Another event whose profile, IMHO, should be elevated a bit:
Ahead of its mid-term elections, the US has done something more typically associated with Russia: it has not invited any observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Here’s who we’re talking about:
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria, and its institutions.[2] It has observer status at the United Nations.[3]
It’s 50-ish years old. The two inveterate gadfly member states are Russia and Belarus. While I didn’t find much discussion of the OSCE on the Dope, there – of course – is some:
This, to me, is a HUGE “shocked, but totally unsurprised” event, virtually lost in the Sturm and Drang of the Trump Administration.
But a very, very bad sign.