those types of outlets all around the world for publishing its secrets. By Caitlin Jonstone.

Reporters who cover environment and natural resource issues are commonly threatened and harassed around the world. Some have been killed for coverage that threatens powerful interests. By Eric Freedman.

Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

Border Patrol agents are extending their reach deep into the country’s interior. By Melissa del Bosque.

We’ve heard for decades that socialism has a body count. But how does it compare to capitalism? Mike Davis discusses Stalin, Mao, and the staggering holocausts of capitalism’s nineteenth-century heyday.

And what we can do about it. By Joseph E. Stiglitz.