U.S. to collect immigrants’ social media data

UNITED STATES: The Department of Homeland Security has published a new regulation calling for collection of social media information on all immigrants, including permanent residents and naturalized citizens. This is the same department with an acting secretary, a careerist from the Bush and Obama administrations, who decided Chad should be on the list of countries whose citizens are banned from traveling to the United States. Chad, far from perfect, is one of the leading U.S. partners in Africa on counterterrorism, sending soldiers to the Nigerian border, among other things, to fight Boko Haram.

Here’s a compelling read on why the basic premise of the new travel ban lacks merit. I know there are counterarguments, and I would love to hear them, particularly on vetting procedures. So far the Trump administration has produced no specifics and issued no new rules adjusting allegedly faulty vetting procedures.

IRAQ: Turkey has announced a flight ban and threatens to block oil exports, while Baghdad threatens to close airports after Kurdistan’s independence referendum won overwhelming support. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., has introduced a resolution in support of a Kurdish state.

SAUDI ARABIA: The kingdom yesterday agreed to let women drive, a victory for activists who’ve long used the prohibition as a symbol of oppression.

MEXICO: For 12,000 people displaced by last week’s earthquake, trying to hold on to shelter while showing up to receive needed aid is a nightmare.

INDONESIA: Warnings of a volcanic eruption on the tourist island of Bali have sparked an exodus of about 100,000 people.

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