Conversation

Hallmarks of every authoritarian regime:

1. Secret police force who are heavily armed, hide their faces with a mask or helmet and show no official law enforcement identification when they arrest people and throw them into an unmarked van.

2. Use the military to quell peaceful, unarmed protests against the regime.

3. Launch a war when all the domestic policies prove to be disastrous to divert media attention and legal scrutiny, hoping to whip up jingoistic support.

Sound familiar?