How China infiltrated the U.S. classroom. Over at POLITICO, our own Ethan Epstein has a good look at how China has used soft power to exert influence with American students via funding "Confucius Institutes."

Yet along with their growth have come consistent questions about whether the institutes belong on campuses that profess to promote free inquiry. Confucius Institutes teach a very particular, Beijing-approved version of Chinese culture and history: one that ignores concerns over human rights, for example, and teaches that Taiwan and Tibet indisputably belong to Mainland China. Take it from the aforementioned Li, who also said in 2009 that Confucius Institutes are an “important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.” Critics also charge that the centers have led to a climate of self-censorship on campuses that play host to them.

Confucius says read the whole thing.

Journalism fight! HLN's Ashleigh Banfield got a nastygram from Babe.net's Katie Way for her impassioned critique of the Aziz Ansari story. Way, someone new to journalism, attacked Banfield not for what she said, but for how she looked:

"Ashleigh, someone I am certain nobody under the age of 45 has heard of...I hope the 500 retweets on the single news write up made that burgundy lipstick, bad highlights, second wave feminist has-been really relevant for a little while."

Banfield fired back:

"The reason I want to share that is because if you truly believe in the #MeToo movement, if you truly believe in women’s rights, if you truly believe in feminism, the last thing you should do is attack someone in an ad hominem way for her age, I’m 50, and for my highlights."

Banfield goes on to assume Way missed her coverage as a war correspondent, including interviews with Yasser Arafat, suggesting she's too young to know about history. Read the whole thing at Mediaite.

GOOORKA. Now in the private sector, Dr. Sebastian Gorka—the President's favorite Hungarian defender—testified before a House committee to discuss the White House's response to ISIS. Only, that's not what Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) wanted to discuss. The Washington Examiner has the report. Members of Congress often hijack hearings to demean those testifying, which is annoying, but this is something. Even one of the Democratic aides in the background is burying his face in his hand.

The Soviets and Pepsi. This Atlas Obscura write up of how Pepsi wormed its way into the Soviet Union is a fascinating read. Pepsi even was bartered old ships for its concentrate because of the economic constraints at the time.

—Jim Swift, Deputy Online Editor

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