March 28, 2018


News and Views


PALANTIR, FACEBOOK, PETER THIEL, GUCCIFER 2.0 AND TRUMP – BINGO! GO ALSO TO MY SECOND BLOG FOR THE DAY CALLED “AGGREGATE IQ – THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK.”

https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/28/palantir-confirms-a-staff-link-with-cambridge-analytica/
Palantir confirms a staff link with Cambridge Analytica
Natasha Lomas@riptari / March 28, 2018 16 hours ago

Photograph -- Turns out there is a link between Peter Thiel’s secretive big data analytics firm, Palantir, and Cambridge Analytica — the political consulting firm at the center of the current Facebook data misuse scandal.

Starting in 2013, the New York Times reports that a UK-based Palantir employee worked with Cambridge Analytica — going on to gain access to the dataset of 50M+ Facebook users the latter firm obtained in 2014 via a third party personality quiz app deployed on the social network giant’s platform.

In testimony to the UK parliament yesterday, CA whistleblower Chris Wylie told MPs that senior Palantir employees worked with the firm on the Facebook data to help it build models off of the dataset to use for political ad targeting purposes.

At the time Wylie worked for SCL Group, the UK defense contractor that went on to form CA with funding from US billionaire, Robert Mercer. CA was later engaged by the Trump campaign, for the 2016 presidential election.

Reached yesterday for a response to Wylie’s allegations, a Palantir spokeswoman flatly denied Wylie’s claim — telling us: “Palantir has never had a relationship with Cambridge Analytica nor have we ever worked on any Cambridge Analytica data.”

However in a statement to the NYT, Palantir has now modified this line — saying: “We learned today that an employee, in 2013-2014, engaged in an entirely personal capacity with people associated with Cambridge Analytica. We are looking into this and will take the appropriate action.”

The NYT reports it has seen documents showing that a London-based employee of the big data firm — named as Alfredas Chmieliauskas — worked with the CA data scientists who were building its psychological profiling technology.

The documents were presumably provided by Wylie (pictured below), who has also handed email and other documentary evidence to the DCMS committee investigating online disinformation in political campaigning, as well as to the UK’s data watchdog and Electoral Commission — both of which are also probing digital political campaigning issues (including around the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum vote, which Wylie alleges CA also worked on).

According to the NYT report, it was actually Chmieliauskas who came up with the idea for cloning the work of Michal Kosinski, the first Cambridge University academic that Wylie says CA approached for help to gather data.

Kosinski was deputy director at Cambridge University’s Psychometrics Centre at the time and, along with another professor at the department, David Stillwell, had already worked on a project drawing links between anonymized Facebook profiles and responses from personality surveys — with that data also obtained via a Facebook app — aiming to connect interests with voting tendencies.

Yesterday Wylie told the committee that Kosinski had asked for $500k up front from CA and 50% equity in the commercial venture to work on the project — which he said was ultimately why it ended up signing a data licensing deal with another Cambridge professor, Aleksandr Kogan, who agreed to work first on gathering the Facebook data and to discuss commercial terms later.

“I had left field idea,” Chmieliauskas wrote in May 2014, the NYT reports. “What about replicating the work of the cambridge prof as a mobile app that connects to facebook?” — going on to suggest this “could be a valuable leverage negotiating with the guy”.

Chmieliauskas’ LinkedIn profile states that he joined Palantir in April 2013 and remains employed at the company in London — working on “business development”.

It also includes the mission statement: “i fix or break large things”.

In the event, Chmieliauskas’ suggestion to clone Kosinski’s app led to CA’s data licensing relationship with Kogan, whose own personality test app — thisisyourdigitallife — was built bespoke for its project and successfully used to harvest data on 50M+ Facebook users so CA could, in turn, build psychological profiles on millions of American voters.

Wylie told the committee yesterday that a pilot of Kogan’s quiz app was launched in May 2014 with 10,000 Facebook users, before formal contracts were signed between CA and GSR — GSR being the company Kogan set up to commercialize the work with CA.

The app then was used to harvest the full Facebook dataset over the summer of 2014, garnering ~270,000 downloads — but able to pull far more data via Facebook’s (now shuttered) friends API.

Yesterday Wylie also claimed CA was able to pull data on “substantially” more Facebook users than even the 50M users that’s been reported so far.

Returning to Palantir, according to the NYT there were also discussions between SCL and Thiel’s firm in 2013 about working together on election campaigns. The newspaper said a Palantir spokeswoman confirmed the companies had briefly considered working together but claimed it had declined a partnership — in part because executives wanted to steer clear of election work.

Further emails seen by the NYT show CA’s (now suspended) CEO Alexander Nix and Palantir’s Chmieliauskas also sought to revive talks about a formal partnership in early 2014 — but Palantir executives again declined.

We reached out to Palantir for confirmation and a spokeswoman sent its updated statement (below) — following what she described as an “initial investigation”.

Palantir has never had a relationship with Cambridge Analytica. We were approached by individuals from Cambridge Analytica on multiple occasions, but we declined to move forward. As a matter of company policy, we do not and have never worked on or been involved with elections or political campaigns anywhere in the world. We learned today that an employee, in 2013-2014, engaged in an entirely personal capacity with people associated with Cambridge Analytica. We are looking into this and will take the appropriate action.



“....GUCCIFER 2.0, THE SUSPECTED RUSSIAN-LINKED HACKER WHO HAS TAKEN CREDIT FOR HACKING INTO THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS OF HILLARY CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN AHEAD OF THE 2016 US ELECTION, IS DIRECTLY TIED TO THE GRU, RUSSIA'S MILITARY-INTELLIGENCE OUTFIT.” ONE MORE TIGHT LINK WITH RUSSIA. TIGHTER PRESSURE IS BEING APPLIED TO JEFF SESSIONS ABOUT HIS PERSONAL TIES WTIH RUSSIANS ALSO.

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-probe-latest-cambridge-analytica-scandal-trump-lawyer-resigns-2018-3
Cambridge Analytica scandal escalates, a Russian hacker is revealed, and Trump's lawyer resigns — catch up on the latest in the Russia investigation
Michal Kranz and Brennan Weiss
Mar. 25, 2018, 4:45 PM

Alexander Nix
Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix. Henry Nicholls/Reuters

President Donald Trump's legal team experienced a shakeup this week. He considered hiring former US attorney and conservative media personality Joseph diGenova, and is said to be considering firing White House lawyer Ty Cobb.

John Dowd, Trump's personal defense attorney, resigned on Thursday because he was reportedly at odds with Trump over agreeing to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. That handed Mueller a huge win— Dowd was the biggest roadblock standing in the way of an interview between the president and special counsel.

Also this week, previously undisclosed emails described to The Washington Post indicated that George Papadopoulos — the former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who pleaded guilty in the Russia investigation last year — was in more frequent contact with top campaign officials than has been reported.

Here's what else you may have missed this week in the Russia investigation:
A key Russian hacker is unmasked: The Daily Beast reported that Guccifer 2.0, the suspected Russian-linked hacker who has taken credit for hacking into the Democratic National Committee and members of Hillary Clinton's campaign ahead of the 2016 US election, is directly tied to the GRU, Russia's military-intelligence outfit.

Trump lawyers hand over documents: The president's legal team has given Mueller written materials about key events Mueller is scrutinizing as part of his investigation. The move comes as Mueller has been pushing for a face-to-face interview with Trump.

Sessions' testimony comes under scrutiny: Attorney General Jeff Sessions' sworn Congressional testimony about his contacts with Russians is once again under question — this time after three witnesses Mueller has interviewed said he didn't push back against Papadopoulos' efforts to try to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sessions has changed his account of the meeting several times now, but it remains unclear whether he will face any punishment for reportedly misleading Congress.

John Dowd

John Dowd, Trump's former personal defense lawyer.Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Cambridge Analytica tested Trump slogans: The data analysis firm, which came under scrutiny last week after news broke that it harvested the data of 50 million Facebook users without their permission, reportedly tested political slogans in 2014 that would later become hallmarks of Trump's 2016 campaign.

Mueller looks into CA Several outlets reported Mueller's team has been investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Cambridge Analytica. It was also a bad week for the company's CEO, Alexander Nix, who was suspended after being caught on tape suggesting that he often took measures to bribe and entrap politicians.

GOP releases Trump-Russia findings: Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released a report detailing their conclusions in the panel's Russia investigation, although Democrats on the committee say parts of the report make several incomplete assertions that obscure facts.

John Brennan makes a big claim: In an interview on MSNBC, former CIA director John Brennan said he believes Russia has compromising information on Trump that Moscow is using to blackmail him. "I think [Trump's] afraid of the President of Russia," Brennan continued. There is no public evidence supporting Brennan's claims.

McCabe once investigated Sessions: ABC News reported Wednesday that former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe oversaw an investigation into Sessions for misleading lawmakers when asked about his contacts with Russians during his Senate confirmation hearing last year. McCabe was fired last week after the Department of Justice inspector general concluded in a report that McCabe was not forthcoming during the IG review. On Friday, McCabe bemoaned his firing in an op-ed in The Washington Post.

Sonam Sheth and David Choi contributed to this report.



THIS LOOKS AS THOUGH ZUCKERBERG IS ACTUALLY AFRAID TO FACE QUESTIONING, DOESN’T IT? I DO HOPE SOMETHING IS PROVED AGAINST HIM UNLESS HE TRULY IS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER HERE. THE FACT THAT HE HAD CONTRACTS AND PROOFS OF INTERACTION WITH CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA AND ADS BOUGHT BY PEOPLE WITH RUSSIAN NAMES POINTS THE FINGER TOWARD GUILT.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43554135
Data row: Facebook's Zuckerberg will not appear before MPs
27 March 2018

Photograph -- Mark Zuckerberg apologised for a "breach of trust" Getty Images
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to appear before MPs is "astonishing", said the committee chairman who invited him to attend.

Damian Collins, the head of a parliamentary inquiry into fake news, urged Mr Zuckerberg to "think again".

Facebook and data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica are at the centre of a row over harvesting personal data.

Mr Zuckerberg has apologised for a "breach of trust", but said he will not appear in front of the inquiry.

He will instead send one of his senior executives, Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox, who will give evidence to MPs in the first week after the Easter parliamentary break.

The global reach of Cambridge Analytica
What does Cambridge Analytica do?
Facebook data sharing - time to act?

Mr Collins, the chairman of the Department for Culture Media and Sport select committee, said: "Given the extraordinary evidence that we've heard so far today... it is absolutely astonishing that Mark Zuckerberg is not prepared to submit himself to questioning.

"These are questions of a fundamental importance and concern to Facebook users, as well as to our inquiry as well.

"I would certainly urge him to think again if he has any care for people that use his company's services."

Facebook said Mr Cox was "well placed to answer the committee's questions".

At the weekend Mr Zuckerberg took out full-page advertisements in several UK and US Sunday newspapers to apologise, adding the company could have done more to stop millions of users having their data exploited by Cambridge Analytica.

Media captionChristopher Wylie says the company's operations were an example of "modern-day colonialism"

The select committee on Tuesday heard from former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie, who claimed the UK may not have voted for Brexit had it not been for "cheating" by the Leave campaign.

Mr Wylie told the committee that Canadian company Aggregate IQ - which has been linked to Cambridge Analytica - received funding from Vote Leave and played a "very significant role" in the referendum result.

He also claimed:

His predecessor died in suspicious circumstances in a hotel in Kenya after a "deal went sour"
Vote Leave and other pro-Brexit groups were working together and had a "common plan" to get round spending controls
Cambridge Analytica worked for Brexit group Leave.EU and its "franchise", Aggregate IQ, was hired by Vote Leave

The data Aggregate IQ possessed was used to target between five and seven million people during the referendum campaign
Aggregate IQ said it had a "conversion rate" of 5-7% in persuading people to vote a specific way

Mr Wylie, whose allegations were first published in the Observer newspaper over a week ago, has accused Cambridge Analytica of gathering the details of 50 million users on Facebook through a personality quiz in 2014.

He alleges that because 270,000 people took the quiz, the data of some 50 million users, mainly in the US, was harvested without their explicit consent via their friend networks.

Mr Wylie claims the data was sold to Cambridge Analytica, which then used it to psychologically profile people and deliver pro-Donald Trump material to them to assist the presidential election campaign.

He described his former boss, Cambridge Analytica's CEO Alexander Nix, as a salesman with no background in politics or technology but a lot of wealth.

On one occasion, the two of them were running late because Mr Nix had to "pick up a £200,000 chandelier", MPs heard.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Alexander Nix played on his Eton background, Mr Wylie said

Cambridge Analytica claimed Mr Wylie "misrepresented himself and the company" to the committee.

It described him as a "part-time contractor" who left the firm in July 2014 after less than a year working there.

Mr Wyllie "had no direct knowledge of the company's work or practices since that date", it said.

Cambridge Analytica also said it was "disgusted" by his "use" of the "tragic death of a member of our team as a means to further his own agenda".

"An investigation by Kenyan authorities concluded that there was nothing suspicious about our colleague's death, and we as a company were deeply saddened by the loss," it said.

Cambridge Analytica also denies any of the data acquired was used as part of the services it provided to the Trump campaign.

Lawyers for Aggregate IQ have said the firm had "never entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica" and it had "never knowingly been involved in any illegal activity".

Vote Leave has denied accusations that they broke the spending rules during the UK's 2016 referendum on whether or not to stay in the European Union.

In a blog on Friday, Vote Leave's Dominic Cummings said the claims were "factually wrong" and the Electoral Commission had approved donations in the run-up to the referendum.



RIGHTISTS ARE ATTACKING EMMA GONZALEZ WITH FALSIFIED ANIMATION OF HER PURPORTEDLY TEARING UP THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE DISGUSTING “PEPE THE FROG” IMAGE IS ON THEIR CHAT SITE CALLED “GAB.” THAT IMAGE BECAME FAMOUS IN THE ANTI-HILLARY CAMPAIGNS. THE NRA IS BEHIND THIS ONE, IT SEEMS. PEPE THE FROG DOESN’T BELONG TO ANY ONE SITE, BUT CLEARLY IDENTIFIES ALT-RIGHT GROUPS AND SENTIMENT. DURING THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, IT WAS RUSSIA WHO WAS BEHIND MUCH OF IT, AND THEY HAD COOPERATION FROM THE NRA IN THAT ELECTION. THAT’S NOT PROOF THAT RUSSIA IS ACTIVE IN THE USA AGAIN, BUT IT IS SUSPICIOUSLY SIMILAR.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/03/26/emma-gonzalez-constitution/
No, Emma Gonzalez Did Not Tear Up A Photo Of The Constitution
March 26, 2018 at 7:29 am

(CNN) — A doctored animation of Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez ripping the US Constitution in two went viral on social media after Gab, a so-called “free speech social network” that features the controversial Pepe the Frog as its account image, posted it on Twitter.

The tweet gathered 1,500 retweets and 2,900 likes and only after a few hours did Gab specify the fake animation was “obviously a parody/satire.”

The original animation is from a Teen Vogue story released March 23 featuring Gonzalez and other teen activists, as Allure & Teen Vogue communications director Jaime Ellyn Marsanico confirmed to CNN. It shows Gonzalez ripping a target poster, not the Constitution.

Teen Vogue chief content officer, Phillip Picardi, also set the record straight on Twitter:

“The fact that we even have to clarify this is proof of how democracy continues to be fractured by people who manipulate and fabricate the truth,” Picardi said.

The most popular debunk was from Donald Moynihan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who said: “Just a sample of what NRA supporters are doing to teenagers who survived a massacre (real picture on the right)”:

However, this series of debunks did not stop the fake image from going viral, crossing platforms, websites and blogs.

For example, actor Adam Baldwin, who has a verified account on Twitter, tweeted the doctored animation to his 270,000 followers. The tweet was still online at the time of writing.

Over the past few weeks, Gonzalez has become the face of the #NeverAgain movement that flooded Washington, D.C. and other American cities over the weekend for the March for Our Lives rally.

Her iconic speech in Washington, which included a prolonged moment of silence, is the latest in a series of appearances that made the 18-year-old a popular household name since a gunman killed 17 people on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But her gun-control activism also attracted a smear campaign and personal attacks from conservative figures and far-right fringes.

A smear campaign
The fake animation also found new life on 4chan “politically incorrect” board (abbreviated as /pol/), as part of a campaign aimed at discrediting Gonzalez.

CNN found several posts questioning Gonzalez’ real nationality, spreading conspiracy theories claiming she’s an illegal immigrant and hurling anti-Semitic insults at her and her father.

Gonzalez was born in the United States. Her father sought refuge from Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba by moving to New York in 1968.

Other posts alluded to a doxing effort to leak pictures of Gonzalez on the platform.

But it’s not only 4chan users who concentrated their attacks on the teen’s Cuban origin. Conservative commentators and politicians pointed the finger to Gonzalez’ olive-colored jacket that she wore during the speech on Saturday which had a Cuban flag sewn in it.

A meme with Gonzalez on stage and the Cuban flag on the forefront appeared on the verified Facebook page of Congressman Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

The post read: “This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet don’t speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence their right to self defense.”

Several people weighed in the comment section defending Gonzalez from the attack.

In response to Brandon J. Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting who criticized the meme for “mocking a school shooting survivor for her ethnic identity,” King’s team said:

“Pointing out the irony of someone wearing the flag of a communist country while simultaneously calling for gun control isn’t ‘picking’ on anyone. It’s calling attention to the truth, but we understand that lefties find that offensive.”

CNN has reached out to King’s team for comment.

Similar memes were posted on Reddit’s pro-Trump page r/The_Donald and shared on social media by other conservative figures, such as Andrew Wilkow.

Jesse Hughes, frontman of Eagles of Death Metal, also shared the photoshopped image of Gonzalez on Instagram, calling her “the Awful Face of Treason,” according to the Guardian. His band was on stage during the Paris Bataclan terrorist attack in November 2015. Hughes later deleted the post.

Earlier in March, Leslie Gibson, who was running for Maine’s House of Representatives, quit his race after he called Gonzalez a “skinhead lesbian.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.



I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT ECUADOR IS SETTING UP A GREATER CONTROL OF ASSANAGE’S ACTIVITIES. HE’S NO FRIEND OF THE USA.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ecuador-cutting-off-wikileaks-founders-communications-165318948.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=e3d6fb47-30ad-39b6-a62e-775882fb6b4d&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Ecuador cutting off WikiLeaks founder's communications
Associated Press • March 28, 2018

Photograph -- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange raises his fist prior on the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London on May 19, 2017
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange raises his fist prior on the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London on May 19, 2017 (AFP Photo/Justin TALLIS)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador's government is cutting off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications outside the nation's London embassy.

Officials announced Wednesday they were taking the measure in response to Assange's recent activity on social media.

As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries.

Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy for more than five years.

Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.



THIS VERY INTERESTING STORY IS BY AN EX-FOX ANALYST ON HIS IDEAS ABOUT MEDIA BIAS. HE QUIT FOX BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THEY HAD BECOME “A PROPAGANDA ARM” FOR THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY.

THE CHART HE GIVES OF MEDIA GROUPS SHOWING (ACCORDING TO SOMEBODY’S VIEWS) WHERE THEY FALL ON A PROPOSED RANGE OF BOTH POLITICAL LEANINGS AND NEWS ACCURACY; AND IT IS THOROUGH AND HELPFUL IF YOU WANT A QUICK RULE OF THUMB. AS FOR “GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE,” I JUST DON’T READ MOST THINGS THAT LOOK LIKE PROPAGANDA OR THINLY DISGUISED LIES TO ME, NOT FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES ANYWAY. FOX IS IN THAT CATEGORY. IF I FIND A POSITIVE STORY ON PRESIDENT TRUMP, I DO PRESENT THAT. TO ME, THAT’S THE DEVIL’S DUE.

IF I SEE A STORY ON ANY SITE AT ALL, WHOSE SUBJECT DOES GRAB MY ATTENTION, I READ IT, EVEN IF IT IS COMING FROM THE PROPAGANDA ARM OF MOTHER RUSSIA, RT. ALWAYS CHECK FACTS, OF COURSE. AS FOR FOX’S HAVING (“RECENTLY” IS IMPLIED) BECOME A PROPAGANDA ARM OF THE REPUBLICAN WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS, WHAT’S NEW ABOUT THAT? I PERSONALLY VERY RARELY WASTE MY TIME WITH THEM. I HAVE NOTICED THAT FOX DOES REPORT SOME STORIES FASTER THAN CBS, BUT IT ALSO SOMETIMES HAS TO RETRACT OR CORRECT THEM. TAKING THE TIME TO RESEARCH IT WOULD HELP. THIS CHART FROM MEDIABIAS.COM ON THE VARIOUS NEWS SITES IS GREAT, OR IS AS FAR AS I AM AWARE. NOT ALL ON THE LIST ARE FAMILIAR NAMES TO ME.

THE SITES THAT I USUALLY GO TO FOR STORIES ARE, (PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK) ON THE SECTIONS FOR THOSE KNOWN FOR RELIABLE INFORMATION AND A MODERATE TO STRONG LIBERAL BIAS; I DO HAPPILY READ AND POST THOSE THAT ARE HONEST BUT POWERFUL IN THEIR POLITICAL PRESENTATION SUCH AS HUFFINGTON POST AND LA TIMES. JUST BECAUSE THOSE TWO HAVE A CLEAR BIAS DOESN’T MAKE THEM FALSE INFORMATION. AS A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, WE NEED BOLD AND POINTED SPEECH. WE ARE AN OPEN FORUM FOR THE OTHER SIDE TO SPEAK THEIR PIECE AS WELL. ALSO, THOUGH, “GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE” IS A CONSTANT THING; “THE DEVIL” WILL ALWAYS BE SPEAKING OUT FORCEFULLY, SO THE MORE CARING AND BENIGN GROUPS NEED TO SPEAK OUT, AND SOMETIMES STRONGLY, AS WELL. THE DECENT PEOPLE OF AMERICA HAVE BECOME TOO MUCH LIKE EGG CUSTARD. IT’S GOOD EVERY NOW AND THEN, BUT AS A DAILY DIET IT IS REALLY BORING AND NOT NUTRITIOUS.

THOUGH VERY FREQUENTLY I DO READ THOSE STORIES THAT ARE FROM THE LEFT AND CLIP THEM, ESPECIALLY IF I BELIEVE THEIR MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT, OR IF CBS DOESN’T CARRY THE STORY; I DO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHETHER IT SEEMS LIKELY TO ME, AND I PUBLISH IT, USUALLY AFTER CHECKING THE FACTS ON THE INTERNET. MY FAVORITES OF THOSE MORE COURAGEOUS NEWS SOURCES ARE LATIMES, ALTERNET, BUZZFEED, HUFFINGTON POST, MSNBC AND THE MADDOW BLOG, DAILY BEAST, AND MOTHER JONES. THE “BIASED” SOURCES ARE MORE ADVENTURESOME IN WHICH STORIES THEY WILL PUBLISH, AND THAT IS GOOD. I DON’T WANT CENSORED MATERIAL.

IN THE LAST REPUBLICAN-RULED DECADE OR SO, WE HAVE BECOME A NATION OF MILQUETOASTS WHO LET FASCIST FORCES TAKE OVER OUR WHITE HOUSE, SO I BELIEVE IN PUTTING UP A FIGHT – NOT VIOLENTLY, OF COURSE. WHEN IT BECAME CLEAR TO ME THAT TRUMP AND MANY OF HIS SUPPORTERS WERE ABSOLUTELY NOT INTERESTED IN DEMOCRACY, I WAS ANGRY AND INCREASINGLY FRIGHTENED. THE HITLER SALUTES SHOCKED AND INFURIATED ME. ONE OF MY SISTERS TRIED REPEATEDLY TO MAKE FUN OF HIM – HER FAVORITE WAY OF DEALING WITH THE DEVIL – AND MY OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS SAT SILENT. I DID HAVE COMPANY ON FACEBOOK, HOWEVER.

ON A STORY THAT SOME MAY FEEL IS UNFAIR, I WISH CBS WOULD PUBLISH IT, BUT WITH A CAUTION, SUCH AS “SOURCES ARE UNCERTAIN.” WHAT I’M MAINLY LOOKING FOR IS INFORMATION, AND A GOOD HINT IS ENOUGH FOR ME, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN GOOGLE, WIKIPEDIA, AND THE FACT CHECKING SITES SUCH AS SNOPES. I ALSO BELIEVE CHECKING MORE THAN ONE OF THE VERSIONS OF EXCITING STORIES. ABOVE ALL, A SITE THAT REFRAINS FROM PUBLISHING KNOWN INFORMATION BECAUSE GEORGE W BUSH DOESN’T WANT THEM TO, OR SIMPLY TO AVOID CONTROVERSY, IS NOT ON MY HERO LIST AND GOOD JOURNALISTS ARE HEROES.

ON THE CHART BELOW, IT WOULD BE A HANDY THING, IN MY OPINION, TO HAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER FOR CASES WHEN YOU WOULD LIKE A QUICKY REFERENCE OF WHO TO PAY ATTENTION TO AND WHO TO AVOID. I HAVE POSTED IT TO A WORD FILE ON MY FILE LIST SO I CAN DO JUST THAT. I DO MORE OR LESS AGREE WITH THE CHART, AND THE ARTICLES I CLIP FALL WITHIN THE LEFT-LEANING SITES WHO DO PRESENT ACCURATE NEWS INFORMATION. OPINION IS FINE. LIES AND PROPAGANDA AREN’T.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/analyst-who-left-fox-news-over-propaganda-now-takes-aim-at-cnn-2018-03-28
Analyst who left Fox over ‘propaganda’ now takes aim at CNN, MSNBC
By Shawn Langlois
Published: Mar 28, 2018 1:12 p.m. ET

‘In the race for ratings, even those outlets that have not yet fallen into the propaganda abyss often drive right to the edge’

Photograph -- CNN host Wolf Blitzer speaks before the start of the under card Republican Presidential Debate.

‘CNN and MSNBC would be more effective if they occasionally gave the devil his due, instead of mirroring the intolerance of their prime-time counterparts at Fox.’

That’s what retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel Ralph Peters had to say about the other cable-news stations in the wake of his exit earlier this month from Fox News, where he spent years serving as an analyst.

The “devil” he’s referring to is, of course, Donald Trump, whom he said still deserves some credit despite his “execrable” behavior.

Trump “has done a few useful things, such as facilitating our military’s response to the Islamic State,” he wrote in a commentary piece for CNBC. “But those on the left cannot accept anything good can come from this self-drawn caricature of a devil.”

The same is true for the other side of the aisle.

“The hyper-media’s insistence that individuals are either all good or all bad, on our side or on their side, cripples our democracy,” he said. “President Obama, who I criticized ferociously and without regret, squandered opportunities for greatness, but conservatives could not credit him with doing anything right.”

Peters revisited the impetus for his leaving Fox, while urging rivals in “the ethical wasteland of today’s hyper-media” to avoid a similar fate.

“Recently, I left Fox News, where I’d been at home for a decade, because I believed that its prime-time lineup had become a propaganda arm for a wanton president,” he wrote. “But my despair over Fox does not make its cable-news rivals camps of the saints: In the race for ratings, even those outlets that have not yet fallen into the propaganda abyss often drive right to the edge.”

The tone of his piece suggests Peters would mostly be in agreement with this chart of media bias, which has gone viral in recent weeks:


He echoed the frustrations of many.

“As a news junkie, I cannot rely on cable-news for even a rudimentary understanding of an increasingly interdependent world,” he said. “They’re entertaining us, but they’re failing us.”

His solution?

“Neither liberals, nor moderates, nor conservatives alone can defeat the new propagandists. We all have to pledge our allegiance to proven facts,” Peters wrote. “Ferocious arguments are fine — but they must be tethered to reality. There may be additional facts, but there are never alternative facts.”



MADDOW TIME
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/27/18
Senate Democrats ask DoJ officials to protect Mueller from Trump
Senator Richard Blumenthal talks with Rachel Maddow about letters sent by Senate Judiciary Democrats to the top five in the Department of Justice line of succession, asking them to promise not to interfere with or end the Mueller investigation even if ordered to do so, echoing a Watergate-era strategy. Duration: 20:00


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/27/18
Trump aims to pervert census count with citizenship question
Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, talks with Rachel Maddow about why the Donald Trump administration's intention to add a citizenship question to the census is a bad thing and how resistance is organizing to prevent it. Duration: 5:56


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/27/18
New report contradicts police on US death of former top Russian
Jason Leopold, senior investigative reporter for Buzzfeed News, talks with Rachel Maddow about new evidence in the mysterious death of RT founder Mikhail Lesin, including a secret report from Christopher Steele. Duration: 12:53


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Republican campaigns' use of Cambridge Analytica raises questions
Rachel Maddow reports on new questions about the role Cambridge Analytica played in some Republican political campaigns and whether elections laws were violated. Duration: 9:14


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Kushner investigation query gets Democrats a surprising answer
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi talks with Rachel Maddow about his discovery through the Office of Government Ethics that the White House is investigating Jared Kushner over loans made to his family after meeting with Kushner at the White House. Duration: 4:02


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Republican campaigns' use of Cambridge Analytica raises questions
Rachel Maddow reports on new questions about the role Cambridge Analytica played in some Republican political campaigns and whether elections laws were violated. Duration: 9:14


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Jared Kushner under investigation... by the White House?
Rachel Maddow reports that while Donald Trump struggles to assemble a legal team, Jared Kushner is keeping his busy, and now the White House is apparently also investigating Kushner over loans made to his family company after meeting with him in the White ... more Duration: 14:20


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Kushner investigation query gets Democrats a surprising answer
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi talks with Rachel Maddow about his discovery through the Office of Government Ethics that the White House is investigating Jared Kushner over loans made to his family after meeting with Kushner at the White House. Duration: 4:02


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/26/18
Lessons in Clinton's loss: Write your own rules, don't hold back
Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for the Hillary Clinton campaign, talks with Rachel Maddow about her new book, "Dear Madam President: An open letter to the women who will run the world." Duration: 10:40


HELP THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/23/18
Donald Trump’s new national security adviser John Bolton is...
John Bolton, Trump’s new national security adviser, has connections to both Cambridge Analytica and an NRA group that may have used Russian money to help the Trump campaign. Duration: 22:34