By Wendy Wu @ South China Morning Post, Dec. 16

China must be ready for a war on the Korean peninsula, with the risk of conflict higher than ever before, Chinese government advisers and a retired senior military officer warned on Saturday.  Beijing, once seen as Pyongyang’s key ally with sway over its neighbour, was losing control of the situation, they warned.

Excellent "how we got here" history and, hopefully, hints for "what not to do" in response

Guest op-ed by sociology professor Isaac Martin @ NYTimes.com, Dec. 18

Following a report of monkey-deer interactions earlier this year, researchers have now recorded the behaviour in another group of monkeys

By Nicola Davis @ TheGuardian.com, Dec. 15

Many establishment Republicans are gloating about Roy Moore and Steve Bannon’s defeat in Alabama, but some warn that the Party is not addressing its core challenge: President Trump.

By Susan B. Glasser @ News Desk @ NewYorker.com, Dec. 14

By Jon Russell @ TechCrunch.com, Dec. 13

It took Chinese authorities just seven minutes to locate and apprehend BBC reporter John Sudworth using its powerful network of CCTV camera and facial recognition technology.

The human cost of the war on ISIS has become too easy for Americans to ignore. We in the Obama administration helped shape that war.

By Robert Malley & Stephen Pomper @ The Atlantic.com, Dec. 16

By Jamiles Lartey @ TheGuardian.com,  Dec. 15

Matthew Petersen, whom Trump nominated for the circuit court of the District of Columbia, struggled with a line of questioning on some key legal principles  It will go down one as of the most excruciating job interviews of all time....

By Cara Buckley @ NYTimes.com, Dec 16

A commission headed by Anita Hill and composed of and funded by some of the most powerful names in Hollywood has been created to tackle widespread sexual abuse and harassment in the media and entertainment industries.

A $300 million chateau is one of a string of extravagant purchases for a prince who is cracking down on ill-gotten wealth and preaching fiscal austerity.

By Nicholas Kulish & Michael Forsythe @ NYTimes.com, Dec. 16

By David J. Lynch @ WashingtonPost.com, Dec. 15

President Trump has vowed to prevent economic dislocation and repeatedly has proclaimed the imminent return of millions of U.S. jobs. But experts say the bill fails to eliminate longtime incentives for companies to move abroad and, in some cases, may even increase them.

By Julie Zauzmer & Sarah Pulliam Bailey @ WashingtonPost.com, Dec. 14, 9:08 pm

In January, a New York State parole board will decide whether to believe Daryl Kelly’s daughter, who says that she falsely accused her father of rape when she was eight years old.

By Jennifer Gonnerman @ News Desk @ New Yorker.com, Dec. 14

Roy Moore's loss has the Bannon and McConnell wings of the GOP heaping blame on one another, with no signs of a resolution.

By Eliana Johnson & Alex Isenstadt @ Politico.com, Dec. 13

By Jackie Wattles, Julia Horowitz and Brian Stelter @ CNN.com, Dec. 14

By Jennifer Rubin @ Right Turn blog @ WashingtonPost.com, Dec. 14 "offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective"

By Nate Silver @ FiveThirtyEight.com, Dec. 13

Alabama is more evidence that the GOP needs to be worried about 2018.

Not a good thing as regards tamping down the "deep state" conspiracy theories.

By Michael S. Schmidt, Matt Apuzzo & Adam Goldman @ NYTimes.com, Dec. 12

WASHINGTON — Senior F.B.I. officials who helped investigate Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign last year wrote in text messages that Hillary Clinton “just has to win” and described a potential Trump victory as “terrifying,” according to texts released Tuesday night.

And why we insist on blaming them for it.

By Jia Tolentino @ NewYorker. com and for their Dec. 4 paper issue, available online now

Is a well-written summary review of all major theories on topic, as in "fun to read," as well as of recent books on topic. So I would say: required reading for those interested in opining on same!