Home · News · News Jun 2019 · Jun 14 2019
Friday June 14, 2019

Trump: Don McGahn's Mueller testimony "doesn't matter"
Axios | Orion Rummler | 06/14/19

President Trump told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that former White House counsel Don McGahn's testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller, which backed some of the Mueller report's potential episodes of obstruction of justice, "doesn't matter."

Why it matters: McGahn, who is cited in the Mueller report more than any other witness, is currently not complying with House Judiciary subpoenas on instruction from the White House.

Mueller's report details how Trump instructed McGahn to have Mueller removed as special counsel. Refusals from McGahn -- and other top White House staffers -- to obey presidential directives are part of the reason that Trump may have avoided obstructing justice. ... Read more

George Stephanopoulos and Donald Trump
Trump says he may not alert FBI if info is offered by foreigners on 2020 candidates. | ABC News | 06/12/19 | 4:44

The Dawn of Robot Surveillance
Axios | Kaveh Waddell | 06/14/19

There are millions of surveillance cameras in the U.S., but not nearly enough eyes to watch them all. When you pass one on the street, you can rightly expect your actions to go unnoticed in the moment; footage is instead archived for review if something goes wrong.

What's happening: Now, AI software can flag behavior it deems suspicious in real-time surveillance feeds, or pinpoint minute events in past footage -- as if each feed were being watched unblinkingly by its own hyper-attentive security guard. The new technology, if it spreads in the U.S., could put an American twist on Orwellian surveillance systems abroad.

Big picture: In a new report today, ACLU surveillance expert Jay Stanley describes a coming mass awakening of millions of cameras, powered by anodyne-sounding "video analytics."... Read more

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Sarah Sanders' tenure as press secretary ended long before her exit
TheGuardian | David Smith | 06/13/19

The departing White House spokeswoman, who has not held a press briefing in 3 months, spun a web of deceit in her role

"You're fired!" Donald Trump was joking when he barked these words at his press secretary, Sarah Sanders, during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in April -- on a night when both were snubbing the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

The truth was that Sanders had, in effect, been fired some time ago -- long before her departure was announced on Thursday. The position of White House press secretary had all been made redundant. Trump prefers to do the job himself and be his own spokesman.

During Sanders' tenure, the once daily ritual of the press briefing -- must-watch television in the chaotic era of Sean Spicer -- was essentially supplanted by the president holding court with reporters in the Oval Office, the cabinet room and, above all, on the White House South Lawn, competing with the roar of his Marine One helicopter. ... Read more

Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Friday, June 14 [11:29]
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Friday, June 14 (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.
  1. Headlines
  2. Vijay Prashad: U.S. Rushes to Blame Iran for Tanker Attacks as Much of World Pushes for Diplomacy
  3. Ola Bini Was Friends with Julian Assange. He Has Spent Two Months in Jail Without Charge in Ecuador
  4. "Advocate": Israeli Attorney Lea Tsemel Reflects on Defending Palestinians Who Resist Occupation
Largest Animal Epidemic in History Is Due to Industrial Farming | TRNN | 06/14/19 | 10:29
The African Swine Fever outbreak, which has now spread to China, could result in the slaughter of 200 million hogs this year, in an effort to get the disease under control. Rob Wallace of the Agroecology and Rural Economics Research Corps outlines the causes and possible solutions

What some are calling the largest animal disease outbreak in history is currently ravaging pig farms in China and in other Asian countries. The disease is known as African Swine Fever and has a similar effect on pigs as Ebola has on humans, causing massive internal hemorrhaging and very high death rate. So far, over one million pigs in China have been culled--slaughtered, that is--to stop the spread of the disease. However, China has over 440 million pigs, half of the world's total pig population, and experts estimate that up to 200 million pigs will have to be killed this year alone to slow down the spread of the disease.
The1a.org
Friday News Roundup - Domestic | 1a.org | 06/14/19 | 1hr
  1. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he might accept damaging information from foreigners about political opponents. After Stephanopolous pressed him on whether he would hand this information over to the FBI, the president said, "I think maybe you do both."
  2. Meanwhile, the president exerted executive privilege over subpoenaed documents related to the potential addition of a question about citizenship status to the 2020 Census. The House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas related to the census question inquiry.
  3. We're also following the latest on the request to extend funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund -- a program established in 2011 to aid first responders who were exposed to toxic chemicals in the aftermath of 9/11. After a powerful statement from comedian Jon Stewart, the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to extend the compensation fund.
  4. Plus, we'll cover the Southern Baptist Convention's national meeting, where faith leaders addressed widespread sexual abuse in the church, as well as the issue of whether women can be ordained as preachers.
Friday News Roundup - International | 1a.org | 06/14/19 | 1hr
  1. Military forces continued to attack protesters in Sudan this week, as activists called for the end of autocratic rule. The State Department appointed a special envoy to Sudan to meet in Khartoum with both sides of the conflict.
  2. We're also following the protests in Hong Kong. Political activists there are concerned about the implications of a proposed law that would effectively allow extraditions to mainland China. The territory's chief executive says the measure is necessary to prosecute a Hong Kong man wanted by Taiwanese authorities for the alleged murder of his girlfriend.
  3. A presidential election in Guatemala has some observers wondering about the future of the country's anti-corruption agency CICIG. The United Nations oversees CICIG and it's supported by the United States. The current president, Jimmy Morales, expelled the CICIG commissioner in 2017, and anti-corruption candidates have come under attack.
  4. Oman, two oil tankers were apparently attacked. This elevated tensions in the Gulf of Oman, and followed other attacks on oil tankers in May. It was not immediately clear how the most recent incidents unfolded or who was involved, just as the circumstances of last month's attacks remain murky. The two ships that were struck on Thursday appeared to have been more seriously damaged than those hit in May.
Mike Pompeo Constructs Iran Narrative Moving US Toward War Footing | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 06/13/19 | 5:21
Donald Trump Shows Why Presidents Shouldn't Be Part Of Real Estate Deals | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 06/13/19 | 5:04
FEC Chair: Entire US Gov't. Must Speak Out | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 06/14/19 | 10:40
Trump Owns Himself: No Collusion In 2016, But Open To It In 2020 | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC | 06/13/19 | 14:14
Joe: Let It Sink In That GOP Opposed Interference Bill | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 06/14/19 | 19:12
Stephen Colbert
Trump Signals Interest In 2020 Election Interference | Stephen Colbert | 06/13/19 | 11:29
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Trump Says He'd Take Foreign Dirt on a 2020 Opponent | Seth Meyers | 06/13/19 | 11:51

06.14.2019. 10:12



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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.

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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,.

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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".

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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