November 7th, 2019 • 3h 2m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
TODAY
Holland Report
Schiphol Transponder scare
Amsterdam Schiphol - security 'event' on airplane - PPRuNe Forums
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 18:26
6th Nov 2019, 19:09
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: same planet as yours
Posts: 242
Amsterdam Schiphol - security 'event' on airplane
Probably on an Air Europa plane, the Royal Marechaussee (military state police) intervening:
Last edited by DIBO; 6th Nov 2019 at 19:21 .
6th Nov 2019, 19:22
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 75
Posts: 5,256
All over CNN at the moment, helped by Richard Quest! At least it's on the ground.
6th Nov 2019, 19:26
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Reading, UK
Posts: 10,759
Part of Pier D reportedly evacuated.
6th Nov 2019, 19:27
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Fl410
Posts: 54
1 dutch media firm stating that there is a hostage situation going on in a Air Europe plane heading to Madrid. Cabin crew and a hand full of pax held hostage. Hostage taker(s) demanding takeoff, destination unknown
6th Nov 2019, 19:30
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 625
There is an F16 overhead, this airplane is not going anywhere.
6th Nov 2019, 19:32
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Reading, UK
Posts: 10,759
Flight involved is UX1094 AMS-MAD.
6th Nov 2019, 19:39
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 625
Situation has ENDED. Arrests made. Expect a slow return to normal. Phew!!!
6th Nov 2019, 19:40
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hadlow
Age: 56
Posts: 589
6th Nov 2019, 19:58
6th Nov 2019, 19:58
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: England
Posts: 67
6th Nov 2019, 20:13
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Nigeria
Age: 53
Posts: 4,508
Wrong TXPDR code? Reports talk about ''pressing the hijack button''.
6th Nov 2019, 20:35
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Milano (Italy)
Posts: 12
Transponder on (or ground position) during boarding? Is it common procedure? Typing 7500 by mistake? Looking forward to read the occurrency report about this event. I'm not a conspiracy theory fan, not at all, but i have to say that i'm quite puzzled, at least for the moment.
6th Nov 2019, 20:36
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: CYYC (Calgary)
Posts: 4,979
Quote:
There is an F16 overhead, this airplane is not going anywhere.
Seriously? Chocks would be less lethal and much cheaper!
6th Nov 2019, 20:51
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,144
Quote:
Originally Posted by
India Four TwoSeriously? Chocks would be less lethal and much cheaper!
I bet the F16 will run out of petrol before the other plane takes off.
6th Nov 2019, 21:00
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 625
Sources revealed that the cockpit crew, the captain, wanted to show the specific squawk codes for emergency situations to some junior intern. So they entered 7500 and this was the response. Bad idea.
The F16 remark I made earlier was meant to indicate that the police/defense system in place did not take any half measures. All units were put on alert. By the way I live near the air base (southern NL) that scrambles these fighters and I can confirm that all fighters have returned to base at 2000Z.
6th Nov 2019, 21:17
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Nigeria
Age: 53
Posts: 4,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fox ninerSources revealed that the cockpit crew, the captain, wanted to show the specific squawk codes for emergency situations to some junior intern. So they entered 7500 and this was the response. Bad idea.
The F16 remark I made earlier was meant to indicate that the police/defense system in place did not take any half measures. All units were put on alert. By the way I live near the air base (southern NL) that scrambles these fighters and I can confirm that all fighters have returned to base at 2000Z.
yeah, note to self - in future describe the three emergency codes verbally and don't make any selections!
6th Nov 2019, 22:52
6th Nov 2019, 22:54
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Cheshire, UK
Posts: 318
Whats sensitive about them? Only pilots and ATC can effectively 'use' them and they are published in most AIPs all publicly available as well as any ATC or pilot book.
6th Nov 2019, 23:45
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Canada
Age: 36
Posts: 422
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fox ninerSituation has ENDED. Arrests made. Expect a slow return to normal. Phew!!!
Arrests made? You love those fake news don't you
6th Nov 2019, 23:46
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Canada
Age: 36
Posts: 422
Quote:
Originally Posted by
InstinctWould it not be a good idea if we all stop posting sensitive codes on a web forum? Kind regards
Oh yeah genius. Because there is not enough information available all over the web regarding our "special" codes. Not posting on here is going to make a big difference I'm sure.
US news, for all their bitching about Trumps nationalism, sure are dropping the ball on Globalist News
Not a lot of Trump news in EU
Much more Climate Crisis news here of course
Dutch schools are computetized zombie factories. Teachers need to profile all students. Strike
Geen wiet op krediet
Farmer Defense Force - Followed the rules then got fucked PFAS in gound 0.1 microgram per kilo
Be the best kid in the EU class!
Schiphol taxis electric
Toyota hybrid ad shows slaves lowering thermostat and turning off lights to offset charging
Lowering speed limit to 100kmu
Car Free Sundays return
25% of all chargin stations in EU
twice as many battery cars
Dutch healthcare shortage of medicine. Government buying is the problem. Want stockpile of 5 months
Who are the best English speakers in Europe? | Euronews
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 05:00
The Dutch are the most proficient English speakers in the world, a global study of English skills has found.
Swedish education company Education First used an online language proficiency test to rank countries where English is not the most spoken language. They tested 2.3 million people across the world.
In Europe, English proficiency skills are rising, the study found.
France improved its position in this year's report, but Spain and Italy fall behind the rest of the EU, the report says, a finding consistent with other reports. Of the Eurozone's four largest economies, only Germany "speaks English well".
English is widely spoken around the world with the third most native speakers after Chinese and Spanish. Over a billion people speak it as a first or a second language, according to Education First.
Sweden, Norway and Denmark followed the Netherlands as having the top English skills in the world.
However, those who took the test were "self-selected" in that they were people interested in learning English or curious about their language skills.
The entire format was also online and tested reading and listening skills.
Wine year switcheroo
Frits spits filet American
Harvey Epstein
Radio Shack Brands
AntennaCraft (outdoor antennas and amplifiers)
Auvio (audio/video cables, LCD
TV's, headphones, premiumsurge
protectors and speakers)
Enercell (batteries and power)
Gigaware (computer, GPS and iPodaccessories,
mp3 players and accessories, as well as
digital cameras, digital camera
accessories)
PointMobl (Wireless Phone Accessories)
Accurian (audio and video equipment and accessories)
MyMusix (MP3 players;now
marketed under the Gigaware brand)
Kronus (tools)
Optimus (formerly audio and PA/DJ equipment;later
used for digital camera accessories)
Presidian (audio and video
equipment, telephones, flashlights,calculators,
and 2-way radios)
VoiceStar (wireless phone accessories)
Archer (wiring and antennas)
Duofone (telephones &
accessories)
Micronta (scientific and educational equipment)
Realistic (used broadly for radio and audio equipment)
Travel Tips
Expired Global Entry
They are giving 6
months grace period on renewals of GE (Global Entry) because they claim they
fell behind in the govt shutdown, although I believe the real reason is
temporary assignment of airport CBP personnel to the Southern border and
GE interviews were seen as non-impactful.
Vape Wars
Insider on the iQOS strategy and OTG
I wanted to let you know that you are on the
right track regarding the tabaco companies and what they are working on
regarding vaping.
I work in a project were we help one of the largest tabaco
companies in the world to implement a marketing automation platform for their
new "smoking device". I dont want to mention the name but you talked
about it before in the last show.
We help them because their customer base is burning (old
smokers die and young people smoke less) and they need to find new sources for
income.
What a standard strategy would be is to buy some of your
competitors customers by investing heavy in marketing. The problem here is that
they are not allowed to do traditional advertising in most parts of the world
anymore. So this is not an option for them anymore.
So where is the new income comming from?
1. Screw the tax payer:
In germany ie the tabaco refiller for the smoking device get
taxed only 1/4 of that what the taxes are for normal cigarets. The net prices
for 20 refillers are almost the same as what you would pay net for a pack of
cigarets. The cut goes to the company. The amount of tabaco is also less
compared to traditional cigs. So they make good margins here. A vaping product
is not producing such margins for them. And the vaping market, like you
explained corretly, is also "vaping away" their paying customer base.
Btw you can not
make a pause and finish a "stick" later. Once you started, you have
to finish the "stick". I like that feature the most ;)
2. Invest in innovative 1on1 marketing and data
collection:
I dont want to share too much of the technology that we
implement here for the data collection and trigger based canpaigns. But let me
explain it from your OTG perspective because this will trigger you the most
;)
In the past a smoker would buy a pack of cigs and a light in
a store of his choice with cash. No traces left besides video material
maybe.
The "smoking device" user of today will order the
device online and pay with an online payment option. Data collected: web
cookies, device ids, PII, credit card data, etc. After that the smoker can add
a subscription for getting the refillers every week right on their doorsteps.
Data collected: adress & consumption habits.
Pretty much standard data collection I would say.
But now a customer can buy the newest version of the device
with integrated bluetooth and vibration. Now you have a cig in your pocket that
can communicate with the www. It will also tell you when the battery is low and
help you to find the next "refill station". I'm sure you and john can
come up with a lot of data points that we can collect with this. you can look
up the app, its public info. The company is mostly targetting people that try
to stop smoking. From the companies perspective, the usage of the device is not
"smoking" but consuming.
From a business perspective, this device and the model
behind is just genius. I learned a lot on this case.
So here is my prediction: This will be the smoking device of
the future. Cigs will be banned everywhere and these devices will be allowed
because it is not really smoking.
I hope I added some value to the show!
Thank you two for bringing some light into this
situation.
Medical Technologies That Will Be Used In Vaping
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:55
The use of cannabis is mostly associated with traditional smoking methods '-- taking a hit from a bong or smoking a joint '-- or ingesting it in the form of cookies or other edibles. But vaping, a recent method of consuming herbs, is gaining ground in both medical and recreational use of marijuana. Vaping involves the use of a device known as a vaporizer , where instead of inhaling the smoke, you inhale the vapor. Vaping is by far the most convenient way of getting the benefits of cannabis sans the side effects of inhaling the hot smoke.
Vaping and Medical Marijuana
In the last few years, US states, one after the other, have been legalizing the medical use of marijuana, with Ohio being the latest to join the bunch. This means that a multitude of cannabis products users will be coming out of the dark seeking to treat various illnesses. The growth in popularity in the use of vaping technology to consume marijuana has coincided with the decriminalization of medicinal marijuana . Though largely undeveloped, medicinal vaping stands to make a significant impact on the use of medical marijuana and other pharmaceutical drugs to improve the health of individuals.
Ditching the Hypodermic Needle
Vaping technology is bound to change the methods of delivering medication. Instead of using the hypodermic needle or being taken orally, some drugs could be 'vaped' and absorbed directly into the bloodstream. A needleless medical world could prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis and save countless lives. Some forms of inhalable medications are already in existence, with inhalable insulin being the most recent one. The ability to vape drugs allows a quicker absorption into the bloodstream since the drugs bypass the digestive system. This facilitates a high level of intensity, quicker relief, and more precision. Doctors can use smaller, precise doses to treat conditions. Medications administered are referred to as v-meds or vaporizing medicine.
V-Meds Nanotechnology
Since the electronic vaporizer came out of the closet a few decades ago, it has constantly been associated with v-meds. Researchers and nanoscientists have been trying to figure out ways to use the vaporizer in nanotechnology. They are working on ways to attach nanotechnology into the vapor and deliver it into the body to treat illnesses. If the infusion of nanotechnology medicine into vaping is a success, the combined technology will be able to treat chronic illnesses, repair and generate new cells, and greatly improve the body's immune system. The technology is aimed at treating many forms of cancer and heart diseases.
E-medicine Revolution
Vaping technology will soon be used as a method of administering e-medicine. The revolution of e-medicine will kick-off with the administration of simple medications to treat conditions such as migraines and flu. Several investors and pharmaceutical giants are already working on making e-medicine a reality. Many of these medications are already available in liquid form, all you have to do is put the liquid in the vaporizing device and heat it. The atomizer in the vaporizer will convert the liquid medication into vapor, which the user, or patient, in this case, will inhale. The medicine will be absorbed directly into the bloodstream in the lungs. The method of delivering medication is highly effective, which is why e-medicine or v-meds technology is expected to revolutionize the medical industry.
Vaping technology is still in its infant stages. Though the technology has the potential to spur massive improvements in the health sector, there have been a few concerns. Some point out that it will increase drug abuse as it is hard to tell what someone is inhaling from a vaporizer. However, the future of vaping technology in the medical sector carries a big promise.
The Purge
Google reviewer guidelines
Expertise Authority and Trustworthiness. Your money or your life
OTG
Dave, Marcus, Brigit: Why so many money apps have humanoid names - Vox
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:51
When you need some money to make it to your next paycheck, you can always call on Dave. If you need budgeting help, reach out to Brigit. And for a personal loan to get you out of credit card debt, try Marcus.
That's not to presume the names and financial situations of the people in your life: Dave, Brigit, and Marcus are all money-related apps and services that have human first names. Personable products aimed at your wallet are a definite mini-trend. There's also Frank (student loans), Alice (automated pre-tax spending), Clyde (insurance), Oscar (also insurance), and Albert (savings, investment, and overdraft protection).
Anthony Shore, the founder of brand-naming firm Operative Words, explains that these financial startups are simply trying to sound more accessible. '''Let's make ourselves chummy and folksy,''' Shore says, channeling a financial startup.
Laurel Sutton, a senior strategist and linguist at the naming agency Catchword, agrees. ''They're trying to take [the brand] away from a faceless institution,'' Sutton told Vox. ''That kind of branding seems very much on point for millennials or post-millennials.''
''Let's make ourselves chummy and folksy.''
And appealing to millennials and Gen Z matters, because when it comes to those demographics, the financial services industry has a problem. As Chavie Lieber wrote for The Goods, ''researchers at Deloitte have concluded that young professionals today have a ''general distrust in financial institutions.'''
In the decade since the Great Recession, a very valuable demographic has not had the faith (or the capital) to get seriously involved in financial transactions that their parents and grandparents may have sought out '-- they have financial needs, but are suspicious of the places that have traditionally provided solutions. These startups want to change that by seeming familiar, friendly, and a lot more like you and me.
Financial firms of the past had human names, but not the same way they do nowFinancial entities that sound casual are not entirely new; they have some pretty big forbearers. Specifically: government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Those names are derived from the institutions' long acronyms: Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and Freddie Mac is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC '-- a stretch to be honest). Both are private companies that were launched by Congress as a part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal; both help people buy homes, both were bailed out in 2008 and are now intrinsically linked to the Great Recession.
As Laurel Sutton explains, the Fannie and Freddie monikers were ''a very deliberate attempt to personalize something that was seen as basically like taxes.''
Folksy-sounding government entities aside, most financial institutions of yore (defined here as 2007 and before) were all about the last name, the family name, with an occasional full name thrown in for good measure: Bear Stearns was not named for a particularly humorless grizzly, but for Joseph Ainslie Bear and Robert B. Stearns. Morgan Stanley is not one person's name but two: Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the former of whom was the grandson of the J.P. Morgan of J.P. Morgan Chase fame. (And both Morgan men are distantly related by marriage to Sonia Morgan, of Real Housewives of New York fame, just FYI). Charles Schwab was a guy, yes, but the firm was never called plain old ''Charles.''
Sutton says that the initial reasoning behind using family names for financial institutions was much the same reason law firms use last names: ''You want to know who your lawyer is, right?'' The personal brand was valuable. But after the 1929 crash, banks held onto these names long past their founders' departures.
''We've all lived through these incredible breaches of trust from these large institutions.''
''Giving it some grand name that made it sound like it's been around for 500 years would make people feel more confident that they could put their money there,'' Sutton says, and financial firms needed to sound ''really big and strong and institutional.'' Family names '-- especially familiar ones with cache '-- convey stability.
But after the financial crisis, the names we knew lost their luster. According to professors from Northwestern and the University of Chicago, ''Americans' trust in financial institutions [was] 28 percent in 2018.'' (Although this was at least up from 22 percent in 2008, so congrats, bankers.)
With younger folks, the distrust is perhaps even more active: As CNBC reports, in 2017, ''45.3 percent of respondents to WEF's Global Shapers Survey'' '-- a poll of 25,000 people ages 18-35 '-- ''said they 'disagree' with the statement that they trust banks to be fair and honest.''
As the brand-naming agency founder Shore explains, ''millennials and others, we've all lived through these incredible breaches of trust from these large institutions: security breaches, identity breaches, financial malfeasance.'' It's something the creators of new financial products need to keep top of mind, and many say they do.
Finance-related startups are trying to build trust with modern consumersDave (short for David, as in ''and Goliath'') is a banking startup that, among other things, tries to help users keep their bank accounts from dipping too low and incurring fees. CEO Jason Wilk acknowledges young people's wariness of financial institutions: ''Millennials and Gen Z were shaped by the financial crisis, which led a lot of people to lose their trust in banks.''
Wilk says that he experienced the frustration of a bank that didn't treat him like a human being, and wanted to build a tool to help with budgeting and building credit, as well as covering immediate expenses. And sounding like, well, a guy helps his company do that. ''Having a name like Dave tells our users that we are here for them and that we want to make finance approachable and friendly.''
''When we were looking at naming the company, one of the most important things for us was having something to be human,'' Charlie Javice, founder of Frank, tells me. She says Frank is a service that helps students ''get the most money for college'' by helping applicants complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. (As the name implies, the FAFSA is free, as is Frank's marquee service; the company makes money by offering premium services, including aid appeals and FAFSA reviews.)
Humanity is key, but so is familiarity. Javice fielded suggestions to name her company after herself, but she was resistant: ''I'm like, if all else fails, my name can't fail too.'' (Plus, she says, there was the little matter of the financial giant Charles Schwab.) The team set about asking students who they turn to for financial advice when it came to paying for college, and Javice reports, ''many people were naming like some, you know, weird uncle or cousin.'' Frank, with its double meaning of honesty, was a name that seemed to fit the profile.
Dave's hey-it's-that-guy origins echo Frank's: ''Everyone has an uncle or friend named Dave,'' Wilk says.
Even Marcus '-- full name: ''Marcus by Goldman Sachs'' '-- has a similar story, with Dustin Cohn, head of brand marketing for the consumer and investment management division of Goldman Sachs, telling me, ''Everybody knows a Marcus and Marcus was always a good guy, very sort of positive associations with the name Marcus.'' (Marcus is the rare first-named modern financial product that refers to a real person; the name comes from the firm's founder, Marcus Goldman).
For Marcus, familiarity didn't stop with a nice dude you might know. Offering personal loans, savings accounts, and the financial tracking app Clarity Money (soon to be rebranded under the Marcus name), it's the investment bank's first consumer product. This made ''by Goldman Sachs'' a vital element. Cohn says branding that associated Marcus too closely with Goldman could alienate customers, but the bank's storied '-- and crucially, not-failed '-- legacy reassured them. He compares the ''by'' branding to Donna Karan's DKNY.
Historically, Shore says, it was consumer products '-- like Wendy's, Ben & Jerry's, and Tom's '-- that would use first names in their trademark. Friendliness was paramount because these are products you welcome into your home. This wasn't the case with banking-related services '-- that is, until your bank could fit on your phone.
Shore and Sutton both posit that the new crop of first-named financial services has perhaps the most in common with chatbots like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri. Like consumer products, voice assistants are invited into your house, but the anthropomorphizing goes further: You talk to them, telling them personal information and making them privy to the entirety of your domestic life, and they talk back.
While chatbot names are even more complicated '-- humanoid enough to be friendly, singular enough that you're not constantly triggering your Samsung ''John'' device '-- they've primed consumers to expect the products they work with intimately, the ones they trust with sensitive information, to feel like a buddy.
One thing Sutton notes about these names is the gender breakdown, the smattering of what she calls, ''everyman white guy names.'' Not all of these financial brand names follow this rule, but they certainly seem more masculine than the chatbot space with its A and I endings. ''The patriarchy will tell you that you want a guy to help you with your money and you want a woman to do stuff for you,'' Sutton says.
Ironically, as Shore notes, the desire to give make these products feel personal and human results in '-- like the tarnished Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac '-- a name that actually refers to nothing and no one in particular: ''These human names don't correspond with any actual person. They're fake. They're fictional. They're fake people.''
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"FYI, Google is trying to kill web URLs Google wants users to use Google search as the access point for all content on the web. They are doing this by: 1. Removing visible URLs in Chrome 2. Penalizing sites for
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:59
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Light Commands
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 04:08
Light Commands is a vulnerability of MEMS microphones that allows attackers to remotely inject inaudible and invisible commands into voice assistants, such as Google assistant, Amazon Alexa, Facebook Portal, and Apple Siri using light.
In our paper we demonstrate this effect, successfully using light to inject malicious commands into several voice controlled devices such as smart speakers, tablets, and phones across large distances and through glass windows.
The implications of injecting unauthorized voice commands vary in severity based on the type of commands that can be executed through voice. As an example, in our paper we show how an attacker can use light-injected voice commands to unlock thevictim's smart-lock protected home doors, or even locate, unlock and start various vehicles.
Read the PaperCite @inproceedings{Sugawara2020LightCommands, author = {Sugawara, Takeshi and Cyr, Benjamin and Rampazzi, Sara and Genkin, Daniel and Fu, Kevin}, title = {Light Commands: Laser-Based Audio Injection on Voice-Controllable Systems}, year = {2019}} How do Light Commands work?By shining the laser through the window at microphones inside smart speakers, tablets, or phones, a far away attacker can remotely send inaudible and potentially invisible commands which are then acted upon by Alexa, Portal, Google assistant or Siri.
Making things worse, once an attacker has gained control over a voice assistant, the attacker can use it to break other systems. For example, the attacker can:
Control smart home switches Open smart garage doors Make online purchases Remotely unlock and start certain vehicles Open smart locks by stealthily brute forcing the user's PIN number.But why does this happen?Microphones convert sound into electrical signals. The main discovery behind light commands is that in addition to sound, microphones also react to light aimed directly at them. Thus, by modulating an electrical signal in the intensity of a light beam, attackers can trick microphones into producing electrical signals as if they are receiving genuine audio.
Ok, but what do voice assistants have to do with this?Voice assistants inherently rely on voice to interact with the user. By shining a laser on their microphones, an attacker can effectively hijack the voice assistant and send inaudible commands to the Alexa, Siri, Portal, or Google Assistant.
What is the range of Light Commands?Light can easily travel long distances, limiting the attacker only in the ability to focus and aim the laser beam. We have demonstrated the attack in a 110 meter hallway, which is the longest hallway available to us at the time of writing.
But how can I aim the laser accurately, and at such distances?Careful aiming and laser focusing is indeed required for light commands to work. To focus the laser across large distances one can use a commercially avalible telephoto lens. Aiming can be done using a geared tripod head, which greatly increases accuracy. An attacker can use a telescope or binocular in order to see the device's microphone ports at large distances.
Which devices are susceptible to Light Commands?In our experiments, we test our attack on the most popular voice recognition systems, namely Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Facebook Portal, and Google Assistant. We benchmark multiple devices such as smart speakers, phones, and tablets as well as third-party devices with built-in speech recognition.
Device Voice Recognition System Minimun Laser Power at 30 cm [mW]Max Distance at 60 mW [m]*Max Distance at 5 mW [m]** Google Home Google Assistant 0.550+110+ Google Home mini Google Assistant 1620- Google NEST Cam IQ Google Assistant 950+- Echo Plus 1st Generation Amazon Alexa 2.450+110+ Echo Plus 2nd Generation Amazon Alexa 2.950+50 Echo Amazon Alexa 2550+- Echo Dot 2nd Generation Amazon Alexa 750+- Echo Dot 3rd Generation Amazon Alexa 950+- Echo Show 5 Amazon Alexa 1750+- Echo Spot Amazon Alexa 2950+- Facebook Portal Mini Alexa + Portal 185- Fire Cube TV Amazon Alexa 1320- EchoBee 4 Amazon Alexa 1.750+70 iPhone XR Siri 2110- iPad 6th Gen Siri 2720- Samsung Galaxy S9 Google Assistant 605- Google Pixel 2 Google Assistant 465- While we do not claim that our list of tested devices is exhaustive, we do argue that it does provide some intuition about the vulnerability of popular voice recognition systems to Light Commands. Note: * Limited to a 50 m long corridor. ** Limited to a 110 m long corridor.
Can speaker recognition protect me from Light Commands?At the time of writing, speaker recognition is off by default for smart speakers and is only enabled by default for devices like phones and tablets. Thus, Light Commands can be used on these smart speakers without imitating the owner's voice. Moreover, even if enabled, speaker recognition only verifies that the wake-up words (e.g., "Ok Google" or "Alexa") are said in the owner's voice, and not the rest of the command. This means that one "OK Google" or "Alexa" spoken by the owner can be used to compromise all the commands. Finally, as we show in our work, speaker recognition for wake-up words is often weak and can be sometimes bypassed by an attacker using online text-to-speech synthesis tools for imitating the owner's voice.
Do Light Commands require special equipment? How can I build such a setup?The Light Commands attack can be mounted using a simple laser pointer ($13.99, $16.99, and $17.99 on Amazon), a laser driver (Wavelength Electronics LD5CHA, $339), and a sound amplifier (Neoteck NTK059, $27.99 on Amazon). A telephoto lens (Opteka 650-1300mm, $199.95 on Amazon) can be used to focus the laser for long range attacks.
How vulnerable are other voice controllable systems?While our paper focuses on Alexa, Siri, Portal, and Google Assistant, the basic vulnerability exploited by Light Commands stems from design issues in MEMS microphones. As such, any system that uses MEMS microphones and acts on this data without additional user confirmation might be vulnerable.
How can I detect if someone used Light Commands against me?While command injection via light makes no sound, an attentive user can notice the attacker's light beam reflected on the target device. Alternatively, one can attempt to monitor the device's verbal response and light pattern changes, both of which serve as command confirmation.
Have Light Commands been abused in the wild?So far we have not seen any indications that this attack have been maliciously exploited.
Does the effect depend on laser color or wavelength?During our experiments, we note the effects are generally independent from color and wavelength. Although blue and red lights are on the other edges in the visible spectrum, the levels of injected audio signal are in the same range and the shapes of the frequency-response curves are also similar.
Do I have to use a laser? What about other light sources?In principle any bright enough light can be used to mount our attack. For example the Acebeam W30 laser-excited flashlight can be used as an alternative to a laser diode.
Is it possible mitigate this issue?An additional layer of authentication can be effective at somewhat mitigating the attack.Alternatively, in case the attacker cannot eavesdrop on the device's response, having the device ask the user a simple randomized question before command execution can be an effective way at preventing the attackerfrom obtaining successful command execution.
Manufacturers can also attempt to use sensor fusion techniques, such as acquire audio from multiple microphones.When the attacker uses a single laser, only a single microphone receives a signal while the others receivenothing. Thus, manufacturers can attempt to detect such anomalies, ignoring the injected commands.
Another approach consists in reducing the amount of light reaching the microphone's diaphragm using a barrier that physically blocks straight light beams for eliminating the line of sight to the diaphragm,or implement a non-transparent cover on top of the microphone hole for attenuating the amount of lighthitting the microphone. However, we note that such physical barriers are only effective to a certain point, as an attacker can always increase the laser power in an attempt to compensate for the cover-induced attenuation or for burning through the barriers, creating a new light path.
Is the laser beam used in the attack safe?Laser radiation requires special controls for safety, as high-powered lasers might cause hazards of fire, eyedamage, and skin damage. In this work, we consider low power Class 3R and Class 3B lasers. Class 3Rdevices (such as common laser pointers)emit under 5 mW of optical power, and are considered safe to human eyes for brief exposure durations.
Class 3B Systems emit between 5 and 500 mW, and might cause eye injury even from short beam exposure durations.We urge that researchers receive formal laser safety training and approval of experimental designs before attempting reproduction of our work.
Why is it called Light Commands?Our work is called Light Commands as we exploit light (as opposed to sound) as the primary medium to carry the command to the microphone.
Can I use the logo? The logo is free to use, rights waived via CC0. Logos are designed by Emilio Pimentel.
This research was funded by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K18047 and JP18KK0312, by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under contract FA8750-19-C-0531, gifts from Intel, AMD, and Analog Devices, an award from MCity at University of Michigan, and by the National Science Foundation under grant CNS-1330142.
Vocal Fry
More fashion than C++
But you might say, get with the program that isn't correct
anymore. We speak differently now. This is another way that you and the
linguists are both right. When enough people start using a new word, or using a
word in a new way, its definition changes. What is "correct" is
always shifting, human language is actually more similar to fashion than C++.
This was, I think, the linguists original point. Its as obvious as the
distinctions in dictionaries that a word is commonly used for one purpose, but
in the past had a different meaning. Shakespeare could just as well use John's
argument against him.
Heroin?
Hi Adam,
Just listening to you and John mentioning vocal fry...
A friend of mine is a former heroin user and has observed
people's voices change when they start using heroin, dropping into vocal fry.
He can spot almost instantly a heroin user based on their voice, and has called
out people who have confirmed that they started using.
His theory on the increased popularity of vocal fry is an effect
of celebrities using heroin, and young people copying that vocal fry.
I think he has a good theory. That combined with teachers and
professors having vocal fry at schools, is teaching people to talk that way.
And as a side note, here in artsy/trendy North Brooklyn, all of
the young women speak with a heavy vocal fry and say "like"
constantly.
Bert
N-Word
Gentlemen,
Fantastic language segment in the first hour today. A
minor comment:
I believe the "dropping Ts" issue is more of a
neglect of Ns. In the reference words of "important",
"mountain", and "Manhattan", the real letter at issue is
the N. I'd guess this N neglect has something to do with the youth regarding
the nasal aspect of the N as sounding not sufficiently hip / too square. Or,
maybe it's a shibboleth for anti-French sentiment.
Keep up the great work.
Iran
Iran report Fariba
Shops closed
No money or jobs
Quiet revolution
No more protests
So bad many agree with the mullah a
Thought that maybe the shah's nephew would ascend to the throne
Green New Deal
Firedrill Friday's Media Alert
CONTACT: IRA
ARLOOK, C: 202 258 5437, IRA@IRAARLOOK.COM
See website:
firedrillfridays.com
_MEDIA ADVISORY FOR ACTION ON NOVEMBER 8TH _
JANE FONDA WILL RISK ARREST FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
FOR 5TH SUCCESSIVE FRIDAY
_FIRE DRILL FRIDAYS_ WILL JOIN “MARCH TO REMOVE TRUMP,”
FROM CAPITOL HILL TO 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE,
& CALL FOR FAST ACTION ON A GREEN NEW DEAL
_BEN COHEN & JERRY EPSTEIN OF BEN & JERRY’S &
OTHERS WILL FACE ARREST IN CALL FOR URGENT ACTION _
_TO BATTLE CLIMATE CHANGE AFTER PRESIDENT’S MOVE TO PULL
U.S. OUT OF PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT_
_MESSAGE: __ _
_“OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE”_
_WE NEED IMMEDIATE ACTION FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL—CLEAN,
RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2030,_
_& NO NEW EXPLORATION/DRILLING FOR FOSSIL FUELS_
_WHAT, WHEN & WHERE ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH:_
* _11AM: EVENT WILL BEGIN AT THE
SOUTHEAST LAWN OF THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING WHERE SPEAKERS WILL ADDRESS THE
WAYS IN WHICH WARS AND THE U.S.
MILITARY CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE._
_The SOUTHEAST LAWN OF THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING is
located across from the Library of Congress and near the intersection of First
St & Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC_
* _NOON: A MARCH FROM CAPITOL HILL
TO THE WHITE HOUSE WILL FOLLOW SPEAKERS. _
_March Route:
North on First St. NE, West on Constitution Ave. to Pennsylvania Ave, _
_North on 15th St, NW, West on Pennsylvania Ave, NW to
the White House._
Microgrid community BOTG
In
Rancho Cordova, CA Anatolia community I had purchased a home in one of the
green home sections. I purchased the home 7 years ago now. At the
time SMUD offered to do in home test with a garage battery and micro grid.
SMUD installed 1 giant battery (the same battery from the Prius) in my
garage and had we also charged back to a community grid, though I never saw
this facility. Anyway, the test goal was to see if the home battery and
the micro grid performed well enough to lower power bills and make it a viable
option for home owners. The system would do this by charging the garage
battery during off peak and then using the battery during on peak. The
same thing was happening with the micro grid.
Well,
to sum it up the test was a failure. The home battery and Micro grid
ended up raising our electricity bill and the garage battery ended up
performing like crap. It needed constant attention by SMUD and the Solar
company. At one point its transistors or something blew up inside
sounding like several shot guns going off. After a year and a half the
battery was removed from my garage and I never heard a thing about the micro
grid again. SMUD told us the program was being shut down.
Earth Needs Fewer People to Beat the Climate Crisis, Scientists Say
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 09:34
(Bloomberg) -- Forty years ago, scientists from 50 nations converged on Geneva to discuss what was then called the ''CO2-climate problem.'' At the time, with reliance on fossil fuels having helped trigger the 1979 oil crisis, they predicted global warming would eventually become a major environmental challenge.
The scientists got to work, building a strategy on how to attack the problem and laying the groundwork for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's preeminent body of climate scientists. Their goal was to get ahead of the problem before it was too late. But after a fast start, the fossil fuel industry, politics and the prioritization of economic growth over planetary health slowed them down.
Now, four decades later, a larger group of scientists is sounding another, much more urgent alarm. More than 11,000 experts from around the world are calling for a critical addition to the main strategy of dumping fossil fuels for renewable energy: there needs to be far fewer humans on the planet.
''We declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,'' the scientists wrote in a stark warning published Tuesday in the journal BioScience.
While warnings about the consequences of unchecked climate change have become so commonplace as to inure the average news consumer, this latest communique is exceptionally significant given the data that accompanies it.
When absorbed in sequence, the charts lay out a devastating trend for planetary health. From meat consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and ice loss to sea-level rise and extreme weather events, they lay out a grim portrait of 40 years of squandered opportunities.
The scientists make specific calls for policymakers to quickly implement systemic change to energy, food, and economic policies. But they go one step further, into the politically fraught territory of population control. It ''must be stabilized'--and, ideally, gradually reduced'--within a framework that ensures social integrity,'' they write.
The problem is enormous, yet the signatories still manage to strike an upbeat tone. For all the lost chances, progress is being made, they contend.
''We are encouraged by a recent surge of concern,'' the letter states. ''Governmental bodies are making climate emergency declarations. Schoolchildren are striking. Ecocide lawsuits are proceeding in the courts. Grassroots citizen movements are demanding change, and many countries, states and provinces, cities, and businesses are responding.''
The report, however, comes one day after U.S. President Donald Trump began the formal procedure of withdrawing America from the Paris climate accord.
To contact the author of this story: Eric Roston in New York at eroston@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Petri at jpetri4@bloomberg.net, David Rovella
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
(C)2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Exposing The Bogus "97% Consensus" Claim Over Climate Change 'Science' | Zero Hedge
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:57
Authored by Robert Murphy via The Mises Institute,
One of the popular rhetorical moves in the climate change debate is for advocates of aggressive government intervention to claim that ''97% of scientists'' agree with their position, and so therefore any critics must be unscientific ''deniers.''
Now these claims have been dubious from the start; people like David Friedman have demonstrated that the ''97% consensus'' assertion became a talking point only through a biased procedure that mischaracterized how journal articles were rated, and thereby inflating the estimate.
But beyond that, a review in The New Republic of a book critical of mainstream economics uses the exact same degree of consensus in order to cast aspersions on the science of economics. In other words, when it comes to the nearly unanimous rejection of rent control or tariffs among professional economists, at least some progressive leftists conclude that there must be group-think involved. The one consistent thread in both cases - that of the climate scientists and that of the economists - is that The New Republic takes the side that will expand the scope of government power, a central tenet since its birth by Herbert Croly a century ago.
The Dubious ''97% Consensus'' Claim Regarding Climate ScienceBack in 2014, David Friedman worked through the original paper that kicked off the ''97% consensus'' talking point. What the original authors, Cook et al., actually found in their 2013 paper was that 97.1% of the relevant articles agreed that humans contribute to global warming. But notice that that is not at all the same thing as saying that humans are the main contributors to observed global warming (since the Industrial Revolution).
This is a huge distinction. For example, I co-authored a Cato study with climate scientists Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger, in which we strongly opposed a U.S. carbon tax. Yet both Michaels and Knappenberger would be climate scientists who were part of the ''97% consensus'' according to Cook et al. That is, Michaels and Knappenberger both agree that, other things equal, human activity that emits carbon dioxide will make the world warmer than it otherwise would be. That observation by itself does not mean there is a crisis nor does it justify a large carbon tax.
Incidentally, when it comes down to what Cook et al. actually found, economist David R. Henderson noticed that it was even less impressive than what Friedman had reported. Here's Henderson:
[Cook et al.] got their 97 percent by considering only those abstracts that expressed a position on anthropogenic global warming (AGW). I find it interesting that 2/3 of the abstracts did not take a position. So, taking into account David Friedman's criticism above, and mine, Cook and Bedford, in summarizing their findings, should have said, ''Of the approximately one-third of climate scientists writing on global warming who stated a position on the role of humans, 97% thought humans contribute somewhat to global warming.'' That doesn't quite have the same ring, does it? [David R. Henderson, bold added.]
So to sum up: The casual statements in the corporate media and in online arguments would lead the average person to believe that 97% of scientists who have published on climate change think that humans are the main drivers of global warming. And yet, at least if we review the original Cook et al. (2013) paper that kicked off the talking point, what they actually found was that of the sampled papers on climate change, only one-third of them expressed a view about its causes, and then of that subset, 97% agreed that humans were at least one cause of climate change. This would be truth-in-advertising, something foreign in the political discussion to which all AGW issues now seem to descend.
The New Republic's Differing Attitudes Towards ConsensusThe journal The New Republic was founded in 1914. Its website states: ''For over 100 years, we have championed progressive ideas and challenged popular opinion'....The New Republic promotes novel solutions for today's most critical issues.''
With that context, it's not surprising that The New Republic uses the alleged 97% consensus in climate science the way other progressive outlets typically do. Here's an excerpt from a 2015 article (by Rebecca Leber) in which Republicans were excoriated for their anti-science stance on climate change:
Two years ago, a group of international researchers led by University of Queensland's John Cook surveyed 12,000 abstracts of peer-reviewed papers on climate change since the 1990s. Out of the 4,000 papers that took a position one way or another on the causes of global warming, 97 percent of them were in agreement: Humans are the primary cause. By putting a number on the scientific consensus, the study provided everyone from President Barack Obama to comedian John Oliver with a tidy talking point. [Leber, bold added.]
Notice already that Leber is helping to perpetuate a falsehood, though she can be forgiven'--part of David Friedman's blog post was to show that Cook himself was responsible (Friedman calls it an outright lie) for the confusion regarding what he and his co-authors actually found. And notice that Leber confirms what I have claimed in this post, namely that it was the Cook et al. (2013) paper that originally provided the ''talking point'' (her term) about so-called consensus.
The point of Leber's essay is to then denounce Ted Cruz and certain other Republicans for ignoring this consensus among climate scientists:
All this debate over one statistic might seem silly, but it's important that Americans understand there is overwhelming agreement about human-caused global warming. Deniers have managed to undermine how the public views climate science, which in turn makes voters less likely to support climate action.
Now here's what's really interesting. A colleague sent me a recent review in The New Republic of a new book by Binyan Appelbaum that is critical of the economics profession. The reviewer, Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, quoted with approval Appelbaum's low view of consensus in economics:
Appelbaum shows the strangely high degree of consensus in the field of economics, including a 1979 survey of economists that ''found 98 percent opposed rent controls, 97 percent opposed tariffs, 95 percent favored floating exchange rates, and 90 percent opposed minimum wage laws.'' And in a moment of impish humor he notes that ''Although nature tends toward entropy, they shared a confidence that economies tend toward equilibrium.'' Economists shared a creepy lack of doubt about how the world worked. [Kaiser-Schatzlein, bold added.]
Isn't that amazing? Rather than hunting down and demonizing Democratic politicians who dare to oppose the expert consensus on items like rent control - which Bernie Sanders has recently promoted - the reaction here is to guffaw at the hubris and ''creepy lack of doubt about how the world [works].''
ConclusionFrom the beginning, the ''97% consensus'' claim about climate change has been dubious, with supporters claiming that it represented much more than it really did. Furthermore, a recent book review in The New Republic shows that when it comes to economic science, 97% consensus means nothing, if it doesn't support progressive politics.
Nuclear Supply Chain Gearing Up to Make Fuel for Advanced Reactors. That's A Great Sign for Nuclear Energy's Future
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:33
Advanced reactors are moving from fascinating designs to reality, as innovative companies invest in hardware for next-generation nuclear technology.
BWX Technologies Inc. will restart and expand production of TRISO fuel, which is necessary for several advanced nuclear reactor designs. The company's announcement signals confidence by the manufacturer that the reactors that would use TRISO are likely to come to market. Over the last four years, X-Energy developed its own TRISO manufacturing process at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to support its reactor and other designs.
TRISO stands for ''tristructural isotropic'' and describes the particles that make up the fuel. It uses uranium similar to America's 96 operating power reactors but in a different form.
Currently, commercial reactors in the United States use a uranium ceramic, surrounded by a metal wrapper. TRISO fuel starts with tiny particles of uranium that are combined with carbon and oxygen. Then the particles are wrapped with four different kinds of carbon layers, like coatings on risotto. The result is a particle that can withstand extremely high levels of heat.
Then thousands of the particles are embedded into either:
A cylindrical graphite structure called a compact, which is about the size and shape of a stack of 20 dimes. The cylindrical compacts can be placed inside larger graphite block fuel assemblies, shaped like five-sided columns. A round structure about the size of a billiard ball, known as a ''pebble.'' The prismatic blocks or the pebbles can be put in a reactor vessel filled with inert gas. When the reactor starts, it splits uranium atoms in the fuel and heats the surrounding gas to very high temperatures. The gas carries the heat energy away to be converted to electricity or to be used to do other work.
X-Energy is designing a pebble bed reactor that will allow plant operators to remove pebbles and add new ones as the reactor runs, so it does not have to shut down for refueling. Framatome, HolosGen LLC and Kairos Power LLC are also developing reactor technologies that would use TRISO fuel.
Reactors that use graphite or molten salt can run at far higher temperatures than current nuclear reactors. Higher-temperature heat has various industrial uses and makes electricity more efficiently. These advanced reactors will also make good partners for other carbon-free generators like intermittent solar and wind, because the reactors can change their power levels quickly to compensate for changes in wind or sun.
This is a very positive statement about the future of advanced nuclear power. The companies are laying the groundwork to support a new generation of reactors.
'-- Everett Redmond, NEI's senior technical advisor
One of the customers for TRISO fuel could be the U.S. Department of Defense, which plans to use it in mobile reactors, that can be trucked in or airlifted to forward and remote locations. These reactors can run for years without refueling, eliminating the need for thousands of runs by diesel tanker trucks, which are vulnerable to enemy attack. The Defense Department specified TRISO fuel in its request for solutions because the fuel is so robust.
Combined with recent bipartisan legislation, this latest development in fuel demonstrates a growing momentum for new nuclear reactors. As designs advance toward market deployment, this new technology will ensure that nuclear energy continues to provide clean electricity and more.
Bag Daddy
Muslim burials
Just
listened to this episode. If there is a ‘tradition’ with Muslim burials, it’s
that it be done promptly. Certainly no later than 24 hours.
Hence
if a person were to pass whilst at sea, yes you would do a sea burial.
But
if you’re on land... no, you don’t hike the body off to an ocean somewhere for a
sea burial. 🙄
Best,
Azlan
'your brown Muslim in South East Asia' Sharom
'Americans will RESPAWN al-Baghdadi': Assad casts doubt on ISIS leader's death, draws parallels with Bin Laden's killing '-- RT World News
Mon, 04 Nov 2019 03:06
Take any words from US politicians with a grain of salt, Syria's Bashar Assad has urged, as he cast doubt on the story of the Islamic State leader being killed in US a raid, and compared it to the shady killing of Osama Bin Laden.
The widely publicized US special forces raid that allegedly killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group, left more questions than answers and it should not be taken at the face value, the Syrian President cautioned, during a lengthy interview with state media on Thursday.
READ MORE: 'He died like a dog, like a coward!' Trump describes GRAPHIC death of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi
Damascus did not participate in the raid by any means, Assad stated, adding that he'd learned about the claim only through media reports. Adding imaginary participants into the operation is likely supposed to give it credibility, he added, while countries on such a list would likely be flattered to be a ''part of a 'great' operation.''
We do not need such credit. We are the ones fighting terrorism. We have no relations and have had no contact with any American institutions.
Read more
Washington's loud praise of its own actions, a picture of the 'hero dog' that took part in the raid and footage purportedly of the aerial strikes have not convinced Assad if it ''actually took place or not.'' Moreover, he thought the whole affair suspiciously resembled the 2011 killing of another notorious terrorist '' Al Qaeda's head Osama Bin Laden.
''Why were the remains of Baghdadi not shown? This is the same scenario that was followed with Bin Laden. If they are going to use different pretexts in order not to show the remains, let us recall how [former Iraqi] President Saddam Hussein was captured and how the whole operation was shown from A to Z; they showed pictures and video clips after they captured him.''
The killing of Saddam's sons was also well-documented and widely publicized, Assad went on to add, suggesting that the Americans ''hide everything'' about both the killing of bin Laden and that of al-Baghdadi for a reason.
This is part of the tricks played by the Americans. That is why we should not believe everything they say unless they come up with evidence. American politicians are actually guilty until proven innocent, not the other way around.
All in all, it's unlikely that death of the IS leader '' if he really was killed '' and even the ultimate destruction of the terrorist group would change anything, Assad said. The root of the problem '' the Wahhabi ideology that is ''more than two centuries old'' would not disappear at once. The radical Islamist thought and al-Baghdadi were merely US tools all along, Assad claimed, adding that those tools could easily be re-purposed elsewhere.
''I believe the whole thing regarding this operation is a trick. Baghdadi will be recreated under a different name, a different individual, or ISIS in its entirety might be reproduced as needed under a different name but with the same thought and the same purpose. The director of the whole scenario is the same, the Americans.''
Also on rt.com 'Brought to justice': Pentagon declassifies al-Baghdadi raid VIDEO & DETAILS, confirms ISIS leader's mutilated body buried at sea Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won't tell you.
Dog are People Too
Dooglers More Dogs than Kids in SF
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:35
W innie Kenney, who moved to San Francisco from Nashville earlier this year, works at Google's campus in downtown San Francisco. That's nice for two reasons: she doesn't have to commute 90 minutes each way to Mountain View on a Taylor-Swift-tour-size bus, and the Embarcadero is just across the street, offering sublime views and a two-acre park.
After lunch, Googlers like Winnie escape from the glass-enclosed conference rooms and are reminded of why they live here. They hit the salty 70-degree air clad in what's known as Pata-Gucci: puffy base layers, stretchy cargoes, and shoes made from recycled plastic bottles, toting pinging phones, rainbow-striped Google badges, and low-key optimism. Winnie has the badge and a super-positive outlook, but not a phone, because she doesn't have thumbs. She's a dog, in fact. More precisely, she's a Doogler.
Dogs at Work: A Love StoryTwenty years ago, a Leonberger named Yoshka was Google's first Doogler. The champion show dog, who died in 2012, belonged to Urs H¶lzle, Google's eighth employee and senior vice-president for technical engineering. Yoshka was the subject of a blog and kept an office on the third floor. Today, a popular caf(C) on Google's Mountain View campus is named after him, and he's remembered as a true stud. (In fact, his lineage lives on.) He paved the way for a tech culture that is less dog-friendly and more dogs-nearly-everywhere.
Today in San Francisco'--the city named for the patron saint of animals'--dogs are so commonplace (and believed to bolster morale and ensure longer workdays) at companies including Lyft, Airbnb, Zynga, and the countless start-ups housed at dog-friendly WeWork that it's unremarkable to see a golden retriever sitting at the cereal bar. (Lyft regularly hosts ''yappy hours'' and dog-fashion shows.)
But the culture that has emerged around dogs in San Francisco, where they now outnumber children, is truly state of the art. Pups are welcome nearly everywhere (even with no-pets-allowed landlords) if the pooch is declared an emotional-support animal, which was the case for every dog I encountered for this story. The city's demographic is skewing younger and richer, and people are staying single for longer, having fewer children, and procuring dogs.
A Googler and Doogler at Google's headquarters, in Mountain View.In fact, according to the San Francisco S.P.C.A., which includes four board members from the tech industry, the city is experiencing a shortage of rescue dogs. The S.P.C.A. is widening its mission to include helping low-income citizens care for the pets already in their home. Several tech legends have started their own charities: Peoplesoft's Dave Duffield founded the rescue charity foundation Maddie's Fund, donating his home, currently on the market for $28.5 million, to the nonprofit. (The home has an on-property dog spa.)
Jana Lee, who works at the Kinship venture capital fund (which targets pet care and recently hosted a dog-centric hackathon at Tech Crunch), has seen a benefit not just for the city's pups but also for their parents. ''Dogs are humanizing the tech community here,'' says the 40-year-old dog parent to Chihuahuas Dave and Steve. ''The tech community in San Francisco has always had this reputation of being leeches. Just taking everything they can.''
Oh, Behave!In early October, I join Winnie on the Embarcadero. The four-year-old poodle-boxer mix the color of wet asphalt gallops around the park, dodging a few shirtless homeless men enjoying the Indian summer. She proudly summits the green knoll like Brienne of Tarth. Arriving back with us, she gyrates with a shake-wiggle-shiver and politely sits down.
''Winnie is so well behaved!'' says Grace Kao, mother of Gatsby, a nine-year-old miniature schnauzer who pancakes in the grass and rolls around with a rapturous smile. ''I definitely judge people based on their dog's behavior.'' Manners really matter at Google, where Kao says that the dog policy includes a ''one-strike pee'' clause. Winnie looks up and winks at me.
''I definitely judge people based on their dog's behavior.''I follow Winnie and Kristin Kenney, her ''human'''--the preferred in-office nomenclature'--back to the office. Google is credited with having big tech's first and perhaps the most liberal dog policy, which extends to all offices around the world. Dogs and their humans can be photographed for badges on the first day of employment; a dog bus shuttles Dooglers and Googlers to and from the Mountain View headquarters every day. A guy on an electric skateboard with a thumb accelerator whirrrrrrrs past us. Kenney and I flinch, but Winnie doesn't budge.
''She's definitely become a better dog since we moved here, because we're so in sync,'' Kenney says. Every morning, the single 38-year-old packs her and her dog's breakfasts in side-by-side plastic containers. I ask about Kenney's love life, as there was a recent viral Reddit thread about dating in San Francisco titled ''What annoys you the most about dating in SF?'' ''Dating is '... Eh, you kind of do it,'' she says with a shrug. ''I mean, I get pretty much everything I need from Winnie.''
Doogler treats abound at a Google caf(C).Back in Kenney's office, two colleagues drop by. One, an Australian attorney, collapses to the hallway floor and spoons her dog, a setter mix. (''More Irish than English, according to his DNA test,'' his human says.) The other colleague steps over her to get into Kenney's office, and reports of two dachshunds named Romy and Michelle up for adoption. Winnie suddenly vomits all over the floor. ''I think it was the bacon from this morning.'' Within seconds, a maintenance person rolls up with a cart. ''Dog life,'' Kenney says with an exhale as she's handed a roll of industrial paper towels.
Retail TherapyThe tech buses lumber north and south across San Francisco every morning and evening. Glossy and dark, they're two stories tall and half a block long. They move like blue whales, steady and dauntless, ferrying their passengers to Apple, Google, and Facebook. To be stuck between two of them in the left-turn lane during rush hour is to know powerlessness.
Walking my own dog, Franky'--named for St. Francis and adopted at a shelter founded by an Uber executive'--we would often cross paths with the tech buses on Divisadero and head to George, a pet store that combines the Americana of Ralph Lauren with the fizz of Jonathan Adler. Founded by New York transplant Bobby Wise, George sells dried lamb filets for $3 an ounce, grain-free ''Cheetos'' at $9 a pound, and hand-beaded dog collars for $200.
Wise has steered George through two tech bubbles and now finds ''dog life'' to be a mix of money-to-burn and search-for-meaning. ''We watch new customers come into our stores and, well, just change,'' says Wise. ''Some people are searching for something real. Then they adopt a dog. And then they find us.''
Parks and RecEarlier this year, I began to notice a different, more diminutive bus fleet cruising the streets. These were, I learned, Mercedes-Benz sprinter vans filled with passengers, exclusively canine, and destined for far-flung places like the Marin Headlands or Half Moon Bay. Not all workplaces are as hospitable as Google'--Facebook and Instagram are not dog-friendly, and Pinterest and Headspace reversed course and abandoned their dog-friendly policies, inciting an uproar.
Seeking information on the fates of those dogs who aren't allowed at the office, I head to the Presidio, a three-square-mile national park between the Marina neighborhood and the Golden Gate Bridge, where I meet David Levin, 34, the owner of Citizen Hound, a dog-walking service that was recently declared the best in San Francisco by the local dog newspaper, Bay Woof, for their annual ''Beast of the Bay'' awards. For $775 a month, Citizen Hound will squire your pooch on two-hour-long hikes each weekday.
Tethered to the desk at Zynga.''More and more in San Francisco today, people want their dogs to reach the kind of excellence they've achieved in their own life,'' says Levin, as he motions for an Australian cattle dog named Dolly to sit down, simply with a flick of his hand.
''People want their dogs to reach the kind of excellence they've achieved in their own life.''An hour later, energy-depleted after the hike, we all head back to Levin's modified Toyota Tacoma. He gently loads up four French bulldogs and we hit Billionaires' Row, a mix of mansions owned by tech executives. We see several other dog-walking services juggling for street parking with Teslas, Porsches, Maseratis, dry-cleaning vans, and one catering van ejecting folding tables and bow-tied attendants.
''I get that dog walking is something of a luxury amenity,'' says Levin, watching the scene unfold in front of us. ''But it's relatively tame compared to the other stuff that's here now.'' That new ''dog life'' now includes dog-centered happy hours, dog spas, dog co-working spaces, dog ''resorts'' that cost upward of $150 a night, canine massage parlors, and dog pool clubs. There is a puppy ''junior high'' and ''high school'' offered by the dog training service known as Puppy Prep (the Magna Cum Laude weekday package is $2,450), Chinese acupuncturists and French bakeries that exist only for dogs, and a members club called Doggy Style that costs owners up to $1,500-a-month. An annual daytime gay dance party at the Virgin Hotel benefitting a senior-dog rescue. And, when the time comes, one can even enlist the services of a dog-death doula.
On a sidewalk near Jony Ive's home in Pacific Heights, a young dog walker is wrangling three dogs. He's wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon puggle. Below it, two bubble-lettered words: Chill, Bitch !
Photos: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis/Getty Images (Mountain View); David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images (Zynga)
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Hunter Biden's Ukraine gas firm pressed Obama administration to end corruption allegations, memos show | John Solomon Reports
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:21
Hunter Biden and his Ukrainian gas firm colleagues had multiplecontacts with the Obama State Department during the 2016 election cycle,including one just a month before Vice President Joe Biden forced Ukraine tofire the prosecutor investigating his son's company for corruption, newlyreleased memos show.
During that February 2016 contact, a U.S. representative forBurisma Holdings sought a meeting with Undersecretary of State Catherine A.Novelli to discuss ending the corruption allegations against the Ukrainian firmwhere Hunter Biden worked as a board member, according to memos obtained undera Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. (I filed that suit this summer with thehelp of the public interest law firm the Southeastern Legal Foundation.)
Just three weeks before Burisma's overture to State, Ukrainianauthorities raided the home of the oligarch who owned the gas firm and employedHunter Biden, a signal the long-running corruption probe was escalating in themiddle of the U.S. presidential election.
Hunter Biden's name, in fact, was specifically invoked by theBurisma representative as a reason the State Department should help, accordingto a series of email exchanges among U.S. officials trying to arrange themeeting. The subject line for theemail exchanges read simply ''Burisma.''
''Per our conversation, Karen Tramontano of Blue Star Strategiesrequested a meeting to discuss with U/S Novelli USG remarks alleging Burisma(Ukrainian energy company) of corruption,'' aFeb. 24, 2016, email between State officials read. ''She noted that two highprofile U.S. citizens are affiliated with the company (including Hunter Bidenas a board member).
''Tramontano would like to talk with U/S Novelli about getting abetter understanding of how the U.S. came to the determination that the companyis corrupt,'' the email added. ''According to Tramontano there is no evidence ofcorruption, has been no hearing or process, and evidence to the contrary hasnot been considered.''
At the time, Novelli was the most senior official overseeinginternational energy issues for State. The undersecretary position, of whichthere are several, is the third-highest-ranking job at State, behind thesecretary and deputy secretary. And Tramontano was a lawyer working for BlueStar Strategies, a Washington firm that was hired by Burisma to help end along-running corruption investigation against the gas firm in Ukraine.
Tramontano and another Blue Star official, Sally Painter, bothalumni of Bill Clinton's administration, worked with New York-based criminaldefense attorney John Buretta to settle the Ukraine cases in late 2016 and2017. I wrote about their efforts previously here.
Burisma Holdings records obtained by Ukrainian prosecutors statethe gas firm made a $60,000 payment to Blue Star in November 2015.
The emailsshow Tramontano was scheduled to meet Novelli on March 1, 2016, and thatState Department officials were scrambling to get answers ahead of time from theU.S. embassy in Kiev.
The records don't show whether the meeting actually took place.The FOIA lawsuit is ongoing and State officials are slated to produceadditional records in the months ahead.
But the records do indicate that Hunter Biden's fellow Americanboard member at Burisma, Devon Archer, secured ameeting on March 2, 2016 with Secretary of State John Kerry. Inaddition to serving on the Burisma board, Archer and Hunter Biden were partnersat an American firm known as Rosemont Seneca.
''Devon Archer coming to see S today at 3pm ''need someone to meet/greet him at C Street,'' an emailfrom Kerry's office manager reads. ''S'' is a shorthand frequently used inState emails to describe the Secretary of State. The memos don't state thereason for the meeting.
Tramontano, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, Archer and Joe Biden'scampaign did not return messages seeking comment on Monday.
In an interview withABC News last month, Hunter Biden said he believed he had done ''nothing wrong atall'' while working with Burisma but ''was it poor judgment to be in the middle ofsomething that is'...a swamp in '-- in '-- in many ways? Yeah.''
Whatever the subject of the Archer-Kerry meeting, its existenceis certain to spark interest. That's because Secretary Kerry's stepson,Christopher Heinz, had been a business partner with both Archer and HunterBiden at the Rosemont Seneca investment firm in the United States.
Heinz, however, chose not to participate in the Burisma dealings.In fact, he wrote anemail to his stepfather's top aides in May 2014, pointedly distancinghimself from the decision by Hunter Biden and Devon Archer to join Burisma'sboard.
Heinz's spokesman recentlytoldThe Washington Post that Heinz ended his relationship with Archer and HunterBiden partly over the Burisma matter. ''The lack of judgment in this matter was amajor catalyst for Mr. Heinz ending his business relationships with Mr. Archerand Mr. Biden,'' Heinz spokesman Chris Bastardi told the newspaper
A person who assisted Blue Star and Buretta in settling theBurisma matters in Ukraine told me in an interview that the late February 2016overture to State was prompted by a dramatic series of events in Ukraine that includedwhen that country's top prosecutor escalated a two-year probe into Burisma andits founder, the oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky.
Zlochevsky's gas firm hired Hunter Biden and Archer as boardmembers for Burisma Holdings in spring 2014, around the time that British officialsopened corruption investigations into Zlochevsky's gas firm for actions datingto 2010 before Hunter Biden and Archer joined the firm. Ukraine officialsopened their own corruption probe in August 2014.
A firm called Rosemont Seneca Bohai began receiving monthlypayments totaling more than $166,000 from Burisma Holdings in May 2014, bankrecords show. The records show Devon Archer was listed as a custodian for theRosemont Seneca Bohai firm and that Hunter Biden received payments from it. Youcan read those bank records here.
In September 2015, then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine GeoffreyPyatt gave a speech imploringUkrainian prosecutors to do more to bring Zlochevsky to justice, accordingto published reports at the time.
By early 2016 the Ukrainian investigation had advanced enoughthat then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin authorized a court-ordered seizureof Zlochevsky's home and other valuables, including a luxury car. That seizure occurredon Feb. 2, 2016, according to published reports inUkraine.
The same day that the Zlochevsky seizure was announced inUkraine, Hunter Biden usedhis Twitter account to start following Deputy Secretary of State TonyBlinken, a longtime national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden whowas promoted to the No. 2 job at State under Secretary John Kerry.
The Feb. 4, 2016 Twitternotification from Hunter Biden to Blinken was captured by State emailservers and turned over to me as part of the FOIA release.
Within a few weeks of Tramontano's overture to Novelli and ofArcher's overture to Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden took a stunning action,one that has enveloped his 2020 campaign for president in controversy.
By his ownadmission in a 2018 speech, Joe Biden used the threat of withholding $1billion in U.S. aid to strong-arm Ukraine into firing Shokin, a prosecutor thathe and his office knew was investigating Burisma.
Biden has said he forced Shokin's firing because he and Westernallies believed the prosecutor wasn't aggressive enough in fighting corruption.
Shokin disputes that account, telling both me and ABCNews that he was fired specifically because he would not stand down from investigatingBurisma. In fact, Shokin alleges, he was making plans to interview Hunter Bidenabout his Burisma work and payments when he got the axe.
Ukraine prosecutors have said they do not believe the Bidens didanything wrong under Ukraine law. But some of the country's prosecutors made aneffort in 2018 to get information about Burisma to the U.S. Justice Departmentbecause they believed American prosecutors might be interested in some activitiesunder U.S. law. You can read about that effort here.
Some experts and officials have been quotedin reports saying Joe Biden's actions created the appearance of a conflictof interest, something all U.S. government officials are supposed to avoid. Thequestions about conflicts were previously raised in a 2015 article by the NewYork Times and the 2018book Secret Empires by author Peter Schweizer.
The new evidence of contacts between Burisma, Hunter Biden andArcher at State are certain to add a new layer of intrigue to the debate. Thosecontacts span back to at least spring 2015, the new memos show.
On May 22, 2015, Hunter Biden emailedhis father's longtime trusted aide, Blinken, with the following message: ''Havea few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossiblybusy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things, Best, Hunter.''
Blinken respondedthe same day with an ''absolutely'' and added, ''Look forward to seeing you.''
The records indicate the two men were scheduled to meet theafternoon of May 27, 2015.
The State Department records also indicate Hunter Biden metBlinken in person for lunch on July 22, 2015, when State officials gave thename of a person to meet to help him enter the building. ''He has the VIP pinand can escort you upstairs for your lunch with Tony,'' theemail said.
The emails don't indicate whether the meeting had to do withBurisma or one of Hunter Biden's other interests.
But they clearly show that Hunter Biden, his business partnerand Burisma's legal team were able to secure contacts inside the StateDepartment, including to one of his father's most trusted aides, to SecretaryKerry and to the agency's top energy official.
The question now is: Did any of those contacts prompt furtheraction or have anything to do with Joe Biden's conduct in Ukraine in March 2016when he forced Shokin's firing?
Why John Brennan, Peter Strzok and DOJ Needed Julian Assange Arrested '' And Why UK Officials Obliged'... | The Last Refuge
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 06:31
According to recent reports U.S. Attorney John Durham and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr are spending time on a narrowed focus looking carefully at CIA activity in the 2016 presidential election. One recent quote from a media-voice increasingly sympathetic to a political deep-state notes:
''One British official with knowledge of Barr's wish list presented to London commented that ''it is like nothing we have come across before, they are basically asking, in quite robust terms, for help in doing a hatchet job on their own intelligence services''''. (Link)
It is interesting that quote comes from a British intelligence official, as there appears to be mounting evidence of an extensive CIA operation that likely involved U.K. intelligence services. In addition, and as a direct outcome, there is an aspect to the CIA operation that overlaps with both a U.S. and U.K. need to keep Wikileaks founder Julian Assange under tight control. In this outline we will explain where corrupt U.S. and U.K. interests merge.
To understand the risk that Julian Assange represented to CIA interests, it is important to understand just how extensive the operations of the CIA were in 2016. It is within this network of foreign and domestic operations where FBI Agent Peter Strzok is clearly working as a bridge between the CIA and FBI operations.
By now people are familiar with the construct of CIA operations involving Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese professor now generally admitted/identified as a western intelligence operative who was tasked by the CIA (John Brennan) to run an operation against Trump campaign official George Papadopoulos in both Italy (Rome) and London. {Go Deep}
In a similar fashion the CIA tasked U.S. intelligence asset Stefan Halper to target another Trump campaign official, Carter Page. Under the auspices of being a Cambridge Professor Stefan Halper also targeted General Michael Flynn. Additionally, using assistance from a female FBI agent under the false name Azra Turk, Halper also targeted Papadopoulos.
The initial operations to target Flynn, Papadopoulos and Page were all based overseas. This seemingly makes the CIA exploitation of the assets and the targets much easier.
One of the more interesting aspects to the Durham probe is a possibility of a paper-trail created as a result of the tasking operations. We should watch closely for more evidence of a paper trail as some congressional reps have hinted toward documented evidence (transcripts, recordings, reports) that are exculpatory to the targets (Page & Papadop). HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes has strongly hinted that very specific exculpatory evidence was known to the FBI and yet withheld from the FISA application used against Carter Page that also mentions George Papadopoulos. I digress'...
However, there is an aspect to the domestic U.S. operation that also bears the fingerprints of the CIA; only this time due to the restrictive laws on targets inside the U.S. the CIA aspect is less prominent. This is where FBI Agent Peter Strzok working for both agencies starts to become important.
Remember, it's clear in the text messages Strzok has a working relationship with what he called their ''sister agency'', the CIA. Additionally, Brennan has admitted Strzok helped write the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) which outlines the Russia narrative; and it is almost guaranteed the July 31st, 2016, ''Electronic Communication'' from the CIA to the FBI that originated FBI operation ''Crossfire Hurricane'' was co-authored from the CIA by Strzok'.... and Strzok immediately used that EC to travel to London to debrief intelligence officials around Australian Ambassador to the U.K. Alexander Downer.
In short, Peter Strzok appears to be the very eager, profoundly overzealous James Bond wannabe, who acted as a bridge between the CIA and the FBI. The perfect type of FBI career agent for CIA Director John Brennan to utilize.
Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson hired CIA Open Source analyst Nellie Ohr toward the end of 2015; at appropriately the same time as ''FBI Contractors'' were identified exploiting the NSA database and extracting information on a specific set of U.S. persons.
It was also Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson who was domestically tasked with a Russian lobbyist named Natalia Veselnitskya. A little reported Russian Deputy Attorney General named Saak Albertovich Karapetyan was working double-agents for the CIA and Kremlin. Karapetyan was directing the foreign operations of Natalia Veselnitskaya, and Glenn Simpson was organizing her inside the U.S.
Glenn Simpson managed Veselnitskaya through the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr. However, once the CIA/Fusion-GPS operation using Veselnitskaya started to unravel with public reporting'... back in Russia Deputy AG Karapetyan fell out of a helicopter to his death (just before it crashed).
Simultaneously timed in late 2015 through mid 2016, there was a domestic FBI operation using a young Russian named Maria Butina tasked to run up against republican presidential candidates. According to Patrick Byrne, Butina's handler, it was FBI agent Peter Strzok who was giving Byrne the instructions on where to send her. {Go Deep}
All of this context outlines the extent to which the CIA was openly involved in constructing a political operation that settled upon anyone in candidate Donald Trump's orbit.
International operations directed by the CIA, and domestic operations seemingly directed by Peter Strzok operating with a foot in both agencies. [Strzok gets CIA service coin]
Recap: '...Mifsud tasked against Papadopoulos (CIA). '...Halper tasked against Flynn (CIA), Page (CIA), and Papadopoulos (CIA). '...Azra Turk, pretending to be Halper asst, tasked against Papadopoulos (FBI). '...Veselnitskaya tasked against Donald Trump Jr (CIA, Fusion-GPS). '...Butina tasked against Trump, and Donald Trump Jr (FBI).
Additionally, Christopher Steele was a British intelligence officer, hired by Fusion-GPS to assemble and launder fraudulent intelligence information within his dossier. And we cannot forget Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch, who was recruited by Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to participate in running an operation against the Trump campaign and create the impression of Russian involvement. Deripaska refused to participate.
All of this engagement directly controlled by U.S. intelligence; and all of this intended to give a specific Russia impression. This predicate is presumably what John Durham is currently reviewing.
The key point of all that background is to see how committed the CIA and FBI were to the constructed narrative of Russia interfering with the 2016 election. The CIA, FBI, and by extension the DOJ, put a hell of a lot of work into it. Intelligence community work that Durham is now unraveling.
We also know specifically that John Durham is looking at the construct of the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA); and talking to CIA analysts who participated in the construct of the January 2017 report that bolstered the false appearance of Russian interference in the 2016 election. This is important because it ties in to the next part that involves Julian Assange and Wikileaks.
On April 11th, 2019, the Julian Assange indictment was unsealed in the EDVA. From the indictment we discover it was under seal since March 6th, 2018:
(Link to pdf)
On Tuesday April 15th more investigative material was released. Again, note the dates: Grand Jury, *December of 2017* This means FBI investigation prior to'....
The FBI investigation took place prior to December 2017, it was coordinated through the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) where Dana Boente was U.S. Attorney at the time. The grand jury indictment was sealed from March of 2018 until after Mueller completed his investigation, April 2019.
Why the delay?
What was the DOJ waiting for?
Here's where it gets interesting'....
The FBI submission to the Grand Jury in December of 2017 was four months after congressman Dana Rohrabacher talked to Julian Assange in August of 2017: ''Assange told a U.S. congressman '... he can prove the leaked Democratic Party documents '... did not come from Russia.''
(August 2017, The Hill Via John Solomon) Julian Assange told a U.S. congressman on Tuesday he can prove the leaked Democratic Party documents he published during last year's election did not come from Russia and promised additional helpful information about the leaks in the near future.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who is friendly to Russia and chairs an important House subcommittee on Eurasia policy, became the first American congressman to meet with Assange during a three-hour private gathering at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been holed up for years.
Rohrabacher recounted his conversation with Assange to The Hill.
''Our three-hour meeting covered a wide array of issues, including the WikiLeaks exposure of the DNC [Democratic National Committee] emails during last year's presidential election,'' Rohrabacher said, ''Julian emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved in the hacking or disclosure of those emails.''
Pressed for more detail on the source of the documents, Rohrabacher said he had information to share privately with President Trump. (read more)
Knowing how much effort the CIA and FBI put into the Russia collusion-conspiracy narrative, it would make sense for the FBI to take keen interest after this August 2017 meeting between Rohrabacher and Assange; and why the FBI would quickly gather specific evidence (related to Wikileaks and Bradley Manning) for a grand jury by December 2017.
Within three months of the grand jury the DOJ generated an indictment and sealed it in March 2018. The EDVA sat on the indictment while the Mueller probe was ongoing.
As soon as the Mueller probe ended, on April 11th, 2019, a planned and coordinated effort between the U.K. and U.S. was executed; Julian Assange was forcibly arrested and removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and the EDVA indictment was unsealed (link).
As a person who has researched this three year fiasco; including the ridiculously false 2016 Russian hacking/interference narrative: ''17 intelligence agencies'', Joint Analysis Report (JAR) needed for Obama's anti-Russia narrative in December '16; and then a month later the ridiculously political Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) in January '17; this timing against Assange is too coincidental.
It doesn't take a deep researcher to see the aligned Deep State motive to control Julian Assange because the Mueller report was dependent on Russia cybercrimes, and that narrative is contingent on the Russia DNC hack story which Julian Assange disputes.
This is critical. The Weissmann/Mueller report contains claims that Russia hacked the DNC servers as the central element to the Russia interference narrative in the U.S. election. This claim is directly disputed by WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, as outlined during the Dana Rohrabacher interview, and by Julian Assange on-the-record statements.
The predicate for Robert Mueller's investigation was specifically due to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The fulcrum for this Russia interference claim is the intelligence community assessment; and the only factual evidence claimed within the ICA is that Russia hacked the DNC servers; a claim only made possible by relying on forensic computer analysis from Crowdstrike, a DNC contractor.
The CIA holds a massive conflict of self-interest in upholding the Russian hacking claim. The FBI holds a massive interest in maintaining that claim. All of those foreign countries whose intelligence apparatus participated with Brennan and Strzok also have a vested self-interest in maintaining that Russia hacking and interference narrative.
Julian Assange is the only person with direct knowledge of how Wikileaks gained custody of the DNC emails; and Assange has claimed he has evidence it was not from a hack.
This Russian ''hacking'' claim is ultimately so important to the CIA, FBI, DOJ, ODNI and U.K intelligence apparatus'.... Well, right there is the obvious motive to shut Assange down as soon intelligence officials knew the Mueller report was going to be public.
Now, if we know this, and you know this; and everything is cited and factual'... well, then certainly AG Bill Barr knows this.
The $64,000 dollar question is: will they say so publicly?
Brit Hume exposes 'huge fallacy' in Alexander Vindman's testimony to House impeachment panel - TheBlaze
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 04:34
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was "deeply troubled" by what he believed were President Donald Trump's attempts to "subvert U.S. foreign policy," the Washington Post reported Friday, citing Vindman's testimony given to the Democrat-led House impeachment inquiry last week.
From the Post:
[Vindman] told lawmakers that he was deeply troubled by what he interpreted as an attempt by the president to subvert U.S. foreign policy and an improper attempt to coerce a foreign government into investigating a U.S. citizen.Vindman's testimony received widespread attention because it furthered the narrative that Trump is a rogue president determined to act out of self-interest, rather than in the interest of the American people.
But according to Fox News' Brit Hume, there is a "huge fallacy" in Vindman's line-of-thinking.
That fallacy, Hume went on to explain, is that Trump cannot "subvert" U.S. foreign policy precisely because he is the "constitutional author of foreign policy."
"Actually, it's the fact that the president is the constitutional author of foreign policy, so the idea he is 'subverting' it is illogical," Hume explained.
Indeed, as the Constitutional Rights Foundation explains, the executive branch has the most significant role in crafting U.S. foreign policy, and because the president is the head of the executive branch, the president essentially determines the direction of U.S. foreign policy while in office.
U.S. Condemns Russia for Cyberattack, Showing Split in Stance on Putin - The New York Times
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 09:58
The United States joined Britain in blaming Russia for a huge cyberattack that targeted Ukraine. Credit... Mladen Antonov/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty Images WASHINGTON '-- The United States on Thursday joined Britain in formally blaming Russia for a huge cyberattack last June that was aimed at Ukraine but crippled computers worldwide, a highly public naming-and-shaming exercise that could further fray relations with Moscow.
The White House threatened unspecified ''international consequences'' for the attack, which it said ''was part of the Kremlin's ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict.''
The statement, issued by the press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said the attack, known by the name NotPetya, was ''reckless and indiscriminate'' and spread rapidly, ''causing billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia and the Americas.''
NotPetya, which had the characteristics of a ransomware attack, had been widely identified by cybersecurity experts as coming from Russia, so the attribution was no surprise. But the decision of the United States and Britain to nearly simultaneously condemn the Russian military is noteworthy.
It underscores the dichotomy between the administration's consistently tough stance toward Russia on issues involving Ukraine and President Trump's continued reluctance to criticize President Vladimir V. Putin over anything else.
In December, the White House approved the sale of lethal defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military for its battle against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. Yet Mr. Trump continues to soft-pedal allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, even after the nation's intelligence agencies concluded that it did '-- an assessment that intelligence chiefs reiterated in Senate testimony this week.
Image NotPetya, which had the characteristics of a ransomware attack, had been widely identified by cybersecurity experts as coming from Russia.Administration officials declined to say what steps the United States would take against Russia. But they could include both sanctions against Russian officials involved in the attack and covert measures '-- any of which would be likely to fray an already fragile relationship.
The administration's public statement echoed one in mid-December when it publicly blamed North Korea for a damaging ransomware attack known as Wannacry. In that case, however, the United States did not follow up with stiff penalties, in part because North Korea was already under heavy sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
''President Trump has used just about every lever you can use, short of starving the people of North Korea, to change their behavior,'' the homeland security adviser, Thomas P. Bossert, said at the time. ''So we don't have a lot of room left here to apply pressure.''
Punishing other nations for cyberattacks has proven exceedingly difficult, particularly when the players are as sophisticated as North Korea and Russia. The Russian government flatly denied the allegations that it carried out the attack.
''We think they have no basis and no foundation, and this is nothing else but the continuation of the Russo-phobic campaign,'' the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.
The administration had planned to issue the statement a day earlier to coincide with that of the British, according to a senior official, but delayed it after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
The White House statement made no mention of an embarrassing related fact: The NotPetya attacks took advantage of vulnerabilities identified by the National Security Agency and then made public by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers.
The Shadow Brokers, which some officials believe to be a front for Russian intelligence, obtained many of the N.S.A.'s most valuable hacking tools, either by breaking into the agency's computer networks or with the help of an insider. The group has posted much of the stolen malware on the web; North Korea's hackers probably used the tools in their attack.
In a ransomware attack, the victim's files are encrypted, locking them out of their own computer systems, until they pay a ransom. Cybersecurity researchers estimate that criminals made more than $1 billion through these attacks last year, with victims ranging from the chief executives of major companies to small businesses and private individuals.
While the motive for many ransomware attacks is financial, Russia's involvement suggests it was part of a broader strategy to destabilize Ukraine that dates back to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The NotPetya attack originated in Ukraine, according to security researchers, apparently timed to strike a day before a holiday marking the 1996 adoption of Ukraine's first constitution. It eventually spread to 64 countries, including Poland, Germany, Italy, and Russia itself.
The administration's action came as intelligence agencies warned that Russia was already meddling in the American midterm elections, using bots and other fake accounts on social media to spread disinformation.
''We expect Russia to continue using propaganda, social media, false-flag personas, sympathetic spokespeople and other means of influence to try to exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States,'' Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee at its annual hearing on worldwide threats.
''There should be no doubt that Russia perceives its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations,'' Mr. Coats added.
2020
Joint Statement from DOJ, DOD, DHS, DNI, FBI, NSA, and CISA on Ensuring Security of 2020 Elections > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Release
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 03:02
Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan, Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, FBI Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Cyber Command Commander and NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, and CISA Director Christopher Krebs today released the following joint statement:
"Today, dozens of states and local jurisdictions are hosting their own elections across the country and, less than a year from now, Americans will go to the polls and cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election. Election security is a top priority for the United States Government. Building on our successful, whole-of-government approach to securing the 2018 elections, we have increased the level of support to state and local election officials in their efforts to protect elections. The federal government is prioritizing the sharing of threat intelligence and providing support and services that improve the security of election infrastructure across the nation.
In an unprecedented level of coordination, the U.S. government is working with all 50 states and U.S. territories, local officials, and private sector partners to identify threats, broadly share information, and protect the democratic process. We remain firm in our commitment to quickly share timely and actionable information, provide support and services, and to defend against any threats to our democracy.
Our adversaries want to undermine our democratic institutions, influence public sentiment and affect government policies. Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions. Adversaries may try to accomplish their goals through a variety of means, including social media campaigns, directing disinformation operations or conducting disruptive or destructive cyber-attacks on state and local infrastructure.
While at this time we have no evidence of a compromise or disruption to election infrastructure that would enable adversaries to prevent voting, change vote counts or disrupt the ability to tally votes, we continue to vigilantly monitor any threats to U.S. elections.
The U.S. government will defend our democracy and maintain transparency with the American public about our efforts. An informed public is a resilient public. Americans should go to trusted sources for election information, such as their state and local election officials. We encourage every American to report any suspicious activity to their local officials, the FBI, or DHS. In past election cycles, reporting by Americans about suspicious activity provided valuable insight which has made our elections more secure. The greatest means to combat these threats is a whole-of-society effort."
SJW
A Child's First Book of Trump: Michael Ian Black, Marc Rosenthal: 0884890080799: Amazon.com: Books
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:30
Michael Ian Black is a writer, comedian, and actor who currently appears on Another Period, The Jim Gaffigan Show, and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He created and starred in many television series, including Michael and Michael Have Issues, Stella, and The State. He wrote the screenplay for the film Run, Fatboy, Run and wrote and directed the film Wedding Daze. Michael regularly tours the country as a stand-up comedian and is the bestselling author of the book My Custom Van (and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face), the memoir You're Not Doing It Right, and the children's books Chicken Cheeks, The Purple Kangaroo, A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea, I'm Bored, Naked!, and Cock-a-Doodle-Doo-Bop. Michael lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.Marc Rosenthal is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including Small Walt by Elizabeth Verdick; I Must Have Bobo, I'll Save You Bobo, and Bobo the Sailor Man, all by Eileen Rosenthal; The Straight Line Wonder by Mem Fox; and Phooey, which he wrote. Marc's illustrations can be seen regularly in The New Yorker, Time, Forbes, Fortune, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and others. Visit him online at Marc-Rosenthal.com.
Activist Sharpton takes Facebook ad concerns to Zuckerberg's home - Reuters
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 06:27
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton said he had a ''no-holds-barred meeting'' with Mark Zuckerberg at the Facebook Inc (FB.O ) CEO's home on Monday over the company's decision not to fact-check ads and other content from politicians.
Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast hosted by him and National Action Network, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Allison Shelley
The meeting, which Sharpton said lasted nearly two hours at Zuckerberg's Palo Alto house, included multiple civil rights activists and Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.
''We told him that we feel that the exemption for politicians could be used to suppress voting, give wrong messaging and could suppress census taking,'' Sharpton told Reuters in a phone interview on Monday after the meeting.
''He listened,'' said Sharpton, who had sent Zuckerberg a letter to request the meeting. ''He made no firm commitments of change but he seemed open,'' he added.
Zuckerberg told Congress last month Facebook would take down content from politicians that could risk voter or census suppression. Sharpton said, however, he thought that a wide array of content from politicians could indirectly cause such suppression.
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November 2020, Facebook's policy has also been slammed by Democratic candidates and was recently criticized by some of its employees in an internal letter.
Twitter Inc's (TWTR.N ) decision last week to ban all political advertising has also heightened scrutiny of its larger rival's stance.
Facebook said in a statement it was grateful that the civil rights leaders took the time to attend the dinner with Zuckerberg and Sandberg.
''They discussed a range of important issues and we look forward to continuing these conversations,'' the statement said.
Zuckerberg defended the policy in an earnings call last week, saying Facebook did not want to stifle political speech. He also estimated that ads from politicians would be less than 0.5% of revenue next year.
Sharpton, who had sent a letter to Zuckerberg requesting a meeting, said he would next ask for a meeting with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O ) Google about its stance on the same issue. He said he also wanted to meet with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Critics of Facebook's policy have run intentionally false ads to highlight the issue. These include ads from Senator Elizabeth Warren's campaign claiming Zuckerberg had endorsed President Donald Trump and a left-leaning group's video claiming Republican Senator Lindsey Graham backed the Green New Deal climate proposal.
Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
Emma Watson says she's 'self-partnered' not single - 9Celebrity
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 04:15
(CNN) '-- Emma Watson has said she prefers to call herself "self-partnered" rather than single as she approaches her 30th birthday.
Watson, 29, who rose to fame as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, coined the phrase in an interview with British Vogue in which she discussed the pressures of turning 30.
The actor and activist, whose birthday is in April, said she initially did not understand the "fuss" that surrounded the milestone.
Emma Watson. (Getty) More recently, however, she admitted feeling "stressed and anxious" about her upcoming birthday.
She told British Vogue : "If you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby, and you are turning 30, and you're not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career, or you're still figuring things out... There's just this incredible amount of anxiety."
Speaking of how she had never believed the "'I'm happy single' spiel," she added: "It took me a long time, but I'm very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered."
The new phrase is reminiscent of actor Gwyneth Paltrow 's use of the term "conscious uncoupling" to describe her divorce proceedings from the Coldplay singer Chris Martin in 2014.
Later this year, Watson will return to the screen playing Margaret "Meg" March in Little Women alongside Laura Dern and Meryl Streep '-- both of whom she knew previously through their activism.
The full interview will appear in the December issue of British Vogue and will be available from November 8.
By Rory Sullivan, CNN
Hollywood's long, ugly history with sexual harassment
Birth coach 'hounded out' of profession by transgender activists for claiming only women can have babies
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 09:16
| November 03, 2019 04:17 PM
A birth coach in England resigned from Doula U.K., an industry charity, after the group reprimanded her for asserting that only women can give birth.
Lynsey McCarthy-Calvert, 45, was the spokeswoman of Doula U.K. but has stepped down from the organization, according to the Daily Mail. McCarthy-Calvert accused the charity of abandoning her over criticism from a small number of transgender activists offended by her social media post.
"I am angry and sad," McCarthy-Calvert said on Monday. "I was effectively ostracized for saying I am a woman and so are my clients.
"I have been very disappointed by Doula U.K.'s response. The leadership are paralyzed by not wanting to upset transgender rights activists," McCarthy-Calvert continued. "They have fallen over themselves to acquiesce to their demands."
McCarthy-Calvert had written a Facebook post responding to a decision by Cancer Research U.K. to advertise cancer screenings as "relevant for everyone aged 25-64 with a cervix," consciously omitting the word "women" from campaign material.
"I am not a 'cervix owner.' I am not a 'menstruator.' I am not a 'feeling.' I am not defined by wearing a dress and lipstick. I am a woman: an adult human female," McCarthy-Calvert wrote in response. "Women birth all the people, make up half the population, but less than a third of the seats in the House of Commons are occupied by us."
A number of activists responded to McCarthy-Calvert's post accusing the birth coach of making offensive statements toward transgender people. Some asserted that being a woman is not necessary to become pregnant and have a child.
Facing pressure from activists, Doula U.K. launched an investigation into their then-spokeswoman's assertion that only women can have babies. After several months of investigating, the charity found that McCarthy-Calvert had made trans-exclusionary statements that broke Doula U.K.'s guidelines.
Doula U.K. has denied allegations that the charity pushed McCarthy-Calvert out of her position over her comments or that the board's ruling over her comments was driven by transgender activists.
"We are proud to say that we seek to listen to the lived experience of marginalized groups and make changes '' including changes to the language we use '' if we believe it is necessary to make the Doula UK community more welcoming and supportive," Doula U.K. said in a statement.
Pig Plague
China Exports African Swine Fever To Russia | Zero Hedge
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 09:26
A new report from Bloomberg details how African swine fever has likely been exported to Russia. This could be problematic for Russia, due in part that if the hog-killing disease spreads, it could start wiping out large swaths of herds, as it has already done in China.
In the last several months, about 60 cases of African swine fever have been reported to Russian authorities in the Amur Oblast region in Russia, a federal district that borders China in the Russian Far East.
Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary medicine and life sciences at the City University of Hong Kong, told Bloomberg that a cross-border spread between the two countries is likely underway. "Wild boar are very likely to now also be infected in northern China," Pfeiffer said.
China has so far observed at least 50% of its herd this year wiped out from the fast-spreading disease.
Russia's hog population in the Far East accounts for barely 2% of the country's total hog population, which for now, could be contained.
Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's biosecurity watchdog, has been on guard for a cross-border spread since summer, there have been several reports of Chinse citizens attempting to sneak infected meat across checkpoints into Russia.
Andriy Rozstalnyy, an animal health officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, told Bloomberg that once the wild pig population is infected with African swine fever, then the spread of the disease is virtually uncontrollable.
In the last month, 275 pigs have died, and 2,473 have been killed in the Amur Oblast region, a move spurred by authorities to limit the outbreak.
The cross-border spread of African swine fever, from China to Russia, is undoubtedly a significant cause for concern because now countries bordering China are being affected.
Meanwhile, the US is sitting on record cold storage of pork bellies, something that China and Russia might be interested in...
Clips
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VIDEO - Climate emergency declared by 11,000 scientists worldwide who warn of 'catastrophic threat' to humanity - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 09:37
By national science, technology and environment reporter
Michael Slezak Updated November 06, 2019 13:05:08
More than 11,000 scientists around the world have signed a scientific paper declaring a climate emergency, backing protesters across the world demanding action.
Key points:The 11,000 scientists who put their name to the paper say they have a "moral obligation" to humanityThe scientists, from 153 countries, have backed governments across the world that made similar declarationsThe group of scientists say there needs to be greater emphasis on human activities that can change the climate such as fertility rate, air travel and meat production The paper, published in the journal BioScience, declares the climate crisis "has arrived" and is "accelerating faster than most scientists expect".
"Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat," the paper said.
The UK, Scotland and Ireland are among the countries that have declared a "climate change emergency", along with more than 1,000 subnational jurisdictions, including many in Australia, such as the ACT, the City of Sydney and the City of Melbourne.
Last month, the Federal Government voted down an attempt to declare a climate emergency across the country, with the Morrison Government's Emissions Reduction Minister, Angus Taylor, labelling it a "symbolic" gesture.
More than 400,000 Australians have signed a petition, now presented to Parliament, urging the Government to make the call.
Professor William Ripple, a prominent ecology professor from Oregon State University in the US, led the scientists' declaration.
He said he hoped the paper and consensus statement would spur on more governments to make similar declarations.
Taking Earth's 'vital signs'The paper, which was not peer-reviewed, includes signatures from scientists from 153 countries and calls for reporting on climate change to consider a wider range of indicators, beyond just global surface temperature.
It calls on a set of indicators to convey the effects of human activities on greenhouse gas emissions and the consequent impacts on climate, the environment and society.
The signatories were corralled by a group called The Alliance of World Scientists.
The scientists present a list of measures they call the Earth's "vital signs", which they say better represent climate change.
They include 15 measures of human activities that can change the climate '-- such as fertility rate, air travel and meat production '-- and 14 measures of the impacts of climate change, such as ocean acidity, ocean heat content and the number of extreme weather events.
Another lead author on the paper, University of Sydney ecologist Thomas Newsome, said these measures should become part of the public discussion of climate change.
"We think governments at their own country level should actually be reporting this data back to the public so that we can track progress over time," he said.
"But also so the public can learn about how they might be able to make differences within their own lives to help mitigate the impacts of climate change."
In response to the paper, Mr Taylor said in a statement the Government was taking "real and practical action to reduce our emissions while ensuring a strong and prosperous economy".
However, figures released earlier this year showed Australia's carbon emissions rose in the year to March 2019.
Dr Newsome said the declaration was based on analysis of 40 years of scientific data.
"From the data we have, it is clear we are facing a climate emergency," he said.
'Scientific advocacy'The paper also proposes a list of actions the alliance says would "lessen the worst effects of climate change".
They include quickly transitioning to renewable energy, promptly reducing emissions of powerful, short-lived climate pollutants like methane; and moving the population towards a mostly plant-based diet.
The paper applauded "grassroots citizen movements".
Professor Ripple said the paper was a form of what he described as "scientific advocacy".
"We are basing our conclusions on science that is not really disputed," he said. "The key here is that it's evidence-based and science-based."
The Alliance of World Scientists issued a similar warning in 2017 about broader threats to the global environment.
On its website, the group links to a range of resources, including the more radical movement, Extinction Rebellion.
Extinction Rebellion is a grass-roots, citizen-based movement, which uses civil disobedience in an attempt to "halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse".
"I don't think the Alliance [of World Scientists] is actively endorsing, discouraging or encouraging civil disobedience," Dr Newsome said.
"Everyone has a right to peaceful protest. So I guess people are just looking for another way to get this message across, partly because governments haven't been acting and responding in a way that is their duty."
Topics:climate-change,environment,science,academic-research,science-and-technology,australia,wa,vic,tas,sa,qld,nt,nsw
First posted November 06, 2019 05:47:48
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VIDEO - Hero Politician Shuts Down Heckler With 'OK Boomer' During Climate Speech in New Zealand
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 06:34
Chl¶e Swarbrick, a 25-year-old member of New Zealand's parliament, was interrupted by another politician while giving a speech about climate change on Tuesday. And rather than stop everything to address the heckles, she did what anyone of her generation has learned to do when confronted with climate deniers. She said ''OK Boomer'' and moved on.
''How many world leaders, for how many decades have seen and known what is coming, but have decided that it is more politically expedient to keep it behind closed doors. My generation and the generations after me do not have that luxury,'' Swarbrick said while discussing a new bill to reach zero carbon emissions in New Zealand by 2050.
''In the year 2050 I will be 56 years old. Yet right now the average age of this 52nd Parliament is 49 years old,'' Swarbrick said as some heckling can be heard.
''OK Boomer,'' said Swarbrick before moving on with her speech about the ways in which short term thinking dominates politics and threatens the planet.
Swarbrick told New Zealand's Stuff news outlet that she's sick of Baby Boomers saying her generation ruined everything and that Millennials need to ''pull our socks up, or something.'' She went on to say that when it comes to climate change ''facts don't matter'' with Boomers and that a quick rejoinder does the trick.
''It's better to acknowledge that perhaps energy is better spent elsewhere,'' Swarbrick told Stuff. ''That rallying cry is the relatively innocuous 'okay boomer'.''
The clip, which has been uploaded to YouTube , shows a portion of Swarbrick's speech, though it's not clear what the hecklers were saying.
Swarbrick explained in a post on Facebook that some people have taken great offense to her ''OK Boomer'' comment, but she correctly points out that Baby Boomers whine about young people all the time.
''Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about *your age* as you speak about the impact of climate change on *your generation* with the literal title of their generation makes some people very mad,'' Swarbrick wrote .
''So I guess millennials ruined humor. That, or we just need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and abstain from avocados. That's the joke.''
Needless to say, the Baby Boomers are pissed. Some Boomers took to Facebook to whine that Swarbrick was being ageist, with one person writing, ''You and your ilk use Boomer as a pejorative. I think you lost all credibility with that one two-word response. Pathetic and childish.''
But plenty of other people thought her comment was perfect. Amusingly, the closed captioning of her video read ''OK Berma,'' which has led to some Facebook commenters taunting Boomers with a new version of the OK Boomer meme. ''OK Berma'' and ''Bloody Bermas'' appears to be the new ''OK Boomer.''
Screenshot: FacebookYou can watch Swarbrick's entire speech at her Facebook page . And you can listen to the unofficial ''OK Boomer'' song on Soundcloud .
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VIDEO - (3) Paul ''Tá¼E á·OOK GáY'' on Twitter: "@thehill @RandPaul @adamcurry #clip" / Twitter
Wed, 06 Nov 2019 02:54
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VIDEO - Sarah Abdallah on Twitter: "Wow. ABC News had everything on Jeffrey Epstein for 3 years but refused to air the story because it didn't meet ''editorial standards''. This is the same media outlet that tried to pass off a Kentucky gun range vide
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 18:49
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VIDEO - Opportunity Zones - President Trump Impromptu Remarks Upon Arrival '' Return from New York '' (Video and Draft)'... | The Last Refuge
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 08:03
Chopper pressers are the best pressers. President Trump returned from New York to the White House earlier today after attending a UFC event at Madison Square Gardens last night. Upon arrival President Trump delivered impromptu remarks to the media and took questions. [ Video and rough draft of remarks below ]
.
[Media Rough Draft] '' POTUS stepped off Marine One at 12.26pm, wearing winter coat, suit, white shirt and red tie. He walked across the south lawn, waved to reporters then approached them. ''Would you like to talk to me?'' he asked. ''I'm shocked. Yes, go ahead.''
Asked what he would like to know from the whistleblower, POTUS replied: ''Well, the whistleblower gave a very inaccurate report and, as you know, certain of the media released information about a man that they said was the whistleblower. I don't know if that's true or not. But what they said is he's an Obama person, it was involved with Brennan, Susan Rice which means Obama, but he was like a big anti-Trump person. Hated Trump and they said terrible things.
''Now, I don't know if it's true or not, but that was reported by some of the media so you'll have to find out. I don't know why the media's not on it because the whistleblower gave a very inaccurate report about my phone call. My phone call was perfecto. It was totally appropriate. He gave a report '' he or she '' but according to the newspapers it's a he. They think they know '' they know who it is! You know who it is. You just don't want to report it. CNN knows who it is but you don't want to report it. And you would be doing the public a service if you did.
''The whistleblower gave a false report and because of that false report people thought bad things were done, and then you had Schiff go out and speak before Congress and before the American people and give a false story. He made up a story. And after all this was done, I released and everybody said he didn't do anything wrong.
''But the whistleblower should be revealed because the whistleblower gave false stories. Some people would call it fraud. I won't go that far but, when I read it closely, I probably would. But the whistleblower should be revealed. Then I want to ask another question of you. Where is the second whistleblower and why did Schiff make a lie when he said about what I said on the phone call? And why didn't the lieutenant colonel say that he wrote a letter to the White House with certain little comments about the phone call? And all of those many people that listened to the phone call, why didn't they have a problem with it?
''Because they didn't '' many people listen to calls, I know that. For instance, the Secretary of State Pompeo was on the call. With all of those people, very few people came forward and they only came forward when you asked and some of them are Never Trump. But why did all of those people listening to this absolutely, totally appropriate phone call, why didn't they come forward? So, you know, it's a whole scam. It's an impeachment scam and you know what it is, it's between the Democrats and the fake news media.''
Asked what evidence he has that Colonel Vindman is a Never Trumper, POTUS replied: ''We'll be showing that to you real soon, OK?''
[Draft Break]
.
POTUS was asked about his support among African American voters. He said: ''I think I have a great standing in the eyes of the African American community because if you look at what we've done is, as you know, we have the best unemployment numbers in the history of our country for African Americans. We have the best poverty numbers. We have the best employment numbers.
''And I'm doing great. African American community gets it. I did criminal justice reform. Nobody else. I did it. Without me, you don't have criminal justice reform, and that was for African Americans more than anybody else. So I think my standing in the African community '' African American community is maybe the better. We're gonna see.
''We're gonna see in one year but I think that I'm gonna get a tremendous percentage of votes from the African American '' I did one other thing. I did opportunity zones. These are neighbourhoods that a lot of people wouldn't be investing. Now because of what I did with Tim Scott and some others, but Tim Scott was fantastic, South Carolina. We did opportunity zones, it's an incredible thing. So I think we're going to do great with African Americans. We have tremendous African American support.''
Question: ''Are you thinking about tweeting out the name of the whistleblower?''
POTUS replied: ''Well, I'll tell you what, there have been stories written about a certain individual, a male, and they say he's the whistleblower. If he's the whistleblower, he has no credibility because he's a Brennan guy, he's a Susan Rice guy, he's an Obama guy and he hates Trump, and he's a radical. Now, maybe it's not him but, if it's him, you guys ought to release the information.''
Question: ''Was there a quid pro quo?''
POTUS replied: ''No, not at all, not at all.''
Question: ''It's one year until the election. Are you confident of being reelected again?''
POTUS said: ''Very confident. We're doing very well in the polls. And by the way, not that it's very important because you got elected, you got elected, but the impeachment polls have been very, very strong and especially in the swing states. I think you see that, the swing states.
''They don't want to hear about it. And we have polls. People don't want to hear about impeachment. The only one that wants impeachment, to talk about it, is the fake media and the Democrats who basically, they work for the media. The way I look at it, the Democrats work with the media.''
Asked about trade talks with China, POTUS said: ''There is progress. First, I want to get the deal. I mean, the meeting place to me is going to be pretty easy. But first, we'll see if we get the deal. And if we get the deal, the meeting place will come very easily. It'll be some place in the US.''
Asked about several recent polls that show more Americans want him to be impeached and removed from office, POTUS replied: ''You're reading the wrong polls. Let me tell you. I have the real polls, I have the real poll. The CNN polls are fake. The Fox polls have always been lousy. I tell them they ought to get themselves a new pollster.
''But the real polls, if you look at the polls that came out this morning, people don't want anything to do with impeachment. It's a phony scam, it's a hoax, and the whistleblower should be revealed because the whistleblower gave false information.''
Question: ''Do you still have confidence in Mick Mulvaney?''
POTUS replied: ''Well, he's working. As long as he's with me, I have confidence.''
Your pooler asked: ''Would you side with Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage if you had to choose?''
POTUS replied: ''I like 'em both. Look, I think Boris is the right man for the time. He's really for the times. He's a great gentleman. He's a wonderful guy. He's tough, he's smart and I think he's going to do something. I just hope he does it so the US, which is by far the biggest economy in the world '' not even close '' since I took office, we picked up trillions of dollars '' trillions '' and frankly China has lost trillions of dollars, as you very well know.
''We're far and away the number one economy in the world and, if you do it a certain way, we're prohibited from trading with the UK. That would be very bad for the UK because we can do much more business than the European Union. So I think Boris will get it right. They're both friends of mine. What I'd like to see is for Nigel and Boris to come together. I think that's a possibility.''
[BREAK]
[Cont'...] '' Question: ''How strong is your support for Ukraine in their conflict with Russia? Have you ever told Putin to get out of Ukraine?''
POTUS said: ''My support is very good. My relationship with Ukraine is very good. My relationship with Russia is very good. My relationship with China is very good. People don't understand. I get along, but nobody is going to mess with me.''
POTUS was asked about the review of the Russia investigation led by John Durham.
He said: ''The John Durham investigation is moving along. That's up to Attorney General Barr, highly respected. John Durham is one of the most respected prosecutors in the last 50 years in this country and I let them do their thing, Bill Barr and John Durham, and what they come up with will, I think, be very meaningful. We'll see what happens. I do not get involved with it. That's up to them.
''And by the way, I'd be allowed to get involved with it if I wanted to, but I chose not to. It's up to Bill Barr. But the John Durham investigation is a very important '' I feel, one of the most important investigations in the history of our country.''
POTUS returned to the impeachment inquiry. ''I think that the House Republicans and the Senate Republicans have been incredible. I don't think there's ever been unity like we have right now. We had a hundred ninety five or so votes. We didn't have one negative vote. The only one that had negative votes on the whole impeachment scam were the Democrats. I think Nancy Pelosi has lost her mind and I think, frankly, that she should go back home to San Francisco. If you look at what's happening to her district, her district is going to hell with homeless that they're not taking care of, with needles all over the street, with tents, with people, with sanitation, with horrible things being washed into the ocean, into the Pacific Ocean.
''I think Nancy Pelosi, her district has probably gone down more than any district proportionately in the United States, and what she's done and what she's done for that district, and then on top of it, you've got fires eating away at California every year because management is so bad. The governor doesn't know; he's like a child, he doesn't know what he's doing. And I've been telling them this for two years. They've got to take care of it. Every year it's always California, it's rarely somebody else or someplace else. But Nancy Pelosi ought to go back to her district and take care of it because her district has become a mess. Number one in the country for going down. All she thinks about is impeachment but she doesn't want to impeach. You know who wants to impeach? The people that run the party, the radical left.''
There was a question about whether John Bolton will testify. POTUS replied: ''That's up to him and up to the lawyers. It's really up to the lawyers. I like John Bolton, I always got along with him, but that's going to be up to the lawyers.''
Pressed on his claim of no quid pro quo, POTUS talked over the question and insisted: ''Read the transcript. Read the transcript. Read the transcript.''
POTUS was asked about a Democratic concern that he will hold up government funding because of the impeachment inquiry. He said: ''I don't think they believe that at all. Look at what happened. I call them the do nothing Democrats. They're doing nothing. They're not getting USMCA done: everybody wants it, even the Democrats want it. They're not getting anything done. Even guns, they don't talk about guns. All they can do is talk about one phone call made to the president of Ukraine that was perfect. It was perfect. It was a perfect phone call and they're hanging their hat on this one phone call and you know what, the Republican party has never been so unified.''
Asked if he can commit to no government shutdown, POTUS replied: ''It depends on what the negotiations are. I wouldn't commit to anything. It depends on what the negotiations are.''
[LINK]
VIDEO - ABC Q&A on Twitter: "Can the 'politically woke' be successful in effecting real change through the use of social media? #QandA https://t.co/8FSiTRRlwe" / Twitter
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 07:39
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VIDEO - Boris Johnson rejects election pact with Brexit Party's Nigel Farage | Euronews
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 06:43
United Kingdom
By Luke Hurst with Reuters • last updated: 02/11/2019 Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party - Nigel Farage has offered to build an electoral alliance with Boris Johnson if he drops his exit deal with the EU and allows the UK to crash out without an agreement.
Launching his Brexit Party's general election campaign, the former UKIP leader told the UK's prime minister he must ''drop the deal, because it is not Brexit,'' warning him his party would stand candidates in every seat in the country if he didn't do so.
Boris Johnson responded in a series of interviews that he had ruled out an alliance with any other party.
"I ruled out a pact with everybody because I didn't that it's sensible to do that. We are proud of our beliefs, we're proud of our one nation conservatism," Johnson told Sky News.
The Conservative Party is aiming to win the December 12 election by campaigning for Boris Johnson's new deal with the EU.
Farage said that currently the Brexit Party is the only party advocating for Brexit and warned Johnson not to underestimate the determination or organisation of his party.
Calling on Johnson to drop the deal and instead go for a "genuine free trade agreement" along the lines of Canada's agreement with the EU, Farage said: "I believe the only way to solve this is to build a leave alliance across this country. If it was done BJ would win a very big majority, and we really could get Brexit done."
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The MEP for South East England, who has tried and failed to win a seat in Parliament seven times, was a key figure in securing a referendum and a public vote to leave the European Union.
The Brexit Party wants the UK to leave the EU without a deal in place, and currently has no seats in parliament, although it does have 29 MEPs.
On Thursday, Farage conducted an interview with Donald Trump on his show on a British radio station, in which the US president urged the Brexit Party to get behind Boris Johnson.
Farage responded by saying he would be ''right behind'' Johnson, if the prime minister dropped the Brexit divorce deal he struck with the European Union two weeks ago and instead went for a ''clean break'' Brexit without a deal.
Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly said a vote for Farage would give Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn the keys to Downing Street and could end the chance for Brexit to even happen.
"A vote for Farage risks letting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street via the back door - and the country spending 2020 having two referendums on Brexit and Scottish independence," he said.
"It will not get Brexit done - and it will create another gridlocked parliament that doesn't work."
You can watch the entire launch again in the video player, above.
Additional sources ' AP
VIDEO - Twitter Co-Founder Ev Williams' Opinions on Social Media | Video | Amanpour & Company | PBS
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 05:21
SO LET'S RETURN TO OUR MAIN STORY.
TOXIC POLITICS AND EVEN STREET PROTESTS AND THE ROLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYS.
ED WILLIAMS IS A DIGITAL PIONEER WHO COFOUNDED THE PLATFORM BLOGGER IN THE LATE '90s.
HE WENT ON TO COFOUND TWITTER AND BE THE COMPANY'S CEO, BUT THE BILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR STEPPED DOWN AND TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO MEDIA.
THAT'S AN ONLINE PUBLISHING PLATFORM DESIGNED TO SHOWCASE LONGER AND MORE NUANCE CONTENT.
WILL TOLD WALTER THAT WHILE TWITTER NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBLEILITY FOR THE QUALIT OF ITS CONTENT, IT SHOULDN'T RISK LOSING ITS PLACE FOR THE EXCHANGE OF IMPORTANT IDEAS.
SO YOU BROGER WHICH GETS EVERYBODY EASILY UNDER THE INTERNET WITH BLOGS, THEN YOU DO TWITTER, WHICH BECOMES A GREAT NEW FORM OF SOCIAL IMMEMEDIA ANU USE TODAY SAY IT WAS TO KEK US.
IT GAVE PEOPLE A PLATFORM TO CONNECT US, IT WOULD MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
DID THAT WORK OUT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THOSE ARE XWAKTLY MY WORDS, BUT CERTAINLY PART F O THE INTENTION.
WHEN I GOT EXCITED ABOUT THE INTERNET IN THE LATE '90s, TO ME THE EXCITING THING WAS EXCHANGING IDEAS AND KNOWLEDGE WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD.
THAT'S STILL THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT THE INTERNET TO ME AND SO I BASICALLY SPENT MY CAREER BUILDING TOOLS THAT HELP PEOPLE SHARE THOSE IDEAS AND YEAH, SO IT WAS BLOGGER THEN TWITTER WE MADE IT MUCH, MUCH EASIER AND WE DID HAVE A BELIEF AND ETHOS MEANS MORE BETTER IDEAS SUCCEED.
SOCIETY IS BETTER.
I WOULD SAY PART OF THAT IS TRUE.
I THINK WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF EVIDENCE OF THAT.
I WOULD SAY IT'S TURNED OUT TO BE MORE COMPLICATED AS WELL.
WHY?
WE KNEW THERE WERE BAD ACTORS FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF INTERNET.
SPAM FOR INSTANCE AND MISINFORMATION, BUT THE IDEA WAS THE CROWD WOULD OVERWHELM THE MINORITY AND THE CROWD WOULD BE GENERALLY GOOD AND THERE WAS VALUE TO DEBATING THINGS IN PUBLIC.
I THINK THE THING THAT WAS TRICKY IS THAT A BAD ACTOR CAN WROEFR WHEM MANY, MANY GOOD ACTORS.
THE WAY THESE SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED.
OR HAVE BEEN DESIGNED.
THE WAY THEY'VE BEEN DESIGNED.
DO YOU THINK THERE'S SOMETHING INHERENT IN THE AGO RHYTHM THAT --
I THINK A TON OF IT IS JUST HUMAN NATURE.
WE REACT TO FEAR AND THREAT AND SOMEONE SHOUTING FIRE IN THE THEATRE.
SO THAT PERSON CAN RUIN THE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYBODY ELSE.
THAT PART IS JUST PHYSICS AND HUMAN NATURE AND SO THAT WHEN YOU REPLICATE THAT ONLINE AND YOU GIVE ACCESS TO THE WHOLE WORLD TO RUIN AN EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER PEOPLE, TURNS OUT THERE'S ENOUGH BAD ACTORS IN THE WHOLE WORLD TO REEK A LOT OF HAVOC.
BY HAVING THAT SO EMBEDDED IN THE SYSTEM OF TWITTER, DID THAT HELP PEOPLE SAY THINGS THEY WOULDN'T SAY FACE-TO-FACE?
I THINK THE FOCUS ON AN NEHMETY IS A LITTLE OVERBLOWN ACTUALLY, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TWITTER IS NOT BY DEFAULT ANONYMOUS.
BY DEFAULT, YOU PUT IN YOUR NAME.
IT'S JUST THAT YOU'RE NOT FORCED TO PUT IN YOUR NAME AND TURNS OUT THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD REASONS FOR THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED EVEN BACK IN BLOGGER DAYS THERE ARE PLACES WHERE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS NOT RIGHT AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THINGS THAT THEY WANT TO CONNECT TO FELLOW CITIZENS AND IF THEY DO THAT IN THEIR NAME, THEY'LL GO TO JAIL AND SO TWITTER WAS USE D EARLY ON BY PEOPLE IN OPPRESSIVE REGIMES TO CONNECT AND SO THAT'S WHY IT WAS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO NOT DO THAT.
AND MOST PEOPLE USE TWITTER UNDER THEIR NAME AND MOST BAD ACTORS, PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT THERE SAYING THE WORST STUFF, I DON'T THINK THE MAJORITY OF THEM, I DON'T KNOW THE DATA ON THIS, ARE SAYING IT ANONYMOUSLY.
THEY'RE HAPPY TO BE [ BLEEP ] HOLES UNDER THEIR OWN NAME.
I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN SAY [ BLEEP ] HOLES.
YOU CAN SAY IT ON TWITTER, CAN'T YOU?
YEAH, BUT --
THE ONES THAT REALLY DRIVING PAID --
CONSEQUENCES MORE THAN SO AN NEHMETY IS RELATED TO A LACK OF CONSEQUENCES.
EVEN IF YOU'RE SAYING IT UNDER YOUR OWN NAME, THERE ARE VERY LITTLE CONSEQUENCES TO BEING HATEFUL ONLINE AND THERE ARE A LOT OF REWARDS DEPENDING ON WHAT COMMUNITY YOU'RE A PART OF.
SO THAT, I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.
WHAT IS THE ROOT?
I THINK THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IT'S NOT AN ONLINE THING.
IT'S HUMANS CAN HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ALONG.
WE GET ALONG FINE AND WORK TOGETHER AT DINNER.
YES.
IN DINNER WHEN YOU SAY WHO CAN BE AT THE DINNER.
IF YOU INVITE JUST ANYONE TO STOP BY A DINNER AND THEN YOU PROBABLY STILL HAVE BETTER BEHAVIOR THAN ONLINE.
I THINK THE FUNDAMENTAL THING IS IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE PIXELS ON A SCREEN, THERE IS SOMETHING INNATE ABOUT US THAT CAUSES US TO, THE, THE WAY WE'VE E VIOLAED ISN'T THAT, RIGHT?
SO THERE ARE CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO SEE THE OTHER PEOPLE ONLINE AS PEOPLE.
AND THEY FEEL AN OBLIGATION TO BE, TO TREAT THEM AS PEOPLE AND THERE SEEM TO BE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THAT.
I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE CHALLENGE OF THE SYSTEMS IN GENERAL AND IF WE ALL THE BENEFITS THAT COME WITH THEM COME WITH THAT REALLY BIG CHALLENGE.
IS THERE SOME WAY WE SHOULD BE MAKING PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY SAY ON TWIT TER?
YEAH.
RESPONSIBLE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS FOR SURE, BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE -- YOU SHOULDN'T AUTOMATICALLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO INTERRUPT OTHER CONVERSATIONS AND THIS WAS PART OF ACTUALLY THE PROTECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT INTO TWITTER CURRENTLY.
BUT I THINK THE WHOLE IDEA OF REPUTATION IS SOMETHING THAT WILL COME TO THE INTERNET AND I THINK THAT IS KIND OF IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S HOW SOCIETY WORKS IS YOU BUILD A REPUTATION AND YOU INSULT SOMEONE YOU'RE NO LONGER INVITED TO THE PARTY.
THAT SORT OF THING.
YOU TALK ABOUT THE REPUTATION OF THE USER.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE USER TAKING RESPONSIBLE THETY.
DO YOU THINK THE PLATFORMS SHOULD HAVE SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT GOES ON.
ABSOLUTELY.
THE PLATFORM HAS RESPONSIBILITY.
I THINK EVERYONE AT TWITTER WOULD AGREE THAT TWITTER HAS SOME RESPONSIBILITY.
I THINK WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF WHAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING AND THE SERVICE THAT TWITTER PROVIDES TO THE WORLD WHICH I DO THINK IS IMPORTANT IN BEING THIS OPEN AND FREE PLATFORM, THAT WHERE IMPORTANT IDEAS ARE EXCHANGED AND MOVEMENTS ARE CREATED, YOU HAVE TO, IT'S VERY UNCLEAR TO ME AT LEAST THAT A LOT OF VERY SMART PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME.
HOW TO MAINTAIN THAT AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE NICE AND THERE SHOULD BE NO ABUSE AND THERE SHOULD BE NO LIKE I THINK PEOPLE ARE MESSY AND SOCIETY IS MESSY AND WE HAVE TO TAKE SOME GOOD WITH BAD AND WE HAVE TO KEEP TRYING TO MAKE IT GOOD, BUT EVEN THE EXTREME OF WE'LL JUST GO ON THERE AND POLICE IT, IS JUST VERY NAIVE AND IMPACT CAL.
IT'S NOT DO ABLE.
AND IT GETS VERY NUANCED AS THE TO WHAT IS BAD BEHAVIOR.
THERE ARE THOUSAND S OF PEOPLE AND ACCOUNTS THAT POLICE THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
NOT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT.
I ASK MY STUDENTS AT TULANE, IF YOU COULD INVENT A NEW FORM OF MEDIA R OR SOCIAL MEDIA THAT WOULDN'T HAVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE OLD ONE, THEY SAY THE SAME THINGS YOU DO, WHICH IS PLACE WHERE PEOPLE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
PLACE WHERE THERE'S SOME CURE RATION.
A PLACE WHERE MAYBE YOU COULD BUILD YOUR REPUTATION AND LO AND BEHOLD, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN INVENTING MEDIUM SO IT'S EXPLAIN MEDIUM TO ME.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE ANYONE CAN WRITE AND PUBLISH AND ARTICLE IS THE MAIN FORM THAT PEOPLE PUBLISH ON MEDIUM.
SO ANYONE CAN GO ON THERE.
AND WRITE SOMETHING AND THOUSANDS, TENS OF THOUSANDS O PEOPLE DO THAT EVERY TA.
MOST PEOPLE JUST READ.
AND SO YOU CAN GO ON THERE AND YOU CAN FIND ARTICLES AND BLOG POSTS ABOUT EVERY TOPIC UNDER THE SUN.
I THINK ALMOST LITERALLY AND YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN AND START TO GET PERSONALIZED AND REALLY GO AND LEARN ABOUT REALLY ANYTHING FROM TECHNICAL TOPICS TO POLITICS TO BUSINESS TO SCIENCE AND THERE'S BOTH PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS ON THERE WHO WORK FULL TIME ON MEDIUM.
THERE'S INDEPENDENT WRITERS.
THERE'S ORGANIZATIONS.
THERE'S ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE EXCHANGING IDEAS AND KNOWLEDGE.
YOU BASE IT NOT ON ADVERTISING, BUT ON SUBSCRIPTIONS AND YOU PAY PEOPLE FOR THE CONTENT.
RIGHT.
THIS IS LIKE GOING BACK TO THE ONCEPT, BUT HIGH VALUE PIECES.
EXPLAIN THE THEORY.
YEAH SO THE THEORY IS THAT ADVERTISING, ESPECIALLY ADVERTISING ONLINE IS THE SELLING OF ATTENTION.
ALMOST ALL CONTENT ON THE INTERNET IS PAID FOR BY ADVERTISING.
THE WAY THESE SYSTEMS HAVE EVOLVED IS THE MOST ATTENTION FOR THE LEAST DOLLARS IS WHAT ADVERTISERS BY FOR THE MOST PART AND SO IF YOU APPLY THAT, IF YOU WANT TO PAY FOR THE CREATION OF SOMETHING WITH ADVERTISING, THE FORMULA BECOMES HOW LITTLE CAN I SPEND TO GET THE MOST ATTENTION.
EVEN IF IT'S CLICK BAIT.
MAKE A CAT STAND ON A PIANO.
GOES BACK TO YELLING FIRE IN THE THEATRE.
IF YOU YELL FIRE IN THE HEATER AND THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES, YOU WOULD DO THAT.
THAT IN MANY WAYS IS WHAT THE INTERNET HAS BECOME AND THE ADVERTISING ARE ALL REENFORCING THIS SYSTEM WHERE WHATEVER GETS THE MOST ATTENTION WINS AND AS CHEAPLY AS YOU CAN CREATE THAT MOST ATTENTION, THAT'S WHAT IT WORKS.
I ASSUME THE FLIP SIDE IS THAT A SUBSCRIPTION MODEL MEANS YOU HAVE TO PRODUCE SOMETHING OF VALUE OR PEOPLE WON'T PAY FOR IT.
THE MODEL IS IF WE PRODUCE SOMETHING GOOD, YOU PAY FOR IT.
IT HAS TO BE VALUABLE ENOUGH TO THE PERSON RECEIVING IT TO PAY FOR IT.
IF IT'S NOT, THEY STOP PAYING.
THE WHOLE BASIS.
IT'S A MUCH MORE DIRECT AND IT KEEPS US HONEST.
SO EVERYTHING ON MEDIUM, THERE'S SO ADVERTISING.
IT'S LIKE 'THE NEW YORK TIMES' AND OTHER PUBLISHERS WHERE EVERYTHING IS FOR FREE AND YOU CAN READ A CERTAIN AMOUNT.
YOU KEEP READING MORE.
WE ASK YOU TO PAY.
SO YOU GO TO MEDIUM COM AND SAY HERE'S WHAT I WANT AND START FOLLOWING THING ALMOST AS IF IT WERE TWITTER.
YOU HAVE THINGS YOU FOLLOW, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THIS IS CURE RATED, DEEP CONTENT.
AND YOU CAN FOLLOW ANYTHING FROM COOKING.
WE HAVE A PARTNER PUBLICATION WITH MARK BITMAN.
FORMER 'NEW YORK TIMES' FOOD COLUMNIST.
HE PUBLISHES AND EDITS A PUBLICATION CALLED HEATED THAT'S ABOUT FOOD.
YOU CAN SAY I'M INTERESTED IN COOKING, I WANT TO FOLLOW HEATED.
I WANT TO FOLLOW THIS INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR.
THIS TOPIC.
WHAT YOU U READ MAKES IT BETTER OVER TIME.
I LIKE THIS, DON'T LIKE THIS.
WE'LL SEND YOU AN E-MAIL.
GET THE APP.
YOU GREW UP ON A FARM IN A TINY TOWN IN NEBRASKA, RIGHT?
YEAH.
DID THAT HELP SHAPE YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT, YOUR DESIRE TO CONNECT AND PUBLISH?
I THINK IT REALLY DID A LOT OF THINGS.
ONE IS THAT I WAS VERY BORED ON THE FARM.
I THINK BOREDOM IS A GREAT THING FOR KIDS.
I THINK IT LEADS TO CREATIVITY.
I THINK I WORRY ABOUT THAT TODAY.
MEANING YOU WORRY THAT WE DON'T BORE OUR KIDS AND ALLOW THEM TO BE BORED ENOUGH.
I WAS JUST SO, I WAS VERY ISOLATED AND I WAS JUST IN MY MIND THINKING WHAT CAN I CREATE, WHAT CAN I DO?
AND SO CONSTANTLY TRYING TO INVENT THINGS.
NONE OF THEM WERE SUCCESSFUL, BUT IT WAS GETTING THAT HABIT.
BUT YOU ALSO LIKED MAGAZINES OR SOMETHING, RIGHT?
YEAH, SO I AS I GOT OLDER, I JUST REALLY WANTED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE BIGGER WORLD.
I FELT LIKE AND I FOUND READING WAS A FANTASTIC WAY TO DO THAT.
PRE INTERNET READING MEANT MAGAZINES AND BOOKS SO I READ ABOUT THIS EVERYTHING.
AND I HAD THIS FELT LIKE AN EPIPHANY WHERE I READ A BOOK ABOUT BUSINESS OR SOMETHING AND LIKE OH MY GOSH, I CAN LEARN WHAT THIS PERSON LEARNED OVER YEARS OF WORK IN HOURS.
THAT'S LIKE A SUPERPOWER.
AND THAT I STILL FEEL THAT TO THIS DAY IS SOMETHING WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT THERE'S ALL THIS KNOWLEDGE OUT THERE AND YOU CAN GET IT BY PICKING UP A BOOK OR READING AN ARTICLE.
SO STARTED DOING THAT WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER AND I THINK THAT HAD A BIG PART OF GETTING EXCITED ABOUT THE INTERNET AND FINALLY, GROWING UP ON A FARM, WAS ENTREPRENEURSHIP WAS INNATE.
MEANING THIS IDEA THAT YOU HAVE TO BE SELF-RELIANT, THAT YOU, YOU AREN'T GOING TO GO NECESSARILY, THE MODEL ISN'T OH, GO FIND A JOB OR LINE UP AN INSTITUTION.
IT FELT VERY NATURAL TO ME FROM DAY ONE TO BE ON MY OWN.
SCARY, BUT WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU DO.
YOUR FIRST BIG COMPANY IS BLOGGER AND IN SOME WAYS, YOU AT LEAST POPULARIZED AND CREATE THE WORD BLOGGER, WHICH IS THIS NOTION THAT ANYBODY CAN PUBLISH ANYTHING AND ANYBODY IN THE WORLD CAN SEE IT.
YEAH.
WE CREATED BLOGGER 20 YEARS AGO LAST MONTH.
IS WHEN WE LAUNCHED BLOGGER.
AND PEOPLE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT BEFORE THEN, IT WAS PRETTY HARD TO BLOG.
YOU HAD TO CODE YOUR OWN PAGES.
AND WHEN YOU CREATE BLOGGER, JUST A BOX.
JUST TYPE IN HERE AND HIT PUBLISH.
EXACTLY.
WEB LOVE AS PEOPLE CALLED THEM THEN EVENTUALLY BLOGS WERE PRETTY NAY ANCIENT.
MY FRIENDS MEG AND PAUL AND I SAID HEY, WE CAN MAKE THIS EASIER.
WE HAD TO WRITE CODE.
MAYBE MORE PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO DO THIS.
WE CALL ED THE BLOGGER, BLOGGER.COM WAS AVAILABLE.
JUST REGISTERED THE DOMAIN AND YEAH, IT WAS JUST A BIG BOX AND PUBLISH.
HOW DID YOU GET FROM THERE TO TWITTER?
WORKED ON BLOGGER FOR A FEW YEARS, FOUR YEARS.
INDEPENDENTLY THEN GOOGLE ACQUIRED IT IN 2003.
WORKED THERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH WAS GREAT.
LEARNED A LOT.
LEFT THERE.
STARTED A COMPANY.
WITH A FRIEND CALLED ODIA WHICH WAS A PODCASTING COMPANY IN 2005 OF ABOUT TEN YEARS BEFORE PODCASTS REALLY TOOK OFF.
THAT WAS GOING SIDEWAYS.
HAD A -- WITHIN THAT COMPANY, HAD A BRAINSTORM.
A HACKATHON, WE CALLED IT.
SOME OF THE GUYS THERE CAME UP WITH TWITTER AND WE RAN WITH THAT.
YOU SAID THAT TRUMP IS A SORT OF MASTER FOR BAD AT BEING ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE TWITTER THE FURTHER HIS OWN ENDS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?
WELL, BI DON'T LIKE IT PERSONALLY, BUT I THINK IT'S FASCINATING THAT IN SOME WAYS, TRUMP IS LIKE AN EARLY TWITTER USER BECAUSE EARLY TWITTER ONE OF THE COOL THINGS, IT FELT LIKE THIS CONNECTION TO SOMEONE'S BRAIN.
LIKE A MORE DIRECT CONNECTION THROUGH THE INTERNET THAN WE HAD BEFORE.
OVER TIME, FUNNY ENOUGH, A LOT OF PEOPLE ON TWITTER GOT MORE INHIBITED AS THE AUDIENCE GREW.
LIKE OH, I'M NOT GOING TO PUT JUST ANYTHING OUT THERE.
DIDN'T STOP TRUMP.
APPARENTLY, STILL WHATEVER IS IS IN HIS BRAIN JUST GOES OUT IN THERE AND IT'S, AND THE THING IS, THAT IS COMPELLING TO PEOPLE.
BUT YOU TAP RIGHT INTO THE BRAIN OF SOMEBODY LIKE THE PRESIDENT, IT'S SOMETIMES NOT A PRETTY IGT.
AFWREEED.
I MEAN IT'S A MESS AND THERE'S POWER IN IT AND THE IT'S NOT, NOT --
DOES IT GIVE YOU ANY EQUAL MS THAT IT SORT OF CHANGED OUR POLITICAL -- BOTH THE WAY TRURP AND OTHERS HAVE USED IT?
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A TON OF HARM THAT COMES FROM THAT.
FOR SURE.
AND IT'S AMPLIFIED IN THE MEDIA AMPLIFIES IT AND VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO SEE TRUMP'S TWEETS DON'T SEE THEM ON TWITTER.
THEY SEE THEM OWN CNN AND FOX AND EVERYWHERE ELSE.
AND I'M NOT BLAMING THEM MORE THAN TWITTER.
I THINK IT'S NOT GREAT THAT WE HAVE THESE MESSAGES THAT SPREAD IGNORANCE AND LIES AND HATRED AMPLIFIED LIKE FIRST OF ALL, COMING FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ALL PEOPLE THEN AMPLIFIED BY ALL MEDIA AND TWITTER AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
LOOK AT THIS.
TERRIBLE.
YOU SAY THAT CAUSES HARM.
I THINK SO.
THEN WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT?
WHAT DO I DO ABOUT IT?
YES.
I DON'T FEEL LIKE I HAVE A LOT OF POWER TO DO A LOT ABOUT THAT.
BUT IF YOU COULD HAVE CHANGED TWITTER, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE ABOUT IT?
I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD HAVE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD HAVE PREVENTED TRUMP.
I THINK THE SYSTEM, IF YOU LOOK AT ANY, IF YOU LOOK AT TWIT EER OR ANYTHING IN RETROSPECT AND SAY LET'S CREATE A SYSTEM THAT WOULDN'T HAVE LED TO THOSE OUTCOMES, TWITTER PROBABLY B WOULDN'T BE TWITTER TODAY AND SOMETHING ELSE WOULD BE TWITTER TODAY.
I THINK LIKE THE HAD WE CREATED LIKE A SAFE CULTIVATED, CURE ATED PLACE, WOULD IT HAVE GROWN?
WOULD THERE NOT HAVE BEEN SOMETHING ELSE TO TAKE ITS PLACE?
I THINK ALL THOSE THINGS WOULD BE TRUE.
BUT NOW YOU'RE CREATING A SAFE, CULTIVATED, CUREATED PLACE MEANING MEDIUM.
IN SOME WAYS, ARE YOU DOING THAT AS A REACTION OF WHAT HAPPENED TO TWIT TER?
I'M DOING THAT SO PEOPLE CAN DEEPEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AND FIND GOOD IDEAS.
NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO R PARTICIPATE IN THE FRANTIC, HECTIC ADVERTISING DRIVEN MEDIA WORLD.
THERE IS A HUNGER FOR NUANCE AND COMPLEXITY AND THAT'S MEDIUM.
I'M CREATING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASONABLENESS AND DEPTH TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE.
THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING IN MEDIUM.
VIDEO - Suspected white supremacist arrested in thwarted synagogue attack, FBI says - ABC News
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 04:49
FBI officials said they have arrested a 27-year-old suspected white supremacist who was allegedly planning a bombing at a Colorado synagogue.
The suspect, identified as Richard Holzer, was allegedly planning to target Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, which is the state's second-oldest synagogue, the FBI said Monday. Holzer is charged with attempting to obstruct religious exercise by force using explosives and fire.
He allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that he hoped to poison members of the synagogue and claimed he had paid off a "Mexican cook to hex and poison" attendees by putting arsenic in the water pipes, according to an arrest affidavit.
The undercover agent connected with Holzer through a Facebook account that portrayed her as a white female who is supportive of white supremacy ideology. Holzer allegedly told her that he was "a skinhead" and former member of the Ku Klux Klan and sent her images of himself wearing clothing that featured symbols related to white supremacy.
El Paso County Sheriffs Office via Twitter Richard Holzer was arrested for was allegedly planning to bomb a synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado.The FBI said the account was one of several that Holzer allegedly used to "promote white supremacy ideology" and racially-motivated acts of violence. At one point, he posted in a group chat: "I wish the holocaust really did happen'... they need to die.''
In one exchange on Oct. 3, Holzer said he was getting ready for a racial holy war and said he was going to Temple Emmanuel in Pueblo ''to scope it out.'' Holzer eventually met with an undercover FBI agent to discuss his hatred of Jewish people and explain his plan to poison the Pueblo synagogue with arsenic.
Court documents say Holzer first suggested the idea to attack the synagogue with Molotov cocktails, but later decided he'd need something stronger. The agents told Holzer they could obtain pipe bombs and dynamite from out of state. On Oct. 31, he told the undercover agents he planned to go through with the attack on Nov. 1. According to the affidavit, Holzer ''said that he wanted to put the Synagogue on the ground and demolish it.''
On Nov. 1, Holzer met three undercover FBI agents at a hotel. They showed him pipe bombs and dynamite. That is when he was arrested, at which point Holzer allegedly waived his Miranda rights and confessed.
Temple Emanuel Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado.When asked what he would have done if someone had been inside the synagogue during the bombing, he allegedly said he would have gone through with the attack because anyone inside would be Jewish.
Michael Atlas-Acuna, the president of Temple Emanuel, said he was unaware of the plot until reporters started calling him. He said he received a call from the FBI in Colorado Springs on Monday morning, saying they wanted to meet with him but they did not say what it was regarding. He told ABC News that he thought it was a prank call at first, but realized that it was serious after dialing back the number.
Atlas-Acuna said the synagogue has a security plan in place for these types of events.
"We take our security very seriously here. We have been since what happened in Pittsburgh ... we're not going to be victimized and we're going to defend ourselves," Atlas-Acuna said in an interview Monday. "I've never been naive to think that it couldn't happen to us because there's been other things that have happened in small communities like shooting churches, so I've never been that naive."
"I think that all Jewish communities have to continue to protect themselves. Make sure they have armed guards, make sure they have security. We don't like the idea that America that we have to deal with this, but again, it's just a reality of where we live right now," he added.
ABC News' Becky Perlow contributed to this report.
VIDEO - (5) Elizabeth Warren asked to define who is in the "middle class" for taxes - YouTube
VIDEO - Uber app crashes, stranding thousands at Flemington
Tue, 05 Nov 2019 04:39
Thousands of Melbourne Cup punters were stranded at Flemington Racecourse and traffic in the area was heavily congested after ride-sharing app Uber crashed because of a technical glitch.
The Victoria Racing Club was broadcasting a message in Birdcage tents just after 5pm, as the last race was run, that the Uber app was not working.
A glitch caused the Uber app to crash, stranding racegoers. Credit: Chris Hopkins
"Due to a technical fault, the Uber app is not operating this afternoon," the sign read. "Please seek alternative transport from the venue."
Uber and other ride-sharing services have a designated pick-up and drop-off zone at the racecourse, but the app was unable to link drivers with riders and Uber zones were closed while the company tried to fix the problem.
The Victoria Racing Club advised racegoers to use public transport.
Ride-sharing app Didi exploited Uber's misfortune, offering people 50 per cent off on Tuesday night and sent a tongue-in-cheek message: "Stranded at the races? Get a reliable ride home."
Earlier in the day, the cost of an Uber also surged, with radio station 3AW reporting that trips between Southern Cross and Flemington were costing $30 - twice the typical price.
An Uber spokeswoman said the company "rigorously test all our special event technology, but, unfortunately, on this occasion technical issues have meant that we are currently unable to connect all drivers and riders at the dedicated Uber zones within the Flemington racecourse".
"For that reason we have made the decision to close these zones while we work on a solution," she said.
"We appreciate this has been frustrating for many of our valued riders and driver-partners, and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused."
More than 81,000 people attended the Melbourne Cup.
Sumeyya is a reporter for The Age.
Simone is a breaking news reporter for The Age. Most recently she covered breaking news for The Australian in Melbourne.
Zach is a reporter at The Age. Got a story? Email me at zach.hope@theage.com.au
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