Jan 08 2020 - News Jan 2020 - News - Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Wednesday January 08, 2019

Rachel Maddow Explains What's 'Really Worrying' About Mistake Iraq Military Letter
HP | Lee Moran | 01/08/20

"It's so freaking weird, I can't even believe it," the MSNBC host told Seth Meyers on "Late Night."

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday explained what she believes is "really worrying" about a now-disavowed U.S. military letter that announced American troops would be withdrawing from Iraq.

Maddow, appearing on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," said the letter that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said was "a mistake" could indicate "the incompetence that we expect I think at the level of the White House even on national security matters might now be extended to things as serious as the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs." ... Read more

Iraq Withdrawal Letter Screw-Up Shows Pentagon Tainted By Trump | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 01/06/20 | 5:02

Targeted: The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower's Inside Story of How Big Data, Trump, and Facebook Broke Democracy and How It Can Happen Again by Brittany Kaiser

In this explosive memoir, a political consultant and technology whistleblower reveals the disturbing truth about the multi-billion-dollar data industry, revealing to the public how companies are getting richer using our personal information and exposing how Cambridge Analytica exploited weaknesses in privacy laws to help elect Donald Trump--and how this could easily happen again in the 2020 presidential election.

When Brittany Kaiser joined Cambridge Analytica--the UK-based political consulting firm funded by conservative billionaire and Donald Trump patron Robert Mercer--she was an idealistic young professional working on her fourth degree in human rights law and international relations. A veteran of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, Kaiser's goal was to utilize data for humanitarian purposes, most notably to prevent genocide and human rights abuses. But her experience inside Cambridge Analytica opened her eyes to the tremendous risks that this unregulated industry poses to privacy and democracy.

Targeted is Kaiser's eyewitness chronicle of the dramatic and disturbing story of the rise and fall of Cambridge Analytica. She reveals to the public how Facebook's lax policies and lack of sufficient national laws allowed voters to be manipulated in both Britain and the United States, where personal data was weaponized to spread fake news and racist messaging during the Brexit vote and the 2016 election. But the damage isn't done Kaiser warns; the 2020 election can be compromised as well if we continue to do nothing.

In the aftermath of the U.S. election, as she became aware of the horrifying reality of what Cambridge Analytica had done in support of Donald Trump, Kaiser made the difficult choice to expose the truth. Risking her career, relationships, and personal safety, she told authorities about the data industry's unethical business practices, eventually testifying before Parliament about the company's Brexit efforts and helping Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, alongside at least 10 other international investigations.

Packed with never-before-publicly-told stories and insights, Targeted goes inside the secretive meetings with Trump campaign personnel and details the promises Cambridge Analytica made to win. Throughout, Kaiser makes the case for regulation, arguing that legal oversight of the data industry is not only justifiable but essential to ensuring the long-term safety of our democracy.

Netflix: The Great Hack by co-directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim

The documentary "The Great Hack," which was shortlisted from the Oscars, explores how the data firm Cambridge Analytica came to symbolize the dark side of social media in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Cambridge Analytica collapsed in May 2018 after The Observer newspaper revealed the company had harvested some 87 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge or consent. Cambridge Analytica then used the data to sway voters to support President Trump during the 2016 campaign. We speak with "The Great Hack" co-directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, as well as Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser.

Where U.S. troops and military assets are deployed in the Middle East
Axios | Rashaan Ayesh | 01/08/20

The U.S. has maintained a costly presence in the Middle East for decades, with at least 60,000 troops currently stationed around the region, according to United States Central Command.

Driving the news: The killing of Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. drone strike has put the world on edge, with Iran promising revenge. The U.S. is preparing to deploy about 3,000 additional troops to the region, and had already sent 750 troops after protesters attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. ...

Afghanistan: 14,000 U.S. troops + 8,000 NATO soldiers.
Bahrain: More than 7,000 US troops.
Iraq: About 5,200 U.S. troops.
Jordan: Approximately 2,795 U.S. troops.
Kuwait: Over 13,000 US troops
Oman: A few hundred U.S. soldiers.
Qatar: As many as 13,000 US troops.
Saudi Arabia: approximately 3,000 more U.S. troopsbeing sent.
Syria: approximately 2,000 U.S. service members.
Turkey: The number of American troops in Turkey isn't clear.
United Arab Emirates: 5,000 U.S. troops.

Trump Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit Heads To Top New York Court
HP | Marina Fang | 01/08/20

The state's highest court will consider whether former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos can sue the sitting president.

Former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos' sexual misconduct lawsuit against President Donald Trump is headed to New York state's highest court.

A panel of judges in Manhattan on Tuesday granted a request from Trump's legal team to send the case to the state Court of Appeals, which will consider whether Zervos can sue the sitting president. She claims Trump defamed her after she came forward in 2016 to accuse him of unwanted groping and kissing. ... Read more

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, January 08 [9:02]

"The Great Hack" documentary reveals how Cambridge Analytica helped sway the 2016 election | DN | 01/07/20 | 4:38

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser has recently shared a trove of previously unreleased documents detailing the company's covert operations around the world, including its work with President Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton. The data company worked closely with Trump's presidential campaign and the Trump super PAC that ran the "Crooked Hillary" campaign ahead of the election. There were "red flags here and there," she recalls, but the last straw for her was the two days of debriefing that occurred after Trump's victory in the 2016 election. "They showed us how much data they collected, how they modeled it, how they identify people as individuals that could be convinced not to vote and the types of disinformation they sent these people in order to change their minds," Kaiser says. "It was the most horrific two days of my life." Kaiser worked at the data company for three years before leaving in 2018. Cambridge Analytica would close down in 2018 after an investigation by a U.K. newspaper revealed how they used information from 87 million Facebook users without permission to sway voters during the 2016 presidential election. Could the same happen again in 2020? "Absolutely," Kaiser says. "I think if anybody thinks this is different than 2016, they are sorely mistaken. ... There are hundreds of Cambridge Analyticas around the world, especially in the U.S. elections right now." The company's role in the 2016 election and the United Kingdom's Brexit campaign is explored more in the 2019 Netflix documentary "The Great Hack," which was shortlisted for an Oscar.

"The Great Hack": Big Data Firms Helped Sway the 2016 Election. Could It Happen Again in 2020? | DN | 01/07/20 | 16:24

Propaganda Machine: The Military Roots of Cambridge Analytica's Psychological Manipulation of Voters | DN | 01/07/20 | 15:02

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, January 08 (FULL) | 59:02

Note: on the full 59:02 video look for small white (or black) circles on the Progressbar they denote the different news stories. You can move the pointer on the Progressbar to jump to each story, and around the video.

Headlines
A View from Tehran: Iranian Professor Condemns U.S. Aggression & Warns U.S.-Backed Gulf States
Juan Cole: U.S.-Iran Conflict Enters Unprecedented Territory with Assassinations & Military Attacks
Blowback? U.S. Assassination of Soleimani May Weaken Growing Protest Movement in Iran
Iranian-American Lawmaker Warns of Rising Xenophobia as U.S.-Iran Tension Escalates
Deadly Earthquake Rocks Puerto Rico, Causing Mass Power Outages and "Infrastructural Aftershocks"

The1a.org

Iran Strikes Iraqi Bases Housing American Troops | 1a.org | 01/08/20 | 1hr

Iranian missiles struck two Iraqi airbases that held American troops early Wednesday morning.

The Iranian government said the ballistic missile attack was in response to an American drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last Friday.

President Donald Trump tweeted: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!"

The Pentagon said there were no American casualties immediately reported, though Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps reported at least 80 American deaths.

Shortly after the incident, Iranian foreign minister Mohamed Javad Zarif tweeted, in part: "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."

How should we understand this strike? What actions might American officials take next?

Iran Fires Missles; Trump Tweets 'All Is Well!', Will Make Weds. Statement | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 01/08/20 | 3:23

US And Iran At 'Last Exit Before The Tunnel', Says Admiral | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 01/08/20 | 10:11

Notice: the circles that aren't included, but have the largest air bases and the most US personnel in the Middle East.

Lawmakers Sign Letter Demanding Answers On Iran Strategy | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 01/08/20 | 13:23

McConnell Rolls Out Trump Trial Plan Without Witnesses, Democrats Say It's A 'Cover-Up' | MSNBC | 01/07/20 | 14:24

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

This Is It Folks: Trump Can Wage War With No Understanding Of The Consequences | Stephen Colbert | 01/06/20 | 10:20

President Trump: "I Like To Obey The Law" | Stephen Colbert | 01/07/20 | 4:46

Seth Meyers

Rachel Maddow Discusses Iran's Retaliation Against the US | Seth Meyers | 01/08/20 | 7:54

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Never Give Trump Crazy Options | Jimmy Kimmel | 01/07/20 | 5:27

01.08.2020. 17:54

NPR

PBS

Special Interest Important stuff

GOOD Shorts Videos

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

I'm still working on this

GOOD Short Videos

Newer Documentaries You Might Not Have Seen

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

I'm still working on this

Newer Documentaries

Documentaries You've Never Seen

Note: To view a video, click on code at left of the title

Documentaries (small | pop-up)
Documentaries (big | full screen)

Good YouTube Documentaries

Note: To view a video, click on its name/title

Great YouTube Docs. (small | pop-up)
Good YouTube Docs. (big | full screen)

Lindsey Graham Mashups

Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the quiet part aloud on why he’s still so close to former President Donald Trump: because we can use him for our goals. "President Trump has gotten people who wouldn't give me or Romney or anybody else the time of day. They believe he is on their side," the senator told the America First Agenda Summit crowd on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Environment & Climate Change

Environment

The term "climate change" is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change (also known as global warming). Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

AI - Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Deep Learning

AI - Artificial Intelligence

AIArtificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals including humans. AI research has been defined as the field of study of intelligent agents, which refers to any system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of achieving its goals.

The term "artificial intelligence" had previously been used to describe machines that mimic and display "human" cognitive skills that are associated with the human mind, such as "learning" and "problem-solving". This definition has since been rejected by major AI researchers who now describe AI in terms of rationality and acting rationally, which does not limit how intelligence can be articulated.
Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Quantum mechanics | AI - Artificial Intelligence

Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale.
Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Economy, Wall Street and Banksters

Wall Street and Banksters

Wall Street is an eight-block-long street running roughly northwest to southeast from Broadway to South Street, at the East River, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry (even if financial firms are not physically located there), or New York-based financial interests.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, and foreign policy objectives. Means of information gathering are both overt and covert and may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis,.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Daniel Ellsberg | Pentagon Papers

Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg and Paul Jay explore Ellsberg's latest book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. In the introduction to the book, Ellsberg writes: "No policies in human history have more deserved to be recognized as immoral or insane. The story of how this calamitous predicament came about and how and why it has persisted over a half a century is a chronicle of human madness".

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Nukes

Nukes

Nuclear weapons have come a long way and come in all types of different sizes. Some are relatively small while others are enormous, so big they boggle the mind at what they can be capable of, i.e. the Soviet 'Tsar Bomba' is/was 3,000 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Rana Foroohar and Fall of American Business

Rana Foroohar

Ms. Foroohar says financialization delivers stagnant wages, inequality and economic crisis; the Financial Times columnist and author of "Makers and Takers" says the financial sector represents only 7 percent of the U.S. economy, but takes around 25 percent of all corporate profit while creating only 4 percent of all jobs.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick

The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick | 2014 | 10 Episodes

Oliver Stone and American University historian Peter J. Kuznick began working on the project in 2008. Stone, Kuznick and British screenwriter Matt Graham cowrote the script. It covers "the reasons behind the Cold War with the Soviet Union, U.S. President Harry Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, and changes in America's global role since the fall of Communism." Stone is the director and narrator of all ten episodes.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Kuznick Interviews

Kuznick Interviews

Historian Peter Kuznick says Eisenhower called for decreased militarization, then Dulles reversed the policy; the Soviets tried to end the cold war after the death of Stalin; crazy schemes involving nuclear weapons and the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba put the world of the eve of destruction - with host Paul Jay

The Untold History of the United States by Kuznick, Peter.mobi | Book | 6.99 MB

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

China Valley of Tunnels

China Valley of Tunnels

A report written by a Georgetown University team led by Phillip Karber conducted a three-year study to map out China’s complex tunnel system, which stretches 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The report determined that the stated Chinese nuclear arsenal is understated and as many as 3,000 nuclear warheads may be stored in the underground tunnel network.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

911

911

On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists attacked the Unites States. They hijacked four airplanes in mid-flight. The terrorists flew two of the planes into two skyscrapers at the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact caused the buildings to catch fire and collapse. Another plane destroyed part of the Pentagon (the U.S. military headquarters) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe that the terrorists on that plane intended to destroy either the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Passengers on the plane fought the terrorists and prevented them from reaching their goal. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's ten-part, 18-hour documentary series, THE VIETNAM WAR, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides--Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam. Ten years in the making, the series includes rarely seen and digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th Century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Trump's Mashups

Trump's Mashups

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? VICE News' "Trump Talk" mashup series tries to answer that. And, we're happy to say, it was just nominated for two Webby Awards. Now you can watch all the nominated videos.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Trump's Sexcapades

Trump's Sexcapades.

Jessica Leeds (1980s)
Kristin Anderson (1990s)
E. Jean Carroll (1995 or 1996)
Lisa Boyne (1996)
Cathy Heller (1997)
Temple Taggart McDowell (1997)
Karena Virginia (1998)
Mindy McGillivray (2003)
Jennifer Murphy (2005)
Rachel Crooks (2005)
Natasha Stoynoff (2005)
Juliet Huddy (2005 or 2006)
Jessica Drake (2006)
Ninni Laaksonen (2006)
Cassandra Searles (2013)
Allegations of pageant dressing room visits(1997)
Mariah Billado,
Victoria Hughes,
and three other Miss Teen USA contestants
Bridget Sullivan (2000)
Tasha Dixon (2001)
Unnamed contestants (2001)
Samantha Holvey (2006)

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Trump's Speeches | Rallys |Interviews

Trump's Speeches | Rallys

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? Watch Trump at some of his rallys and see what you think.

Or click here for a tablet or a small screen device

Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Sponsors

Donation