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Photo: Residents of Yuchanglou, by Dāvis Kļaviņš - Residents of Yuchanglou © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Dāvis KļaviņšDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 21
The International Publicity War Between Beijing and Guo Wengui - In interviews with New York-based Mingjing News last month, Chinese real estate tycoon Guo Wengui levied unproven allegations suggesting that the corruption targeted by Xi Jinping’s ongoing CCP anti-graft campaign is more serious and pervasive than previously disclosed. Guo, also known by the name Miles Kwok, is a billionaire who left China in 2013 and currently resides in the U.S. This week, Guo spoke with Voice of America’s Chinese service for what was planned to be a three-hour interview, which the tycoon said would “drop a nuclear bomb of corruption allegations” against family members of top ranking Party officials. The U.S. government-funded media company aired only the first hour of it, cutting off the remaining scheduled interview as Interpol released a “red notice” for Guo’s arrest, confirmed to be on request from Beijing. The South China Morning Post’s Nectar Gan reports on the cut-off interview and the speculation it has invited: Washington DC-based Voice of America cut the interview short owing to “pressure from various parties”, VOA interviewee Guo Wengui, who is subject to an Interpol “red notice”, said in a video posted on his Twitter feed following the VOA interview. Government bodies in the US and China have both been blamed by some social media commentators for the abrupt ending, and differing explanations from the parties involved in the interview have left the question open. […] Sources briefed on the notice said Guo, who has close ties to disgraced former state security vice-minister Ma Jian, was suspected of giving Ma 60 million yuan in bribes. Ma is under investigation for corruption. Guo said he met officials from China’s graft-busting Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission in London last year about Ma’s case, adding that facts of the case differed from the allegations in the notice to Interpol. VOA, meanwhile, attributed the interview’s abrupt end to miscommunication. […] [Source] In a separate report, SCMP staff described the “unusually sophisticated” publicity war launched by Chinese authorities against Guo: A day before the [VOA] interview, stories about Guo being placed on an Interpol’s red notice were leaked through various channels to the media in Hong Kong, and confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday afternoon. […] Less than an hour before VOA kicked off the interview with Guo, The Beijing News, a mainland newspaper, published a long investigative story on Guo’s past, detailing his business career and controversial deals. The most surprising part of the report were new details from an “exclusively obtained video of [the disgraced former spy chief Ma Jian] testifying”. In a 27-minute-long edited monologue, Ma described in detail the bribes he received from Guo and how he used his power to help him. In an unprecedented move, the Ma video appeaded in cyberspace on YouTube, an overseas platform inaccessible from the mainland to anyone without a virtual private network (VPN). In previous cases, such “confessions” are usually aired on on state-run television. [Source] In another SCMP report, Gan describes in further detail the video alleged to be Ma Jian’s confession, in which the disgraced former vice-security minister describes aiding Guo on business deals and settling dispute, and receiving gifts including cash and properties. Guo has denied bribing Ma Jian, who in January 2015 was detained on suspicion of corruption. Caixin in March 2015 accused Guo of having conspired with Ma in a plot that toppled a former Beijing vice mayor, which the tycoon denied. Caixin later filed lawsuits agains Guo for libel and damaging their commercial reputation. As authorities attempted to influence the external narrative from the “Truth About Guo Wengui” (郭文贵 真相) YouTube account, they also made efforts to control domestic social media commentary on the tycoon. The SCMP’s Mimi Lau reports on censorship of social media speculation that followed news of the Interpol red notice, noting what information has been allowed to remain online: The top trending item was an article by state broadcaster CCTV confirming the red notice had been issued. The report was shared about 950 times, gleaning 46 comments and was “liked” 1,872 times. But of those comments, only three were accessible and none were intelligible. […]  FreeWeibo.com, a website that monitors censored posts on Weibo, listed Guo as top of its hot topics of censored searches. […] But one article about the tycoon seemed to have to have evaded the censors and attracted a wide readership on the mobile phone application of news website NetEase.com. A story by the state-run Beijing News heavily criticising Guo had more than 100,000 comments by Wednesday lunchtime. The article delved into his past and quoted people who used to work with him questioning his character and honesty. Readers expressed shock about the allegations, with many calling for his arrest and even that he be given the death penalty. [Source] In a more recent update, the SCMP’s Gan reports that Guo has blamed the termination of the scheduled VOA broadcast on a saboteur from Beijing who infiltrated the network. In coverage of the Guo Wengui case from The Guardian, Tom Phillips quotes Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Willy Lam on the unprecedented nature of Guo’s decision to share such explosive allegations with foreign media, potentially pitting himself against Xi Jinping: “It is the first time a [Chinese] billionaire, whether in or outside of China, has exposed this kind of dirty linen in public,” he said. Lam said Guo’s claims concerning the relatives of top Communist party figures had yet to be fully substantiated. Even so, they represented “a big public relations disaster for the Xi Jinping administration and for the Communist party in general” since they suggested Xi’s anti-corruption crusade had failed to halt what the president himself has described as the party’s moral slide. The scandal would reinforce the impression that, for all Xi’s efforts, the families of top leaders were still able “to make a killing” from their political connections, Lam added. “It is not a pretty picture.” […] [Source] China has long been accused of pushing for Interpol to release red notices on dissidents and refugees for political reasons. Last year, China’s former vice-minister of public security Meng Hongwei was elected president of Interpol, a decision praised by China’s Foreign Ministry but protested by rights organizations. At Foreign Policy, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports on Guo’s case in the context of suspicion that Beijing is using its influence at Interpol to globalize a domestic political purge, as well as to further other issues on Beijing’s political agenda: It’s no surprise that China is using every tool it can to go after Guo. High-level corruption is a sensitive topic in China, where President Xi Jinping has led a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and political purge that has felled some of the country’s most powerful political elites, including former security czar Zhou Yongkang and former military chief Xu Caihou. The anti-corruption campaign has cemented Xi’s own power, sweeping away opponents and helping make Xi the most influential Chinese leader in decades. […] In recent years, China has made use of red notices as it has expanded its anti-graft campaign beyond its borders. In 2015, China hailed the issuance of 100 red notices against economic fugitives, largely as part of its “Sky Net” operation, which seeks to repatriate and punish corrupt Chinese officials and businesspeople who have fled abroad. Chinese media have repeatedly emphasized the power of the Chinese authorities to reach anywhere in the world, broadcasting scenes of fugitives, such as former official Yang Xiuzhu, being escorted by police through Beijing’s airport. […] Another sign of Chinese influence over the international crime-fighting organization is the continued exclusion of Taiwan. China claims sovereignty over the self-ruling island and has worked steadily to reduce its participation in international organizations where its membership might be seen as a sign of Taiwanese nationhood. Interpol rejected Taiwan’s bid to participate in the November 2016 general assembly in which Meng was elected. [Source] Meanwhile, in other news of billionaires who appear to be caught up in Chinese political struggles, The Wall Street Journal reports on previously undisclosed business ties between missing billionaire Xiao Jianhua and the military via a highly influential arms-trading company. Xiao, a mainland tycoon known to be a former dealmaker for CCP elites, disappeared in late January after being last seen in what appeared to be an abduction situation in security camera footage at his residence in Hong Kong. The still unknown whereabouts of Xiao have led to speculation that his abduction was ordered by high-ranking Party leaders and that he is currently in China. From James T. Areddy: Firms linked to Beijing’s formidable arms-trading conglomerate, China Poly Group Corp., executed at least three recent transactions involving the billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, including a $10 million donation to Harvard University, according to corporate filings and interviews with people familiar with the transactions. The military connection casts new light on the business dealings of Mr. Xiao, who disappeared in late January from his residence in a luxury Hong Kong hotel, raising questions in China’s business community about the financier’s potential enemies and his fate. […] The Wall Street Journal examined hundreds of company records and other publicly available documents to better understand how Mr. Xiao made his money and why he might have been vulnerable. Mr. Xiao is worth over $5 billion, according to Shanghai wealth-tracking advisory Hurun Report. […] In China, few organizations can match the influence of China Poly Group, which was created in 1992 by China’s leadership and the People’s Liberation Army. Today, Poly claims annual profits in the billions of dollars from arms trading, real estate and art auctions. […] [Source] © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: billionaires, censorship, Guo Wengui, ma jian corruption case, propaganda, Voice of America, Xi anti-corruption campaign, Xiao JianhuaDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 21
Word of the Week: Dama Era - The Word of the Week comes from the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness. dàmá shídài 大麻时代 Cartoon of Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan from the viral music video “Daddy Xi Loves Mama Peng.”  (Source: qiwen.lu) Playful contraction of “Daddy Xi and Mama Peng,” terms of endearment for President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan; literally means “marijuana era.” On November 18, 2014, four men in Henan posted a music video paying homage to the marital bond between Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan. Within a week, the video had been viewed more than 20 million times. The video shows images of Xi and Peng stepping onto tarmacs and visiting foreign dignitaries, while urging listeners to learn from “Daddy Xi” and “Mama Peng.” At the New York Times, Austin Ramzy offers a translation of the lyrics. In the song, Xi is called “Daddy Xi” (Xí Dàda 习大大), where dada is a term of endearment from Shaanxi, the province of Xi’s father’s birth. State media often refer to the president as “Daddy Xi,” lending intimacy and warmth to Xi’s image. Meanwhile, Peng Liyuan is called “Mama Peng” (Péng Máma 彭麻麻), with the playful use of máma 麻麻 instead of the standard māma 妈妈. Uncharmed by the music video or the familiar appellations for Xi and Peng, netizens created a clever contraction of the “glorious era” of “Daddy Xi” and “Mama Peng” in the invention of “Dama Era.” 大麻 dàmá means marijuana, lending the abbreviation a mischievous undertone. While “Marijuana” was blocked from Weibo search results during tests on November 26, 2014, it appears to yield results on April 20, 2017. Examples: Wenshanwa (@文山娃): And so we enter the Dama Era. (November 24, 2014) 就这样进入了大麻时代。 [Chinese] * * * @hansontangbc: A reporter recently learned that at the upcoming National People’s Congress working conference, in order to fully express the masses’ love and admiration for Daddy Xi and Mama Peng, a resolution will be adopted to make “dama” the national flower of China. (November 25, 2014) 记者日前从全国人大得到消息，在即将召开的全国人大工作会议上，将通过决议，将“大麻”定为中国的国花，以充分表达人民群众对习大大和彭麻麻的热爱与崇 敬。 [Chinese] See also have everything but Daddy. Can’t get enough of subversive Chinese netspeak? Check out our latest ebook, “Decoding the Chinese Internet: A Glossary of Political Slang.” Includes dozens of new terms and classic catchphrases, presented in a new, image-rich format. Available for pay-what-you-want (including nothing). All proceeds support CDT. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: marijuana, Peng Liyuan, word of the week, Xi JinpingDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 20
Lee Ming-che’s Detention and Cross-strait Relations - Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che went missing on March 19th while entering China from Macau. Chinese authorities eventually acknowledged that he was being held on suspicion of endangering national security. His distribution of political books and promotion of Taiwanese democracy on Wechat were identified as possible causes. Despairing of official and legal channels in the face of mainland stonewalling, Lee’s wife Lee Ching-yu announced that she would travel to Beijing to seek answers, but Beijing blocked the trip and sent an intermediary to meet her in an apparent attempt to intimidate her into silence. Her plan reportedly inspired an unsuccessful asylum application this week by Chinese anti-corruption campaigner Zhang Xianzhong, who had traveled to Taiwan with a tour group, and returned home with it on Wednesday. At ChinaFile, New York University’s Jerome Cohen and Yu-Jie Chen offer a thorough examination of Lee’s case, including lingering uncertainty about his situation; the risk of torture in arbitrarily designated “national security” cases like his; Beijing’s freezing of cross-strait cooperation in response to Tsai Ing-wen’s rejection of the one China principle; its failure to give prompt notice of Lee’s detention in accordance with a bilateral legal agreement; its warnings against outside intervention and the efforts of those with “ulterior motives” to “attack the mainland”; its use of an intermediary to approach Lee Ching-yu; and whether the whole affair arose accidentally, as this middleman suggested, “as a result of an overeager provincial security officer’s desire to win favor through strict enforcement of the new Foreign NGO Management Law.” They conclude: Although it would be wise as well as humane for Beijing to release Lee Ming-che now, his case may have just begun. Yet its lessons are already worth considering. It vividly illustrates Beijing’s continuing determination to suspend the operation of important cross-strait agreements in the current political circumstances. It also exposes not only how little respect the Chinese Government has for even the minimal human rights protections enshrined in the Judicial Assistance Agreement but also the need to provide effective means for their enforcement. Beijing has met its agenda for the short term, which is to signal non-cooperation with Tsai Ing-wen’s government. The long-term consequences of destroying the reliability and legitimacy of cross-strait institutions, however, are not in its interest. If cross-strait agreements can be brushed aside by Beijing when considered politically inconvenient, they will no longer be trusted in Taiwan. What will then be left in Beijing’s toolkit for cross-strait cooperation and stability? The case also demonstrates Beijing’s distinct preference for secret negotiations through unofficial intermediaries over transparent procedures in the administration of criminal justice and for unchecked incommunicado detention over international standards of due process of law. The apparent resort to “residential surveillance” precludes reliance on protections applicable to ordinary defendants. The case seems to be an example of bureaucratic bungling due to central-local tensions and lack of coordination between overlapping agencies, and it is a warning to outsiders about the new risks they may incur in promoting human rights in China. No matter what the outcome, it has seriously worsened cross-strait relations and China’s chances for attaining “soft power.” As [Taipei’s] Mayor Ko rightly noted, China’s handling of the Lee case provides insight into why, despite all the benefits that China offers Taiwan, Beijing is not winning the hearts and minds of Taiwanese. [Source] Taipei Times’ Sean Lin reported last week on Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je’s warning that the “strange” incident would alienate Taiwan’s public, to possibly highly visible effect at August’s Summer Universiade in the island’s capital: “It is very simple. The Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) incident probably scared off half of Taiwanese, while the Lee Ming-che incident scared off the other half,” Ko said, refering to a seemingly forced apology by the Taiwanese K-pop idol after she displayed a Republic of China flag on a South Korean TV show last year. [Read more via CDT.] “Maybe they do not find it unusual, but to Taiwanese it was beyond shock and awe,” Ko said, adding that the two incidents showed a fundamental difference between Taiwanese and Chinese beliefs, which is an issue Beijing should be mindful of. […] Ko said that although Taipei’s extensive experience with dealing with protesters is enough to guarantee the safety of Chinese [Universiade] delegates, he cannot control public sentiments toward the delegation. “Who do you think spectators will root for if China and US went head-to-head in a match?” he asked. Taiwanese attitudes toward the Chinese delegation would have a profound political effect on Beijing and the world through live broadcast of the Games, he said. [Source] On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch urged China to release Lee, and highlighted his detention’s place in a series of similar recent incidents: “Chinese authorities have offered no credible evidence for the grave allegations against Li Ming-Che,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately notify Li’s family of his whereabouts, and allow his family and lawyer to visit him.” […] Since President Xi Jinping came to power in March 2013, authorities have apprehended citizens of other countries – inside and outside China – for their work helping Chinese human rights lawyers and activists or for speaking critically of Chinese leaders. Those detained include a Swedish human rights activist, Peter Dahlin; Gui Minhai, a bookseller also from Sweden; James Wang, an American businessman; and Lee Bo, a British bookseller. Some of the detainees had also been forced to give confessions on state media. Authorities have also used televised confessions to vilify detained journalists, bloggers, activists and lawyers, and increasingly have used national security charges to prosecute and imprison activists solely for their peaceful criticism of the Chinese government. Under international law, a government commits an enforced disappearance when state agents take a person into custody and then deny holding the person, or conceal or fail to disclose the person’s whereabouts. “Disappeared” people are often at high risk of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The use of televised confessions violates the right to a fair trial and can often be linked to torture or other ill-treatment. “Beijing’s persecution of those who work to advance human rights and justice in China increasingly targets non-citizens,” Richardson said. “Repeatedly levelling national security charges against peaceful activists marks another alarming escalation in Xi’s campaign against human rights.” [Source] © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: activists, detention, foreign ngos, Gui Minhai, Jerome cohen, Lee Bo, lee ming-che, legal system, Peter Dahlin, Taipei, Taiwan democracy, Taiwan relations, televised confessions, torture, tsai ing-wenDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 20
Photo: Rainy Rush Hour in Shanghai, by Gino Zhang - Rainy Rush Hour in Shanghai © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Gino ZhangDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 20
Xi Calls for Restructured Military to “Serve the Party” - At Reuters, Philip Wen reports that Xi Jinping has announced a restructuring of the People’s Liberation Army in an effort to “to transform it into a leaner fighting force with improved joint operations capability.” One of Xi’s many titles is Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. This is the latest in a series of military reforms under Xi. Centered around a new, condensed structure of 84 military units, the reshuffle builds on Xi’s years-long efforts to modernize the PLA with greater emphasis on new capabilities including cyberspace, electronic and information warfare. […] All 84 new units are at the combined-corps level, which means commanders will hold the rank of major-general or rear-admiral, the official China Daily reported Wednesday, adding that unit members would likely be regrouped from existing forces given the Chinese military was still engaged in cutting its troops by 300,000, one of the wide-ranging military reforms introduced by Xi in late 2015. Those reforms include establishing a joint operational command structure by 2020 and rejigging existing military regions, as well as streamlining troop numbers particularly in non-combat facing roles. […] “Since military reforms started it has been one step at a time,” [China Arms Control and Disarmament Association senior researcher] Xu [Guangyu] told Reuters. “The high-level framework is now in place, now this is the second phase targeting the entire mid-ranking levels of the military.” [Source] At the South China Morning Post, Laura Zhou and Minnie Chan report that after announcing the restructure, Xi called on the chief officers of the 84 mid-ranking units to ensure that the PLA “serves the Party.” Xi has issued this call to the PLA before, and last year made the similar demand that Chinese state media “speak for the Party.” Speaking at the PLA’s headquarters in Beijing on Tuesday, Xi also said the army should remain on high alert and be ready for war at any time, according to the PLA Daily website. […] He has made similar calls for the military to serve the party in the past, but this was the first one directed at the new units. […] His remarks come as the party prepares for a major congress, held once every five years, in the autumn. A majority of the seats on the Politburo Standing Committee are expected to change, and Xi is likely to use the transition to ­further consolidate his power. Xi has launched sweeping reforms of the military including an unprecedented anti-corruption drive that led to the downfall of many high-ranking officers, including former CMC vice-chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong. [Source] Read more preliminary analysis of the upcoming leadership transition at the 19th Party Congress, of recent military reforms, or of Xi’s anti-corruption drive, via CDT. In addition to the long-running issue of the PLA’s subordination to the Party, Xi’s call plays into a fresh wave of emphasis on political loyalty among lawyers, SOE executives, and others. The Economist examined these recent calls for allegiance to Xi and the Party earlier this month. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: military reform, People's Liberation Army, Xi Jinping, Xiao JianhuaDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 19
Photo: Reality, by Gauthier DELECROIX – 郭天 - Reality © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Gauthier DELECROIXDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 19
Qiao Mu: “I Quit Because I Don’t Want a Work Unit” - Early on in Xi Jinping’s ongoing campaign to enforce ideological orthodoxy throughout the Party and society at large, the president identified university campuses as important venues to “strengthen and improve ideological and political work.” In 2015, universities were ordered to expand their Marxist education curricula and textbooks “promoting Western values” were banned (some noted the irony of these two parallel directives, Marx himself being a Westerner). More recently, last month on the sidelines of the annual “Two Sessions” in Beijing, China’s Minister of Education noted that amid the campaign, student enthusiasm was low, and called for ideological education to be more “trendy.” With institutes of higher learning a frontline in Xi’s initiative for ideological conformity, liberal academics and professors have been facing increased pressure. The University of British Columbia’s Timothy Cheek, a China-focused ideological historian, told The Guardian’s Tom Phillips in 2015 that liberal academics had become “collateral damage in a much bigger political struggle,” and noted that he hadn’t seen so much pressure applied to them since the 1980s. One academic who has seen his career path disrupted amid Xi’s ideology drive is the outspokenly liberal Qiao Mu (乔木), who until tendering his resignation this month was a faculty member at Beijing Foreign Studies University. While a professor, Qiao Mu set up the university’s international news broadcasting masters track, its first non-language focused program. In addition to publishing a book on U.S. media coverage of China, Qiao Mu also wrote on sensitive topics such as censorship, and has been a regular commentator to foreign media on topics such as information control, propaganda, and China’s democratic prospects. After being suspended from teaching in 2014 for unspecified “work violations,” he was moved into the library where he worked as a librarian but maintained his title of associate professor. After continuing to feel pressure, he this month submitted his resignation: @niubi Qiao said to me BFSU will approve his resignation tomorrow and he'll begin as a freelancer or independent scholar — Gerry Shih (@gerryshih) April 11, 2017 Qiao Mu was at the center of a controversy early this year over comments he made online about how female students are often judged by male professors based on their appearance. Qiao attracted both criticism for alleged sexism, and praise for being honest about a widespread issue. He replied to the critique claiming that his words had been taken out of context. In a WeChat following his resignation on April 13, Qiao Mu described the mounting pressure and his reasons for resigning. The WeChat post was censored, but has been preserved by FreeWecChat and archived on CDT Chinese. CDT has translated the WeChat post in full: How Can You Not Have a Work Unit? I Quit Precisely Because I Don’t Want a Work Unit By Qiao Mu I resigned yesterday. As I was going through the resignation procedures with the various departments, they all asked: Where are you going? I said I wasn’t going anywhere. They didn’t understand. How could you not have a work unit? I told them I quit precisely because I didn’t want a work unit. I came to Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in 2002, after receiving my doctorate from Tsinghua University. At BFSU, I established their International News Broadcasting major program. I served as director for eight years, during which time I was responsible for establishing the curriculum and for graduate student training and international exchange. I put everything I had into producing BFSU’s first group of non-language majors. After years of hard work, we were awarded with the official distinction of being a first-class news journalism program. True talent attracts its due attention. The hard times were over, the good times just beginning. During the grandest of times, I was surrounded by beautiful women, a forest of legs. I was in control of hundreds of thousands in program and training fees. In 2010 we received sponsorship to send ten students to South Africa to report on the World Cup for a month. I lectured, participated in conferences, conducted on-site studies, participated in cooperative programs throughout China and abroad. I even had a few meetings at the Central Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Education. And I became familiar with a few of Xinhua News’ vice-ministerial-level leaders and their wives. Of course, teaching and research are the foundation of professorial work. I didn’t dare rest on my laurels for even a moment. My first scholarly work, “The Dragon in the Eagle’s Eye–US Media Coverage of China,” was published ten years ago. The book release seminar was the first of its kind ever held at BFSU, and it was attended by many distinguished guests. The director of research excitedly told me that the school had money set aside in the budget for things like this, but he had no idea how to spend it. You’re the first to do this kind of event. How wonderful! Do a great job so we can hold a lot of events like this in the future! I won’t list out all of my other articles and works here. But compared to many broadcast journalism scholars, I have an advantage in terms of my English ability, allowing me to give more interviews, provide commentary, and write. I engage in more interaction with both domestic and international media and with academia. I’ve served as judge and expert for numerous national-level awards and provincial-level programs. Of course, I never lost sight of my original purpose–as a political science PhD researching democracy and people’s livelihoods, and as a journalism professor advocating independent media. Practice what you preach, right? Isn’t this be the way it should be? These past few years, there have been all kinds of changes. They first said the things I was saying were not appropriate for a director. So I resigned from that post. Then they said I wasn’t being positive in my research, that I was being careless in the articles I was publishing. How could I be fit to judge professors? Alright, I won’t; I’ll retire to assistant professor. Finally, they said, “Why don’t you go be the library manager?” That was September 2014, three years ago. Although I was stunned, I thought a big job like this would definitely be an opportunity for long-term learning. No professor had ever been reassigned at BFSU before, and not just anyone could be library manager. Many people asked me why I was transferred. The school wasn’t able to give a reason, and I wasn’t going to make any guesses. Perhaps it all started with the 2011 election for the Haidian District People’s Congress. Being a researcher of political broadcasting, I conducted a community experiment. Though my name was not on the ballot, I received the 2nd most votes in the BFSU voting district. The only person elected whose name was on the official ballot was the vice president of the university. He received just over 50% of the vote, barely winning. Three years later he was promoted to president. A few months after that I went to the library. He was also a very prestigious individual. As an actor inside the system, I chose a different path, and so I naturally arrived at a different destination. My wife said, “Just do it, but if you don’t, you won’t die. Think of the great reception your wife and daughter used to have accompanying you on trips as a visiting scholar to the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong… Now when my colleagues ask me to get your help with their kids’ schooling, I’m embarrassed to tell them what you’re doing.” Though she did complain, my wife has given me tremendous support over the years. Years ago when I resigned from my job to go back to school to get my doctorate, I was looking forward to a bright future. Then, with nothing to our names, she was supporting the family financially. Our rented apartment didn’t have heat, and the electricity wasn’t strong enough to run an electric heater. All we could do was huddle together for warmth, bundled underneath quilts reading “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Sun Also Rises.” Like speculating in the stock market, you can’t just look at performance and dividends. More importantly, you have to look at long-term potential to see if a certain stock is in line with the trends of time and determine if it’s worth it to hold for the long term. From big-name professor to manager, to being completely flushed out, deeply aggrieved. My stock couldn’t drop any lower. When you hit the bottom you’re supposed to rebound. Where could that V-shaped rebound be? We all came to BFSU together years ago. We’ve all become professors, many are deans, doctoral advisors, and one is vice president. At one point the vice president regretfully told me: “This position should have gone to you.” I said how could I be qualified for such a position? In my heart, I didn’t even think I had what it took to be a department head. Then he became a congressional representative, elected during the first elections. Later he called in the Ministry of Education to investigate me. I say, how could you run a university in such a sinister fashion? This vice president is very talented. He once delivered a lecture to the entire university titled “The U.S. Crisis and China’s Rise.” And he’s raised his child well. His son went to graduate school in the U.S. We asked what his plans were for his son’s future. We’ll see how it goes, he replied, but first he’ll stay in the States for awhile. And I, a hopeless low beta, can only hope to be a loser. Sometimes I’m not so resigned to this fate. What leverage could someone have over me? I’ve never done anything illegal, or undisciplined, or committed misconduct that would warrant this result. These years I’ve been investigated outside and in, especially when some bored celebrity with 60 million followers called for a human flesh search for many days. Nothing was found. Not even the potential for anything. What a waste of resources, to have the ability to do something, but to choose not to. And there were two other professors whose issues with their mistresses eventually got the school involved. One of them was kept from becoming a director, though he’s still a professor. The other was temporarily suspended from teaching class, but he remains at the department. As for all the dirt and scandals I’ve heard relayed to me through students, parents, colleagues, retired teachers, and other channels, things they dare to be angered about but dare not to bring up, it’s obvious you’re all just trying to manage the reaction to what your organization does. You don’t care about the organization itself. There’s enough to fill a memoir. That celebrity, for example, was on the official payroll, and leadership was fine with it for years. As for me, just a full-time professor, I’ve been made lonely and desolate, sweeping floors and translating books in the library. When I was resigning, I was chatting with one of the leaders saying that all these years, all I did was speak and write. So many colleagues had committed all kinds of misconduct, but none of them were ever dealt with. Nor was anyone ever reassigned. He said those others didn’t have any social influence. I said what about Kong Qingdong of Peking University, publicly berating people and showing off? Or, Han Deqiang of the Beihang University beating people in the streets? Their social influence is surely big enough, right? Professor Zhang Ming is out there screaming every day, and I haven’t seen the school do anything about it. He said that’s Peking University and Beihang University–we’re a lot smaller here. As for what I’ll do after I resign, I’m not yet sure. First I’ll write the crowdfunded book I promised to write. But more importantly, I’ll need to get used to my new life. As an assistant professor-level library manager, I still made over 200 thousand yuan a year, pre-tax. It’s a pampered life. I had public healthcare, a generous pension. My three months of winter and summer break are also gone. Now I’m on vacation every day. So, why resign? A political science PhD can’t talk about democracy and constitutionalism. A journalism professor has to be against a free media. Even Tchaikovsky couldn’t play a symphony with enough sorrow for my situation. Additionally, who the hell could ever say I ever “ate a meal and then smashed the bowl”? I’ve never eaten someone else’s lunch–I lived off of my own talent and hard work. And, as a taxpayer, I still contributed to our national rice bowl. Rousseau said, “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” At least after I resigned my speech is no longer censored by anyone but myself and the internet censors, and no organization is monitoring my Weibo everyday, compiling a file on me. It wasn’t easy to resign either. When the school was going through my files, they’d sometimes say they agreed to accept my resignation after researching my file (a colleague of mine in the meeting said they were conducting research on me until 10:30 last night). Other times, they’d say that I was being expelled. They’re so used to managing people, always sending people here and there, that they just can’t help it. As I was resigning, people in the various departments were stunned. You’re really resigning? Some were worried. How could you be without a work unit? You’re already 46? Some were supportive. You did the right thing resigning. With skill, what do you have to fear? Some were sneering from ear to ear. We can finally drop this hot potato. I ran into a long-time instructor I knew from the teacher’s union. He knew that I had been chosen for 10 consecutive years as a representative to the teacher’s union and labor union congress. He had voted against me before, brought up opinions that differed from mine. Hearing I was leaving, he said: “This bunch of scum is going to be able to do whatever they want even more now.” I said: “Don’t say things like this.” He said he was retiring soon. There was another, an older woman, who told me in the hallway with great earnestness, “Oh, you! Tossed to the library from being a professor, then tossed out of the library to resignation… I know you won’t starve out there. Just be practical and make money, take care of your wife and kid. You understand a lot. Don’t let yourself get tossed around like this anymore. You can’t change the heavens.” I said, “If I had the same view of the future as you, why wouldn’t I just go about being a naive professor in the first place? If I thought the future couldn’t be changed, why would I bother resigning now?” She said: “I can’t win an argument with you. At any rate, nothing will change in my lifetime.” I smiled and said: “Then I wish you a long and healthy life.” My wife says I’m the darling of the library. Sometimes my daughter makes fun of me. She’s 10. I take her to school and pick her up every day. We talk on the road. Changing society is difficult. Being diligent towards children will change things eventually. My daughter is growing by the day. I tell her that when her grandpa was young, he answered the call to war, but in the end, that didn’t change society. He used reflection and writing to change me. I did what I had to do. Even if nothing ever changes, when you’re older you’ll be affected by it to some degree. Uncle Wang Keqin went from being an investigative reporter to someone outside of the establishment. He started a charity called the Save Pneumoconiosis Fund, calling attention to 6 million sufferers of Pneumoconiosis. To use his words: “Hard work won’t necessarily change anything, but without hard work you can be sure nothing ever will change.” April 12, 2017 Translation by Little Bluegill. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: ideology, liberalism, Qiao Mu, River Crabbed, universities, WeChat, Western valuesDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 19
“Hollywood Can’t Exist Without China” - The increasingly interdependent relationship between China and Hollywood can be seen in the recent surge of trade and investment deals in the film industry and in the way China is portrayed in American films. In recent talks in Florida, President Trump and President Xi reportedly agreed to increase the number of American movies allowed for import as part of an effort to ease China’s trade deficit with the U.S. That quota, which currently allows 34 movies to be imported per year, has long been tightly controlled as Beijing has aimed to limit the influence and market share of foreign movies. Now Hollywood producers are eager to placate Chinese censors in order to get a share of the lucrative and growing market of Chinese filmgoers. In an article for the Wall Street Journal, Erich Schwartzel looks at the ways Hollywood is increasingly reliant on China: “We never thought of China 10 years ago. Now, we’re at a point where Hollywood can’t exist without China,” said Adam Goodman, a former production chief at Paramount Pictures. He now runs a film-production company backed by Le Eco, a Beijing-based technology company. Private and state-backed Chinese companies have invested tens of billions of dollars in U.S. film ventures over the past decade. The relationship comes with strings attached. Chinese authorities, censors and consumers influence nearly every aspect of American moviemaking in China, from scripts to casting to greenlighting sequels. “We’re in a moment of significant disruption,” said Richard Lovett, president of Creative Artists Agency, which represents such clients as Sandra Bullock and J.J. Abrams. The firm announced Monday it was expanding its footprint in the country with a division called CAA China. China’s ambition befits the big screen—to compete with the U.S. as a global storyteller and spread its perspective in the same fashion American filmmakers have for a century. [Source] Read more about the CAA deal via the Los Angeles Times. In return for the investment in American productions and the ability to screen to Chinese audiences, some Hollywood directors and producers are softening the way China is portrayed in their movies. Looper outlines nine examples of Hollywood movies that were changed apparently to placate Chinese authorities: Read more about the deepening relationship between Hollywood and China in an interview with UCLA professor Michael Berry. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: exporting censorship, film industry, hollywoodDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 19
A Tycoon’s Accusations, and the Limits of China’s Anti-corruption Campaign [Updated] - The number of prosecutions under Xi Jinping’s signature anti-corruption campaign fell last year for the first time since its inception, and commentators have noted a shift in Party disciplinarians’ focus from fighting graft to enforcing political orthodoxy. Nevertheless, Reuters Christian Shepherd reports, corruption investigations continue, not least within the disciplinary apparatus itself: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a online statement on its website that a vice-ministerial level inspector from the Central Inspection Team, Zhang Huawei, was under investigation for suspected “serious disciplinary violations”, a common euphemism for graft. Zhang could not be reached for comment. The CCDI has in recent months made efforts to show it is serious about tackling corruption within its own ranks, which it refers to as “darkness hiding beneath the light.” The CCDI began 2017 by airing a three-part television series focusing on cases where graft-busters had been caught on the take and releasing a new series of rules to guard against abuses of power by disciplinary officials. [Source] At The New York Times, Michael Forsythe reports accusations of corruption among the family of the CCDI’s former chief: […] In two rambling interviews with a New York-based media company lasting more than four hours, Guo Wengui, a real estate magnate, described what he said was a ferocious struggle that culminated two years ago in the collapse of a business deal pitting him against relatives of a retired top Communist Party official, He Guoqiang. […] If Mr. Guo is to be believed, Mr. Xi, when he assumed leadership of the Communist Party in November 2012, may have faced a far more serious corruption problem than has been publicly disclosed, touching not only the departing chief of the country’s security forces but perhaps also the top official in charge of rooting out graft in the party’s own ranks, Mr. He. Both were members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the elite body that wields supreme power in China. The former head of the security forces, Zhou Yongkang, was prosecuted on graft charges and is now serving a life sentence in prison. But there is no report that Mr. He or members of his family have been prosecuted. To Mr. Guo, that demonstrates the weakness of the corruption crackdown: Among the elite, the campaign touches only those who are already on the losing side of factional power struggles. [Source] [Updated at 21:09 PDT on Apr 18, 2017: South China Morning Post reports that Interpol has issued a red notice for Guo—”a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition”—at Beijing’s request for allegedly bribing former state security vice-minister Ma Jian with almost US$9 million.] The extent to which the corruption crackdown’s targets are determined by conventional factional lines is disputed, but as Yale Law School’s Graham Webster has commented, “there are clearly choices made on whom to target, and political analysts clearly don’t know exactly how they’re made.” On Louisa Lim and Graeme Smith’s Little Red Podcast this week, Minxin Pei—author of “China’s Crony Capitalism“—argues that Xi’s administration is “certainly trying” to clean up corruption, but that the current campaign also serves distinctly political objectives. In so doing, he adds, it has endangered the very Party unity Xi is so intent on building by reinstating “the kind of life and death struggle reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. […] Since 2012, Chinese elites have realised that if you lost a power struggle, you’re going to lose everything.” On Twitter, Forsythe recapped previous reporting on the business dealings of Party elites’ families, including the fallen Zhou’s: 1/3: NYT has now profiled the family fortunes of 5 of the 9 members of China's Politburo Standing Committee which served from 2007 to 2012. — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) April 18, 2017 2/3: In 2012 there was @DavidBarboza2 ‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning story on Wen Jiabao’s family fortune:https://t.co/5vfsK97fLY — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) April 18, 2017 .@DavidBarboza2 3.: In 2014 we had Zhou Yongkang:https://t.co/O9OkmJGciT 4. And Xi Jinping plus Jia Qinglin:https://t.co/1ysGrm9vJp — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) April 18, 2017 .@DavidBarboza2 In 2015 we came back to Jia Qinglin again, plus more Wen Jiabao and Xi Jinping:https://t.co/cfzOTtIJof — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) April 18, 2017 .@DavidBarboza2 I would also post the 2012 Bloomberg story on Xi Jinping’s family fortune, but Bloomberg has removed it from the internet. — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) April 18, 2017 Read more via CDT on the Bloomberg investigation—written by Forsythe and others prior to his move to the Times—and the subsequent “defanging” of the organization’s China coverage in the face of pressure from Chinese authorities. The aggressive response to such reporting, together with the demolition of citizen anti-corruption activism, underlines the Party’s determination to preserve a strict monopoly on policing its own ranks. Forsythe described the process of investigating Guo’s allegations in another Twitter thread, concluding that “there’s so much more to this story. […] So much left unsaid, untweeted.” Threats to the integrity of the anti-corruption drive also exist at much lower levels than the senior ranks of the CCDI. Earlier this month, Sixth Tone reported on an Anhui mailman sentenced to 22 months in prison for intercepting mail addressed to the local disciplinary organs, and taking money from implicated officials in return for the incriminating documents. These actions, the Legal Evening News lamented, “gravely harmed the glorious image the public holds of the Party and the government.” In another report for Reuters last week, Christian Shepherd described how corruption has similarly impeded the work of another department feared by lower-level officials: Since ancient times, many of China’s disenfranchised, as a last resort, have aired their grievances to the top leadership in Beijing using written letters and in-person visits. […] But for years, top officials in Beijing, including the former vice chairman of the [State Bureau for Letters and Calls], Xu Jie, took bribes to make cases disappear, according to an article published on Sunday by Prosecutorial View. Xu had amassed gifts and cash worth 5.5 million yuan ($796,900) and was jailed for 13 years in 2015, the official magazine of the Shanghai government prosecutors said. Xu and a crew of underlings had helped local bureaux from across China fiddle the details of cases so they never appeared in the records, helping to avoid embarrassment for the provincial officials, the magazine said. [Source] At South China Morning Post on Saturday, meanwhile, Jun Mai reported on fears surrounding the proposed unification of Party and state disciplinary bodies into a new National Supervisory Commission, following CCDI chief Wang Qishan’s comments in February that “there is no such thing as separation between the party and the government […,] only a division of functions.” While some have welcomed the move, viewing the cohesion brought about by the forming of the commission as a useful tool in stamping out rampant corruption and making the party’s opaque anti-graft operations more accountable, it has also stoked concerns the restructuring marks the beginning of a fusing of the state and the party, making the prospect of liberal political reform even more remote. […] Wang’s remark went against the common sense of many Chinese, and could signal a regression of political development, Qin Qianhong, a law professor at Wuhan University, said. […] Zhen Zhen, the deputy director of Beijing’s prosecutors office, said lawyers would not be allowed to help officials being investigated by the new commission. The new arrangement would make investigations on a par with shuanggui, a highly controversial party investigative procedure which has often been criticised for resorting to coercion. [See background via CDT] Some members of the legal profession have expressed concerns that the merger might lessen protection of human rights. [Source] On the Little Red Podcast, Pei suggests that inspection bodies are in any case a basically flawed approach to uprooting corruption. He says that “corruption has been structured into the political economy and the governance system of China,” which “has a very well developed corruption market […] that the current campaign […] cannot destroy.” Instead, the crackdown has simply driven corruption further underground and temporarily “suspended trading in this corruption market.” The real source of corruption “is not some moral failing of China’s Communist Party members,” but the fact that “these members, these officials control enormous wealth, and their power is not monitored by a free press, by civil society, and they are protected by powerful patrons inside the system. So the incentives are there for them to use their power to grab a piece of this enormous wealth. And as long as that situation remains unchanged, I just don’t see how anti-corruption campaigns can make a permanent difference.” © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, corruption, He Guoqiang, Minxin Pei, new york times, party discipline, petitioners, Wang Qishan, Xi anti-corruption campaignDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallApr 18

The Eyeopener from CBC Radio Calgary (Highlights)

Eyeopener Podcast for April 21, 2017 - Today's podcast: New gravel pit upsets Bridlewood residents; marathon runner Gerry Miller talks about completing the Boston Marathon at the age of 80; new program helps doctors recognize signs of domestic abuse.Apr 20
Eyeopener Podcast for April 20, 2017 - Flames eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoffs; WestJet announces new low-cost airline; FUBAR celebrates 15th anniversary with a CUFF screening.Apr 19
Eyeopener Podcast for April 19, 2017 - Province offers new energy efficiency rebates; Sunshine Village parking dispute continues; why Costco makes us cranky.Apr 18
Eyeopener podcast for Tuesday April 18 - On today's podcast: Park Plus cameras in your neighbourhood; launching the first made-in-Alberta satellite; an inside look at Calgary's new bird training school; and how to spring clean your finances.Apr 17
Eyeopener podcast for Monday April 17 - On today's podcast: In defence of Shakespeare in Alberta schools; a tale of two cities, Eric Francis on the Flames and the Oilers; gardening expert Kath Smyth on some Easter dibbling.Apr 16
Eyeopener Podcast for April 13, 2017 - The privacy commissioner is looking for changes in processing freedom of information requests; how a small Alberta community won the fight to keep their one room school house open; the end The Gauntlet at the U of C; and W. Brett Wilson of Dragons Den.Apr 12
Eyeopener Podcast for April 12, 2017 - Drumheller institution lockdown where guards are scouring the facility for carfentanyl; an update on three bear cubs that were found in a washroom near Banff; and the NDP's No-Charge Energy Savings Program.Apr 11
Eyeopener Podcast for April 11, 2017 - Today's podcast: Gabor Lukacs on United controversy; Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier; Author Mark Kingwell on how baseball and philosophy intersect; why a slower speed limit could mean a faster commute.Apr 10
Eyeopener Podcast for April 10, 2017 - Former Calgary alderman Margot Aftergood runs again for city council; Flames get ready for a playoff series against Anaheim; casting concerns at Calgary Opera; rent-a-chicken services in southern Alberta.Apr 9
Eyeopener Podcast for April 7 - In this episode; How highly prized ice core samples melted at a Calgary university; the possibility of a hyper-loop from Calgary to Edmonton; and should Scotland become a province of Canada?Apr 6

di

Daily Kos

Students at Western Kentucky University demand free tuition, reparations for black students - Part of the problem when it comes to the history of race relations in the United States is our unwillingness to come to terms with the truth of our past, its influence on the present and to have an honest and meaningful conversation about it. Reparations for slavery, whether one is in agreement with it or not, is a part of that conversation. In 2014, Ta-Nehisi Coates laid out one of the most comprehensive, well-researched recent think pieces on the subject for The Atlantic which is a must read. But of course, Coates was not the first person to publicly talk about reparations for black Americans, nor will he be the last. In fact, since 1989, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has consistently introduced a bill to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery in the U.S. and take appropriate actions based on the findings. The students at Western Kentucky University also agree that this is a conversation worth having. On Tuesday, the student government voted in favor of giving slavery reparations to black students. “We demand reparations for the systemic denial of access to high quality educational opportunities in the form of full and free access for all black people (including undocumented, currently and formerly incarcerated people to Western Kentucky University),” the resolution reads, according to the Daily News. [...] “Due to discriminatory education, housing and employment policies that have disproportionately held back Black Americans, we believe this resolution is ultimately a conversation starter for discussing how to make college both more affordable and accessible for communities of color and marginalized people in general,” he wrote in an email. A conversation that links reparations to the systematic denial of access to educational opportunities to black people is appropriate and timely. Many academic institutions had ties to the slave trade. Georgetown University recently acknowledged this last year, as well as offering an admissions advantage to the descendants of enslaved people as part of atoning for its participation in the shameful legacy of slavery and racism dating back nearly 200 hundred years when it sold 272 slaves to pay off debt. Let’s get real, though. How much of this will translate beyond words into actual action? Conversations and gestures are a good start—especially since many of us have a hard time even sincerely considering this subject. And symbolism is important. But as a nation, we are deeply divided on this subject. And it doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon. 16 min
Companies donated twice as much to Trump's inauguration as to any other—because Trump can be bought - If there's one thing we learned during Donald Trump's campaign, full of events at his own properties and bills for his own branded products and services, it was that Trump is a man who lives for the petty grift. Whether it be the revelations of just how blindly crooked "Trump University" was set up to be (and dear God, we should never get over that) or charging his own campaign $1 million to set themselves up on a vacant, hollowed-out floor of Trump tower, the man made it perfectly clear that his integrity was for sale at blowout prices. So it seems obvious that those seeking favors from the incoming grifter-in-chief would rush to buy a cheap piece of Trump. Some of the country’s wealthiest Republicans and its largest corporations had similar impulses. Documents released this week by Mr. Trump’s inaugural organizers provide a glimpse of the big-dollar frenzy of influence-seeking and peacemaking surrounding Mr. Trump’s swearing-in, which raised $107 million, twice as much money as any other inauguration. Not only did Trump collect twice as much cash as any previous inauguration effort, just think how little of that cash needed to go toward crowd control! Some of that "twice as much money as any other inauguration" came from the usual suspects. Billionaire Robert Mercer, seemingly omnipresent benefactor of efforts to bring "alt-right" racism into the mainstream, and perennial Republican candidate-buyer Sheldon Adelson both plunked down cash. Much of the rest comes from corporations seeking favors. At least $10 million — about one out of every $10 raised — came from coal, oil, and gas companies or their executives. 48 min
FBI tries to crack down on the internal leaks - The FBI is getting another public relations makeover of sorts starting from the inside out—it amounts to "Quit the leaks, dammit." CNN writes: The FBI is overhauling its media policy, restricting contacts between the news media and its employees amid controversy over alleged leaks, bureau officials told CNN. The new media policy was rolled out this week at a conference in Washington attended by FBI special agents in charge of its 56 field offices, according to officials who attended. Hmm, why now? Oh yeah, cuz journalist reports of contacts between Trump associates and Russian operatives is eating the White House alive. It's worth noting that many of those reports, fueled by anonymous sources, have proven correct. FBI director James Comey all but confirmed a number of them when he testified last month that the bureau is indeed investigating potential coordination between the Trump camp and the Russians. Now admittedly, in an ideal world, FBI leaks probably aren't ideal and hopefully wouldn't even be necessary. But that's a fantasy world that doesn't exist right now. Like everything in Trumpland, the FBI's new policy has a schizophrenic feel to it. In recent years, Comey has been attempting to give the public more of a peek behind the scenes. A new television series airing later this month will give viewers a glimpse of how the FBI handled certain security issues such as the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. Comey answered questions following a Washington premiere of the series. "I worry sometimes that people don't know us," Comey said during a discussion following a screening of the show. "We did a lot last year that confused people..." 8:31 AM
Trumpism and the danger of willful ignorance - Humans are all born ignorant. We may mature into the most knowledgeable creatures on Earth, but at the start, we’re about as intellectually helpless as any mammal on the eutherian side of a marsupial. Sadly, many of us stay relatively ignorant our whole lives, mostly not by choice. But for a few, ignorance is willful, intentional, and terminal. Trumpism carries that further: What is key though is to understand that this is not just ignorance. Ignorance is just the first stage of Trump’s fairly advanced problem. He is not only ignorant but clearly unaware of his level of ignorance. This is compounded by a seeming inability to understand that everyone else isn’t equally ignorant to him. Those of us who are parents know the wonder of discovery experienced by small children. … But Donald Trump is a 70 year old man.  There are certainly highly educated, well-informed Trump voters. But in almost every case I know of personally, those voters have had to suspend or completely up-end their beliefs on any number of issues, and instead accept—or at least pretend to accept—ideas they once knew and professed to be utter and complete nonsense. It’s as though they’ve had to adjust their own cognitive skill set way down to Trump’s level in order to dismiss the possibility that he is an unqualified ignoramus. Trump’s willful ignorance isn’t just embarrassing and complete, it doesn’t stop merely at disturbing or potentially dangerous. This brand of willful ignorance now appears to be both contagious and progressive, a mind-hack that spreads through social and traditional media like a virus, sets up in its human host, and then gets worse. And while it may not turn its victims into walking dead zombies, the result sure seems akin in some respects to cult fanaticism, in that it destroys intellectual honesty and impairs any prior memory that would conflict with the newly inserted belief. 8:00 AM
Voting Rights Roundup: Georgia lawmaker admits GOP gerrymandered the 6th District to stop Democrats - Leading Off ● Georgia: Gerrymandering is a seedy business where legislators often go to extremes to hide their true motivations: maximizing partisan advantage for their own party. But every so often, someone on the inside will let the mask slip and acknowledge the truth. As Democrats continue to give Republicans the fight of their lives in the special election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, a historically Republican seat in the northern Atlanta suburbs, state Sen. Fran Millar said the quiet part out loud at a Republican breakfast meeting right before last Tuesday’s primary: "I’ll be very blunt: These lines were not drawn to get Hank Johnson’s protégé to be my representative. And you didn’t hear that. They were not drawn for that purpose, OK? They were not drawn for that purpose." Campaign Action Millar is referring above to Democratic nominee Jon Ossoff, who previously worked for Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson and just advanced to a hotly contested June runoff in a seat that has been Republican for decades. He’s also absolutely right: As Daily Kos Elections has demonstrated, the district’s current boundaries played an instrumental role in ensuring that Georgia Democrats hold just three congressional districts in the Atlanta area instead of the four that simple math suggests they ought to hold. It’s also not hard to feel that there’s a racial element to Millar’s remarks: Johnson, who serves the neighboring 4th District, is African-American, while the 6th has always been represented by white Republicans. Referring to Ossoff as Johnson’s “protégé” sounds like yet another attempt to suggest he doesn’t “belong” in the 6th District. And Millar deserves no benefit of the doubt: Three years ago, he vowed to shut down early voting in DeKalb County (where part of the 6th is located) because it was “dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches.” Millar’s admission that Republicans intentionally drew the 6th District to ensure that they would win it does more than just expose the GOP’s flagrant efforts to twist the democratic process to its own benefit. It could also potentially come back to bite Republicans in court. Several major cases currently working their way toward the Supreme Court could finally result in the justices imposing limits on gerrymandering for partisan gain. By admitting what the GOP’s motivation was in drawing the 6th, Millar may have just handed opponents of gerrymandering a smoking gun. 7:10 AM
Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: March for science in a neighborhood near you - There are 609 satellite marches. Find them here.  xWhy do science and technology matter? "I suppose I should address this basic question." - Obama Science Advisor Holdren @aaas #ScienceMarch pic.twitter.com/kfsa6feUvO— Cristin Dorgelo (@cristindorgelo) April 21, 2017 Politico: A majority of voters now support admitting refugees from Syria into the United States, a reversal from a year-and-a-half ago, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. Fifty-seven percent of registered voters support accepting Syrian refugees into the country, the poll shows, while only 38 percent oppose accepting refugees from the war-torn, Middle Eastern nation. 5:30 AM
Open thread for night owls: Trump's FCC rolls back business broadband price caps. It'll cost you. - Trump's new FCC chief, Ajit Pai, has wasted no time rolling back already-established consumer protections. The latest is the rollback of price caps for broadband services to small businesses: [T]he FCC voted today to approve a controversial plan to deregulate the $45 billion market for business-to-business broadband, also known as Business Data Services (BDS), by eliminating price caps that make internet access more affordable for thousands of small businesses, schools, libraries and hospitals. The price caps, which have been in place for years, are designed to protect small businesses and other community institutions from predatory behavior by monopoly broadband providers like AT&T and Verizon. [...] "This is crony capitalism that favors broadband giants, is anti-business, and kicks consumers," Chip Pickering, CEO of pro-competition tech industry trade group INCOMPAS, said in a recent statement. According to Pickering, Pai's BDS proposal is likely to result in a 25 percent broadband price increase for small businesses, ultimately costing consumers billions of dollars per year—dollars that will flow straight into the corporate coffers of companies like AT&T and Verizon. • An Activists’ Calendar of Resistance Events • Indivisible’s list of Resistance Events & Groups TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES TWEET OF THE DAY xTrump is literally holding poor Americans health care hostage for the wall he said/lied Mexico was paying for. https://t.co/9Bjq126ujS— John Aravosis (@aravosis) April 21, 2017 BLAST FROM THE PAST At Daily Kos on this date in 2009—The Tortured Path: It seems transparently obvious to Washington, to the Obama administration and its allies, to the Republicans and the Democrats of Congress, to all the very important people working very serious jobs, that while we can with great fanfare and self-satisfaction no longer torture prisoners in our care -- a war crime, in any context not involving ourselves -- it is far more challenging a proposition to think that we would actually take steps to enforce the myriad laws and conventions against it. And in that sense, torture by the United States of America is as good as legalized, because we have all but declared that it will never be that illegal, the kind of illegal that leads to investigations and punishment. It will merely remain a deplorable act -- a war crime, in any context not involving us doing the torture -- that we will never, ever use, except when we do, and without consequence. We will not condone it but, like in Serbia, or Guatemala, or Cambodia, or the thugs of any one of a hundred pissant groups and countries that used the practice to vicious effect, when to their advantage, we will ignore the laws, the treaties and conventions, and we will not prosecute our torturers. Or, God forbid, those that specifically ordered the practice. Or those that sought to legalize it, on pen and paper, with arguments comprehensible only to sociopaths or monsters. On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: How will The Donald vacation/melt down this weekend? Read up on the next name coming under the microscope. Jeff Gannon x a million! Media Matters’ Matt Gertz documents the Bannon/Mercer axis that should, by rights, deny Breitbart press credentials. x Embedded Content YouTube | iTunes | LibSyn | Keep us on the air! Donate via Patreon or Square Cash Apr 21
In an unprecedented move, Trump White House names a chief of staff ... for his 'special assistant' - After Donald Trump was elected, he said his children would serve no role in his administration: Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, said Thursday that none of his children are planning to formally join their father’s administration, but didn’t respond to questions about whether any might play an informal role. Only a few months later, it was announced Ivanka Trump would join the administration as a senior adviser to Donald Trump. The role is unpaid, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t costing taxpayers a bundle. In an unprecedented move, the “special” assistant to the president has hired a chief of staff. From Politico: Ivanka Trump is quietly staffing up, and she’s filling out her team in the West Wing with former officials from President George W. Bush’s administration. In addition to her close adviser Dina Powell, who served as chief of the personnel office in the Bush White House, the first daughter — who now serves as a special assistant to the president — has hired a chief of staff who worked under Bush’s education secretary, Margaret Spellings. That’s not all. Ivanka Trump is also getting her own taxpayer-funded spokesman: Radford’s role as an official chief of staff to a first daughter is unique. Ivanka Trump is focused on women’s issues, but she also has been described by her attorney as a looming presence who serves as “her father’s eyes and ears” in the White House. Ivanka Trump also has an assistant, and she continues to work closely with her father’s longtime senior communications adviser, Hope Hicks, who worked for the Trump Organization before joining the campaign. She also retains an outside spokeswoman. A White House official declined to comment on how many more staffers she planned to hire. Is this what Trump voters had in mind?  Apr 21
OFA to launch ads pressuring Republicans in Latino districts to oppose wall, deportation force - As Kerry Eleveld noted earlier this week, Democrats are already promising to walk from any government funding deal that includes money for Donald Trump’s border wall (that Mexico was supposed to pay for, right?) and his ruthless, mass deportation force. Now they’re getting a major assist from the organizing effort that helped get Barack Obama in the White House: The progressive group that grew out of former President Barack Obama's campaigns is making its first big move since Obama left office, targeting potential swing votes in Congress with digital ads ahead of a government funding fight over President Donald Trump's proposed border wall. Organizing for Action's digital ad campaign is focusing on heavily Latino districts and states represented by Senate and House Republicans. The aim is to pressure members not to go along with the White House's demand for funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which the administration has said will cost $21 billion. (Senate Democrats estimate the actual cost is closer to $70 billion.) “The group's ads, which will start appearing on Facebook on Monday, tell users to call their representatives and ask them ‘not to fund the administration's wall and deportation force,’” notes Politico. “The ads target Nevada Sen. Dean Heller and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, the two Senate Republicans considered most vulnerable to Democratic challengers in 2018.” Recent polling already has Democrats showing much more enthusiasm than Republicans when it comes to the 2018 election, thanks to unpopular Donald Trump and his just-as-unpopular, anti-American policies. OFA plans to target several other districts Hillary Clinton carried in 2016: They'll also run in a slew of districts represented by House Republicans: Arizona Rep. Martha McSally; California Reps. Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Devin Nunes, Steve Knight, Ed Royce and Darrell Issa; Colorado Reps. Scott Tipton and Mike Coffman; Florida Reps. Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent; and Texas Reps. John Culberson, Will Hurd and Pete Sessions. "This administration wants to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on a massive border wall and a cruel deportation force, but only Congress can actually appropriate that spending," an OFA spokesperson said. "We want key members to know that if they vote to fund this discriminatory immigration agenda with their constituents' money, they'll be held accountable." Apr 21
In Trump's America, burning Trump signs might get you hate crime charges - Remember when America used to be the land of free speech? Well, in Trump’s America it looks like all that could be changing. Burning signs and flags, while controversial, have long been considered protected under the law. But now burning Trump signs can be considered hate crimes. At least that’s what one police officer in Princess Anne, Maryland, attempted to charge two 19-year-olds with after they set fire to a Trump billboard. D’Asia Perry and Joy Shuford, 19-year-old friends, were charged Tuesday with a slew of crimes including second-degree arson, trespassing, and committing a hate crime for setting fire to a large Donald Trump billboard displayed near a family sporting goods store. In the charging documents, Princess Anne Police Sgt. Robert Smith laid out his justification for the hate crime charge: “The intentional burning of these political signs, along with the beliefs, religious views and race of this political affiliation, directly coincides with the victim.” Charging these two women with a hate crime for burning this sign is ludicrous and no small matter. And it assumes a whole lot about the intentions of the alleged perpetrators with regard to political affiliation and race—especially given that the owner of the sporting goods store is Republican and white and the two women are black. And let’s face it—couldn’t it be that people just really hate Trump? After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened, even in this very rural town. The town is home to only 3,325 people, according to the 2015 Census estimate, and Somerset County voted for Trump over Clinton 57.7 percent to 39.7 percent. Maryland overall voted for Clinton 60.5 percent to Trump’s 35.3 percent. [Sporting good store owner Robert Wink’s] sign has caused controversy before, even in this conservative pocket of the state. It was previously set on fire in October 2016, and has been vandalized on multiple occasions and stolen twice. As of Thursday, both the hate crime charges and the second-degree arson charges were dropped. However, both Perry and Shuford still face charges including malicious burning, trespassing and destruction of property. But thankfully, burning someone’s political sign isn’t considered a hate crime. Hopefully these two young women don’t end up doing hard time. Although in Trump’s America you never know. We should probably set up some kind of fund for them just in case. They actually did us a favor and just might be the next heroes of the resistance movement. One sign down, a few million more to go.  Apr 21

Democracy Now!

Shocking Exposé Reveals Trump Associates & ISIS-Linked Vigilantes Are Attempting Coup in Indonesia - As Vice President Mike Pence railed against ISIS-linked terrorism Thursday, we speak with longtime investigative journalist Allan Nairn about his shocking new exposé that reveals backers of Donald Trump in Indonesia have joined army officers and a vigilante street movement linked to ISIS in an attempt to oust Indonesia’s president. Writing in The Intercept, Nairn reveals that Indonesians involved in the coup attempt include a corporate lawyer working for the mining company Freeport-McMoRan, which is controlled by Trump adviser Carl Icahn. Video has even emerged showing the lawyer at a ceremony where men are swearing allegiance to ISIS. According to Nairn, two of the other most prominent supporters of the coup are close associates of Donald Trump—Fadli Zon, vice speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, and Hary Tanoe, Trump’s primary Indonesian business partner, who is building two Trump resorts, one in Bali and one outside Jakarta. Nairn’s article is making waves in Indonesia.Apr 21
Glenn Greenwald: Trump's DOJ Prosecuting WikiLeaks & Julian Assange Threatens Press Freedoms for All - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald responds to reports that the Trump administration has prepared an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed the report at a news conference Thursday. Last week, CIA chief Mike Pompeo blasted WikiLeaks as a "hostile intelligence service," in a stark reversal from his previous praise for the group. Pompeo made the remarks last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in his first public address as CIA director. Pompeo went on to accuse WikiLeaks of instructing Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning to steal information. He also likened Julian Assange to a "demon" and suggested Assange is not protected under the First Amendment. It’s been nearly five years since Julian Assange entered the Ecuadorean Embassy in London seeking political asylum, fearing a Swedish arrest warrant could lead to his extradition to the United States. Greenwald’s story for The Intercept is "Trump’s CIA Director Pompeo, Targeting WikiLeaks, Explicitly Threatens Speech and Press Freedoms."Apr 21
Headlines for April 21, 2017 - Arkansas Puts Ledell Lee to Death, Plans 3 More Executions in AprilCNN: Trump Administration Seeks to Arrest WikiLeaks's Julian AssangeAG Sessions Amazed Judge "On an Island in the Pacific" Blocked TrumpDetained Asylum Seeker Fears Deportation After SCOTUS RulingJeanette Vizguerra Among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential PeopleNew York: Tom Cat Bakery Workers Hold "Day Without Bread" ProtestProtests Target Trump's Proposed $6.2 Billion Cut to Housing AgencyVenezuela: President Says Opponents Mounting a Coup Amid Mass ProtestsU.N.: Government Soldiers May Be to Blame for Mass Graves in CongoGunman Opens Fire in Paris, Killing Police Officer and Injuring 2Fox News Will Pay Bill O'Reilly Up to $25 Million After Firing HimOhio: Pipeline Crews Spill 2 Million Gallons of Drill FluidDow Lobbies White House to Reject Scientific Findings on PesticidesTens of Thousands to March for Science on Earth DayApr 21
"Biggest Humanitarian Catastrophe Since 2003 Invasion": Journalist Anand Gopal on Battle for Mosul - According to the group Airwars, at least 1,782 civilians were killed last month in coalition strikes. The civilian death toll could be as high as nearly 3,500. The battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul is now in its seventh month. The United Nations is warning the city is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, perhaps the worst in the entire conflict. More than 400,000 people are trapped in parts of the city still under control of the Islamic State. Meanwhile in Syria, Human Rights Watch has concluded the U.S. did in fact bomb a mosque last month, killing at least 38 people. The Pentagon claimed the drone strike on March 16 targeted a meeting of al-Qaeda members, but Human Rights Watch has concluded the victims were civilians who had gathered to pray. Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence that al-Qaeda or any other armed group was meeting in the mosque. For more, we speak with Anand Gopal, a journalist and a fellow at The Nation Institute. He recently returned from the Middle East and has reported extensively from the region.Apr 20
Kleptocracy?: How Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner Personally Profit from Their Roles in the White House - Are Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner personally profiting from their official roles in the White House? According to the Associated Press, Ivanka Trump secured three new exclusive trademarks in China the very same day she and her father, President Trump, had dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The China trademarks give her company the exclusive rights to sell Ivanka-branded jewelry, bags and spa services in China. The New York Times reports Japan also approved new trademarks for Ivanka for branded shoes, handbags and clothing in February, and she has trademark applications pending in at least 10 other countries. Ivanka no longer manages her $50 million company, but she continues to own it. Ivanka also serves in the Trump administration as an adviser to the president. So does her husband, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. For more, we speak with Vicky Ward, New York Times best-selling author, investigative journalist and contributor to Esquire and Huffington Post Highline magazine.Apr 20
First Roger Ailes, Now Bill O'Reilly: Sexual Harassment Scandal Ousts Top Men at Fox News - The longtime Fox News star Bill O’Reilly is out, after more than half a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment. His departure follows the similar ouster of longtime powerful Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who was also forced out this past summer after more than 20 women accused him of sexual harassment. Over 50 advertisers boycotted "The O’Reilly Factor" over revelations O’Reilly and Fox paid $13 million to settle lawsuits by five women who accuse O’Reilly of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behavior. For more, we speak with civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom. She represents three women who have accused Bill O’Reilly of unwanted sexual advances.Apr 20
Headlines for April 20, 2017 - Bill O'Reilly Ousted from Fox News over Sexual Harassment AllegationsThe Intercept: Trump Associates Linked to Plot to Oust Indonesian PresidentAirwars: Airstrikes Reportedly Kill 12-24 Civilians in Mosul, IraqTillerson Claims Iran "Has Potential to Travel the Same Path as North Korea"Despite Trump's Claims, Armada Was Not Headed to Korean PeninsulaExxon Asks for Treasury Dept. Waiver to Drill in Black Sea with Russian Oil CompanyTurkey Arrests Dozens of Opposition Members over Referendum ProtestsArkansas Supreme Court Blocks Execution of Stacey JohnsonCA Judge Gonzalo Curiel Will Hear Deported DREAMer's Lawsuit Against Trump AdminFL State Senator Facing Calls to Resign After Issuing Racist, Sexist SlursUtah Republican Congressmember Jason Chaffetz Not to Run for Re-electionMexico: LGBT Activist & Freelance Journalist Juan José Roldán MurderedDozens of Patriots Skip White House Super Bowl TributeApr 20
White Nationalists, Neo-Nazis & Right-Wing Militia Members Clash with Antifa Protesters in Berkeley - In Berkeley, California, at least 20 people were arrested as fights broke out between white nationalist Trump supporters and antifascist protesters during competing rallies on Saturday. Photos show some of the Trump supporters posing with the Nazi salute. Police say at least one person was stabbed during the clashes. Several more were injured. In one instance, a known white supremacist was videotaped punching a young antifascist woman named Louise Rosealma in the face. The man who is seen punching her is Nathan Damigo, a former marine who founded the white supremacist organization known as "Identity Europa." For more, we speak with award-winning reporter Shane Bauer. His most recent article is titled "I Went Behind the Front Lines with the Far-Right Agitators Who Invaded Berkeley."Apr 19
Meet Timothy Taylor, Convicted on Drug Evidence Handled by a State Chemist Who Falsified Tests - Among the tens of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by the massive evidence testing scandal in Massachusetts, where chemist Annie Dookhan has admitted to falsely claiming evidence was illegal narcotics before even testing it, was Timothy Taylor. He was arrested in 2009 and went on to serve five years in prison on drug trafficking charges. Annie Dookhan handled the evidence in his case. For more, we speak with Timothy Taylor.Apr 19
Massachusetts to Throw Out 21,000 Drug Convictions After State Chemist Tampers Evidence for 9 Years - In what may be the single largest dismissal of wrongful convictions in U.S. history, Massachusetts prosecutors announced Tuesday they would throw out 21,587 criminal drug cases. The cases were all prosecuted based on evidence or testimony supplied by a former state chemist who admitted to faking tests and identifying evidence as illegal narcotics without even testing it. The chemist, Annie Dookhan, pleaded guilty in 2013 to tampering with evidence during her nine years working at a state crime lab in Boston. During that time, thousands of people were convicted based on her false statements. For more, we speak with Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts; Mallory Hanora of the group Families for Justice as Healing; and Timothy Taylor, who was arrested in 2009 and served five years in prison on a drug trafficking charge after Annie Dookhan handled evidence in his case.Apr 19

John Perkins

Trump: Exposing the Shadow - Back in the 1970s, economically developing countries were looked upon as nests of corruption. . . The United States, on the other hand, was considered to be – and for the most part was – above such massive corruption. That has totally changed. Drastically. Activities that would have been viewed as immoral, unacceptable, and illegal in the United States in my EHM days are now standard practice. They may be covered in a patina of oblique rhetoric, but beneath that surface, the same old tools are applied at the highest levels of business and government. – The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, p 265 I published The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man last year, twelve years after the original, because things had gotten so much worse. The tools we EHMs used in developing countries – the corruption, the deceptions, the debt, the threats, the fear, and the false stories – had come back to haunt the US, Europe and the rest of the so-called developed world. In addition to updating the original book, I added fifteen new chapters to describe the ways contemporary EHMs have created a global Death Economy that is failing us – and also to provide a strategy each of us can use for turning that Death Economy into a Life Economy. The “patina of oblique rhetoric” I wrote about a year ago has been ripped off. During the first months of the Trump administration, corruption, deceptions, debt, threats, fear, and false stories have become overt. Over the years, I’ve often condemned the “revolving door” that’s been part of American politics. There is nothing new about presidents with close ties to Big Oil, like the Bushes and to Wall Street, like Clinton and Obama. There is nothing new about cabinet members and heads of agencies who hail from and return to the very businesses they are supposed to regulate. There is nothing new about elected officials who earn millions of dollars as lobbyists after leaving public office. There is nothing new about laws and court decisions, like Citizens United, that give increasing power to corporations – and legalize what once was considered as corruption and bribery. These things are wrong. They are contrary to the principles of a democracy. They should be changed. But they are not new in America. What is new is a president who makes no attempt to hide his immense personal commercial interests in businesses that are known to be hotbeds of corruption, such as casinos, and where US foreign policy is jeopardized, such as in dealings with Russia. What is new are the many politicians in our national and state capitols who openly advocate bigotry and policies that favor the rich at the expense of all the rest of us. What is new is the overt declaration that the US is an imperial power that needs to increase its already huge, offensive, and budget-breaking military presence around the world. What is new is the lack of even an attempt to sound as though our country wants to defend equality, fairness, and the democratic principles that most of us were raised to champion. Perhaps the great gift of the Trump administration is that it has ripped off the patina. Those who claimed that US business and politics were essentially “transparent,” those who argued that the US was a true democracy and that our political system “might not be perfect, but it is the best in the world,” those who sneered at the under-the-table dealings in “banana republics” and held the US out as a shining example of how to do it right – all of those people, all of us, have been forced to look at the dark shadow that lurked beneath that patina. How do you remove a shadow? You walk under the light. Now that the patina has been removed, we in the US can walk under the light. We can expose ourselves to the true weaknesses – and strengths – of who we are. By being forced to look at our shadow, we have been liberated from the platitudes that have blanketed us in self-deception. We are free to admit to our liabilities and assets. That is the first step to change. It is a step forward into revitalization – and along the path to realizing our true potential. Upcoming Events:  April 11, 2017Sounds True: Year of Ceremony Become a part of an online monthly shamanic group that brings together leading shamanic teachers and practitioners. May 30-June 20, 20174-Session Writer’s Webinar: How to Write a Bestseller in Times of Crises Join a small community of writers who intend to use their medium to accelerate change. Spots are limited to 24 and are filling up quickly. Book yours today. October 12-13, 2017The Love Summit 2017 LPK Brand Innovation Center, Cincinnati, OH Join me and my nonprofit organization, Dream Change, for our 2nd Love Summit business conference: a cutting-edge event designed to demonstrate how #BottomLineLove business practices can solve the most pressing social, environmental and economic issues of our time. Request an invite, here.Apr 4
You As Creator - Join me this spring for my 4-session live webinar series for writers. More information at the bottom of this email. The power of our perceptions to alter reality is a theme that runs through lectures I’ve given at Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and more than 50 other universities and to over 3,000 executives at various conferences and summits, ranging from investment bankers and CEOs of communications conglomerates to heads of human resource departments. Religion, culture, legal and economic systems, countries, and corporations are determined by perceived reality. When enough people accept these perceptions or when they are codified into laws, they have immense impact on objective reality. Breakthroughs in modern science indicate that changes in human perceptions not only govern human behavior; they govern – everything. This past month (February) I was teaching at Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas. My time there overlapped with two highly respected scientists who had just published a book about the powers of perception. Dr. Deepak Chopra is a cardiologist by training who has gained world-wide fame as a deep thinker, philosopher, and advocate of new ways to look at medicine and the world. Dr. Menas Kafatas is a physicist who specializes in cosmology (the science of the origin and development of the universe), quantum mechanics, and climate change. As we sat at meals together, we had many fascinating discussions about the impact of human consciousness on economics, politics, life in general – and the entire universe. In my lectures at the ashram, I discussed the relationship between perceived and objective realities and the idea that consciousness involves an awareness of the ways these impact each other, all of us, and our entire planet. Deepak and Menas gave lectures that were based on their newly released book You Are the Universe. They explored the idea that the very universe itself is a function of human perceptions. In the Preface to their book, they state: The most distant star, billions of light-years away, has no reality without you, because everything that makes a star real – its heat, light, and mass, its position in space and the velocity that carries it away at enormous speed – requires a human observer with a human nervous system. If no one existed to experience heat, light, mass, and so on, nothing could be real as we know it . . . [T]his is a participatory universe that depends for its very existence on human beings. There is a growing body of cosmologists – the scientists who explain the origin of the cosmos – developing theories of a completely new universe, one that is living, conscious, and evolving. Such a universe fits no existing standard model. A conscious universe responds to how we think and feel. It gains its shape, color, sound, and texture from us. Therefore, we feel the best name for it is the human universe, and it is the real universe, the only one we have. As pointed out in their book, scientists have discovered that when photons, electrons, and other sub-atomic particles are not observed by humans they act like waves that are constantly moving. However, once they are observed, they act like particles in a pinpointed location. This phenomenon, known as the “observer effect,” which seems to defy common sense suggests that the tiniest particles respond to human observation. In other words, those particles have consciousness about what is happening around them. You Are the Universe takes this idea to another level. It says that the entire universe responds to – in fact is created through – consciousness. Whether or not human consciousness creates the universe, there is no doubt that it has created the current crises that threaten life as we know it on this planet. Or that we humans are waking up to the realization that, in order to survive, we must rise to a higher level of consciousness. As I’ve written many times in previous newsletters, we are at the frontier of a revolution that may turn out to be the most important one in our species’ history – a Consciousness Revolution that will redefine relationships between perceived and objective reality and the impact we humans have on both. By way of example: As most of you know by now, one of the nonprofits I founded, Dream Change organizes “Love Summits”. These are – perhaps to your surprise – conferences aimed at instilling in business leaders the need to change their perception of what it means to be successful. The goal of the Love Summit is to bring to light why love is good business—how acting from a place of compassion not only benefits society and the environment, but also our businesses and other institutions. Love can be the motivation behind business planning and work relationships, instead of fear and scarcity, the current underpinnings of a suffering economy and environment. The Love Summit demonstrates how we can: Build purposeful, heart-centered business models that contribute to the greatest interest of people and the planet. Use individual and collective action to transform our economic system into one that is based on a life economy instead of a death economy. Inspire a global culture of love in business and throughout the world. The Love Summit is just one example of actions we can take to change reality by altering perceptions. Whether or not you help create the universe, there is no doubt that you create your universe, your life and you play a big role in creating the world we will pass on to future generations. Upcoming Event: May 30 – June 20, 2017 How to Write a Bestseller in Times of Crises: Using the Power of Story to Accelerate Change If you are a writer, you have an incredible opportunity to spread important messages, share thought-provoking ideas, and inspire revolutionary change through the power of story. Join me this spring in my exclusive 4-session webinar for writers, where I will help you improve your skills, get published and reach large audiences. Limited to just 24 participants, this webinar will be both intimate and participatory. Secure your spot today. Mar 2
This Spring: A Special Webinar for Writers - How to Write a Bestseller in Times of Crises: Using the Power of Story to Accelerate Change By John Perkins We’ve entered the greatest revolution in history: The Consciousness Revolution. People around the world are waking up to the fact that we are facing huge crises. We must change. What is your role in this revolution? If you are a writer, you have an incredible opportunity to spread important messages, share thought-provoking ideas, and inspire revolutionary change through the power of story. Fiction and non-fiction. In addition to doing my own writing, I decided to create a small community of writers who intend to use their medium to accelerate change. We will come together in this Spring’s webinar: How to Write a Bestseller in Times of Crises: Using the Power of Story to Accelerate Change. Limited to just 2 dozen participants, this course is uniquely designed to help you hone your skills through writing exercises and discussions in an intimate salon. As a New York Times bestselling author, I will share my experiences of decades of writing bestsellers to help you improve your skills, get published, and reach large audiences. The webinar will take place every Tuesday evening over the course of one month, making it easy for you to journey into this portal of writing your bestseller. You will learn how to: Hone your skills to inspire, entertain, and motivate audiences; Open your heart and soul to the muses of writing; Utilize effective techniques to captivate audiences – as well as agents and publishers; Learn the pros and cons of marketing tools, including the use of publicists and social networking; Work with an intimate salon of talented writers; and Much more. You will have the option of breaking into smaller groups to discuss and critique each other’s work and spend an additional hour-long session with me. At the end of the course, you will also have the opportunity to arrange to join me in private mentoring sessions. Session Dates & Times: Session 1: Tuesday May 30 – 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EST Session 2: Tuesday June 6 – 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EST Session 3: Tuesday June 13 – 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EST Session 4: Tuesday June 20 – 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EST This webinar is for people who want to be part of a powerful salon of writers and who intend to channel their passions and skills into articles, books, and blogs that will inspire transformation. If you are such a person, please sign up now. Space is limited. Cost:  $780 for all 4 sessions. To see the course syllabus and purchase your tickets, click here.Feb 9
How to Be a Democracy Under Trump - I watched President Trump’s inauguration from an airport TV in Guatemala. I’d just finished leading 22 people on a pilgrimage to live, study and participate in ceremonies with Mayan shamans at sacred sites. For me, it was the first leg of a two-month working-journey. I am still in Latin America, teaching and speaking at a variety of venues. In the days since that inauguration, I, like so many, have felt the horror of the emerging Trump policies. Latin Americans cannot understand why so few of us voted in the last election and why so many who did, voted for Trump. A larger percentage of people vote in most Latin American countries than in the US; in several countries, voter turnout exceeds 90%. Many of these countries have a history of brutal dictatorships. Once free of these dictatorships, they revel in their rights to hold democratic elections; they see their ability to vote for their leaders as both a responsibility and a privilege. They wonder why such a relatively small percentage of voters would elect a potential dictator. And moreover, why those non-voters did not vote against him. The participants on the Guatemala trip ranged from successful business executives to community organizers and healers – with lots of other professions in between. They came from Canada, Ecuador, England, France, Indonesia, Italy, the United States, and Guatemala. Many – especially those from the US – arrived in Guatemala feeling disenfranchised, disempowered, depressed, and – yes, horrified – by the election. However, as we moved through the shamanic ceremonies, they grew increasingly convinced that the election is a wakeup call for Americans. We have been lethargic and allowed our country to continue with policies that hurt so many people and destroy environments around the world (including Washington’s involvement in the genocidal Guatemalan Civil War against the Mayas that raged for more than three decades). This election exposed a shadow side. It stepped us out of the closet. Many people expressed the realization that Americans had failed to demand that President Obama fight harder to end the wars in the Middle East, vacate Guantánamo, reign in Wall Street, confront a global economic system where eight men have as much wealth as half the world’s population, and honor so many of the other promises he had made. They recognized that he was up against strong Republican opposition and yet it was he who continued to send more troops and mercenaries to the Middle East and Africa, brought Wall Street insiders into his inner circle, and failed to inspire his party to rally voters to defeat Trump and what is now a Republican majority in both houses. We talked about how throughout the world, the US is seen as history’s first truly global empire. Scholars point out that it meets the basic definition of empire: a nation 1) whose currency reigns supreme, 2) whose language is the language of diplomacy and commerce everywhere, 3) whose economic expansions and values are enforced through military actions or threats of action, and 4) whose armies are stationed in many nations. The message became clear: we must end this radical form of global feudalism and imperialism. Those who had arrived in Guatemala disillusioned and depressed now found themselves committed to transforming their sense of disempowerment into actions. At the end of WWII, Prime Minister Churchill told his people that England could choose the course of empire or democracy, but not both.  We in the US are at such a crossroads today. For far too long we have allowed our leaders to take us down the path of empire. President Franklin Roosevelt ended a meeting with union leaders by telling them that now they knew he agreed with them, it was their job to get their members to force him to do the right thing. FDR understood that democracy depends on We the People insisting that our leaders do what they promise to do. We failed with our last president. Let’s not repeat that mistake with the new one. It is extremely important that We the People force Trump and his band of corporatocracy henchmen to keep the promises we heard in his inaugural address.  Let us hear “making America great” as “making America a true democracy!”  Let us hear “we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People” and “we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow” as an echo of Prime Minister Churchill’s contention that a country cannot be both a democracy and an empire. It is up to us to insist upon democracy. It is essential that we continue to demonstrate and march, to bombard Trump and our other elected officials with tweets, posts, phone calls, and emails; to rally, clamor, and shout; and in every way to get out the word that we must end the wars, feudalism, economic and social inequality, and environmental destruction; we must become the model democracy the world expects of us. When General George Washington was hunkered down with extremely depressed troops at Valley Forge in the bleak winter of 1777, he ordered that an essay by Thomas Paine be read to all his men. Some of the most famous lines are as applicable today as they were then: These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he who stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.  .  . A generous parent should say, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace” . . .I love the man who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.  By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious future. We have arrived at such a time again. We must each do our part. Let’s here and now commit to taking positive actions. I commit to writing and speaking out at a wide variety of venues. I commit to supporting the Love Summit business conference, a powerful event that is committed to bringing love and compassion into business and politics, to transforming a Death Economy into a Life (Love) Economy. What are your commitments? We have arrived at a time that tries our souls. We must gather strength from distress, grow brave by reflection, and know that by perseverance and fortitude we can achieve a glorious future. Let’s make sure that the combined legacies of Presidents Obama and Trump will create the opportunity – indeed the mandate – to show the world how a country can be a true democracy. These are the times. . . Featured Event: Writing a Bestseller: How to Tell & Sell Your Story with John Perkins 4 Sessions | May 30-June 20, 2017 | Limited to 24 Participants | Register HereJan 31

Channel NewsAsia Singapore News

New complex for DSO National Laboratories - DSO National Laboratories (DSO), Singapore's largest defence R&D organisation, officially opened its new complex in Science Park Drive on Friday (Apr 21).Apr 21
Singapore researchers turn water into 'virtual lemonade' - Researchers in Singapore say they have invented a "virtual lemonade", using electrodes to mimic the flavour of the beverage and LED lights to imitate its colour, that could one day allow people to digitally share drinks over the Internet.Apr 21
Singapore football club chairman Bill Ng questioned by police: Lawyer - Mr Ng, who is vying for the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) presidency and leads the Team Game Changers slate in the leadership election on Apr 29, is the chairman of Hougang United FC and Tiong Bahru FC. Apr 21
Joanne Peh, Qi Yuwu welcome new son - This is the celebrity couple's second child, after their daughter Baby Qi was born in August 2015.  Apr 21
New complex for DSO National Laboratories - DSO National Laboratories (DSO), Singapore's largest defence R&D organisation, officially opened its new complex in Science Park Drive on Friday (Apr 21).Apr 21
StarHub's 2016 service outages not due to DDoS attacks: IMDA - IMDA says one of the reasons for the outages was that the telco's infrastructure was overwhelmed due to a cyberattack on US DNS service provider Dyn, among other reasons.  Apr 21
3 charged over rioting at Clarke Quay that led to man's death - Fino Foo, Terence Tan and Chen Wen Cai were among nine suspects arrested after the man was found injured in the nightlife district in the early hours of Sunday (Apr 16). Apr 21
4 injured in CTE accident involving ambulance - SCDF says an ambulance from one of its private operators was sending a young boy to KK Women's and Children's Hospital when the accident happened. Apr 21
US' Steven Mnuchin welcomes Singapore's cooperation on combating illicit finance - Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam met with the US Treasury Secretary during his visit to Washington, DC. Apr 21
City Harvest Church’s Kong Hee begins serving 3.5-year jail term - Kong, 52, had his eight-year sentence reduced to three-and-a-half years’ jail on Apr 7 by the High Court. Five accomplices also saw their sentences cut. Apr 21

Channel NewsAsia Front Page News

Taliban kills eight soldiers at army HQ in northern Afghanistan - At least eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on Friday when Taliban gunmen dressed in uniforms talked their way past checkpoints and attacked a military headquarters in northern Afghanistan, officials said.Apr 21
Fallen FIFA boss Blatter says met US lawyers, but is not a suspect - Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Friday he had met lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department but was not a suspect in their soccer-related corruption investigations.Apr 21
Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino sparks backlash from baristas - Starbucks baristas have taken to social media to complain about the coffee chain's entry into the latest food craze: Unicorn Frappucino.Apr 21
Taliban kills eight soldiers at army HQ in northern Afghanistan - At least eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on Friday when Taliban gunmen dressed in uniforms talked their way past checkpoints and attacked a military headquarters in northern Afghanistan, officials said.Apr 21
Hot flashes at younger ages may signal higher heart risk later - Women who start having hot flashes in their 40s and early 50s had signs of poorer blood vessel health in a recent study and may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease later on, researchers say.Apr 21
Gymnastics - British Parkour body accuses FIG of encroachment - Britain's Parkour governing body has accused gymnastics of "encroachment and misappropriation" in seeking to incorporate elements of the running, climbing and jumping sport into a new discipline.Apr 21
Isolated in EU, Poland seeks better ties with Germany behind the scenes - When two dark cars drove up to the retreat of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a baroque castle on a sunny afternoon last July, only a handful of people knew they were bringing Poland's top politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.Apr 21
For love of horses, Czech rider turns equine therapist - After a career in show jumping, Czech rider Adela Liskova has managed to spin her new career in horse dentistry into equine full-care therapy.Apr 21
Spurs no longer the underdogs, says Chelsea's Conte - Tottenham Hotspur should no longer be considered "underdogs" after sustaining a Premier League title challenge for the second consecutive season, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said ahead of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final between the two sides.Apr 21
Germany sees 'non-confrontational solution' with Trump on trade - Germany's finance minister is optimistic about reaching a "non-confrontational solution" on trade with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration at a summit this summer, he said on Friday after meeting his U.S. counterpart in Washington.Apr 21

Channel NewsAsia World News

Evacuations from besieged Syrian towns end after two-day halt - The evacuation of Syrian civilians and fighters from four besieged towns was completed on Friday after a 48-hour halt, as part of a mediated swap deal between the warring sides, state media and a rebel official said.Apr 21
Isolated in EU, Poland seeks better ties with Germany behind the scenes - When two dark cars drove up to the retreat of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a baroque castle on a sunny afternoon last July, only a handful of people knew they were bringing Poland's top politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.Apr 21
Germany sees 'non-confrontational solution' with Trump on trade - Germany's finance minister is optimistic about reaching a "non-confrontational solution" on trade with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration at a summit this summer, he said on Friday after meeting his U.S. counterpart in Washington.Apr 21
Italy sees US supportive over Libya, denies Trump snub - Italian officials played down on Friday suggestions that U.S. President Donald Trump had snubbed efforts by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni to get Washington more involved in bringing political stability to Libya.Apr 21
South Korea on heightened alert as North readies for army anniversary - South Korea said on Friday it was on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang.Apr 21
Tillerson to meet with ASEAN foreign ministers in May - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries on May 4 in Washington ahead of planned regional summits in November, a State Department official said on Thursday. Apr 21
Tillerson to meet with ASEAN foreign ministers in May - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries on May 4 in Washington ahead of planned regional summits in November, a State Department official said on Thursday.Apr 21
German soccer bomb suspect wanted to profit on stocks - prosecutor - German police arrested a man on Friday suspected of detonating three bombs that targeted the Borussia Dortmund soccer team bus in the hope of sending the club's shares plummeting and making a profit on an investment, prosecutors said.Apr 21
At least 17 school children killed in minibus crash in South Africa - At least 17 school children were killed when the minibus they were travelling in crashed into a truck and exploded into a ball of fire in Mpumalanga province, north of the capital Pretoria, emergency services said on Friday.Apr 21
Evacuations from besieged Syrian towns end after two-day halt - The evacuation of Syrian civilians and fighters from four besieged towns, part of a mediated swap deal between the warring sides, ended on Friday after a 48-hour halt, state media and a rebel official said.Apr 21

Channel NewsAsia Asia Pacific News

Japan lawmakers' group visits Yasukuni shrine for war dead - Dozens of Japanese lawmakers, including one cabinet minister, visited a shrine to Japan's war dead on Friday, in a move that could spark protests elsewhere in Asia where the shrine is regarded as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.Apr 21
Ocean drift analysis shows MH370 most likely in new search area: Australian scientists - A new ocean debris drift analysis shows missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 is most likely within a proposed expanded search area rejected by Australia and Malaysia in January, the Australian government's scientific agency said on Friday.Apr 21
South Korea on heightened alert as North readies for army anniversary - South Korea said on Friday it was on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang.Apr 21
Truck ploughs into Indian farmers, 14 killed - Fourteen people were killed in India on Friday when a truck ploughed into a group of farmers who had gathered outside a police station, in what police said was an accident involving a drunk driver.Apr 21
In shadow of China's reef city, Philippines seeks upgrade for its island patriots - If the Filipinos on the remote South China Sea island of Thitu had binoculars, they might just be envious of how their neighbours on the next island live.Apr 21
Taliban kills eight soldiers at army HQ in northern Afghanistan - At least eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on Friday when Taliban gunmen dressed in uniforms talked their way past checkpoints and attacked a military headquarters in northern Afghanistan, officials said.Apr 21
The curious case of Thailand’s missing revolution plaque - The mystery surrounding the disappearance and replacement of an 80-year-old bronze plaque embedded in the road of the Royal Plaza, in front of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok, is at the centre of a new and slightly bizarre political scandal brewing in Thailand.Apr 21
South Korea on heightened alert as North readies for army anniversary - South Korea said on Friday it was on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang.Apr 21
Tillerson to meet with ASEAN foreign ministers in May - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries on May 4 in Washington ahead of planned regional summits in November, a State Department official said on Thursday. Apr 21
Malaysian policeman stabbed for telling man not to smoke - The incident took place at a petrol station in Selangor. Apr 21

Media Monarchy

Does Trump Really Care About “The Forgotten Man”? - During Trump's victory speech, I heard a phrase that had me immediately running to my bookshelf. Who is the "Forgotten Man" and why is he being used as another tool for the state? Find out on the the latest installment of #BookSmarts. Apr 21
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 21, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays Prince, Elbows, Rituals Of Mine and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for April 21, 2017. ♬ Apr 21
#MorningMonarchy: April 21, 2017 - Seditious puns, quiet influence and "The Forgotten Man" + this day in history w/the Boston Marathon cheater and our song of the day by Lana Del Rey on your Morning Monarchy for April 21, 2017. Apr 21
#NewWorldNextWeek: Trump Reignites War on Weed (Video) - This week on the New World Next Week: Trump and Change reignites the war on weed; the BBC salivates over the end of western civilisation; and the alt media purge reaches fever pitch. Apr 20
#NewWorldNextWeek: Weed War, Civilization Collapse, Media Purge (Audio) - This week on the New World Next Week: Trump and Change reignites the war on weed; the BBC salivates over the end of western civilisation; and the alt media purge reaches fever pitch. Apr 20
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 20, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays Nightmares On Wax, Sounds From The Ground, The Orb and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for April 20, 2017. ♬ Apr 20
Making Millions Off Marijuana - This month's installment of the Maryjane Report is our first 30 minute episode and we talk about West Virginia weed, making millions on the 4/20 holiday and the world weed revolution. Apr 20
#MorningMonarchy: April 20, 2017 - Bathed in blood, snuff TV and backwards "Fear" + this day in history w/the Columbine Cause and our song of the day by At The Drive-In on your Morning Monarchy for April 20, 2017. Apr 20
#PumpUpThaVolume: April 19, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays Nellie McKay, Whetherman, Oceans Are Zeroes and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for April 19, 2017. ♬ Apr 19
#MorningMonarchy: April 19, 2017 - Breakfast like a king, compostable cups and the Maryjane Report + this day in history w/OKC bombing and our song of the day by Beth Ditto on your Morning Monarchy for April 19, 2017. Apr 19

NATO Latest News

NATO Deputy Secretary General to visit the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, will travel to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on Monday, 24 and Tuesday, 25 April 2017.Apr 21
Secretary General: NATO is a bedrock of security for both Europe and North America - Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrapped up a two-day visit to the United States on Thursday (13 April 2017) with a town hall meeting at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Mr. Stoltenberg stressed that NATO is as important as ever in a more uncertain world, and that its strength lies in unity and the ability to adapt to a changing security environment.Apr 13
Secretary General welcomes strong US commitment to NATO - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the White House on Wednesday (12 April 2017) for his first meeting with President Donald J. Trump and his security team. Following the meeting, Mr. Stoltenberg welcomed the “very strong comitment of the United States to the security of Europe” as demonstrated “in words but also in deeds.” The two leaders agreed on the enduring importance of NATO, and discussed preparations for the May meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels, including NATO's role in the fight against terrorism, and fairer burden-sharing in the Alliance.Apr 12
NATO welcomes opening of European Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats - Several NATO Allies and European Union members came together in Helsinki on Tuesday (11 April 2017), formally agreeing to establish a European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in the Finnish capital. At a ceremony attended by Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini, officials from NATO and the European Union welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the Centre, which will open later in 2017.Apr 11
High-level Public Diplomacy Forum kicks off NATO Week in Georgia - Current security challenges and how effective public diplomacy can contribute to addressing them were the main focus of the Public Diplomacy Forum in Tbilisi on 10-11 April. Discussions covered a range of topics including hybrid warfare, strategies to counter propaganda, strategic communications and the role of social media.Apr 11
Statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on US strikes in Syria - Following this week’s horrendous chemical weapons attacks in Khan Shaykhun, which killed dozens of people, including many children, the US launched a strike against Shayrat Airfield in Syria.Apr 10
NATO condemns illegitimate elections and referendum in Georgia’s occupied territories - Statement by the NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu - NATO does not recognize the so-called presidential elections nor the so-called referendum held in the South Ossetia region of Georgia this Sunday.Apr 10
NATO Secretary General to visit the United States - The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will visit the United States from Tuesday, 11 April to Thursday, 13 April 2017.Apr 10
Promoting civilian oversight of the Afghan armed forces - A pilot course on civilian oversight of the armed forces involving Afghan experts was hosted by the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) University in Baku, from 3 to 7 April 2017. The course was conducted by Afghanistan’s Marshal Fahim National Defence University (MFNDU) with the support of NATO, the Romanian National Defence University “Carol I” and the Bulgarian “G.S. Rakovski” National Defence College.Apr 10
Balakliya returns to normal life - As of 6 April 2017, Ukrainian explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) teams have cleared the territory of Balakliya town and 9 settlements in the vicinity. The contaminated area in and around Balakliya was reduced from 10 km to 1 km.Apr 7

National Post

Greg Palast

Deepwater Horizon BP and GWB knew The Real Story of the Cover-up - by Greg Palast – for Channel 4, UK Two years before the Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico, another BP off-shore rig suffered a nearly identical blow-out, but BP concealed the first one from the U.S. regulators and Congress. 5 years ago, we located an eyewitness with devastating new information about the Caspian Sea oil-rig blow-out which BP had concealed from government and the industry. The witness, whose story is backed up by rig workers who were evacuated from BP’s Caspian platform, said that had BP revealed the full story as required by industry practice, the eleven Gulf of Mexico workers “could have had a chance” of survival. But BP’s insistence on using methods proven faulty sealed their fate. One cause of the blow-outs was the same in both cases:  the use of a money-saving technique—plugging holes with “quick-dry” cement. By hiding the disastrous failure of its penny-pinching cement process in 2008, BP was able to continue to use the dangerous methods in the Gulf of Mexico—causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. April 20 marks the 7th anniversary of the Gulf oil disaster. There were several failures in common to the two incidents identified by the eyewitness. He is an industry insider whose identity and expertise we have confirmed. His name and that of other witnesses we contacted must be withheld for their safety. The failures revolve around the use of “quick-dry” cement, the uselessness of blow-out preventers, “mayhem” in evacuation procedures and an atmosphere of fear which prevents workers from blowing the whistle on safety problems. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support The Palast Investigative Fund and keep our work alive! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of Waterkeeper Alliance and senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “We have laws that make it illegal to hide this kind of information. At the very least, these are lies by omission. When you juxtapose their knowledge of this incident upon the oil companies constant and persistent assurances of safety to regulators, investigators and shareholders, you have all the elements to prove that their concealment of the information was criminal.” The first blow-out occurred on a BP rig in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan, in September 2008. BP was able to conceal such an extraordinary event with the help of the ruling regime of Azerbaijan, other oil companies and, our investigators learned, the Bush Administration. Our investigation began just days after the explosion and sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, 2010 when this reporter received an extraordinary message from a terrified witness—from a ship floating in the Caspian Sea: “I know how …. Would not be wise for me to communicate via [official] IT system, ….” When the insider was contacted on a secure line, he stated that he witnessed a blow-out and the panicked evacuation of the giant BP “ACG” drilling platform. To confirm the witness’ story, British television’s premier investigative program, Dispatches, sent this reporter under cover into Baku, Azerbaijan, with a cameraman. While approaching the BP oil terminal, the Islamic republic’s Security Ministry arrested the crew. To avoid diplomatic difficulties, we were quickly released. However, two new witnesses suddenly vanished, all communication lost with them, after they confirmed the facts of the 2008 blow-out. Both told us they had been evacuated from the BP off-shore platform as it filled with methane. Furthermore, witnesses confirmed that, “there was mud (drill-pipe cement) blown out all over the platform.” It appears the cement cap failed to hold back high-pressure gases which, “engulfed the entire platform in methane gas,” which is highly explosive. In both cases, the insider told us, BP had used “quick-dry” cement to cap their well bores and the cost-saving procedure failed catastrophically. We have learned this week that BP failed to notify the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) about the failure of the cement. (British companies report incidents as minor as a hammer dropped.) Notification would have alerted Gulf cement contractor Halliburton that the process of adding nitrogen to cement posed unforeseen dangers. In fact, this past December, BP attempted to place the blame and costs of the Gulf disaster on Halliburton, the oil services company that injected quick-dry cement into the well under the Deepwater Horizon. BP told a federal court that Halliburton concealed a computer model that would show that, under certain conditions, the cement could fail disastrously. Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, it became clear that nitrogen-laced mud can leave “channels” in the cement, allowing gas to escape and blow out the well-bore cap. However, that would have become clearer, and risks better assessed, had Halliburton and regulators known of the particulars of the Caspian blow-out. We have also just learned that the cement casing itself appears to have cracked apart in the Caspian Sea. The sea, we were told, “was bubbling all around [from boiling methane]. You’re even scared to launch a life boat, it may sink.” This exposed another problem with deepwater drilling. BP had promoted Blow-Out Preventers (BOPs) as a last line of defense in case of a blow-out. But if the casing shatters, the BOPs could be useless. BP has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal the story of the first blow-out, and for good reason:  If the company deliberately withheld the information that it knew “quick-dry” cement had failed yet continued to use it, the 11 deaths on its Gulf rig were not an unexpected accident but could be considered negligent homicide. Kennedy told me, “This is a critical piece of information. The entire government is basing its policy on the assurances of this company that this process can be done safely and it never failed before. This is what they were telling everybody. Yet, the whole time they knew that this was a process that had failed disastrously in the Caspian Sea.” Why haven’t these stories come out before? This week our witness explained that in Azerbaijan, “People disappear on a regular basis. It’s a police state.” But even in the U.S. and Europe, BP and other industry workers are afraid to complain for fear their files will be marked “NRB,” for Not Required Back­­—which will end a workers’ offshore career. Jake Malloy, head of the Offshore Oil Workers Union, reached in Aberdeen, Scotland, independently confirmed statements of the whistleblowers. He noted that companies create an atmosphere of fear for one’s job with the “NRB” system and its latest variants, which discourage reports on safety problems. BP refused an interview for this investigation, though the company responded to our written questions regarding the Caspian blow-out. Notably, the company does not deny that the blow-out occurred, nor even that it concealed the information from U.S. and UK regulators. Rather, the company says there was a “gas release”—a common and benign event, not a blow-out. As to the accusation of concealment, BP states: While BP says it issued a press release at the time of the September 2008 Caspian blow-out, the company did not tell the whole truth as reported by workers and witnesses. The BP press release of that day admitted only that, “a gas leak was discovered in the area of” the platform when, in fact, it was an explosion of cement and methane, say our witnesses, “which engulfed the platform.” BP later stated that all operations on the platform were suspended as a “precautionary measure,” suggesting a distant, natural leak. In fact, the workers themselves said that, like the workers on the Deepwater Horizon, they were one spark away from death, with frightened minutes to escape. While BP called the evacuation a by-the-textbook procedure, in fact, said our witness, “It was total mayhem,” and that a lifeboat rammed a rescue ship in the chaos. U.S. government investigators in the Gulf cite BP’s confused and chaotic evacuation procedures for possibly adding to the Deepwater Horizon’s death toll. Information about the 2008 blow-out should have led to improved procedures and possibly could have saved lives. More seriously, BP PLC’s official filing to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, which requires reporting of all “material” events in company operations, again talked about a “subsurface release,” concealing that the methane blew out through its drilling stack. Both the safety of quick-dry cement (which some drillers won’t use) and deep water drilling itself were in contention before the April 20, 2010 Gulf blow-out. In fact, the U.S. Department of Interior was refusing BP, Chevron and Exxon the right to expand the area of their deep water drilling in the Gulf over safety questions. However, BP and the industry conducted a successful lobbying campaign to expand deep water drilling. BP’s Vice-President for operations in the Gulf, David Rainey, testified before Congress in November 2009, five months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion that, “Releases from oil and gas operations are rare.” Rainey assured Congressmen that reliable “well control techniques” such as cement caps will prevent a deep water disaster. Rainey made no mention to Congress of the blow-out in the Caspian Sea which occurred a year before his testimony. BP itself states that if not for Halliburton’s quick-dry cement failures, the Deepwater Horizon would never have blown out.  Halliburton defends itself by saying that BP’s methods created air channels in the cement that caused it to fail. Notably, BP’s court Motion states, “Halliburton has deprived the Court and parties of uniquely relevant evidence.” BP claims that hiding the information about problems with the cement caused the loss of lives. Kennedy suggests that if Halliburton’s withholding evidence was deadly, so was BP’s concealment of the cement failure in the Caspian. Stefanie Penn Spear, editor of EcoWatch.org, says that BP’s hiding evidence ultimately led to, “The biggest oil spill in U.S. history. It entirely turned the Gulf Coast economy upside down and threatened—and continues to threaten—the health and livelihoods of the people in the Gulf region.” How is it that a major oil disaster, a blow-out that shut down one of the world’s biggest oil fields and required the emergency evacuation of 211 rig workers could be covered up, hidden from U.S. regulators and Congress? The answer:  pay-offs, threats, political muscle and the connivance of the Bush Administration’s State Department, Exxon and Chevron. For that story, read Part 2 of Greg Palast’s investigation BP Covers up Blow-Out—Bush, Big Oil and WikiLeaks. ——– Greg Palast is the author of Vultures’ Picnic (Penguin 2011), which centers on his investigation of BP, bribery and corruption in the oil industry. Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is also the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Visit the Palast Investigative Fund store or simply make a tax-deductible contribution to keep our work alive!  Or support the The Palast Investigative Fund (a project of The Sustainable Markets Foundation) by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Palast Fund and you get a tax-deduction! More info. You can read Vultures' Picnic, "Chapter 1: Goldfinger," or download it, at no charge: click here. Subscribe to Palast's Newsletter and podcasts. Follow Palast on Facebook and Twitter. GregPalast.com The post Deepwater Horizon BP and GWB knew The Real Story of the Cover-up appeared first on Greg Palast.Apr 20
Muslim Lives Matter - Hey, Donald, the safe zone’s supposed to be in place BEFORE you lob the missiles. It seems, as TS Eliot put it, that Trump has committed, "The greatest treason / To do the right deed for the wrong reason." Meanwhile, some opposing safe-zones in Syria say we should just increase refugee immigration. In other words, let’s empty out Syria, assist Assad in ethnically cleansing Shia Muslims. And, without a no-fly zone, you’re asking Syrians to flee without any protection from barrel bombs and mass slaughter. And sorry, Donald, but it was the REPUBLICANS who voted down Obama’s request for power to take out Assad’s air bases in 2013. If GOP paper warriors like Marco Rubio hadn’t stopped Obama, those Syrian kids would be alive today.   Trump is taking out one airfield. That’s like taking out Mar-al-Lago and leaving Trump Tower. Hillary says, take’m ALL out. Never thought I’d say this until today: Damn, I miss that woman. For years, too many of my progressive comrades have simply denied the slow-motion holocaust in Syria. When we talk about woman’s rights, how about the right not to see your child vomit out their intestines? * * * * * Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Stay informed, rent or buy the film on Amazon or get the signed DVD, a signed copy of the book companion or better still - get the Book & DVD combo. Visit the Palast Investigative Fund store or simply make a tax-deductible contribution to keep our work alive!  Or support the The Palast Investigative Fund (a project of The Sustainable Markets Foundation) by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Palast Fund and you get a tax-deduction! More info. GregPalast.com The post Muslim Lives Matter appeared first on Greg Palast.Apr 7
Who gets XL Pipeline Bonanza? Koch - From Greg Palast’s film The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits Stay informed, rent or buy the film on Amazon or get the signed DVD, a signed copy of the book companion or better still - get the Book & DVD combo. * * * * * Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Suppor the Stolen Election Investigation Visit the Palast Investigative Fund store or simply make a tax-deductible contribution to keep our work alive!  Or support the The Palast Investigative Fund (a project of The Sustainable Markets Foundation) by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Palast Fund and you get a tax-deduction! More info. GregPalast.com   The post Who gets XL Pipeline Bonanza? Koch appeared first on Greg Palast.Mar 24
Watch The Best Democracy… Movie Right now! - Right now, this minute, you can watch The Best Democracy Money Can Buy on Amazon from $2.99, or if you prefer get a lifetime stream from Vimeo. Or better yet, get a signed copy for a tax-deductible donation. See the Film that Jesse Jackson is bringing to 200 churches before election day. “Hilarious and heartbreaking. The most important movie — and the most entertaining. Standing ovation!” - John Perkins, author, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Follow me as I bust the New Klux Klan – the billionaire bandits that are behind a scheme to purge one million voters of color on election day. The Hysteria Factory is in full effect. Trump says a million "aliens" are swimming the Rio Grande to vote for Hillary. Fox News —even NPR— are peddling stories about dead voters, ghost voters, double voters and other berserk claims of fraudulent voting. But it’s just the cover to STEAL THIS ELECTION, to swipe the Senate. Watch the Hysteria Factory Clip from the Movie  With the help of Willie Nelson, Rosario Dawson, and detectives Ice-T and Richard Belzer, I track down the secret billionaires behind Donald Trump and the guys who are gaming our voter rolls and funding this voter fraud Hysteria Factory. * * * * * * Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Donate to the Palast Investigative Fund and get the signed DVD. Download the FREE Movie Comic Book. Rent or buy the film from Amazon or Vimeo. Check for Movie Screenings in your area. Visit the Palast Investigative Fund store or simply make a tax-deductible contribution to keep our work alive! Or support the The Palast Investigative Fund (a project of The Sustainable Markets Foundation) by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Palast Fund and you get a tax-deduction! More info. GregPalast.com The post Watch The Best Democracy… Movie Right now! appeared first on Greg Palast.Mar 20
March 15 Fundraiserto support Greg Palast’s new investigation of Trump’s Billionaires - Join Jackson Browne to honor Greg Palast and his team’s new investigations of Trump’s billionaires and the plan to fix the vote of 2018 With discussion of the attack on voting rights by Joy Reid of MSNBC and the need for investigative reporting    WHEN: Wednesday, March 15 at  6:00pm PTWHERE:  Santa Monica, CA Wine and Buffet Performance by Jackson BrowneRock & Roll Hall of Fame "Lives in the Balance" | "Running on Empty" We are facing a democratic emergency: Our purpose is to expose and prevent the theft of the election of 2018—and the billionaires who have turned The White House into a profit center.  $100 per person or $175 per couple Very limited space. Get your TICKETS now. All proceeds are tax-deductible and benefit the Palast Investigative Fund (checks and credit cards accepted) If you are unable to attend but wish to support our work, and have your support acknowledged by Greg and Jackson, you can donate here. Trump has claimed that millions of Americans vote illegally.  The Palast team's investigation for Rolling Stone, Al Jazeera, and BBC TV proved that this claim was the excuse for "anti-fraud" measures that, in fact, blocked 1.1 million citizens of color from casting their votes in the swing states of Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida in the last election. No, Trump did not win – and Palast has showed how, in cruel detail. Palast says, "While our work has been lauded and applauded for exposing mass vote suppression, our goal now is to expand our research and investigations while also coordinating with the Civil Rights Law Center of Washington to insure that this information is in the hands of voting rights litigators, progressive legislators, church and front-line organizations to prevent the theft of the 2018 election.'' Our film on the suppression of the vote in 2016 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy has been viewed by more than one million Americans and has become the source of fighting facts from People For the American Way to Rainbow-PUSH Coalition to the Potomac Coalition. "What Greg Palast has done is heroic, invaluable, and must be seen by every voting rights advocate in America." - Voting rights attorney Barbara Arnwine Help us win this next battle for democracy * * * * * * Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Rent or buy the film from Amazon Vimeo. Support The Palast Investigative Fund and keep our work alive. Or support us by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Sustainable Markets Foundation for the benefit of The Palast Investigative Fund and you get a tax-deduction!More info. GregPalast.com The post March 15 Fundraiserto support Greg Palast’s new investigation of Trump’s Billionaires appeared first on Greg Palast.Mar 7
Millions of fraudulent voters, my a**! Palast follows The Donald’s money - A Facebook Event  Get the non-fake info with investigative reporter Greg Palast. Palast says, "It’s no joke—and it’s far more sinister than a mere "lie." "The US press has done a good job exposing President Trump’s looney-toons claim that millions of votes were cast against him. "But what’s missing is what’s behind Trump’s claim — and it’s not just his cranky, whining ego looking to erase the embarrassment of losing the popular vote. "We are witnessing the crafting of a systematic plan to steal the 2018 midterm election." And that’s not all: Did anyone notice that in the middle of Trump’s psycho-drama of a press conference, he said, "…I want to thank Paul Singer for being here and coming up to the Oval Office." Those are the most dangerous words Trump has uttered since Inauguration Day. Get the facts (and watch the cartoon!) during this special Facebook Live event. And Palast lets you in on the follow-up to his Rolling Stone investigation. He’s digging, and the worms are crawling up the shovel. And we’ll talk about how YOU can take part in the investigation. We have a lot to talk about, and a lot to expose. * * * * * * Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, now out as major motion non-fiction movie. Rent or buy the film from Amazon Vimeo. Support The Palast Investigative Fund and keep our work alive. Or support us by shopping with Amazon Smile. AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchases to the Sustainable Markets Foundation for the benefit of The Palast Investigative Fund and you get a tax-deduction!More info. GregPalast.com The post Millions of fraudulent voters, my a**! Palast follows The Donald’s money appeared first on Greg Palast.Feb 22

Public Intelligence » Feed

(U//FOUO) DHS Intelligence Note: Unknown Cyber Actors Target US Water and Sewage Authority Network - (U//FOUO) Likely Network Device Compromise Results in Excessive Data Traffic; Device Provided Access to Industrial Control System (U//FOUO) An unidentified actor or actors between November 2016 and January 2017 targeted a US water and sewage authority’s network, resulting in excessive cellular charges and unusual traffic on ports 10000 and 9600, according to an FBI source with excellent access who spoke in confidence but whose reliability cannot be determined. The FBI source indicated that four of the seven devices on the authority’s cellular data plan were impacted with high data usage, which was likely a result of compromised network devices. The November 2016–December 2016 billing cycle totaled $45,000, and the December 2016–January 2017 billing cycle totaled $53,000. A typical monthly bill averages approximately $300. The devices were Sixnet devices, which had been in place for six or seven years and provided access to the authority’s industrial control systems, according to the same FBI source. (U//FOUO) Support to Computer Network Defense (U//FOUO) Sixnet BT-5xxx and BT-6xxx series device versions prior to 3.8.21, as of May 2016, were vulnerable to a compromise that exploited a hard-coded factory password that could enable full access to the affected device, according to ICS-CERT Advisory ICSA-16-0147-02. The same advisory identifies vendor patches and firmware updates that address the issue. (U//FOUO) Sixnet BT-5xxx series industrial cellular modems and BT-6xxx machine-to-machine gateways facilitate data communications connectivity in mobile or remote environments. Ports 9600 and 10000 are used for transmission control protocol and user datagram protocol (TCP/UDP) communications, according to an online report from a firm that provides industrial automation and networking solutions.Apr 16
Restricted U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Information Operations - This TC serves as a guide to describe the fundamentals of how to incorporate IO at the tactical and operational level. Appendixes A through F offer tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) Special Forces (SF) Soldiers can use to analyze and plan information operations. This TC implements Army and joint IO doctrine established in FM 3-13, Inform and Influence Activities, and Joint Publication (JP) 3-13, Information Operations. This TC reinforces the definition of IO used by Army forces: IO employs the core capabilities of electronic warfare (EW), computer network operations (CNO), Military Information Support operations (MISO), military deception (MILDEC), and operations security (OPSEC), in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to affect or defend information and information systems and to influence decisionmaking. This TC is specifically targeted for SF; however, it is also useful to Army special operations forces (ARSOF) and the Army in understanding how SF employs IO. … IO should be viewed as an element of combat power, focused when and where it best supports the operation. As with other elements of combat power, there is no universal formula for the application of IO. Mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops and support available-time available, and civil considerations are the major determinants. The purpose of IO is to achieve and maintain information superiority or advantage over the adversary at a particular time and place. To achieve an information advantage, an SF unit must understand the characteristics of the information environment in its operational area. The unit must also understand how adversary and third-party organizations use information to achieve their objectives. … INFORMATION SUPERIORITY 1-9. Information superiority is the purpose of IO. It is also the reason why a commander allocates resources to IO. Information superiority should not be treated as a doctrinal catch-phrase. Just as each mission’s end state is different, so is information superiority. For example, during combat operations, information superiority can be gaining surprise over the enemy or preventing the enemy from employing its reserve forces. During counterinsurgency operations, information superiority can be gaining populace support for friendly operations or preventing enemy freedom of flow. In each case, information superiority is defined specifically for the mission in terms of what advantage is sought for the friendly force. 1-10. To achieve information superiority, an SF unit uses information to actively attack the adversary and to shape the information environment to the force’s own advantage. This duality of operations—attacking the adversary and shaping the information environment—is analogous to “fires and maneuvers,” where fires equate to attacking the adversary’s ability to use information, and maneuvers are actions to seize and retain information nodes to gain a positional advantage in the information environment. To be effective, an information operation balances lethal and nonlethal activities to attack the adversary with those that shape the information environment. Through a combination of both, an SF unit seeks information superiority over its opponent. 1-11. An SF unit will rarely achieve absolute and universal information superiority. The actions of opposing forces, as well as the information content and flow in the operational area, are not static. Therefore, information superiority is a localized and transitory condition over the adversary. SF units seek information superiority at certain times and places, usually at or before the decisive point of the operation. Chapter 3 provides additional information. … … MILITARY DECEPTION 2-11. JP 1-02 defines MILDEC as actions executed to deliberately mislead adversary military decision makers as to friendly military capabilities, intentions, and operations, thereby causing the adversary to take specific actions (or inactions) that will contribute to the accomplishment of the friendly mission. 2-12. MILDEC is more of a process or way of thinking than a capability with tangible assets and resources. It may be executed using a unit’s own troops and equipment. An effective deception does not have to be elaborate or complex; however, any time deception is part of an operation, it is the main effort for the information operation and should be included in the defined operational advantage (information superiority) provided for the mission. 2-13. MILDEC is a method, not a result. MILDEC is not conducted merely to deceive an adversary. Deception is used only to support the mission. Figure 2-5 shows ways to employ MILDEC. 2-14. MILDEC actively targets adversary leaders and decisionmakers in support of specific battles and engagements. It creates an exploitable advantage by misleading or confusing the adversary’s decisionmaker. Distorting, concealing, or falsifying indicators of friendly intentions, capabilities, or dispositions that the adversary will see and collect can mislead or confuse the adversary. MILDEC is conducted at all levels—strategic, operational, and tactical—and must be carefully coordinated to deconflict operations between the HQ and subordinate units. 2-15. Deception in support of OPSEC is conducted to reinforce unit OPSEC and is planned using the OPSEC plan as the basis for the deception. A deception in support of OPSEC uses false information about friendly forces’ intentions, capabilities, or vulnerabilities to shape the adversary’s perceptions. It targets the adversary’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance abilities to distract the adversary’s intelligence collection away from, or provide cover for, unit operations. A deception in support of OPSEC is a relatively easy form of deception to use and is very appropriate for use at battalion-level and below. To be successful, a balance must be achieved between OPSEC and MILDEC requirements. 2-16. Camouflage, concealment, and decoys are normally individual or unit responsibilities and governed by SOP. These actions may be taken for their own ends. They can also play a role in a larger MILDEC or deception in support of OPSEC operations where camouflage, concealment, and decoys comprise just a few of many elements that mislead the adversary’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance abilities. Merely hiding forces may not be adequate, as the adversary may need to “see” these forces elsewhere. In such cases, cover and concealment can hide the presence of friendly forces, but decoy placement should be coordinated as part of the deception in support of OPSEC. 2-17. The uncertainties of combat make decisionmakers susceptible to deception. The basic mechanism for any deception is either to increase or decrease the level of uncertainty (commonly referred to as ambiguity) in the mind of the deception target. Both MILDEC and deception in support of OPSEC present false information to the adversary’s decisionmaker to manipulate their uncertainty. Deception may be used in the following ways: Ambiguity-decreasing deception. This type of deception presents false information that shapes the adversary decisionmaker’s thinking so he makes and executes a specific decision that can be exploited by friendly forces. This deception reduces uncertainty and normally confirms the adversary decisionmaker’s preconceived beliefs so the decisionmaker becomes very certain about his COA. By making the wrong decision, which is the deception objective, the adversary could misemploy forces and provide friendly forces an operational advantage. For example, ambiguity-decreasing deceptions can present supporting elements of information concerning a specific adversary’s COA. These deceptions are complex to plan and execute, but the potential rewards are often worth the increased effort and resources. Ambiguity-increasing deception. This deception presents false information aimed to confuse the adversary decisionmaker, thereby increasing the decisionmaker’s uncertainty. This confusion can produce different results. Ambiguity-increasing deceptions can challenge the enemy’s preconceived beliefs, draw enemy attention from one set of activities to another, create the illusion of strength where weakness exists, create the illusion of weakness where strength exists, and accustom the adversary to particular patterns of activity that are exploitable at a later time. For example, it can cause the target to delay a decision until it is too late to prevent friendly-mission success. It can place the target in a dilemma for which there is no acceptable solution. It may even prevent the target from taking any action at all. Deceptions in support of OPSEC are typically executed as this type of deception. … INFORMATION OPERATIONS OBJECTIVES 3-29. IO objectives describe the effects that will achieve information superiority. IO objectives do not stand alone, but support the commander’s operational intent. As such, an IO objective is a statement of what IO will do to attack the adversary or shape the environment to achieve information superiority. For example, if information superiority for an operation is “prevent target from moving from Objective Black prior to attack,” then IO objectives could be “disrupt adversary communications within Operational Area Blue to prevent early warning,” “deceive adversary decisionmakers on Objective Black to prevent relocation of C2,” or “influence local populace in Operational Area Blue to support friendly-force operations with preventing populace reporting of friendly-force activities.” 3-30. For each mission or COA considered, IO planners develop IO objectives based on the tasks for IO identified during mission analysis. Depending upon the complexity or duration of the mission (for example, a tactical direct-action mission versus a long-term FID defense mission) there may be only one IO objective or there may be numerous IO objectives developed for each phase of the overall operation. Generally, regardless of the mission, no more than five objectives are planned for execution at any one time in the operation. 3-31. When possible, IO objectives should be observable (the desired effect is detectable), achievable (assets and time are available to accomplish the objective), and quantifiable (the desired effect can be measured). The effects describe a physical or cognitive condition either in the information environment (focus on information content and flow) or against adversary forces (focus on cognition and behavior). IO objectives should not specify ways or means (that is, IO capabilities). 3-32. There is no doctrinal format for an IO objective. One possible format uses target, action, purpose, effect: Target describes the object of the desired effect. Action describes the capability or cognitive function of the target. Purpose describes what will be accomplished for the friendly force. Effect describes the outcome (for example, destroy, degrade, disrupt, or deceive).Apr 10
U.S. Army War College Study: Regaining Strategic Initiative in the Gray Zone - INTO THE NEW GRAY ZONE U.S. competitors pursuing meaningful revision or rejection of the current U.S.-led status quo are employing a host of hybrid methods to advance and secure interests that are in many cases contrary to those of the United States. These challengers employ unique combinations of influence, intimidation, coercion, and aggression to incrementally crowd out effective resistance, establish local or regional advantages, and manipulate risk perceptions in their favor. So far, the United States has not come up with a coherent countervailing approach. It is in this “gray zone”—the awkward and uncomfortable space between traditional conceptions of war and peace—where the United States and its defense enterprise face systemic challenges to U.S. position and authority. As a result, gray zone competition and conflict should be pacers for defense strategy. DESCRIBING THE GRAY ZONE For defense and military strategists, the gray zone is a broad carrier concept for a universe of often-dissimilar strategic challenges. Defense-relevant gray zone threats lie between “classic” war and peace, legitimate and illegitimate motives and methods, universal and conditional norms, order and anarchy; and traditional, irregular, or unconventional means. All gray zone challenges are distinct or unique, yet nonetheless share three common characteristics: hybridity, menace to defense/military convention, and risk-confusion. First, all gray zone challenges are some hybrid combination of adverse methods and strategic effects. Second, they menace American defense and military convention because they simply do not conform neatly to a linear spectrum of conflict or equally linear military campaign models. Finally, they are profoundly risk-confused; as such, they disrupt strategic risk calculations by presenting a paralyzing choice between action and inaction. The hazards associated with either choice appear to be equally high and unpalatable. For Department of Defense (DoD) strategists and planners, gray zone competition and conflict persistently complicate military decision-making, deployment models, and force calculations. They often fall outside the defense conceptions of war, yet they can rapidly and unexpectedly fall into them via miscalculation and unintended escalation. In the end, whether emerging via purpose or implication, gray zone challenges increasingly exact warlike consequences on the United States and its partners. AN IMPERATIVE TO ADAPT U.S. defense strategists and planners must dispense with outdated strategic assumptions about the United States, its global position, and the rules that govern the exercise of contemporary power. In fact, the U.S. defense enterprise should rely on three new core assumptions. First, the United States and the U.S.-dominated status quo will encounter persistent, unmitigated resistance. Second, that resistance will take the form of gray zone competition and conflict. Finally, the gray zone will confound U.S. defense strategists and institutions until it is normalized and more fully accounted for by the DoD. These assumptions, combined with the gray zone’s vexing action-inaction risk dilemma, indicate there is an urgent necessity for U.S. defense adaptation. Without it, the United States introduces itself to enormous strategic risk. The consequences associated with such failure to adapt range from inadvertent escalation to general war, ceding control of U.S. interests, or gradual erosion of meaningful redlines in the face of determined competitors. These risks or losses could occur absent a declared or perceived state of war. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Examining the gray zone challenge through the lens of five archetypes—three state competitors (China, Russia, and Iran), one volatile environment (Middle East and North Africa), and the United States—this study arrived at six core findings and four recommendations. The findings and recommendations are statements of principle. The study team suggests that these principles will provide senior defense leadership with touchstones for deeper examination. The findings and recommendations are broken into two major categories: policy and strategy, and operational plans and military capabilities. The former provide judgments affecting high-level DoD decision-making, while the latter informs how the U.S. military might consider employing forces and assets. POLICY AND STRATEGY In the area of policy and strategy, this study found that there is no common perception of the nature, character, or hazard associated with the gray zone or its individual threats and challenges. Consequently, there are gaps in strategic design, deliberate plans, and defense capabilities as they apply to operating and succeeding in gray zone environments. This study further found that there is significant asymmetry in risk perceptions between the United States, its partners, and their principal gray zone adversaries and competitors. The results of this apparent asymmetry of risk-perception are predictable—loss of initiative, ceded control over interests or territory, and a position of general disadvantage in the face of aggressive gray zone competition. Finally, this study discovered that there is neither an animating grand strategy nor “campaign-like” charter guiding U.S. defense efforts against specific gray zone challenges. Because of this, U.S. gray zone responses are generally overly reactive, late, and ineffective. In response to these findings, this study recommends that the DoD develop a common, compelling, and adaptive strategic picture of the range of gray zone threats and their associated hazards. This new perspective should adequately assess the current gray zone landscape, the likeliest future trajectory of its constituent threats, and finally, the prospects for sharp deviations from current trends that might trigger a fundamental defense reorientation. It further recommends that the DoD “lead up” and develop actionable, classified strategic approaches to discrete gray zone challenges and challengers. Without a coherent approach to reasserting U.S. leadership, the United States risks losing control over the security of its core interests and increasing constraints on its global freedom of action. OPERATIONAL PLANS AND MILITARY CAPABILITIES In the area of operational plans and military capabilities, this study found that combatant commanders’ (CCDR) presumptive future gray zone responsibilities do not align with their current authorities. Combatant commands (CCMDs) need greater flexibility to adapt to their theater strategic conditions, and must act to gain and maintain the initiative within their areas of responsibility. It further found that the current U.S./North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) joint phasing model is inadequate to seize and maintain the initiative in the gray zone. Purposeful gray zone revisionist actors are successfully campaigning and achieving warlike objectives inside the steady state or deterrence phases of the U.S./NATO joint phasing model. Further, contextual forces of rejection are themselves accumulating warlike wins in the absence of a coherent non-linear U.S. approach. Finally, this study concluded that current U.S. concepts for campaign design, the employment of forces, and the use of force are not well-adapted to persistent gray zone competition and conflict. To contend effectively with the implications of these findings, this study recommends the following initiatives. First, CCDRs should be empowered to “operate” against active gray zone competition and conflict with new capabilities and agile, adaptive models for campaigning. This implies that CCDRs should possess the requisite responsibility, authority, and tools essential to achieve favorable outcomes that are in their purview. In addition, this study found that the DoD and the Joint Force should develop and employ new and adaptable concepts, capabilities, and organizational solutions to confront U.S. gray zone challenges. It recommends a number of specific actions to improve U.S. military performance in the areas of ground and special operations forces (SOF), air and maritime capabilities, cyber capabilities, exercises, and power projection. WAY AHEAD—ADAPTATION AND ACTIVISM Normalizing and accounting for the DoD’s burgeoning gray zone challenge relies on the socialization of two important concepts—adaptation and activism. The defense enterprise needs to adapt to how it sees its gray zone challenges; how it charters strategic action against them; and, finally, how it designs, prioritizes, and undertakes that strategic action. All of these require a robust and activist DoD response. To date, the United States favors approaches that are more conservative. This study suggests that continuing such approaches invites substantial and potentially irreversible strategic consequences.Apr 2
(U//FOUO) U. S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa Campaign Plan 2016-2020: Theater Crisis and Contingency Response Forces in Readiness - The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa Campaign Plan 2016-2020 defines the organization’s desired baseline operating conditions and capabilities beyond a one-year planning and execution cycle and directs action to achieve desired end states. The Campaign Plan synthesizes strategic guidance provided by U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM), and Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC); accounts for the Commanders’ priorities and vision; establishes a deliberate yet broadly-defined multi-year plan to achieve stated objectives; and provides a framework for implementation, periodic assessment, and refinement. The Campaign Plan will be supported by Fiscal Year Implementation Plans that will further refine the guidance of the multi-year Campaign Plan into detailed single-year Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms) with specific tasking to MARFOREUR/AF staff sections and subordinate commands. … STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT While the most dangerous challenges facing MARFOREUR/AF are associated with USEUCOM contingencies, the most likely are associated with crises in USAFRICOM. Since World War II, European allies and partners have worked with the United States to achieve security and stability, and Europe continues to be critical to U.S. national security interests around the globe. Growing instability, however, is being fueled by aggressive Russian behavior and NATO is undergoing a profound historical change to address a diversity of European and global challenges. Africa remains an enduring interest for the United States and its importance will continue to increase as African economies, population, and influence grow. Our engagement now can assist our African partners in realizing their potential and gaining the capability to solve African problems. African solutions to African problems are in the best interest of Africans, Americans, and indeed the world. USEUCOM AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (AOR) After nearly a quarter century of relative geopolitical stability, Europe is entering a new strategic era that reflects a return to great superpower competition. The USEUCOM Theater Campaign Plan defines three threats in the AOR that drive the reframing of USEUCOM’s theater campaign: A revanchist Russian Federation coercing European states Terrorism stemming from the Syrian civil war and instability in North Africa providing safe haven and operating space to Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs), thereby generating foreign fighter flow to, from, and within Europe Continued threats to Israel USEUCOM is promoting a balanced approach and working with allies and partners to address these challenges. Key to this approach is being able to deter our most advanced competitors. To do so, we must have—and be seen to have—the ability to fight and win. Given our budget, our capabilities, our readiness, and our actions, U.S. Marines must and will be prepared for a high-end full-spectrum enemy. The European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) demonstrates U.S. commitment to the security of our allies and partners and to protecting our homeland through several lines of effort, including: (1) increased U.S. military presence in Europe; (2) additional bilateral and multilateral exercises and training with allies and partners; (3) improved infrastructure to allow for greater responsiveness; (4) enhanced prepositioning of U.S. equipment in Europe; and (5) intensified efforts to build partner capacity for newer NATO members and other partners. Russia and Eastern Europe: Russia poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and our allies and partners in Europe. Russian intimidation of the Baltic states, revitalization of its Arctic bases, and aggressive actions in the air, at sea and in cyberspace are the cause of much concern. Meanwhile, Russia continues to develop advanced military systems that seek to threaten our advantages in specific areas and, in some cases, they’re developing weapons and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) that seek to achieve their objectives rapidly, in an effort to deny our ability to respond. The Levant: The emergence of the Islamic State is a significant regional development as the group now controls substantial portions of Iraq and Syria through its rapid para-military expansion and growth in resources. Internal strife in Syria continues to fuel the group amid sectarian friction, at great cost to human life. Syria has become a magnet for global jihad; a situation that is likely to persist. Ongoing, severe spillover effects include a flood of refugees and an influx of foreign fighters into neighboring countries and throughout Europe. Israel is in a region of growing instability, surrounded by adversaries in the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai Peninsula, and southern Lebanon. Continued U.S. political and security guarantees have left our strategic partnership with Israel unshaken, as Israel will be a key ally with which to coordinate efforts to minimize extremist influence in the broader Levant. The Arctic: The Arctic is at a critical point in its transformation from a relatively isolated region to one where receding ice is enabling increased human access. As climate change and the variability of new energy sources shape the global environment, these shifts will affect our strategic outlook, especially in the Arctic. As more countries operate in the Arctic, more opportunities and challenges will arise. The United States is committed to working with allies and partners to keep the region stable and secure through this historic change. U.S. Naval forces are uniquely capable of conducting operations across the vast distances, remote outposts, scarce infrastructure, and seasonal challenges present in the Arctic.Apr 2
The 2017 Guide to Detecting Homegrown Violent Extremists - A graphic from the 2017 National Counterterrorism Center handbook on indicators of mobilization to violence among homegrown violent extremists depicts a man watching a video of Anwar al-Awlaki. The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) has released a 2017 version of their handbook for spotting indicators of mobilization to violence among homegrown violent extremists (HVEs).  The guide was originally intended for distribution among public safety personnel and is not intended for public release, but has since appeared on several publicly accessible law enforcement mailing lists and conference websites.  In 2014, the NCTC’s Office of National Intelligence Management formed an Interagency Analytic Focus Group with members from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, FBI, NSA, as well as representatives of state and local law enforcement.  The focus group “collaboratively developed the list of behavioral indicators and ranked them into three tiers of diagnosticity,” eventually developing a list to distribute to law enforcement personnel.  The 2017 handbook released by NCTC is a version of that list updated with new indicators observed since the handbook was last published. Intended to provide “a roadmap of observable behaviors that could inform whether individuals or groups are preparing to engage in violent extremist activities,” the handbook is a slick 36-page publication with colorful graphics depicting dozens of behavioral indicators that an HVE is mobilizing to violence.  These behaviors are divided into three groups based on their overall diagnostic capacity.  Group A includes indicators that are “very diagnostic on their own” and thus require little else to indicate mobilization to violence.  These indicators include “preparing or disseminating a last will or martyrdom video/statement” as well as “planning or attempting to travel to a conflict zone to fight with or support an FTO.”  Group B includes indicators that are “moderately diagnostic, more so when observed with other indicators.”  These include more common activities that may not directly indicate an imminent threat of violence, such as “posting terrorist icons/flags/prominent figures to social media” and “expressing acceptance of violence as a necessary means to achieve ideological goals.”  Group C includes indicators that are even more common and thus are “minimally diagnostic on their own,” requiring the “presence of other indicators to gain diagnosticity.”  This group includes “unusual purchase of military style tactical equipment” and “blaming external factors for failure in school, career, or relationships.” A graphic depicting the scale of threat levels assigned to various behavior indicators of mobilization to violence among HVEs. The guide also introduces a scale for evaluating the overall threat level of indicators by ranking: how diagnostic they are in positively identifying mobilization to violence; how dependent they are on other indicators to positively diagnose mobilization; how easily observable the indicators are; as well as whether the indicators present a long-term, near-term, or imminent concern.  For example, someone “disseminating a last will or martyrdom video/statement” is ranked as highly diagnostic, independent of other indicators, and observable, presenting an imminent concern.  An indicator like “surveilling potential targets” is moderately diagnostic and observable, but is highly dependent on other indicators and only presents a near-term concern. While some of the initial indicators in Group A seem plainly apparent as being indicators of mobilization towards violence, many indicators in the Group B and C are broad and at times confusing in their origin.  One indicator in Group C is “inappropriate use of what an individual perceives as ‘doctrine’ to manipulate the behavior of parents, co-workers, close friends and family.”  The guide offers examples of this indicator including “criticism of parents’ clothing choices, reading material choices, musical preferences, religious practices, interfaith friendships.”  Another broad indicator in Group B is “use of encrypted media applications to engage with unknown overseas individuals.”  Several indicators in Group C also relate to communications privacy, such as “utilizing communication security techniques” and “discussing operational security.”  Many of these indicators are rated as being dependent upon other evidence “pointing to terrorism and intent to take violent action” and the guide makes clear that “many of these signals or indicators—some of which might involve constitutionally protected activities—may be insignificant on their own.”  If any public safety personnel receiving the guide “reasonably believes” based on the information contained in the guide “that an individual may be mobilizing to violence “they are encouraged to “inform LE agencies with investigative authorities via mechanisms like E-Guardian or Suspicious Activity Reporting.” Mar 26
(U//FOUO) NCTC Homegrown Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators for Public Safety Personnel 2017 Edition - (U//FOUO) The indicators of violent extremist mobilization described herein are intended to provide federal, state, local, territorial and tribal law enforcement a roadmap of observable behaviors that could inform whether individuals or groups are preparing to engage in violent extremist activities including potential travel overseas to join a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The indicators are grouped by their assessed levels of diagnosticity—meaning how clearly we judge the behavior demonstrates an individual’s trajectory towards terrorist activity. The list also includes additional information concerning what the behavior could indicate, identifies likely observers, and provides a probable timeframe between behavior and an ultimate violent act. Some of these activities might be constitutionally protected and may be insignificant on their own, but, when observed in combination with other suspicious behaviors, may constitute a basis for reporting. Law enforcement (LE) action should not be taken based solely on the exercise of constitutionally protected activities or on the apparent race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion of the subject. BACKGROUND (U//FOUO) By law, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) focuses on international terrorism. Senior Intelligence Community officials judge that violent extremists inspired or enabled by the self-proclaimed Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Qa‘ida, including their allies and affiliates, are among the most lethal international terrorist threats to the Homeland. This product focuses on the threat from those actors. (U//FOUO) In 2014, NCTC’s Office of National Intelligence Management (NIM) formed an Interagency Analytic Focus Group, including experts from DCTC, DHS/I&A, DOE, FBI, NCTC, NSA, and cleared representatives of State and local law enforcement, who collaboratively developed the list of behavioral indicators and ranked them into three tiers of diagnosticity. The focus group created this list with law enforcement, homeland security, and public safety officials in mind. The focus group updated the list for 2017 based on new indicators observed since the publication of the original booklet. GROUP INDICATORS (U//FOUO) GROUP A Indicators are very diagnostic on their own. (U//FOUO) GROUP B Indicators are moderately diagnostic, more so when observed with other indicators. (U//FOUO) GROUP C Indicators are minimally diagnostic on their own and require the presence of other indicators to gain diagnosticity. (U//FOUO) Nothing in this list of indicators is intended to confer additional authorities to law enforcement beyond that which is provided by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Officers who believe individuals are exhibiting significant mobilization indicators are encouraged to immediately contact the local FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. … (U//FOUO) WHAT IS A HOMEGROWN VIOLENT EXTREMIST? (U//FOUO) A Homegrown Violent Extremist (HVE) is a violent extremist of any citizenship who has lived and/or operated primarily in the United States or its territories, and who is acting independently of the direction of a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Because HVEs are acting to further the goals of an FTO, they are considered foreign intelligence threats under the authorities of both the Intelligence Community and domestic public safety entities. (U//FOUO) WHY WAS THIS BOOKLET CREATED? (U//FOUO) We face a heightened threat environment in the United States as HVEs heed the call to violence from ISIL and other global jihadist groups. • (U//FOUO) The rise of ISIL and an uptick in extremist travel and unsophisticated attacks—inspired in part by ISIL—prompted us to reexamine a set of violent mobilization indicators originally published in 2011. • (U//FOUO) Recent HVE attacks in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas have added urgency to publishing this booklet. (U//FOUO) We published this booklet to inform our federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement (LE) and private sector partners about what signals—or indicators—we judge HVEs, particularly those inspired or enabled by ISIL or al-Qa‘ida, might display that could potentially be detected by first responder personnel and other people. We emphasize that many of these signals or indicators—some of which might involve constitutionally protected activities—may be insignificant on their own. However, when such signals or indicators are observed in combination with other suspicious behaviors, they may constitute a basis for reporting. LE action should not be taken solely based on the exercise of constitutionally protected activities or on the apparent race, ethnicity, national origin or religion of the subject, or on any combination of any such factors. (U//FOUO) WHO IS THE BOOKLET’S TARGET AUDIENCE? (U//FOUO) We tailored this booklet specifically for first responders, including LE, homeland security, and public safety officials. These officials are on the front line in their communities, are well positioned to notice suspicious behaviors outlined in the booklet, and have the potential to maintain regular engagement with members of their communities who may also witness indicators mentioned in the booklet. (U//FOUO) If members of the public suspect—based on these indicators—that an individual is mobilizing to violence, they should contact LE. (U//FOUO) HOW WAS THIS BOOKLET DEVELOPED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘DIAGNOSTICITY?’ (U//FOUO) NCTC conceptualized this booklet with the help of an interagency focus group, including officers from the FBI, the DHS, cleared representatives of state and local LE agencies, and subject matter experts. We decided to broadly publish it for public safety officials, to address the obvious need to inform those on the front lines of the effort to detect violent extremists in the United States. (U//FOUO) The group determined that the ideal manner of listing indicators would be by diagnosticity—the extent to which behaviors indicate violent mobilization – instead of by measuring how often the behaviors have been reported in past cases. The highest tier of behaviors would most likely indicate mobilization, behaviors in the middle tier would indicate mobilization when observed with other indicators, while the behaviors in the lowest tier would only  likely indicate violent mobilization when combined with multiple other behaviors. • (U//FOUO) An example of a Group A highest-tier behavior or hard indicator is the potential observation of an individual preparing and posting a last will or martyrdom video or statement to the Internet. The group judged that this behavior would be diagnostic on its own and may be observable if shared with or otherwise discovered by family, friends, and bystanders, and online and social media contacts. • (U//FOUO) Examples of Group C lowest-tier behaviors or soft indicators would be those that on their own do not suggest mobilization, but when taken together would become more diagnostic. None of those behaviors, by themselves, conclusively signal violent mobilization. • (U//FOUO) The behaviors noted in the booklet were based on a review of information derived from dozens of FBI terrorism investigations over the past three years and brainstorming sessions by focus group members.Mar 26
ICANN-Europol Update on Whois-Related Initiatives - Uses of the WHOIS Traditionally: • Contact point for incident response • Determination of availability of domain names But also: • Assisting, public safety organisations, businesses, consumer groups, individuals in combating abuse and fraud and seeking redress. • Help with online crime attribution … Mar 26
FBI Cyber Bulletin: Cyber Criminals Targeting FTP Servers to Compromise Protected Health Information - The FBI is aware of criminal actors who are actively targeting File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers operating in “anonymous” mode and associated with medical and dental facilities to access protected health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII) in order to intimidate, harass, and blackmail business owners. Threat Research conducted by the University of Michigan in 2015 titled, “FTP: The Forgotten Cloud,” indicated over 1 million FTP servers were configured to allow anonymous access, potentially exposing sensitive data stored on the servers. The anonymous extension of FTP allows a user to authenticate to the FTP server with a common username such as “anonymous” or “ftp” without submitting a password or by submitting a generic password or e-mail address. While computer security researchers are actively seeking FTP servers in anonymous mode to conduct legitimate research, other individuals are making connections to these servers to compromise PHI and PII for the purposes of intimidating, harassing, and blackmailing business owners. Cyber criminals could also use an FTP server in anonymous mode and configured to allow “write” access to store malicious tools or launch targeted cyber attacks. In general, any misconfigured or unsecured server operating on a business network on which sensitive data is stored or processed exposes the business to data theft and compromise by cyber criminals who can use the data for criminal purposes such as blackmail, identity theft, or financial fraud. Recommendations The FBI recommends medical and dental healthcare entities request their respective IT services personnel to check networks for FTP servers running in anonymous mode. If businesses have a legitimate use for operating a FTP server in anonymous mode, administrators should ensure sensitive PHI or PII is not stored on the server.Mar 26
U.S. Army Worldwide Equipment Guide 2015 Update - Volume 1: Ground Systems 658 pages 15,550,306  bytes  FD2C566BB002FD5D7CAE1754AE11619A803B90AECEE1890DBA8BC8450535DB27 Volume 2: Air and Air Defense Systems 490 pages 8,633,454  bytes  957E099E8E63975DB197EBD1FDEF27B70AA9BB61B09A923E85096091FE7AE769 Volume 3: Naval Systems 69 pages 2,781,746  bytes  46972E3456364C4F010F139283801A6A1A7B676D3DDC47E2084539EB100712DA 1. In today’s complicated and uncertain world, it is impossible to predict the exact nature of the next conflict that may involve U.S. joint forces. We must be ready to meet the challenges of any type of conflict, in all kinds of places, and against all types of threats in all Complex Operational Environments. As a training tool, the opposing force (OPFOR) must be a challenging, uncooperative sparring partner capable of stressing any or all warfighting functions and mission-essential tasks of the U.S. force. 2. The Army Training Circular 7-100 series describes the doctrine, organizations, TTP, and equipment of such an OPFOR and how to combine it with other operational variables to portray the qualities of a full range of conditions appropriate to Army training environments. 3. The WEG was developed to support the TC 7- 100 series and all OPFOR portrayal in training simulations (live, virtual, constructive, and gaming). The equipment portrayed in the WEG represents military systems, variants, and upgrades that US forces may encounter now and in the foreseeable future. The authors continually analyze realworld developments, capabilities, and trends to guarantee the OPFOR remains relevant. 4. Published in three volumes, (Ground; Airspace & Air Defense Systems; and Naval & Littoral Systems) the WEG is the approved document for OPFOR equipment data used in U.S. Army training. Annual updates are posted on the ATN website. Therefore it is available for downloading and local distribution. Distribution restriction is unlimited. This issue replaces all previous issues. … Mar 11
U.S. Army Threat Tactics Report: Boko Haram - Boko Haram is a relatively new organization, having begun serious military operations against the Nigerian government in 2009. Abubakar Shekau leads a confederation of sub organizations with commanders who mostly control their own day-to-day operations. Shekau’s legitimacy comes from his position as deputy to the founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf. Boko Haram primarily conducts offensive raids, assaults, and ambushes against thinly-stretched and poorly-resourced Nigerian security elements and civilians in northeastern Nigeria. Influence from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), to whom Boko Haram recently swore allegiance, can be seen in an improved and increasing Boko Haram social media presence. The Nigerian military counterinsurgency campaign begun in 2013 has reduced Boko Haram’s freedom of maneuver within Nigeria, causing it to setup safe havens in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon utilizing hundreds of unguarded border transit points. Due to a campaign of violence against civilians and businesses, Boko Haram has lost both Nigerian civilian support and recruits, causing it to look to disaffected and poverty-ridden areas in border countries, particularly Cameroon. Boko Haram’s violent attacks have alienated it from much of the Nigerian population. … The primary goal of Boko Haram is to institute an Islamic state throughout Nigeria based on a fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law with an inevitable regional expansion. The founder and spiritual leader of Boko Haram, Muhammed Yusuf, and his followers originally believed in a peaceful transition and made what the current Boko Haram leadership considered illegitimate concessions to and compromises with secular and government leaders. The group has since adopted a takfirist ideology—the belief that less than a strict adherence to Salafist Islam makes a Muslim an “apostate” equal to infidels and, therefore, a legitimate target. Boko Haram has targeted and killed a number of prominent Muslim leaders who have been critical of the organization. Boko Haram considers any support of Western or secular ideas, such as schools based on Western influence, heretical and worthy of attack. The movement is not without provocations which have contributed to the escalation of its use of violence in pursuit of its goals. Decades of resentment against corruption, poverty, and perceived inequality have given Boko Haram its trajectory toward becoming an ever more violent organization. The reintroduction of sharia criminal courts in northern Islamic states failed because of the general perception of unfairness by the population. Police brutality, extrajudicial killings by security forces, and disappearances of people taken into custody have bred general distrust, animosity, and resistance to the Nigerian government that has not fully investigated and prosecuted offenses. Despite being Africa’s largest economy with great natural resource wealth, it has one of the poorest populations with a large percent of people living on less than $1 a day. The disparity in distribution of that wealth is stark in its inequitable concentration with 72 percent of the North’s population living in poverty compared with 27 percent in the South and 35 percent in the Niger Delta. The population in the North is caught between two violent and contesting forces, Boko Haram and the Nigerian security forces. … Mar 11

Sunlight Foundation Blog

Today in OpenGov: Tracking open data to Birmingham, digging into Trump’s inauguration donations, and more… - In today's edition, we track open data to Birmingham, Alabama, dig into documentation on donations to President Trump's inaugural committee, share our suggestions for a new FOIA portal, and more… states and cities   Birmingham, Alabama officially embraces open data. Mayor William A. Bell signed an executive order ushering in an era of open data in the Alabama city. Birmingham will work with OpenGov to build an open data portal. Read Birmingham's press release announcing the move.  "Smart cities" must have clear policies around data use and privacy. Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal looked at the rise of smart cities, prompting us to point out the need for clear, accountable methodologies when it comes to data use and predictive analytics. When ever there's a gap between what the public knows about how governments collect data, about whom and when — or how it's used — and what's actually happening, it damages public trust. Read our full statement on Facebook.  How Kansas City, Missouri inventoried and improved its data, boosting transparency. "When Chief Data Officer Eric Roche realized how much time he was spending updating out-of-date, non-automated open data in the city’s portal, he embarked on a project to understand and inventory the data in all departments to develop a more systematic approach to open data publishing in the city." (Government Technology) A year later, fears around Washington, D.C.'s police body camera policy appear unfounded. During a 2015 debate over the policy mayor Muriel Bowser "fought to prohibit public access, in part with forecasts that the District faced sky-high costs–more than a million dollars a year–for new staff to handle time-consuming review of an expected 4,500 requests a year." After a year, only 60 requests for footage have been filed with costs only reaching $25,000. (DC Open Government Coalition) Money in politics   Ann Ravel and Zach Galifianakis talk dark money. Former Federal Election Commissioner Ann Ravel joined comedian Zach Galifianakis to talk about dark money and its influence on our political system as part of the "docu-series" America Divided. Watch the video on YouTube or check it out below. Trump's inauguration powered by corporate powers and business titans numerous million dollar donations. "Numerous corporate powerhouses and individual business titans — including fossil fuel, financial and food and beverage interests with lucrative business before the federal government — helped fund President Donald Trump's inauguration, according to a new disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission." (Center for Public Integrity) Around 45 individuals or corporations donated at least $1 million to the inaugural committee, with Sheldon Adelson dropping $5 million on the festivities. (The Hill) Filing reveals inaugural donors, but spending remains a mystery. "Though this report shows how much money Trump's inauguration brought in, it does not detail exactly how that money was spent. Presidential inauguration committees do not have to disclose that to the FEC." (NPR) Washington Watch   Office of Special Counsel files briefs supporting two defense whistleblowers. "The Office of Special Counsel on Tuesday announced it had filed two amicus curiae briefs challenging judges’ rulings that 'restrict whistleblower protections for federal workers.'" (Government Executive) DOJ and 18F team up to build new FOIA portal, seek public input. The Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy announced yesterday that they are collaborating with 18F on "the development of a National FOIA Portal." If you're interested in "joining the effort and providing feedback throughout the process" you can email the team at National.FOIAPortal@usdoj.gov by April 28th. (Office of Information Policy) Last November, we shared a number of ideas about how to build a better FOIA.gov by connecting FOI to open data.  House Oversight chair declines 2018 reelection bid. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced that he would not run for another term in 2018. (POLITICO) Chaffetz has so far seemed hesitant to perform energetic oversight against a President from his own party. We will be watching to see if that changes now that he doesn't have the politics of reelection to worry about.  Watchdog to file suit for Trump Tower wiretap records. American Oversight, a Washington-based ethics watchdog group, is planning "to sue the Department of Justice for records regarding wiretaps of Trump Tower and the investigation into connections between members of President Trump's campaign and Russia." (The Hill) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. Today at 12 PM: Webinar on "Kick-Starting Data-Driven Government". Hosted by Data-Smart project director Stephen Goldsmith. Register here! April 26th, 6:00 PM: "Participatory Organizing: From Co-Op to Network to Mass Movement" in Washington, DC. The OpenGov Hub is hosting a co-created workshop on collaborative culture and non-hierarchical organizing. We combine storytelling and participation to learn together about democratic, bottom-up organizing at different scales: from co-ops, to networks, cities and nations. We'll offer some practices and tools that have helped us, and discover the intelligence in the room too. Learn more and register here.  May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Learn more here.  June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here. Are you hosting an event that you'd like to see highlighted in this newsletter? Please let us know by sending a quick email to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com with a brief description and a link to the event page.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 20
Today in OpenGov: Syracuse opens up, Steve Ballmer discovers government data, and more… - In today's edition, we examine Syracuse's push towards openness, ask some questions about a former Microsoft CEO's newfound interest in government data, track another round of Trump trademarks, share an open contracting challenge, and more… states and cities   Syracuse, NY takes collaborative approach to crafting a new open data policy. "City Hall wants people to have easier access to things like code violations, pothole locations and other information they're seeking…Syracuse's innovation office is crafting an open data policy for sharing all sorts of stats on the operation of city government." (Syracuse.com) The draft policy is up for public comment on the Madison platform.  Hawaii's geospatial data portal like "Google Maps" for Aloha State government data. "Maps identifying everything from the locations of homeless shelters to ahupuaa boundaries are now available online to the public thanks to a partnership between the state Office of Planning and the Office of Enterprise Technology Serv­ices." (Government Technology) The beltway, inside and out   Former Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer's USAFacts.org went live, seeking to inform the public about how their taxpayer dollars are spent using government data. (Wired) Ballmer reportedly put $10 million into funding the development of the website which, as we highlighted last November, presents federal, state, and local data in an interactive online format. (New York Times) USAFacts published a report (yes, a PDF) modeled on the annual 10K financial reports that companies submit to the SEC. (USAFacts.org) We heartily endorse the stated purpose of the project and agree that increased transparency will "help voters judge the effectiveness of our Government’s programs, improving the accountability that is essential to a well-functioning democracy."    Balmer introduced the site at an event in New York yesterday. Watch the video below: As stated in the methodology, USAFacts analyzed federal data about local programs, but it doesn't advance the field by opening up state and city spending data. Sunlight's Alex Howard praised the effort, while noting its disconnect from, and potential overlap with, existing open data programs: "It doesn't seem like Mr. Ballmer talked to people in Washington and in the open government community writ large about what existed already and what would be useful." He also expressed skepticism that the site's underlying data would be made open. (Federal Computer Week) Meanwhile, efforts to revamp the Federal government's spending data are moving along. An alpha version of the new USASpending.gov recently launched in anticipation of DATA Act reporting deadlines in May.  In a blow to FOIA requesters, DOD and Joint Chiefs remove lists of classified directives from web. "FOIA requesters who relied on lists of classified directives published by both the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to know what documents to file FOIA requests for may now be out of luck. In a transparency backslide, both the DOD and JCS websites no longer publish lists of classified directives and instructions, making it impossible to know what to FOIA." (National Security Archive) Transparency may be coming to secret hospital inspection data. "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to require that private health care accreditors publicly detail problems they find during inspections of hospitals and other medical facilities, as well as the steps being taken to fix them. Nearly nine in 10 hospitals are directly overseen by those accreditors, not the government." (ProPublica) conflicts in trumpland   In complete coincidence, Ivanka Trump won approval for Chinese trademarks on the same day she dined with Chinese President. "In fact, on April 6, Ivanka Trump's company won provisional approval from the Chinese government for three new trademarks, giving it monopoly rights to sell Ivanka brand jewelry, bags and spa services in the world's second-largest economy. That night, the first daughter and her husband sat next to the president of China and his wife for a steak and Dover sole dinner at Mar-a-Lago." (Associated Press) Meanwhile, "emoluments" suit against Trump expanded to include trademarks. A lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington against Donald Trump for allegedly violating the constitution's emoluments clause was expanded on Tuesday to include "gratuitous Chinese trademarks." (The Hill)  Billionaire Trump adviser poised to profit from policy involvement. "Billionaire investor Steve Schwarzman’s newfound status as a trusted outside adviser for President Donald Trump has created blurred lines in which the Blackstone CEO is offering guidance on policies that could boost the fortunes of his company and his personal wealth." (POLITICO) Trump's inauguration doubled Obama's previous record for fundraising. "President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee said Tuesday it raised $106.7 million for the celebration of his taking office in Washington, an amount that is roughly twice the previous record set by former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration." (Bloomberg) You can view the entire 510 page report here. Trump's pledges to donate foreign profits, excess inauguration funds remain unfulfilled. Despite promises to do so, the Trump Organization has not yet disclosed any foreign profits that they have sent to the Treasury department or detailed the charities that will benefit from excess inaugural funds. (Washington Post) around the world   Anticipating disaster by mapping vulnerable communities. "The Missing Maps project, an open, collaborative project, is working to fill in this “missing” information. Combining the work of volunteers contributing remotely, on-the-ground community leaders, and humanitarian organizations, the project works hand-in-hand with the OpenStreetMaps platform to collect data in a free and open manner." (Global Voices) Open Contracting Challenge looks for ways to track government procurement. The $60,000 challenge prize from the Open Contracting Partnership and the Open Data Institute targets "big ideas to find better ways to manage, analyse, and monitor how government buys goods & services." Learn more and apply here! Lobbyists take different approaches to influencing Brexit. "…figuring out how to influence the Brexit talks is a big headache for people who make their living lobbying EU institutions and governments. Some are trying to get to [Michael] Barnier [the EU's Brexit negotiator], some are focusing on key officials from the EU’s member countries and some are holding off to see how this unprecedented process develops." (POLITICO) Spanish prime minister to testify in major corruption case. "The so-called Gürtel case, launched last October after nine years of investigations, implicates former lawmakers and civil servants from [prime minister Mariano] Rajoy’s ruling Popular Party (PP) in a vast kickbacks-for-contracts scheme that allegedly fueled Spain’s boom years." (POLITICO) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. April 20th, 12 PM, Webinar on "Kick-Starting Data-Driven Government". Hosted by Data-Smart project director Stephen Goldsmith. Register here! April 25th: TICTeC in Florence, Italy. Hosted by mySociety and "Returning for a third year, the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference focuses on the impact that civic technology and digital democracy are having on citizens, decision makers and governments around the world." Learn more and register to attend here. May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Learn more here.  June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here. Are you hosting an event that you'd like to see highlighted in this newsletter? Please let us know by sending a quick email to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com with a brief description and a link to the event page.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 19
Today in OpenGov: Fundraising records, visitor logs fallout, and more… - In today's edition, we find natural gas leaks with data, examine the post-Trump explosion in political fundraising, continue to explain the importance of the White House visitor logs, and more… states and cities   Mapping natural gas leaks. "Researchers from Colorado State University have been working with Google Street View to map pervasive natural-gas leaks. These leaks come from pipes that can be buried three-to-four feet below city streets. Many of the millions of miles of piping that deliver natural gas locally to urban and suburban homes are decades old—in some cases piping can be more than a century old."  (Ars Technica) Fighting for press freedom and access to information in New Mexico. "Can government officials pick and choose hich news outlets they give comments and information to? A lawsuit filed by a New Mexico alternative weekly against the governor could expand the state’s press freedom protections with a broader definition of censorship. Or it could quash a newspaper-led effort at accountability and transparency in state government, giving elected officials license to ignore smaller media outlets asking uncomfortable questions." (Columbia Journalism Review) Two weeks left to comment on Sunlight's Tactical Data Engagement Guide!  Alyssa Doom reminded us that the deadline for comment on Sunlight's Tactical Data Engagement Guide is only two weeks away.  The guide is designed to address what we see as the the most critical challenge currently facing the open data movement: helping city open data programs build on a new infrastructure of access to facilitate the collaborative use of open data to empower residents and create tangible community impact. Read the document and comment here! Money in politics   House campaigns set record with nearly $100 million in Q1 fundraising. The massive haul, which tops previous records by 45%, is attributed to increased partisanship and Donald Trump's early actions as president. Sunlight's John Wonderlich weighed in: “Volatility inspires activism and increases donations…these are big policy questions that motivate donors. People are more likely to reach into their pocketbooks.” (Bloomberg) Georgia special election attracts $10 in national cash for every local penny. "But Tom Price, the district’s longtime Republican U.S. House member, stepped down earlier this year to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. That sparked Tuesday’s special election to fill his seat, which has suddenly made the district the unlikely focus of national political interests willing to spend unprecedented amounts of money." (Center for Public Integrity) trumpland   White House on defensive over visitor logs, tax transparency. "The White House was forced Monday to defend its controversial positions to keep its visitor logs secret and President Donald Trump’s tax returns private." (POLITICO) Press secretary Sean Spicer defended the decision to keep visitor logs private by "blaming the Obama administration for not being transparent enough." (Huffington Post) We agree that Obama's visitor logs policy wasn't perfect, but that is NOT an excuse for abandoning disclosure.  Sunlight's Alex Howard talked with Wisconsin Public Radio about the visitor logs. Get the whole story here.  CREW expands lawsuit tied to Trump's business conflicts. "The amended complaint…alleges that Mr. Trump has harmed an organization that represents more than 200 restaurants and nearly 25,000 employees. Its clients compete directly with restaurants that Mr. Trump owns or in which he has a financial interest…" (New York Times) Overwhelmed ethics office struggling to find help from House Oversight. "Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub Jr. is calling on the chairman of House Oversight Committee to become more engaged in overseeing ethics questions in the Trump administration." His agency, which only has advisory power, has been overwhelmed by inquiries and complaints related to President Trump's potential conflicts of interest. (NPR) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. April 25th: TICTeC in Florence, Italy. Hosted by mySociety and "Returning for a third year, the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference focuses on the impact that civic technology and digital democracy are having on citizens, decision makers and governments around the world." Learn more and register to attend here. May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Learn more here.  June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here. Are you hosting an event that you'd like to see highlighted in this newsletter? Please let us know by sending a quick email to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com with a brief description and a link to the event page.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 18
Today in OpenGov: One of the worst records on open government… - In today's edition, we dig into President Trump's decision to close White House visitor logs, march for tax transparency, ask about Brexit transparency, and more… closing the white house visitor logs On Friday, numerous outlets including Time, the Associated Press, and POLITICO reported that the Trump White House would break from precedent set by the Obama administration by keeping its visitor logs secret until 5 years after the end of the administration.  Sunlight's executive director John Wonderlich responded to the news: "While this action is no surprise for a President whose tax returns remain secret, who has proclaimed the free press the enemy of the American people, and who has refused to fully divest from his businesses, the White House’s failure to disclose visitor logs demonstrates again that American leadership on open government will not come from this Presidency." He also called on Congress to mandate disclosure of the visitor logs. On our blog, Alex Howard explained the history of visitor log transparency and refuted the White House's arguments for opacity. In the past, we have been critical of the Obama era policy for not being adequate and even "testified to Congress about the flaws of using a security system as a mechanism for public disclosure, including all of the ways the Obama administration evaded accountability, but it is simply incorrect to assert that disclosure was not a meaningful transparency measure." Opposition to the decision emerges across political spectrum. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog, said that the move "undermines the rule of law" (The Hill) Democratic Senator Tom Udall (NM) spoke in support of congressional intervention. (Roll Call) The non-partisan Project on Government Oversight argued that " It doesn't matter who holds the highest office, there should be transparency and accountability for their actions." (Project on Government Oversight) Transparency groups argue against the move in letter to the White House. Sunlight joined six other transparency organizations in a letter "In a letter to White House Counsel Don McGahn" calling for the decision to be reversed. (Time) elsewhere in trumpland   Tax Day marchers call for Presidential tax transparency. Protesters gathered across the country to call for President Trump to release his tax returns. "Hundreds of protesters marched to Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago getaway on Saturday in Florida, and thousands more gathered in Washington and other cities across the country. (New York Times) Sunlight was proud to participate in Washington. As we argued on our Facebook: "Every POTUS should disclose tax returns. If he or she doesn't do so, Congress should mandate more sunshine for the nation's top executive." EPIC sues IRS for failure to disclose Trump's tax returns. "The Electronic Privacy Information Center [EPIC] on Saturday sued the IRS for failing to release President Donald Trump's tax returns…" following a their rejection of a FOIA filed by EPIC in February. (POLITICO)   Trump companies made almost $500,000 from Trump campaign entities in the first quarter. "President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and joint party committees continued to direct funds to his companies in the first quarter of the year, paying close to $500,000 to Trump-owned hotels, golf clubs and restaurants, according to new campaign-finance disclosures." (Wall Street Journal) Trump appointees have potential conflicts, secret ethics waivers. "President Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck…In at least two cases, the appointments may have already led to violations of the administration's own ethics rules. But evaluating if and when such violations have occured has become almost impossible because the Trump administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules." (New York Times) around the world   Transparency an issue in advance of Brexit talks. "Even though the European Commission and its chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier have spoken about the importance of transparency, the key talks will take place behind closed doors and it is not yet clear how the negotiations will be structured." (POLITICO) Former South Korean president official charged in corruption probe. "South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye was charged with bribery and abuse of power, setting the stage for a trial that could result in a lengthy prison term." (Bloomberg) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. April 25th: TICTeC in Florence, Italy. Hosted by mySociety and "Returning for a third year, the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference focuses on the impact that civic technology and digital democracy are having on citizens, decision makers and governments around the world." Learn more and register to attend here. May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Learn more here.  June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 17
Secrecy on White House visitor logs shows Trump administration allergic to transparency - According to reports by Time, the Associated Press, and many other outlets, the Trump White House will keep its visitor logs secret until 5 years after the end of the administration, discontinuing the Obama administration’s practice of voluntarily disclosing the records online as open data. Here’s what John Wonderlich, our executive director, told the press about today’s news: By announcing a return to secrecy for White House visitor logs, the Trump administration has continued to evade public accountability and transparency for the highest office. While this action is no surprise for a President whose tax returns remain secret, who has proclaimed the free press the enemy of the American people, and who has refused to fully divest from his businesses, the White House’s failure to disclose visitor logs demonstrates again that American leadership on open government will not come from this Presidency. Congress, the courts, activists and the press will all have to represent our expectations for transparency. President Trump has chosen consistently to conceal and protect his own private interests over public interests. Congress should mandate disclosure of the visitor logs to help hold the Trump administration accountable. When governments choose secrecy over sunshine, trust in government is further eroded. When the executive branch chooses to conceal public business from the public while at the same time fails to protect the privacy of the public, transparency is applied to the powerless while power is shielded from accountability. That’s precisely the inverse of how democratic government should work. The rationales cited for this decision by Trump administration officials to the press are weak tea. For instance, the White House communications director Michael Dubke’s assertion of “the grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually” have no basis in the context of nearly six million records released over 8 years without incident. The three anonymous White House officials quoted by Time make a false claim in describing disclosure of visitor logs as a “facade of transparency.” Sunlight testified to Congress about the flaws of using a security system as a mechanism for public disclosure, including all of the ways the Obama administration evaded accountability, but it is simply incorrect to assert that disclosure was not a meaningful transparency measure. For instance, the Obama White House visitor logs showed – which remain online at the National Archives — showed how often Google’s public policy lobbyist visited over 100 times, providing a quantitative measure of the influence of one of the world’s top tech companies. Similarly, the referenced need for President Trump to receive advice in confidence holds no water. President Barack Obama’s ability to seek advice was not impeded by disclosure of White House visitor logs. In the context of President Trump seeking and receiving ongoing advice at his private club in Florida or using his phone, free of disclosure or sunshine, the contention that this administration has broken new ground on ethics and accountability is a breathtaking assumption of the language of open government without its substance. The Trump administration is deep in the shadow of the President’s choice not to hold himself subject to federal ethics laws, disclosing his tax returns or divesting from his global conflicts of interest. The White House has made no statement or release of the announcement itself today, simply removing the webpage that held a promise of transparency from its disclosures section as if the commitment had never existed. With this decision, President Donald J. Trump has now established one of the worst records on open government in the first 100 days of an administration in American history.Apr 14
Today in OpenGov: Hosting open data users, fighting procurement fraud, and more - In today's edition, we explore the power of data engagement, fight procurement fraud, share a survey from Singapore, and more… states and cities   Bringing open data users together can help governments and citizens. Sunlight's Alyssa Doom tells the story of Bob Gradeck, who runs a regional data center in western Pennsylvania. Gradeck "began hosting a series of Data User Group Meetings, spearheading a new approach to engaging the residents of Allegheny County and beyond. Each of these meetings was focused on a particular type of data released online, from health to transportation." They have brought data users together and provided important insight for Gradeck's team. (Sunlight Foundation) An analytics engagement success story from New Orleans. "The City of New Orleans’ Office of Performance and Accountability (OPA), the city’s home for data-driven improvements, has had notable successes in using analytics to reduce fire risk and address blight. These programs originated through OPA’s performance management work and with ad-hoc requests from departments. As the city’s data capacity matured and OPA completed more successful projects, director Oliver Wise sought systematic ways that the OPA team could better engage with other city departments at different levels of data literacy." (Data-Smart City Solutions) washington watch   What happened to @Transition2017 social media accounts? "Given the ongoing issues with open government in the first 100 days Trump administration, what happened with transparency and accountability in the presidential transition may have faded from public memory. Unfortunately, it appears that someone in the transition decided to erase some of that history from the public record." The Twitter and Facebook accounts that were associated with Donald Trump's presidential transition appear to have been deleted with no public warning or obvious evidence of archiving. (Sunlight Foundation) Fighting procurement fraud with analytics, communication. "Data analytics is a powerful tool to help identify possible procurement fraud, but it is only the first step in mitigating the problem. Once an indicator of fraud is identified, the good news is that you are well ahead of those taking an ostrich approach. The bad news is that just because you found an indicator doesn't mean you've stopped fraud or lessened the overall risk of it." (Governing) New bills threaten access to federal data on affordable housing, spark broader concern. "Two bills pending in Congress, S.103 and H.R. 482, have sparked a flurry of activity from librarians, scientists, students, archivists, programmers and technologists who fear that data previously available from the federal government might be lost…Regardless of whether these specific bills pass, they raise important questions about the politicization of data and its effects across policy areas, beginning with fair housing." (Government Technology) Bureau of Prisons looking for software to help it deal with prisoner data. "The Federal Bureau of Prisons is looking for information on a commercial, off-the-shelf solution that could help it aggregate and interpret 'data relating to inmate reintegration into the community.'" (FedScoop) Microsoft's transparency report shows increase in government information requests. "Microsoft published its biannual transparency report on Thursday, revealing its first National Security Letter from the FBI." The report also showed "the number of U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance requests it received doubled from the second half of 2015 to the first half of 2016." (The Hill) President Trump's conflicts of interest hurt international credibility. "Jessica Tillipman, a dean at the George Washington University Law School and an expert on government ethics and compliance, was recently giving an anti-corruption training to a roomful of visiting government officials from Latin America when something odd happened. As she described measures the United States has in place to guard against conflicts of interest, she heard snickering." (Mother Jones) around the world Are you an open data user? Consider this 5 minute survey. Singapore is teaming up with the Economist Intelligence Unit to compare open data initiatives across 10 countries and explore data use. In an email, they shared their survey, targeted at "open data users" that sets out to answer questions like "are people using this data? For what purpose? And what more could governments be doing to encourage its use?" Interested? Participate here.  Reflections on the Pan-African Conference on FOIA. "The Pan-Africa Conference on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information was hosted in Kampala, Uganda…25 and 26 March 2017. The conference, arranged by the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), of which SAHA is a member, was supported by both the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU). A delegation from the EU was in attendance at and participated in conference proceedings." This post wraps up some of the key points of the conference. (FreedomInfo.org) Turkish democracy at risk. An upcoming referendum in Turkey could hand unprecedented power to the office of president, dealing a significant blow against democracy in the country. "A win for '[President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] would diminish the role of parliament, dissolve the office of the prime minister, and increase legislative, judicial, and executive powers under the presidency, endowing Erdogan with unparalleled dominance over Turkish politics." (The Atlantic) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. April 25th: TICTeC in Florence, Italy. Hosted by mySociety and "Returning for a third year, the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference focuses on the impact that civic technology and digital democracy are having on citizens, decision makers and governments around the world." Learn more and register to attend here. May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Learn more here.  June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here. Are you hosting an event that you'd like to see highlighted in this newsletter? Please let us know by sending a quick email to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com with a brief description and a link to the event page.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 14
How hosting user groups for open data helps cities - This spring, Sunlight’s Open Cities Team is researching how city governments can improve connecting open data to the lives of their residents. One promising approach that we recently had an opportunity to observe first-hand is a model for creating and nurturing “Data User Groups.” In the following post, we explain what these groups are, how they work, how you can adopt and adapt them in your municipality, and other key takeaways from our trip to Steel City. What are Data User Groups? As with every story of urban innovation, this story begins with a human who had an idea to make government work better: Bob Gradeck. He was gracious enough to allow Sunlight to sit in on two recent data user group meetings, one featuring transportation data and another showcasing property and housing data. (He also let us use all of his whimsical Lego illustrations in this post.) Gradeck runs the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) in Allegheny County. The center publishes open data from sources around the Pittsburgh region, including Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, other public sector agencies and local nonprofits. After WPRDC launched, Bob Gradeck began hosting a series of Data User Group Meetings, spearheading a new approach to engaging the residents of Allegheny County and beyond. Each of these meetings was focused on a particular type of data released online, from health to transportation. Gradeck created a space that allows data users and providers to meet one another, share what they’ve learned about the topics and relevant data, and collaborate on new projects. The meetings provide the WPRDC with useful insights about setting priorities for releases, identifying opportunities to adopt data standards, improve quality, and design visualizations, APIs, dashboards, or other tools that improve disclosure and reuse of data by the public. The WPRDC team follows these meetings with the creation of data user guides that are directly informed by the conversations captured in the user group meetings. Each guide provides more detail for people who want to use data, including why a given data set was collected and tools that apply it. The guides are a useful way to ease people into the process of using data and providing inspiration for use. The transportation user group meeting we attended kicked off with a presentation by a representative from a data contributor to WPRDC, HealthyRide, who discussed how Pittsburgh’s bike share system uses data to measure performance and strategize improvements to the system. The attendees then participated in exercises exploring potential outcomes applying data and mapping the activities, data, and tools needed to achieve these outcomes. The following day, we joined over 30 people gathered to hear about progress on collecting and releasing property and housing data. Attendees participated in a card sorting exercise that informed future features for a property mapping tool the WPRDC is developing. Reusable lessons from Pittsburgh’s data engagement efforts We had a great time capturing the dynamics of these events. We’ve shared several key lessons below so that you, too, can host your own data user group meeting. You can’t replace face-to-face interactions. In-person meetings bring a human element to the tasks you’re trying to accomplish together. It’s much easier to convey an emotion — such as enthusiasm for a certain project or frustration over data quality — in person than it is staring at a screen. These meetings can help build rapport and identify opportunities for collaboration. Further, convening your community will help build greater trust and understanding for the users of your open data. Together, these elements can support reuse of open data. Find an offline space (check your local library!) to gather data enthusiasts and issue experts together. We <3 a="" about="" across="" activities="" activity="" after="" afterwards.="" all="" almost="" also="" an="" and="" anyone="" anywhere.="" approach="" are="" aren="" ask="" at="" attendees="" banjo="" beautiful="" being="" bridges="" bring="" but="" by.="" can="" capture="" care="" case="" choose="" city="" club="" collaboration="" community="" conservationists="" convenient="" created="" creating="" data.="" data="" day.="" day="" decks="" detailed="" details.="" do.="" do="" don="" done="" drinkers="" each="" emails="" emphasis="" end="" engagement.="" enough="" environmental="" evening="" every="" everyone="" example="" experience="" featuring="" feedback.="" feedback="" fellow="" fill="" find="" folks="" follow="" follows="" for="" foster="" free="" from="" funiculars="" gardeners="" geeks="" good.="" great="" group="" has="" help="" hikers="" home="" hope="" hours="" i="" icebreakers="" identify="" if="" improving="" in="" inclined="" inclines="" include="" including="" inform="" information="" interest="" introductions="" is="" issues="" just="" knows="" later="" like="" lists="" ll="" local="" loop.="" love="" make="" matchmaker="" matters.="" meaningful="" meeting="" meetings="" might="" mix="" model="" monthly="" nerds.="" news="" newsletters="" of="" on="" one="" online="" open="" or="" organizing="" other="" out="" people="" piloted="" pittsburgh="" place="" playing="" plays="" powerpoints="" program="" public.="" publish="" re="" reasonably="" recap="" region="" replicable="" request="" roadmaps="" robust="" s="" send="" sends="" series="" session="" share="" sharing="" show-and-tell="" show="" slide="" snacks.="" so="" someone="" span="" spreads="" staring="" stay="" stop="" straight="" study="" sum="" survey="" t="" talked="" team="" tech="" that="" the="" them="" these="" they="" things="" this="" time="" to="" tool="" tools="" topic="" try:="" tuned="" two="" up.="" up="" updates="" use="" user="" users="" using="" virtuous="" water="" ways="" we="" wednesday="" welcome.="" welcome="" who="" wildfire.="" wish="" with="" work="" working="" worth="" wprdc="" year.="" you="" your="">Apr 13
What happened to the Presidential @Transition2017 social media accounts? - Given the ongoing issues with open government in the first 100 days Trump administration, what happened with transparency and accountability in the presidential transition may have faded from public memory. Unfortunately, it appears that someone in the transition decided to erase some of that history from the public record. On March 2, I found a problem with the Presidential Transition’s official Twitter account: What's going on with the @transition2017 Twitter account? It's greyed out in my tweet, like a deletion, & profile page won't load. cc @gov pic.twitter.com/Tb8Z11XwCY — Alex Howard (@digiphile) March 2, 2017 I flagged it again on March 11: Dear @twitter @gov:What's going on with the @transition2017 account? It doesn't come up in internal search, on the Web, or in @Google SERPs pic.twitter.com/3qrEY2XOku — Alex Howard (@digiphile) March 11, 2017 Today, it still appears that the @Transition2017 account has been deleted. What’s more, after we checked the presidential transition website to see if there was any notice and follow the links provided, we discovered that the transition Facebook account is also gone. We’ve asked the White House for comment and flagged the issue to the U.S. House Oversight Committee. We’ll update this post if we hear back. As we understand it, transition records — including digital assets, like GreatAgain.gov and associated social media accounts — are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. From our perspective, however, they’re public records that represent on-the-record, official statements from the President-elect’s incoming administration and should be preserved in the public sphere. We’d expect them to end up in Trump’s presidential library some day, not removed from public view. We’re alarmed that the @Transition2017 and Facebook accounts have been removed from public view entirely, with no evidence of archiving nor public notice. We hope that the General Accountability Office includes social media and website archiving in its investigation of the transition referred to in its recent letter to lawmakers. In the best case, an unknown staffer made a mistake here — twice. In the worst case scenario, the administration is brazenly destroying presidential transition records in an effort to duck accountability in the face of increased scrutiny. In 2017, social media has become part of the public record. We hope that Twitter, Facebook and Congress work together to restore the accounts and save these accounts for history to judge.Apr 13
Today in OpenGov: Closing the national trust deficit, joining the OGP, and more - In today's edition, we reflect on the What Works Cities Summit, learn how to FOIA the feds, try to keep up with Paul Manafort's deals, celebrate Australia's Open Government Partnership plan, and more… states and cities   How American cities can help close the national trust deficit. Sunlight's Katya Abazajian reflected on the What Works Cities Summit, focusing on three key takeaways: Cities play a role in national politics, local champions matter, and it is time to move beyond access to information. (Sunlight Foundation) Mapping speed camera revenue in D.C. Speed cameras are a big source of revenue for the District of Columbia, accounting for roughly $190 million in fines in 2016. The Washington Business Journal mapped all of D.C.'s speed cameras and their related revenue.  Hawaii launches geospatial data portal. "The state Office of Planning’s Hawaii Statewide Geographic Information System (GIS) Program launched a new Geospatial Data Portal (geoportal.hawaii.gov), which provides streamlined access to hundreds of data layers, topographic maps, imagery, and developer features." (Hawaii.gov via Ryan Ozawa) Opposing public records search fees in Indiana. The Indiana Coalition for Open Government is urging the state's governor to veto a bill that would allow agencies to charge search fees for public records request. We agree that Governor Eric Holcomb should stand up for open government and veto the bill.  trumpland   Firms tied to Paul Manafort register as foreign lobbyists. "Two lobbying firms said Wednesday they were registering as agents of a foreign government in connection with a lobbying effort that President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman helped organize five years ago for the then-Ukrainian government, but never registered with the Justice Department." (Wall Street Journal) Manafort borrowed millions from Trump businesses as he left Trump campaign. On the day that he stepped down as President Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort formed a shell company and borrowed $13 million from businesses with ties to Trump. (New York Times) Nunes recusal shows value of ethics institutions… "The larger lesson of the Nunes episode is that some of the creaky machinery of ethics checks and balances in Washington is still capable of functioning." (The New Yorker) …But classified information may prevent disclosure of investigation into his actions. "The outcome of an ethics investigation surrounding House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes’ disclosure of classified information might never see the light of day, depending on how it’s handled…The results of that inquiry by the House Ethics Committee may not be revealed for months — or at all — because it centers around disclosure of classified information, ethics experts say." (Roll Call) elsewhere in washington   Foreign lobbying disclosure needs a technology refresh. "But the technology the government uses to catalogue and store the data is so outdated that it is next to impossible to quickly find the answers to many basic questions, according to nonprofit groups familiar with the database." (Roll Call) We've long called for the nation's online foreign lobbying database to be upgraded. The Justice Department hasn't even fixed the broken links we highlighted in 2014. The public deserves better access to this information in 2017.  A free course on the federal FOIA. If you're wondering how the Freedom of Information Act applies to federal agencies and how you can use it, Poynter has published a useful primer and free course. (Poynter) The Department of Veterans Affairs launches two new tech tools. "Veterans seeking medical care will have increased insight into their wait times as well as data on the quality of care at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, the department announced Wednesday." (FedScoop) around the world Australia's ambitious open gov action plan. We were glad to see Australia join the Open Government Partnership and propose a strong first action plan. (ZDNet) We hope the country's government will now meet its commitment to public engagement and lead the world in informing Australians about the plan and giving them a voice in government using all of the available platforms available today, from the World Wide Web to social media to text messaging to radio, print and TV. Read our full statement on Facebook. New tool promotes transparency in German education. "Parents, students, teachers, politicians, and civil society organisations benefit from enhanced information on the German school system that is provided on Jedeschule.de. School of Data Germany and BildungsCent eV. campaigned for more transparency in the educational sector and promoted dialogues between stakeholders in educational policy." (Open Knowledge) App helps navigate Barcelona, offline. The city of Barcelona, Spain published an "offline first progressive web app" to provide information on featured spots around the city. "Offline first progressive web apps are web apps designed to be capable of being used offline as from the first time that the user consults them. The first time the app is accessed, it downloads locally the data that is needed for it to function offline. Successive visits to the app upload information from the local copy where there is no available internet connection." (Metodian) save the dates   #TCampAZ is coming up on May 22 in Phoenix. Learn more on Facebook and get your tickets here! This one-day unconference will bring together the government representatives, developers and journalists to solve problems relating to civic data access. TCamp participants design the agenda, present their ideas and dive into the challenges, success stories and new possibilities during morning and afternoon breakout sessions. It is being hosted by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting with key partners including Sunlight, Galvanize, and the Institute for Digital Progress. Tonight! Ignite Night and Happy Hour at the OpenGov Hub in Washington, DC. "This event will feature a series of several Ignite-style lightning talks (exactly 5 minutes, with 20 slides that auto advance every 15 seconds) about some of the latest exciting projects from OpenGov Hub member organizations, including Open Data Watch, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, Global Integrity, and more!" Register to attend here. April 25th: TICTeC in Florence, Italy. Hosted by mySociety and "Returning for a third year, the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference focuses on the impact that civic technology and digital democracy are having on citizens, decision makers and governments around the world." Learn more and register to attend here. May 17th and 18th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the Kemp Forum in Washington, DC. "Held in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, Reboot Congress 2017, is an invite-only conversation that will bring together a dynamic mix of problem solvers – civic tech innovators, engineers and designers, elected officials, senior staffers, policy experts, and other stakeholders working to modernize Congress." Learn more here. May 17th: The 2017 Door Stop Awards in Washington, DC. "Lincoln Network and The OpenGov Foundation are joining forces to present the 2017 Door Stop Awards for Congressional Innovation and Transparency. Awards will be presented on May 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at an evening party as part of Reboot Congress." Do you know a member of Congress or staffer who deserves to be recognized? You can submit a nomination here! May 19th and 20th: Global Legislative Openness Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. "This 2-day event is hosted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, organized by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership and Open Parliament Initiative in Ukraine. The event will convene leading legislators, government officials, and civil society representatives to consider how legislative openness can strengthen public trust in representative institutions and build a responsive, 21st century legislature. In addition, the conference will explore how parliaments can best leverage the Open Government Partnership's new legislative engagement policy to develop and implement legislative openness plans and commitments." Registration runs through April 13th. June 8th and 9th: Personal Democracy Forum 2017 in New York City. "The annual flagship conference brings together close to 1,000 top technologists, campaigners, hackers, opinion-makers, government officials, journalists, and academics for two days of game-changing talks, workshops, and networking opportunities to celebrate the power and potential of tech to make real change happen." Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.   Tired of your boss/friend/intern/uncle forwarding you this email every morning? You can sign up here and have it delivered direct to your inbox! Please send questions, comments, tips, and concerns to todayinopengov@sunlightfoundation.com. We would love your feedback!   Apr 13
How American cities can help close the national trust deficit - In a world where fake news has become an international preoccupation, an increasing number of American cities are committing to make data-driven governance a core part of their culture. It’s an important trend, and one that we’re proud to participate in leading. In March, Sunlight joined hundreds of public officials from more than 90 cities around the world and our partners in the What Works Cities initiative in New York City to share knowledge and discuss the future of data-driven cities. The entire Open Cities team traveled up from DC to host sessions on data standards, community engagement with open data, and share the state of the Sunlight Foundation’s work with local governments. We came away both reinvigorated and inspired to pursue our work in the coming year. Here are three key takeaways: Cities play an important role in national politics Cities can create change from the ground up, implementing practical, effective policies that uphold our democracy’s ingrained standards for transparency and accountability. Urban open data champions play a key role in the national politics. This year at the What Works Cities Summit, it was clear that cities are at the center of ongoing, important national discussion about how data can serve the American people, wherever their mayors sit on the political spectrum. The work of Sunlight’s Open Cities team necessarily means resolving the nitty gritty issues involved in  drafting and enacting an open data policy. We are immersed in the work of adapting the larger goals of the open data movement to the environment of each What Works City. It’s easy for us and our partners in city governments to get bogged down in the details of shifting not just practice and policy but culture. It was both uplifting and inspiring to be reminded at the Summit that developing more open relationships between governments and residents is part of a much larger conversation about what it means to live in a democracy. In the year ahead, our team hopes to help cities imbue their stories with the power of empirical evidence, connecting how the efforts of cities to open data bolsters the commitment of American governments to public accountability based upon evidence. Local government champions matter In our work with cities, we’ve often talked about the successes of champions like chief data officer Eric Roche of Kansas City and other contributors to our OpenGov Voices series. Over the years, we’ve used our blog to capture their stories, but after listening to the challenges and occasional crises of confidence of Summit attendees, we know we need to help open government champions realize their own successes. Hundreds of city staff members around the country are creating opportunities for open data that never existed in their cities before by having tough conversations and suggesting improvements, including some changes that may go against the political grain. A recent post by Lisa Abeyta, founder and CEO of CityLife, highlighted the importance of recognizing cities’ “unsung heroes.” Laura Melle, a Summit attendee from the City of Boston’s Department of Innovation and Technology, said that she felt better going back to her city knowing she had the support of over 300 allies committed to open government. Every city champion should know they have that level of support. Sunlight will keep celebrating and congratulating hard-working city staff who are making the open data movement happen around the world. Time to go beyond access to information As a team, we’re proud of the successes we’ve had in cities in the past year – but we have a lot we still want to achieve. At Summit, we heard about city leaders using open data as a tool to engage communities, increase transparency, accountability and public participation. Cities are continuing to grow beyond access, with or without us. Part of our focus for the coming year will be to develop resources that address cities’ needs to reach citizens more effectively with open data. Some of these resources are already in development, which you can read about in our post about Sunlight’s new Tactical Data Engagement guide. We will continue studying the uplifting stories of cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, and data collaboratives around the world that work with community partners and external researchers to apply city data. We’re inspired by many new stories of the impact of open data we heard at Summit. Whether it’s improving a public records request system, using open data to help members of the community work on shared problems, or experimenting with public participation pilots, we hope to hear about more successes in open data that belong in the national spotlight. We’re particularly interested in studying ways in which cities like can use community-generated data from local partners. For example, Baltimore city government is working to incorporate data from the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance into their open data portal. We hope other cities will use this practice to incorporate their own external partners into discussions about their open data goals? This year’s Summit helped cement the notion that community input in city decision-making is a core component in the movement toward transparent, accountable government. We’re excited to work with more cities to bring more of the public into public policymaking in year ahead.Apr 12
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