Tuesday, March 27th

 

CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA AND FACEBOOK:  WYLIE TESTIFIES BEFORE PARLIAMENT

• Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie tells MPs his predecessor could have been poisoned after being found dead in Kenyan hotel room
• The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Claimed Employees Of Peter Thiel’s Data Company Saw Their Data
• Palantir worked with Cambridge Analytica on the Facebook data it acquired, whistleblower alleges

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Chris Wylie testified before the British Parliament this morning, and what he said was downright crazy.  Not crazy like “Fish talk to me in their native language and think I’m a god” crazy, but “I can’t believe that fucking happened” crazy.  According to Wylie, CA worked their magic in Kenya to elect the current party, in India to assist Modi and his party, in Eastern Europe, in the United States and the UK.

His predecessor died in Kenya by poisoning, but the local police were bribed to not investigate the cause of death.

CA used Black Cube, a group of ex-Mossad agents, to handle their dirty work.  This group also supposedly worked for Harvey Weinstein from time to time.

CA worked with Palantir, Peter Thiel’s company that does…I’m not sure what they do, but they’re knee deep in the law enforcement IT infrastructure.  They also work with the CIA and other USIC groups.  Peter is on the Facebook board, and is an opponent of free speech, free society, and freedom of movement through society.

Wylie went all the way up to accusing Russia and Cambridge Analytica of interfering in the 2016 election, but stopped just short of that.

• How to download a copy of everything Facebook knows about you
• Mark Zuckerberg has decided to testify before Congress
• Facebook’s Zuckerberg will not answer UK lawmakers’ questions over data scandal | Article [AMP] | Reuters
• Facebook whistleblower says Canadian firm worked on software to find GOP voters

Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress, where the Republicans don’t want to investigate anything of value, but won’t testify before Parliament, where they want the truth.  Mark has a tenuous attachment to the truth.

• NRA to spend $15m on ads to defeat Hillary Clinton in key states | US news | The Guardian
• US Rep. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for Florida governor, is denying Cambridge Analytica helped him in any of his campaigns despite one of Cambridge Analytica’s directors being named as part of DeSantis’ finance leadership team last December

The NRA article is old, from during the 2016 election, but mentioned their use of CA to target voters.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

• Christopher Steele’s Other Report: A Murder In Washington

Steele and three others independently went to the FBI with details of Lesin’s death.  He was set to testify before the DOJ about Putin’s actions in Russia with their state media, but was found dead in his hotel room the night before.

• NYT OP-ED: Yes, You Can Indict the President
• Kushner lawyer: WH counsel has concluded no issues involving Jared amid loan probe
• Two more lawyers declined offers to join Trump legal team
• The lawyer who represented Bush in his landmark Supreme Court case in 2000 just rejected Trump’s offer to join his team — and publicly repudiated him afterward
• Craiglist ad mocking Trump over legal team struggles goes viral | TheHill
• Trump likes to go to depositions unprepared and then ignore his lawyers’ advice

At this point, his defense team will use the defense that Trump can’t get an adequate defense as his defense.

This is karma for a lifetime of stiffing contractors and lawyers.

• NRA Says It Receives Foreign Funds, But None Goes To Election Work
• NRA confirms that it accepts foreign donations

The NRA is fast climbing the ladder of most despised organizations.  They’re giving Comcast and the KKK a run for their money.

Why is an American organization that is supposedly an advocate for gun owners rights taking money from foreign donors in the first place?  Why are they donating to elections?  Why are they using CA to target specific voters?  Which voters were they targeting, and what did they show them?  What kind of non-committal answer is this weeks after the story first broke?

• How much is Rick Gates telling Mueller about Trump? – POLITICO
• GOP Fundraiser Sues Qatar Over Stolen Emails Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sued Qatar, accusing it of trying to discredit him by stealing and leaking emails that detailed his contacts wit… wsj.com
• Alex Van Der Zwaan turned over incriminating recordings himself
• Sens. Coons, Tillis release statement on Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Sens. Coons, Tillis release statement on Special Counsel Robert Mueller

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) released the following statement. In August of 2017, Senators Tillis and Coons introduced the bipartisan Special Counsel Integrity Act.

“We have heard from constituents – Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike – who agree that Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be able to conduct his investigation without interference.  This should not be a partisan issue.  We introduced the Special Counsel Integrity Act because we believe that the American people should have confidence in the Department of Justice’s ability to conduct independent investigations and its commitment to the rule of law. We urge President Trump to allow the Special Counsel to complete his work without impediment, which is in the best interest of the American people, the President, and our nation.”

 

COLD WAR 2.0

• MPs To Probe Putin’s Offshore Wealth In Response To Suspicious Deaths Exposed By BuzzFeed News
• Nato expels seven Russian diplomats and denies accreditation to three more
• Mattis: Putin ‘responsible as head of state’ for spy attack
• Salisbury nerve agent attack: Which countries are not expelling Russian diplomats? – Sky News

Notice the countries listed, and ask “What do they have in common?”

They are all (or at least almost all) money laundering havens or very friendly to Russia.  Interesting that the countries that rely on Russian money aren’t kicking Russian spies diplomats from their countries.

 

#NEVERAGAIN

• Former Supreme Court justice: ‘Repeal the Second Amendment’
• The NRA’s narrative about Maryland school shooting collapses
• The guns debate is a culture war. And young people will win it
• Doctored image shows Parkland school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez ripping up the US Constitution
• CPL holder accidentally shoots self inside Kroger, police looking to press charges
• America’s unique gun violence problem, explained in 17 maps and charts – Vox

The shooter from Maryland killed himself before the security guard got to him.

Gun control is ugly, but I’m not sure I’d go as far as repealing the Second Amendment.  I would be in favor of refining the language in a new amendment, as long as gun ownership is still guaranteed in some way.

The problem is that if we don’t come together now to come to a solution we can all live with, then the future solution will not be a compromise, but a complete defeat for one side or the other.

 

STORMYWATCH, FROM THE STORM CENTER 6000 METEOROPORONOLOGICAL CENTER

• Stormy’s Porn Pal Alana Evans: I’m Also Going to Sue Cohen
• More white evangelicals believe Stormy Daniels, and that could have some long-term implications
• Spicy Mic: Mad Dog PAC | Stormy with an Amended Complaint
• CNN segment goes off-the-rails after Stormy Daniels’ attorney calls Michael Cohen ‘a thug’ to his lawyer’s face

We live in a universe where the credibility of a Porn Star is being attacked by a lawyer representing the President of the United States, and the Porn Star is coming out on top.  Then again, she’s pretty good at coming on top.  Heeyooh.

Pun Jar total is $7.

 

CAN WE GET BACK TO POLITICS?

• California sues Trump administration over decision to add citizenship question to census
• Historian Meacham: GOP ‘sold their soul for power and the check bounced’
• President Trump reportedly telling aides he wants Rob Porter back – AOL News
• The Washington Post: Baton Rouge officers who shot Alton Sterling won’t be charged in his 2016 killing

The United States Census is used for everything from allotting representatives to figuring out where programs are focused. By trying to insert questions about citizenship in it, they are actively fucking with everything we hold dear.

There will be lawsuits. Lots of lawsuits.

 

RUMOR MILL:  THE WHISPER GALLERY

Congress is in recess for the next two weeks, with all of the Senators and Representatives heading to their home states for business.  The Dotard is down in Florida.  The Turtle went back to Kentucky, and The Human Jellyfish Paul Ryan returned to Wisconsin.

But not everyone that works in the Capitol is on vacation.  The staffers are still there doing their jobs, and the reporters and sources are still there.  And like the old phrase goes “When the cat’s away, the mice are at play.”

One example is the continuing scuttlebutt about Paul Ryan not running for re-election.  He still hasn’t filed his paperwork that he’s running, but he hasn’t filed with Wisconsin that he isn’t running, either.  He has until June 1 and May 18 respectively for each.

I don’t know what to expect, but whatever I hear, I’ll report here.

As far as CA goes, Louise has her doubts about Wylie.  She still thinks he’s a shill for Russia, and doesn’t buy his whistleblowing.  Personally, I think he had his own “Come to Jesus” moment and decided to come forward, and hopes that his work here keeps him out of serious legal trouble.

Louise also mentioned that she’s been sitting on some Peter Thiel news for over a year, out of fear that he would go to ground outside of extradition.  She says she just got the go-ahead on releasing her stories.

 

That’s it for today.  As far as the gun control posts go, I think I’ll have to make a series of them.  There are a lot of pieces of the argument, and as much as I would like to tackle the whole thing at once, there’s this little thing called life.  Things are gonna get pretty crazy over the next few months.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur