Monday Briefing | October 28 - Journal of Political Inquiry

Stories to Follow

Parliamentary Elections in Poland: PiS wants a recount in the upper house: The results of Poland’s parliamentary elections from two weeks ago still raise controversy of the most polarized countries in Europe. As expected, the national-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) remained in power, winning the lower chamber with 43.59% of the votes cast. The main oppositional block, Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska), took 27.40%. With a result of 12.56 %, and after four years of absence, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) returns to parliament under the banner of a Left coalition (Lewica). While successful in the lower house, however, PiS lost control of the Senate — an indication of changing dynamics on the country’s political scene. Questioning the unfavourable results, Law and Justice requested a recount from the Supreme Court in some of the contested districts. The decision is still pending.
Chile, violent protests continue: A nation-wide wave of protests continues in Chile. Set off by an increase in subway fare, a protest initiated by a group of high school students escalated into mass demonstrations, confrontations with police, arsons and looting in Concepción, Valparaíso, and the country’s capital, Santiago. Army troops have been deployed to secure all three cities. An official apology from President Sebastian Piñera, and a suspension of the initial contentious policy, did not manage to deescalate the violence. As of October 24, 18 civilian deaths have been reported. The United Nations Human Rights Council is planning to send a special mission to investigate possible cases of human rights abuses.

Happening This Week

Panel Discussion: Responding to Cyber Warfare
85 Saint Nicholas Terrace, November 2 2019
3:00-6:00 p.m.

Swaying elections, hacking into sensitive databases, and targeting critical infrastructure; whoever controls the cyberspace, controls the world of tomorrow, that’s for sure. Curious about the future of digital warfare? Join the Data Union and Cytegic on Saturday, November 2, for an interesting panel discussion. Panelists include Admiral Norman R. Hayes, a former director of the National Security Operations Center for National Security Agency (NSA), Brittany Kaiser, a whistleblower on Cambridge Analytica’s interaction with Facebook, and James Felton Keith a leader in trailblazer Data Policy and candidate for US Congress. Click here to RSVP.

Halloween Movie Screening: Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” Village East Cinema, October 31 2019, 7:30 p.m.

Still no plans for Halloween? Village East Cinema is wrapping up its month-long ode to Alfred Hitchcock with a screening of his 1960 classic, “Psycho”. A cinematographic masterpiece, and an absolute must! Even if you have seen it already, the big screen experience still makes it worthwhile. It’s quite a thriller!

In Your Free Time

Are you big on podcasts? How about independent conflict journalism? Got a thing for British accents, too? Good! Popular Front will be your next favorite thing to listen to on your daily commute. Created and run by Jake Hanrahan, a British freelance war correspondent, the Popular Front cuts across party lines to deliver a fresh perspective on modern warfare and underreported conflicts. The latest episode gives voice to a local journalists witnessing the Turkish invasion of Rojava. Give it a listen. Join the community. Join the Popular Front.

This week’s Monday Briefing was brought to you by Jakub Kibitlewski.