Fifteen years ago this week, Secretary of State General Colin Powell gave a speech to the United Nations arguing for war with Iraq, saying the evidence was clear: Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. It was a speech Powell would later call a blot on his career. Is President Trump doing the same thing now with Iran? We speak to Powell’s former chief of staff, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson. He recently wrote a piece titled “I Helped Sell the False Choice of War Once. It’s Happening Again [ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/opinion/trump-iran-war.html ].” https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/9/lawrence_wilkerson_i_helped_sell_the[with embedded video, and transcript]
President Donald J. Trump Signs H.R. 1892 into Law
Issued on: February 9, 2018
On Friday, February 9, 2018, the President signed into law:
H.R. 1892, the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018,” which authorizes the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a first responder in the line of duty. Division B of the enrolled bill provides additional emergency supplemental appropriations related to recent hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters including tax relief and Medicaid changes; division B also includes a short-term continuing resolution that provides fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government through Friday, March 23, 2018. Division C of the enrolled bill increases the discretionary defense and non-defense category caps in FY 2018 and FY 2019; extends the sequestration of mandatory spending by two years; division C also establishes two Joint Select Committees, a committee to improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and a committee to provide recommendations on reforming the budget and appropriations process; temporarily suspends the statutory debt limit through March 1, 2019. Division D of the enrolled bill extends provisions that provide tax relief to families and individuals; provides incentives for job growth; and incentives for energy production and conservation. Division E of the enrolled bill extends or modifies Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs, including various foster care and child welfare programs, and includes various offsets related to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs. Division F of the enrolled bill includes agriculture program improvements for cotton, livestock, and dairy producers. Division G of the enrolled bill includes direction regarding the budgetary effects of division A, subdivision 2 of division B, division C, and each succeeding division. Additional information regarding these provisions can be found in the attachment [the attachment, apparently(?) distinct from "the enrolled bill", not included or separately provided].
Friday, Feb. 9th 2018[, with appearances by Jerome Corsi and David Horowitz]: Rand vs. The Swamp! - Pro-American Rand Paul was declared persona non grata by the establishment in DC for calling out politicians carelessly spending tax dollars. Nearby, Trump foiled the government shutdown with his signature on the budget deal. Joining the conversation is former Navy SEAL and political insider Matt Bracken to discuss the FBI texts and more. Joel Gilbert hosts the final hour.
Today in War Room: Rob Dew welcomes Owen Benjamin to talk about the death of the establishment comedy. Roger Stone breaks down more of Democrats Russian collusion and interviews Lori Gregory on the latest California vaccination bill laws.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
How the ‘dumbest news show’ on TV influences the White House
Fox & Friends has spent years being a fever swamp of conspiracy theories, right-wing propaganda, smear campaigns, and general absurdity. Now, it's President Trump's favorite show, with the power to hijack the news cycle for days at a time.
In their series Strikethrough, Vox producers Carlos Maza and Coleman Lowndes explore the challenges facing the news media in the age of Trump. Follow Carlos on Facebook for more: https://www.facebook.com/CarlosMazaVox
Why the replacement for Bob Mueller’s boss is leaving
The Beat with Ari Melber 2/9/18
NBC Justice Correspondent Pete Williams reports with MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber on the pivotal departure of the third ranking DOJ official Rachel Brand.
Watch DNC Chair eat his own words on the shutdown strategy
The Beat with Ari Melber 2/9/18
Top democrats say Chuck Schumer got nothing for folding after the shutdown. DNC Chair Tom Perez faces a big question on MSNBC’s “The Beat”: What was the shutdown for?
Watch Paul Shaffer explain the Obama-Letterman friendship
The Beat with Ari Melber 2/9/18
David Letterman’s musical director, Paul Shaffer talks to Ari Melber about working on Letterman’s new Netflix show ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction’ and how late night comedy handles politics. The comedy star’s latest endeavor features high-profile interviews with a range of public figures, from fmr. President Barack Obama, to actor George Clooney, to activist Malala Yousafzai.
Between 2000 and 2010, an estimated 248,000 children were married in the United States, with the majority of cases involving a younger girl marrying an older man. This is according to Unchained at Last, an organization that helps victims of forced and arranged marriages.
Such marriages are associated with a variety of negative outcomes, but thus far no state in the US has banned the practice outright. Last year, Democratic State Senator Jerry Hill attempted to make California the first to do so, but ran into opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood. He plans to re-introduce another version of the bill soon, however it will still allow for minors to marry.
Florida is now poised to become the first state to pass a full ban. Last week, a “no exceptions” bill authored by Republican State Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto was passed unanimously by her colleagues in the Senate. The bill is currently before the Florida house, where a floor vote is expected next week. However it has been met with some opposition and passage is no way guaranteed.
VICE News met with state lawmakers and child marriage survivors about attempts to change existing laws.
Why Women Of Color Are Trying To Get Out Of The United States (HBO)
Published on Feb 9, 2018 by VICE News
It comes as no surprise that a time when white supremacist groups have gained increased public notoriety and the President has disparaged African nations as “shitholes," many black Americans are feeling isolated and unsafe in communities or workplaces.
Many of them are turning those frustrations into acts of self-preservation, and are spending significant money to get outside of the country and away from the people who make them feel that way.
Since the election of President Trump, at least 5 black-owned trip organizations have told VICE News that they’ve experienced upticks in interest from clients eager to get out of the United States.
VICE News followed a group of women to the Women of Color Healing Retreat in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica; a travel experience that emphasized yoga, vegan food, political education seminars, and specifcally banned white people.
Dept. of Justice #3 Rachel Brand unexpectedly resigns
All In with Chris Hayes 2/9/18
In a move that could have far-reaching implications if President Trump decides to escalate his attack on the Mueller investigation, Rachel Brand, the associate attorney general at the DOJ since May 2017, will be stepping down.
Trump refuses to release Democratic memo on Russia probe
All In with Chris Hayes 2/9/18
President Trump announced he will not be declassifying a Democratic House Intelligence memo that was drafted to rebut the Republican memo claiming the FBI improperly obtained an order to wiretap a former Trump official.
Trump already has a big problem with infrastructure plan
All In with Chris Hayes 2/9/18
Trump has repeatedly promised a trillion dollars of infrastructure spending but there's just one problem: Trump and Republicans have done some serious spending already -especially their 1.5 trillion dollar tax cut plan.
Throughout his 40 years in the public eye, Donald Trump has been all over the map on plenty of issues. But he has never wavered when it comes to his views toward women....and the men accused of harming them.
Second Trump staffer resigns amid abuse allegations
All In with Chris Hayes 2/9/18
One of Donald Trump's speechwriters resigned under circumstances that are remarkably similar to those of White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter who left the White House amid abuse allegations from both of his ex-wives.
White House in job turnover turmoil as more staffers depart
The Rachel Maddow Show 2/9/18
Rachel Maddow reports on new details about the departure of White House staff secretary Rob Porter, as well as the departure of another depty White House chief of staff, and a speechwriter caught up in abuse accusations.
Trump closer to ending Russia probe as Rachel Brand quits DoJ
The Rachel Maddow Show 2/9/18
Rachel Maddow shows how the Nunes memo was a ploy to give Donald Trump an excuse to fire Rod Rosenstein who oversees Mueller's Trump Russia investigation. With Rachel Brand out, Rosenstein's next-in-line position is empty.
Wittes: Brand denies undue pressure to leave Justice Department
The Rachel Maddow Show 2/9/18
Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and friend of Rachel Brand, talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump's hollowing-out of the Justice Department and what Rachel Brand has told him about her decision to resign.
White House staff leaks say Kelly lied about handling Porter case
The Rachel Maddow Show 2/9/18
Beth Reinhard, reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about her reporting that White House chief of staff John Kelly tried to get White House staffers to spread a false timeline of how the Rob Porter scandal was dealt with.
Another Trump White House staffer resigns amid abuse allegations
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 2/9/18
A second White House staffer, speechwriter David Sorensen, resigns amid allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife. It's another stunning development in a week of damaging moments for John Kelly, who is reportedly willing to resign over the developments.
Who's to blame for the chaos in the Trump White House?
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 2/9/18
Two staffers resigned in one week over abuse allegations. So who's to blame for the lack of oversight? Chief of Staff John Kelly, other senior advisers, or does it fall to President Trump himself? Jonathan Alter, Chris Whipple, and Daniel Dale join Katy Tur.
Third-ranking DOJ official steps down, raising new questions
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 2/9/18
The official who would oversee the Mueller probe if Rod Rosenstein is fired is stepping down. Watergate Asst. Special Prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks says her resignation comes after Trump's "constant attacks" on the DOJ. Fmr. DOJ official Eric Columbus also joins.
Every week with Trump is chaos — but especially this week
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 2/9/18
The Trump administration faced controversy after controversy this week, including but not limited to high-profile resignations due to assault allegations. Daniel Dale and Ana Marie Cox join Katy Tur to break down this week of wild and crazy headlines.
Second Trump White House aide resigns over abuse claims
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 2/10/18
The controversy grows at the Trump White House as a second White House staffer resigned in the wake of allegations of physical and emotional abuse toward an ex-wife on Friday. Our panel reacts.
Trump blocks Democrats' Russia memo from being released
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 2/10/18
Citing national security, Trump's White House said Friday it will not release a memo from House Democrats rebutting the Nunes memo on the FBI & Russia.
Third official in line at Trump's Justice Dept. steps down
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 2/10/18
Rachel Brand, the Justice Department's third-ranking official, is stepping down to take a job in the private sector. What does it mean for the Russia probe? We explain.
Trump reportedly doesn't read his daily intel briefing
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 2/10/18
Breaking with presidential tradition, The Washington Post reports Trump does not read his Presidential Daily Brief document choosing instead to rely on an oral briefing. Gen. Barry McCaffrey reacts.
Rep. Adam Schiff on the #DemMemo | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Published on Feb 9, 2018 by Real Time with Bill Maher
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) joins Bill to discuss his actions as Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and President Trump's refusal to release the Democrats' memo.
Time for a little Mansplaining, because Google/Youtube keeps putting their Big Boot on our Head. Are we not allowed to disrespect Rodents because of their Human Population Control Program. They want more RATS and less HUMANS. Agenda 21 Depopulation in Play ? Rats carry Disease and Modern Humans carry Cellphones, nice combination !!!
Marco Rubio Defends Democratic Colleague Over Misleading Fox News Report But then Trump weighs in. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pushed back against a Fox News report that implied Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) had engaged in misconduct by texting with a lobbyist associated with a Russian billionaire last year. But his efforts to defend his colleague were thwarted when President Donald Trump shared the Fox News claims on Twitter hours later. Fox’s “exclusive” Thursday report said Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, had “extensive contact last year” with lobbyist Adam Waldman to set up a meeting with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote a dossier on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Waldman runs the Endeavor Group, a Washington lobbying firm that worked with a Russian oligarch named Oleg Deripaska in 2009 and 2010. Waldman offered last March to connect Warner with Steele to discuss the infamous dossier. The article states that “secrecy seemed very important to Warner” and that the senator “seemed particularly intent on connecting directly with Steele without anyone else on the Senate Intelligence Committee being in the loop ? at least initially.” But as the Fox News story eventually acknowledges, Waldman informed the intelligence committee about the messages months ago, and the communication appears to fall in line with Warner’s duties on the intelligence committee. Rubio pointed this out in his tweet Thursday. “Sen. Warner fully disclosed this to the committee four months ago,” he wrote on Twitter, with a link to the article. He continued to note that the text messages have had “zero impact on our work.” [...] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marco-rubio-fox-news-mark-warner_us_5a7cfdbae4b0c6726e11a837
EXCLUSIVE 'Any toys? Maybe a corset?' Call girl claims married Republican lawmaker secretly met her twice for sex and releases saucy texts he sent her as he steps down citing 'family issues' A married Republican lawmaker who voted for stricter laws against prostitution has abruptly resigned after an escort claims he met her twice for sex Call girl Brie Taylor claims Jon E. Stanard paid her for sex during two business trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017 The conservative politician was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012 and has three children with his wife LeeAnne Text messages seen by DailyMail.com appear to show that he met with Taylor, 39, in Salt Lake City, Utah, twice last year, after seeing her advert online Taylor then described how she performed oral sex on him and the pair engaged in multiple positions of vaginal and anal intercourse Stanard was unavailable for comment and DailyMail.com has reached out to his attorney for a response http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5364591/Escort-claims-married-lawmaker-secretly-met-sex.html
Facebook is testing a 'downvote' button — the next best thing to 'dislike' Facebook is testing a "downvote" button, bringing us closer to the "dislike" button that users have demanded. The downvote button is similar to the signature functionality of Reddit. Only a few users have the downvote button — at least, for now. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-testing-downvote-button-2018-2
Documentary Profiles Trump As The ‘P.T. Barnum’ Of Boasts And Bankruptcies
( https://youtu.be/5ZTEJdAQwW8 ) He’s still “lying and creating false scenarios,” the director of “Confidence Man” says. A new Netflix documentary about Donald Trump characterizes him as a “P.T Barnum” carnival barker who hyped his reputation despite failed businesses and capitalized on an image as a powerful deal-maker on “The Apprentice” to launch himself into the White House. Director Fisher Stevens told HuffPost that Trump is still leaving victims in his wake, just as he did in business, like so much “road kill.” And his behavior is the same: “lying and creating false scenarios,” said Stevens, who produced the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove,” about dolphin slaughter in Japan. Trump was “pretty down and out,” after a series of bankruptcies, said Fisher. ”‘The Apprentice’ gave Trump a new life. He keeps bouncing back. You can punch him, and he comes back.” “The Confidence Man” is part of a new Netflix series called “Dirty Money.” The Trump segment examines his life before he became president, focusing on his business deals, bankruptcies, business partners and the popular reality show about him that its creators considered a “scam.” The documentary does not cast a favorable light. Trump biographer Tim O’Brien calls him a “P.T. Barnum” who continually hyped his own inflated image of himself. Trump declared bankruptcies several times, leaving investors, contractors and banks holding the bag, while declaring his incredible success, O’Brien noted. Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey — touted as the “eighth wonder of the world” in ads — went bankrupt even though Trump’s father, Fred Trump, gave him a hand by buying $3 million in chips — and not using them — in a quiet loan, according to Trump casino executive Jack O’Donnell. The Taj was a “financial disaster,” thanks to Trump, O’Donnell says in the film. But Trump blamed Taj CEO Stephen Hyde and COO Mark Etess, who had been killed in a helicopter crash. When O’Donnell complained, he said Trump replied, “What does it matter? They’re dead.” The documentary notes that Trump’s other two casinos in Atlantic City, the Trump Castle and the Trump Plaza Casino and Hotel, also went broke. Throughout the 1990s for Trump, business was scarce and loans were tough to get from U.S. banks because of his bankruptcies. He made the rounds of talk shows and pitched McDonald’s burgers and Kentucky Fried Chicken in commercials. He eventually hit on the idea of selling his name to mark projects built by others around the world and began doing business with “some of the sketchiest people in the sketchiest countries,” New Yorker writer Adam Davidson explains in the documentary. Some associates were “unbelievably corrupt,” including a key investor suspected of laundering money for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Trump International Hotel and Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, Davidson adds. In 2004, Trump became the star of “The Apprentice.” The reality TV show’s creators remade the offices of the Trump Organization for “The Apprentice,” giving it what they considered a “tongue-in-cheek” look, they note in the documentary. The offices included a boardroom set reminiscent of the one from the movie “Network,” where crazed TV anchor Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, is lectured by the head of his company that “the world is a business.” “How funny to have this washed-up, five-time-bankruptcy guy who lives in a golden palace that other people are paying for” as the star of the show, says “Apprentice” supervising editor Jonathon Braun in the documentary. “We just didn’t know how many people would look at that and say, ‘That’s cool. That’s real.’” When people saw the “Apprentice” Trump as the real thing, “We all sort of rose up and said, ‘Now wait a minute, people, what we did, that was a scam. That was an entertainment,’” said series producer Bill Pruitt. Davidson suggests that the Trump presidency could be the “great con ... the great grift ... all part of the 45-year showbiz project known as the Trump Organization.” Stevens said his hope is that “The Confidence Man” convinces people to get “motivated” to change things. “The fossil fuel industry is running the country now,” he told HuffPost. “Trump doesn’t care about the environment. I worry about the next generation. I’m concerned for my children.” [...] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/documentary-profiles-trump-as-pt-barnun-of-hyped-boasts-failed-businesses_us_5a7cdae7e4b08dfc9302363d
American Spies Gave $100,000 to Russian Who Wanted to Sell Material on Trump BERLIN — After months of secret negotiations, a shadowy Russian bilked American spies out of $100,000 last year, promising to deliver stolen National Security Agency cyberweapons in a deal that he insisted would also include compromising material on President Trump, according to American and European intelligence officials. The cash, delivered in a suitcase to a Berlin hotel room in September, was intended as the first installment of a $1 million payout, according to American officials, the Russian and communications reviewed by The New York Times. The theft of the secret hacking tools had been devastating to the N.S.A., and the agency was struggling to get a full inventory of what was missing. Several American intelligence officials said they made clear that they did not want the Trump material from the Russian, who was suspected of having murky ties to Russian intelligence and to Eastern European cybercriminals. He claimed the information would link the president and his associates to Russia. Instead of providing the hacking tools, the Russian produced unverified and possibly fabricated information involving Mr. Trump and others, including bank records, emails and purported Russian intelligence data. The United States intelligence officials said they cut off the deal because they were wary of being entangled in a Russian operation to create discord inside the American government. They were also fearful of political fallout in Washington if they were seen to be buying scurrilous information on the president. The Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment on the negotiations with the Russian seller. The N.S.A., which produced the bulk of the hacking tools that the Americans sought to recover, said only that “all N.S.A. employees have a lifetime obligation to protect classified information.” The negotiations in Europe last year were described by American and European intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a clandestine operation, and the Russian. The United States officials worked through an intermediary — an American businessman based in Germany — to preserve deniability. There were meetings in provincial German towns where John le Carré set his early spy novels, and data handoffs in five-star Berlin hotels. American intelligence agencies spent months tracking the Russian’s flights to Berlin, his rendezvous with a mistress in Vienna and his trips home to St. Petersburg, the officials said. The N.S.A. even used its official Twitter account to send coded messages to the Russian nearly a dozen times. The episode ended this year with American spies chasing the Russian out of Western Europe, warning him not to return if he valued his freedom, the American businessman said. The Trump material was left with the American, who has secured it in Europe. The Russian claimed to have access to a staggering collection of secrets that included everything from the computer code for the cyberweapons stolen from the N.S.A. and C.I.A. to what he said was a video of Mr. Trump consorting with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013, according to American and European officials and the Russian, who agreed to be interviewed in Germany on the condition of anonymity. There remains no evidence that such a video exists. The Russian was known to American and European officials for his ties to Russian intelligence and cybercriminals — two groups suspected in the theft of the N.S.A. and C.I.A. hacking tools. But his apparent eagerness to sell the Trump “kompromat” — a Russian term for information used to gain leverage over someone — to American spies raised suspicions among officials that he was part of an operation to feed the information to United States intelligence agencies and pit them against Mr. Trump. Early in the negotiations, for instance, he dropped his asking price from about $10 million to just over $1 million. Then, a few months later, he showed the American businessman a 15-second clip of a video showing a man in a room talking to two women. No audio could be heard on the video, and there was no way to verify if the man was Mr. Trump, as the Russian claimed. But the choice of venue for showing the clip heightened American suspicions of a Russian operation: The viewing took place at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, the businessman said. There were other questions about the Russian’s reliability. He had a history of money laundering and a thin legitimate cover business — a nearly bankrupt company that sold portable grills for streetside sausage salesmen, according to British incorporation papers. “The distinction between an organized criminal and a Russian intelligence officer and a Russian who knows some Russian intel guys — it all blurs together,” said Steven L. Hall, the former chief of Russia operations at the C.I.A. “This is the difficulty of trying to understand how Russia and Russians operate from the Western viewpoint.” American intelligence officials were also wary of the purported kompromat the Russian wanted to sell. They saw the information, especially the video, as the stuff of tabloid gossip pages, not intelligence collection, American officials said. But the Americans desperately wanted the hacking tools. The cyberweapons had been built to break into the computer networks of Russia, China and other rival powers. Instead, they ended up in the hands of a mysterious group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, which has since provided hackers with tools that infected millions of computers around the world, crippling hospitals, factories and businesses. No officials wanted to refuse information they thought might help determine what had happened. “That’s one of the bedeviling things about counterintelligence and the wilderness that it is — nobody wants to be caught in a position of saying we wrote that off and then five years later saying, ‘Holy cow, it was actually a real guy,’” Mr. Hall said. American intelligence agencies believe that Russia’s spy services see the deep political divisions in the United States as a fresh opportunity to inflame partisan tensions. Russian hackers are targeting American voting databases ahead of the midterm election this year, they said, and using bot armies to promote partisan causes on social media. The Russians are also particularly eager to cast doubt on the federal and congressional investigations into the Russian meddling, American intelligence officials said. Part of that effort, the officials said, appears to be trying to spread information that hews closely to unsubstantiated reports about Mr. Trump’s dealings in Russia, including the purported video, whose existence Mr. Trump has repeatedly dismissed. Rumors that Russian intelligence possesses the video surfaced more than a year ago in an explosive and unverified dossier compiled by a former British spy and paid for by Democrats. Since then, at least four Russians with espionage and underworld connections have appeared in Central and Eastern Europe, offering to sell kompromat to American political operatives, private investigators and spies that would corroborate the dossier, American and European intelligence officials said. American officials suspect that at least some of the sellers are working for Russia’s spy services. The Times obtained four of the documents that the Russian in Germany tried to pass to American intelligence (The Times did not pay for the material). All are purported to be Russian intelligence reports, and each focuses on associates of Mr. Trump. Carter Page, the former campaign adviser who has been the focus of F.B.I. investigators, features in one; Robert and Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire Republican donors, in another. Yet all four appear to be drawn almost entirely from news reports, not secret intelligence. They all also contain stylistic and grammatical usages not typically seen in Russian intelligence reports, said Yuri Shvets, a former K.G.B. officer who spent years as a spy in Washington before defecting to the United States just before the end of the Cold War. American spies are not the only ones who have dealt with Russians claiming to have secrets to sell. Cody Shearer, an American political operative with ties to the Democratic Party, has been crisscrossing Eastern Europe for more than six months to secure the purported kompromat from a different Russian, said people familiar with the efforts, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid damaging their relationship with him. Reached by phone late last year, Mr. Shearer would say only that his work was “a big deal — you know what it is, and you shouldn’t be asking about it.” He then hung up. Mr. Shearer’s efforts grew out of work he first began during the 2016 campaign, when he compiled a pair of reports that, like the dossier, also included talk of a video and Russian payoffs to Trump associates. It is not clear what, if anything, Mr. Shearer has been able to purchase. Before the Americans were negotiating with the Russian, they were dealing with a hacker in Vienna known only to American intelligence officials as Carlo. In early 2017, he offered to provide them with a full set of hacking tools that were in the hands of the Shadow Brokers and the names of other people in his network, American officials said. All he wanted in exchange was immunity from prosecution in the United States. But the immunity deal fell apart, so intelligence officials decided to do what spies do best: They offered to buy the data. That is when the Russian in Germany emerged, telling the Americans he would handle the sale. Like Carlo, he had previously dealt with American intelligence operatives, American and European officials said. He served as a fixer, of sorts, brokering deals for Russia’s Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., which is the successor to the old Soviet K.G.B. American intelligence officials said that he had a direct link to Nikolai Patrushev, a former F.S.B. director, and that they knew of previous work he had done helping move illicit shipments of semiprecious metals for a Russian oligarch. By last April it appeared that a deal was imminent. Several C.I.A. officers even traveled from the agency’s headquarters to help the agency’s Berlin station handle the operation. At a small bar in the old heart of West Berlin, the Russian handed the American intermediary a thumb drive with a small cache of data that was intended to provide a sample of what was to come, American officials said. Within days, though, the deal turned sour. American intelligence agencies determined that the data was genuinely from the Shadow Brokers, but was material the group had already made public. As a result, the C.I.A. said it would not pay for it, American officials said The Russian was furious. But negotiations limped on until September, when the two sides agreed to try again. Late that month, the American businessman delivered the $100,000 payment. Some officials said it was United States government money but routed through an indirect channel. A few weeks later, the Russian began handing over data. But in multiple deliveries in October and December, almost all of what he delivered was related to 2016 election and alleged ties between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia, not the N.S.A. or C.I.A. hacking tools. In December, the Russian said he told the American intermediary that he was providing the Trump material and holding out on the hacking tools at the orders of senior Russian intelligence officials. Early this year, the Americans gave him one last chance. The Russian once again showed up with nothing more than excuses. So the Americans offered him a choice: Start working for them and provide the names of everyone in his network — or go back to Russia and do not return. The Russian did not give it much thought. He took a sip of the cranberry juice he was nursing, picked up his bag and said, “Thank you.” Then he walked out the door. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/politics/us-cyberweapons-russia-trump.html
First human eggs grown in laboratory Human eggs have been grown in the laboratory for the first time, say researchers at the University of Edinburgh. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42976858
Asteroid Skimming Past Earth May Loom Larger Than Exploding Russian Meteor A newly discovered asteroid that will fly safely past Earth today (Feb. 9) may be larger than a celestial object that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, five years ago. The newly found interloper, called 2018 CB, is estimated to be from 50 to 130 feet (15 to 40 meters) in diameter, and will fly by Earth at about 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST). "Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet — maybe only once or twice a year," said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, in a statement from the agency. 2018 CB is a small asteroid by celestial standards; the largest asteroid in our solar system, Vesta, is roughly 326 miles (525 kilometers) across. (Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt at 590 miles (950 km) across — roughly the size of Texas. It is sometimes referred to as an asteroid.) [...] https://www.space.com/39643-asteroid-flyby-larger-than-exploding-russian-meteor.html
Asteroid set for 'close' 43,300 mile flight past Earth on Friday An asteroid up to 40m in size and only discovered five days ago, is due to skim past the Earth on Friday. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43006161
The special data device SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy sent to orbit is just the start On board the Tesla Roadster that Elon Musk sent hurtling towards the sun, aiming for a long, leisurely Earth-Mars orbit, there were a few pieces of miscellaneous cargo. A so-called ‘Starman,’ which is a life-size mannequin wearing a production version of the SpaceX crew spacesuit; a miniature car created by Hot Wheels to commemorate the Roadster and its primary passenger; and something called an Arch (pronounced “Ark”), which is not so easy to summarily describe. The Arch on board is a data crystal (sort of like a Jedi Holocron if you’re a nuke for Star Wars lore) that contains all three books from Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundation trilogy. It’s actually a modest amount of data relative to the possibilities of the storage medium – in this case, a quartz silica structure which, using 5D optical storage techniques, can eventually achieve a max storage capacity of 360 terabytes on a disk just 3.75 inches in diameter. But why shoot a tiny quart disc into space? Why Foundation, and why aboard the Falcon Heavy, the crowning achievement of Elon Musk’s SpaceX private launch venture thus far? First, while the disc itself and the technology behind it (developed by University of Southampton’s Dr. Peter Kazansky and his research team) is incredibly interesting (it’s expected to last for over 14 billion years, even accounting for outer space dangers including cosmic radiation) – it’s not the definition of what an Arch actually is. That, according to Arch Mission co-founder Nova Spivack, is actually something much more ambitious, broad in scope and technology agnostic. The Arch Mission was actually inspired by Asimov’s Foundation series, which envisions an “Encyclopedia Galactica” that contains all the knowledge ever gathered by a civilization that has grown to galaxy-spanning scale. Spivack, along with co-founder Nick Slavin and a team that includes a number of council members from a wide range of background and industries, want to make this theoretical vision a functional reality – and the Arch SpaceX sent to space is the first, tiny piece of the puzzle. [...] https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/09/the-special-data-device-spacexs-falcon-heavy-sent-to-orbit-is-just-the-start/
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