Today, many people are feeling discouraged at the state of relations with law enforcement. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the most common reason a person has an encounter with the police is in a traffic stop – and traffic stops sometimes require prolonged one-on-one contact between citizens and law enforcement. It is important to know your rights and how to respond to officerswhen you are stopped or approached, especially in common interactions like traffic stops.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent

Under the Fifth Amendment, you do not have to answer an officer’s questions during a traffic stop beyond requests for your license, registration and proof of insurance. You do not have to answer any questions about where you are going, what you are doing or where you live. If you plan to exercise your right to remain silent, be sure to say so out loud.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's U.S.-backed authoritarian leader
seized power six years ago in a military coup but now appears
bewildered, vulnerable and unable to stop two months of street
protests against the government and previously monarchy.

Some people wonder if Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha can stay at the
top, who might replace him, and will bullets be used against the tens
of thousands of peaceful, idealistic youths demanding revolutionary
changes.

Many Thais predict the protesters will not be able to curtail the vast
influence and wealth of 68-year-old King Vajiralongkorn.

"Now it is understood that the country needs people who love the
country and love the monarchy,” the constitutional king said in a
speech on October 16.

Prayuth agreed and recently said, "What the government needs to do is
to protect the monarchy.

"There are millions of people who are loyal to the monarchy, and they
are in all provinces. So please help us defuse the tension."

The change the country needs in this election, close polling observers agree, can only happen through four plausible avenues--- Biden wins PA ( the most likely way) or, if Trump manages to keep the state’s rust belt red there, through 3 alternative Sunbelt routes : capturing often-slippery Florida, winning NC, or the long detour of AZ plus Omaha’s one electoral vote.

On Thursday, just hours before millions watched a debate that changed few minds, a handful of Republican operatives quietly took actions that could well change the November outcome in two of the critical swing states.

Lawyers in both PA and NC advanced alarming federal court litigation to cut back acceptance of absentee ballots, asking the Supreme Court to rule on shrinking the time window for receiving countable ballots by 3 days in PA, by 6 days in NC. This could put Trump’s second term in the hands of just nine voters – the same black-robed set (with some new faces) that effectively installed George W in the White House.

I read this nightmare fantasy in the Financial Times:

The outdated notion that China ‘just wants to do business’ should be completely erased from our understanding of the rising global power’s political outlook. 

Simply put, Beijing has long realized that, in order for it to sustain its economic growth unhindered, it has to develop the necessary tools to protect itself, its allies and their combined interests.

The need for a strong China is not a novel idea developed by the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping. It goes back many decades, spanning various nationalist movements and, ultimately, the Communist Party. What sets Xi apart from the rest is that, thanks to the unprecedented global influence acquired by Beijing during his incumbency (2013 - present), China is now left with no alternative but to match its ‘economic miracle’ with a military one.