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Photo: Xi’an City Wall, by scottagunn - Xi’an City Wall © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Scott GunnDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 16
China Expected to Expand DNA Collection in Xinjiang - The Associated Press’ Matthew Brown reports on indications that public security authorities are laying groundwork for the mass collection of biometric data in the Xinjiang region, leading to concerns over a potential lack of oversight. Xinjiang is the frontline of a controversial crackdown on terrorism that has for years been criticized by human rights advocates for targeting members of the Uyghur ethnic minority, and exacerbating underlying ethnic tensions. The purchases of DNA testing equipment in Xinjiang were confirmed by an official at the regional Public Security Bureau. The official, who gave only her surname, Huang, said a supplier already had been found. In Xinjiang’s Sheche County, suppliers were being sought for voiceprint collection systems and 3-D portrait systems, according to a security official surnamed Yin, who declined to give further details. If used at full capacity, the new equipment could be used to profile up to 10,000 DNA samples a day and several million a year, said Yves Moreau, a computational biologist specializing in genome analysis and DNA privacy at the University of Leuven in Belgium. The scale of the purchases raises “a legitimate concern that Chinese authorities could be planning to DNA profile a large fraction, or even all” of the Uighur people in Xinjiang, Moreau said. […] Since it started collecting DNA profiles in 1989, China has amassed the unique genetic information on more than 40 million people, constituting the world’s largest DNA database, according to a study last year by forensic researchers at the China Ministry of Public Security. […] [Source] Human Rights Watch has expressed sharp concern about the absence of privacy protections in the apparent plans to expand the collection and indexing of DNA in Xinjiang and among other vulnerable populations in China, citing examples of people who have had their DNA collected without warrant and against their will: In many parts of the country, police officers are compelling ordinary individuals – neither convicted nor even suspected of a crime – to have their blood drawn and DNA taken. Samples have also been collected from vulnerable groups already targeted for increased government surveillance, including migrant workers, dissidents, and minority Muslim Uyghurs. Because police wield wide powers, and because there are no actionable privacy rights in China, people have little ability to refuse the collection of such personal information. “DNA collection can have legitimate policing uses in investigating specific criminal cases, but only in a context in which people have meaningful privacy protections,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Until that’s the case in China, the mass collection of DNA and the expansion of databases needs to stop.” […] “Mass DNA collection by the powerful Chinese police absent effective privacy protections or an independent judicial system is a perfect storm for abuses,” Richardson said. “China is moving its Orwellian system to the genetic level.” […] Individuals who have had their DNA taken by police have detailed their experiences on social media platforms, including Weibo, Zhihu, Baidu Zhidao, Tieba, and Tianya. In these posts, netizens described officers coming to their homes, schools, and workplaces to collect their samples; none described having been presented any warrant or the visits having been announced in advance. In other cases, people discuss having been required to provide DNA samples when they applied for documents from the police, including residency permits and ID cards. In some other cases, police officers have demanded DNA samples from individuals whom they had taken to the police station for questioning, though in the vast majority of these cases the individuals were not suspects formally detained or arrested for crimes. […] [Source] Quartz’ Echo Huang has more on how biometric gathering is currently being used in Xinjiang, plus further examples of those elsewhere in China being targeted by current DNA-based security programs: In China’s Muslim-heavy Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, for example, which has been subject to a number of crackdowns in an effort to wipe out homegrown terrorists, local authorities have been spending millions of dollars for genotyping kits, the report said. Local citizens have been required to submit DNA samples for passport applications since September (link in Chinese). In the same month, the regional police bureau spent 60 million yuan ($8.7 million) (link in Chinese) for testing materials. […] In another case, police in China’s northeastern province Shandong collected DNA examples of more than 5,000 male students without giving any specific reasons in October 2013. The collections came after local Binzhou University had reported multiple thefts involving losses of around 200,000 yuan ($29,000). Police cited Article 130 and said they would not reveal any personal information of the students (link in Chinese). Groups seen as troublemakers, like migrant workers, activists and petitioners seeking redress for a variety of greivances, are also being targeted for DNA collection. In 2014, police in Guanshanhu District of China’s southwestern city Guiyang launched a campaign to collect fingerprints and DNA samples of migrant workers, so as to “construct a harmonious society” (link in Chinese). [Source] © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: DNA data bank, migrant workers, Ministry of Public Security, petitioners, security, XinjiangDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 16
One Belt, One Road, One Global PR Blitz - Over the weekend, Beijing hosted an international conference to promote its “Belt and Road” initiative, which aims to link China with countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East through trade and investment in infrastructure. President Xi Jinping provided a contrast to President Trump’s “America First” policy by calling on the international community to unite like a “flock of geese.” In the lead-up to the meeting, the government waged a propaganda blitz, creating a series of videos and animations aimed at educating young people both in China and around the world about the project. At What’s on Weibo, Manya Koetse previews several of these efforts, adding that, “the Belt and Road propaganda machine is running at full speed.” At the South China Morning Post, Sarah Zheng describes the event’s elaborate welcoming banquet: With president Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan seated in the front row next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the show featured the time-honoured Kunqu opera classic The Palace of Eternal Youth, a performance of the nationalistic soprano I Love You, China, and music from Dream of the Red Chamber – a television series based on one of China’s Four Great Classic Novels. Performances were set against backdrops of some of China’s most beloved locales, from Hangzhou’s West Lake to Beijing’s Summer Palace. Sun Wukong, the mythical monkey king from the 16th century epic Journey to the West, even made an appearance. International elements were also woven into the performances, such as Western ballet and the famed Italian song ‘O sole mio. Reflecting China’s desire to shine at this summit, the evening show – dubbed Millennial Road – required about half a year’s preparation, and was directed by Chen Weiya, who was executive director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, China Youth Daily reported. [Source] Small businesses also got into the act, capitalizing on the event to brand items ranging from toothbrushes to Mixed Martial Arts events. Te-Ping Chen of the Wall Street Journal reports: All sorts of businesses are celebrating government investment in roadways, maritime routes and other infrastructure. There are belt-and-road-themed handbag and car-rental companies, a “Road and Belt” coffee brand, a musical singing turtle branded with a “One Belt, One Road” logo, as well as belt-and-road tea canisters, scarves and chinaware. Packaging for Mr. Hu’s toothbrush set, eight for 10 yuan ($1.45), is decorated with the silhouette of trotting camels and a brief explanation of the trade plan, which it says will allow people from all nations to have a “shared life of harmony, peace and prosperity.” In all, hundreds of firms have registered names invoking a trade vision that has plenty of nicknames—OBOR, the Belt and Road Initiative, B&R—none of which trip easily off the tongue. That is in addition to state-sponsored rollouts, like the China Mobile OBOR mobile-roaming plan, several theme parks and belt-and-road-themed calligraphy and arts exhibitions. Also, a sand-sculpting competition and sundry B&R classical-music shows. [Source] See also a CNN interview with Jeremy Goldkorn about the “optics” of the event: From propaganda videos to "bedtime stories," here's @Goldkorn on the optics of #OBOR. @cnni #nscnn https://t.co/7Df1IW35of — Kristie Lu Stout ✌ (@klustout) May 15, 2017 As is now standard procedure when Chinese cities host major international events, polluting factories were temporarily closed and other steps taken to ensure blue skies, while stringent security measures put much of the city on effective lockdown. Security guards are forcing pedestrians to walk in the streets, which is a weird thing to do in the name of, you know, security. #OBOR #BARF pic.twitter.com/NNMWQ5qpWc — Noelle Mateer (@n_mateer) May 16, 2017 Petitioners across the country have been held or prevented from traveling to Beijing during the meetings. RFA reports: “During the Belt and Road forum, there has been a huge crackdown on petitioners, with illegal kidnappings and detentions by local governments,” a Shandong petitioner surnamed Jiang told RFA. “They’re spending tens, hundreds of billions to support foreign countries, but back in China, ordinary people can’t even get reliable health care coverage or pensions,” Jiang said. More than a dozen Sichuan petitioners including Li Zhaoxiu, Yan Tafeng, and Zhou Wenming were detained by interceptors en route to the forum venue at Huairou on Sunday and taken to the out-of-town unofficial detention center at Jiujingzhuang on the outskirts of Beijing, they told RFA. “When I was in Beijing yesterday, there were police checkpoints at all of the public transportation stops, particularly those heading out to Yanqi Lake and Huairou, with police checking people’s ID,” Li told RFA. “When they find petitioners, they take them to Jiujingzhuang.” [Source] Staff at the influential liberal think tank Unirule Institute of Economics were locked out of their offices ahead of a planned seminar, while the founder, Mao Yushi, was prevented from leaving his Beijing home, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. Meanwhile Xinhua issued a list of 45 directives instructing Chinese journalists how to cover a number of sensitive topics especially relating to territorial sovereignty, including Taiwan, Tibet, and the South China Sea. Bloomberg News reports on the significance of the event for Xi Jinping and what his administration hopes to gain from it: The Belt and Road Forum is the first dedicated to a home-grown initiative created by Xi — China’s most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping died in 1997. He is looking to project strength at home ahead of a twice-a-decade reshuffle of the Communist Party’s top leaders, an image unlikely to be marred by the fact that all Group of Seven heads of state and government were absent except Italy. “The main significance of the forum is optics: Making Xi Jinping look presidential and effective at home and making China look rich and powerful on the world stage,” said Michael Kovrig, senior adviser, North East Asia for the International Crisis Group. “Western countries are skeptical that they will really benefit economically, and worry that the initiative will increase Chinese influence, both economic and geopolitical, across Eurasia and beyond.” [Source] The Economist sums up the problems facing the government initiative and why all players may not be fully on board, even as businesses in many countries, including the U.S., are eager to reap the rewards of China’s promised $1 trillion in investment: The scheme is running into three linked problems. First, it is unclear what its priorities are, or who is running it. “We haven’t really come up with a specific goal,” says Zou Tongxuan of Beijing International Studies University. Every province has its own belt-and-road investment plan. So do hundreds of state-owned firms. The government’s strong backing has helped to get many projects up and running faster than might have happened otherwise (Mr Xi first began to talk about the idea only in 2013). But no one is in day-to-day charge, so thousands of financially dubious schemes have the imprimatur of a belt-and-road project. And the overweening behaviour of Chinese companies in some countries where they operate has stoked fears in some places of an over-mighty China. […] A second problem is finding enough profitable projects to match the vaulting ambition of the scheme, which aims to create a Eurasian trading bloc rivalling the American-dominated transatlantic area. It is not certain, for example, how successful the London-Yiwu rail line will be, given that (though faster) it is more than twice as costly as shipping. The Chinese hope to export their expertise in building high-speed rail. But China’s speedy construction of thousands of kilometres of it at home depended on cheap labour and the power to evict anyone who got in the way. That may be hard to replicate. […] Third, locals in some countries are angry about what they view as China’s heavy-handedness. In parts of Asia, democratic politics have been challenging China’s commonly used approach to deal-making—cosying up to unsavoury regimes. This had begun before Mr Xi devised the belt-and-road scheme. In 2011 Myanmar suspended work on a vast Chinese-financed dam at Myitsone, to popular acclaim. In Sri Lanka, the government elected in 2015 has been engaged in endless wrangling with China over the building of a Chinese-invested port in the home town of the country’s autocratic former president. In January protests against China’s plans there turned violent. […] The problem is partly one of scale: China is so vast that belt-and-road countries fear being overwhelmed by it. Loans from one bank, China Eximbank, for example, account for a third of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign debt. Yunnan is one of China’s poorer provinces. Yet its economy is still four times bigger than that of its more populous neighbour, Myanmar. Countries both long for and dread Chinese investment. [Source] As the New York Times’ Michael Forsythe pointed out on Twitter, Chinese investment in developing economies is no guarantee of a country’s future success: A reminder to people writing breathless #BeltandRoad articles: Venezuela got more than $40 Bln in Chinese loans. https://t.co/2GNSz7c8tE — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) May 15, 2017 So I understated the amount – bigly. It is more like $63 billion from 2007-14 per Brookings. — Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) May 15, 2017 Bloomberg reports that many participants in the forum were disappointed in the lack of substance from the meetings: The pomp left little room for serious talk about overcoming the challenges facing such a sweeping initiative. One participant in the policy discussion sessions who asked not to be identified said the events offered little more than prepared remarks praising Xi, wasting an opportunity for substantial debate on how to collaborate and best spend China’s money. Even before the event got under way, some diplomats in Beijing were complaining the Chinese hadn’t allowed sufficient time for input while preparing the event’s final communique, according to people familiar with the process. The draft combined commitments to open international markets with endorsements of China’s diplomatic goals, the people said. [Source] The final joint communique issued by the 30 attending heads of state emphasized global cooperation and committed to opposing protectionism and supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change. But, as Quartz points out, it is not clear what impact, if any, such commitments will have on the ground. The document was signed by only 20 of the 64 countries which are included in the Belt and Road plans: But it’s worth noting that among the 30 signees to the OBOR statement are many countries with authoritarian regimes, including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. Also, many countries in the group are under China’s economic sway. And some of the nations, such as Fiji, could hardly be considered major players on the world stage. What’s more the OBOR group is not one based on any kind of formal membership, unlike the G20, so the statement carries less weight. [Source] China has been criticized for cozying up to autocratic regimes in order to push this project. In the South China Morning Post, Ryskeldi Satke and Nicolás de Pedro write that, “Essentially, Beijing is facing a risk of associating itself with rampant corruption in the autocratically ruled countries of Central Asia despite positioning this Initiative as China’s successful foreign policy achievement abroad.” In Pakistan, human rights activists remain concerned that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative, will negatively impact the local Baloch population. Ten laborers working on roads linked to the CPEC project were shot in Gwadar on Saturday. Gwadar is part of Balochistan, a region that has been home to a long-simmering insurgency. After initial uncertainty about the initiative, the European Union—minus the imminently exiting United Kingdom—unanimously declined to fully endorse it because of concerns over transparency and social and environmental issues. British chancellor Philip Hammond, meanwhile, described the UK as a “natural partner” in the program, in an apparent continuation of his predecessor’s enthusiastic but controversial embrace of China. Former British diplomat Kerry Brown noted ahead of the summit that the UK has little choice but to pursue closer engagement, even if its current capacity to do so is lacking. India has been tipped by Credit Suisse as the scheme’s biggest potential investment recipient, with Russia, Indonesia, Iran and Egypt following. The company noted, though, that “China’s actual investment in the belt and road countries might fall short of expectations,” while sensitivities over investment in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir have somewhat dampened India’s enthusiasm. Elsewhere, the scheme has been variously described as a possible healer of divisions in the Middle East, and a potential pitfall for the African countries involved. At The Diplomat, Shannon Tiezzi sums up the outcome of the meetings: Overall, the Belt and Road Forum was unlikely sway anyone’s perceptions of the massive project. None of the announcements or speeches made at the forum fundamentally altered preexisting interpretations of the Belt and Road (both good and bad). Anyone familiar with relevant policy documents from the Chinese government (most notably the “Visions and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” issued in 2015) was not going to glean much new information from the BRF. It was more a celebration of the project – and China’s diplomatic clout in getting it accepted by as many countries as possible – than an expansion of its parameters or a serious consideration of the challenges that face the Belt and Road. [Source] Understand the five major projects associated with the Belt and Road Initiative, via a SCMP visual explainer, and read more about the project via China Law and Policy Blog’s One Belt One Road – A Lot More Than Just A Weird Name. Samuel Wade contributed to this post. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: central asia, diplomacy, One Belt One Road, overseas investment, PakistanDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 16
Photo: Beijing, by vapi photographie - Beijing © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: vapi photographieDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 16
Translation: Next Weekly Interview With Guo Wengui - Chinese oliroperty tycoon Guo Wengui, who has suspected ties to China’s intelligence apparatus and is currently living in New York, began releasing allegations of corruption and division among top levels of the CCP in March. Beijing responded with counteraccusations of corruption, by lobbying Interpol to issue a “red notice” for his arrest, and by threatening “serious consequences” for unapproved online news or commentary related to Guo. Guo has not yet released the evidence he claims will corroborate his allegations, instead wishing to “let the bullets fly for a while” before holding a “global news conference.” Meanwhile, the tycoon has been posting personal video updates and tweets peppered with further allegations and images from his lavish lifestyle, and has been building a substantial following among Chinese social media users both in- and outside of the Great Firewall. While the English media has been largely silent on Guo in recent weeks, a few commentaries made it into the current news cycle. At the South China Morning Post, Wang Xiangwei situates the publicity battle between Guo and Zhongnanhai about corruption into the modern history of Chinese official-“robber baron” collusion. At China Policy Institute: Analysis, Graham Bond uses Guo’s case to illustrate the risks of the CCP’s media control strategy, which suppresses independent reporting and has allowed rumor to be widely mistaken for news. It remains to be seen which category Guo’s claims fall under. Pending further details on Guo’s case from the English news media, CDT has translated a recent Hong Kong news story on Guo. This interview and backgrounder was originally published on May 8 by Hong Kong’s Next Weekly (壹周刊), and has been translated in full by CDT: Hong Kong Next Weekly: Exclusive Interview with Guo Wengui Guo Wengui is a legend. He is also an exceedingly difficult person. Only Guo Wengui is able to cause a headache for the entire CCP Politburo Standing Committee; prompt Interpol to issue a “Red Arrest Notice”; and furthermore impel the Foreign Ministry to pressure U.S. congress, cut off his exposé program on Voice of America, and turn all of the state’s power on him alone. Guo Wengui is sitting on billions in financial assets. After being forced into exile in the U.S., he’s become wanted by Interpol for detonating an inside story on high-level CCP politics, which has since turned him into an international news figure. Voice of America’s previous interruption of his live interview resulted in an uproar and the suspension of several interviewers. He once claimed that his family fund controls 28 billion USD and 120 billion RMB in assets. Moreover he enjoys a lavish life: luxury cars, private aircraft, countless grand mansions. He has single-handedly fought with the CCP, claiming that he wants to “save his life, save his money, and gain revenge.” After his Voice of America program was cut short, he disappeared from the media. When this publication found him, he suddenly divulged content of interest to the Hong Kong people. Guo Wengui came from a humble background and has a low education level. Relying on his silver tongue, he has traversed the state-business world. According to Chinese government statements, he bribed the assistant director of the Ministry of State Security. Even Hebei and Henan provincial Party committees must listen to his words. Relying on the force and support of these three departments, he has run amuck and stirred up trouble. After this came to light, he took his secrets to the U.S., exiled from China overseas where corrupt officials and economic criminals are everywhere. Unfortunately, his exile was very high-profile, and he was unafraid of being silenced for his explosive CCP inside story. He has recently broken two shocking world news stories, one being that Chairman Xi Jinping actually doesn’t trust CCDI secretary Wang Qishan, and there’s a secret clique within Zhongnanhai. Ministry of Public Security assistant chief Fu Zhenghua was reportedly sent to investigate Wang Qishan’s family and Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary Meng Jianzhu. The second one was about the secret connections of Hainan Airlines Group. On the program, Guo Wengui indicated that Wang Qishan’s wife Yao Mingshan and her nephew Yao Qing hold shares in Hainan Airlines. Wang Qishan’s father-in-law is CCP elder Yao Yilin, once the Vice-Premier of the State Council. Halfway through the program, it is said that the Foreign Ministry strongly requested the broadcast be terminated, plus the ministry confirmed that Interpol had issued a red notice for him. Guo Wengui had become a globally wanted criminal, even as he rose to fame. China will soon hold the 19th Party Congress, the CCP’s authority is fierce, and everyone is fixed on Guo Wengui to see whether or not he will continue with his scoops.   This publication exclusively found Guo Wengui. He claimed that he had high-level connections with the mainland Ministries of State Security and Public Security, and also that he had a bombshell about the Ministry of Public Security and the Domestic Security Department frequently crossing the border to enforce the law in Hong Kong, including searching the homes of people like Xiao Jianhua and Li Bo before their “voluntary” northbound trips to the mainland. Guo Wengui has scoffed that these things have already happened countless times before, and that it’s just the Hong Kong people making a fuss.   Guo Wengui rides a private plane to and from the UK, US, and other countries, publishing selfies online to flaunt his wealth. Furthermore he continues to drop bombs about Chinese enterprises raising prices in Hong Kong. The actual situation is a “infiltration and dilution plan,” using mainlanders to dilute the Hong Kong population and hoping even more that Chinese capital can control Hong Kong’s economic livelihood. Guo Wengui said: “Control the real estate market, and you will control the life or death of Hong Kong.” This ultra-rich man who speaks with a heavy northeastern accent also jeers at Hong Kong’s rich second and third generationers for fawning over Beijing officials, seeking their shelter, which in his opinion is simply “too pathetic, too selfish, and inconsiderate of the overall interests of the Hong Kong people.” One after another, these unsurprising bombs haven’t stopped. This publication has asked him to provide proof backing up his statements, and he said of course he has it, and that after a while he will personally show it to the world. And so on. Believe him or not, but due to his long term close relationship with the Ministry of State Security and the CCP’s allergic reaction to him, we all want to hear what he has to say. According to Guo Wengui, he holds 11 passports, including ones from the US and UK, and he’s said on Twitter that he also has the right of abode in Abu Dhabi! According to him, he even has a Hong Kong identity card, and he’s told others that he’s changed his name to Guo Haoyun. In 2011, via the BVI company, he purchased grand mansions #20 and #22 on South Bay Road, and there have been reports that his son Guo Qiang has been seen in and out of the residence. It was revealed last year that his residence constitutes an unauthorized construction project. This publication last Saturday discovered that construction on his residence was still underway. The reporter inquired to the workers and to state security whether his family was present, but security personnel prevented journalists from interviewing and filming. Photo of Guo Wengui with the Dalai Lama. Online Guo Wengui has continued to publish his own recent developments, including his comings and goings on expensive racing bikes, his daily runs, etc., seeming to be completely indifferent to the CCP suppression. Via WhatsApp, this publication got in touch with Guo Wengui, his portrait showed himself posing for a photo with the Dalai Lama.   This publication requested a video interview, but in the end he only consented to a telephone recording. We asked him what he was holding as far as substantive material, and keeping us in suspense he said: “At a certain time, I will talk about the Hong Kong affair loudly, not in a whisper. Just like with mainland affairs, if I am to speak about it I will do so Ioudly.”  This suggested that at any time he could let loose more material. Guo Wengui broke the news that Meng Jianzhu and Fu Zhenghua controlled several thousand Public Security and State Security officials in Hong Kong operations. Guo is aware of this news perhaps because former State Security assistant chief Ma Jian was his secret friend, but now he has been sacked due to the investigation. Former Ministry of State Security Vice-director Ma Jian Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary Meng Jianzhu Ministry of Public Security Vice-director  Fu Zhenghua   News Item 1: State and Public Security Have Long Handled Cases in Hong Kong Next Magazine: You say that Public Security and State Security have been enforcing the law across the border in Hong Kong. What are the specifics? Guo: Hong Kong compatriots are really too honest. Hong Kong currently has so many mainland state security and public security agents here handling cases and investigating long term. I know that at the very minimum they are inside the China Resources building, at Causeway Bay, and also in the Fo Tan (where they have a permanent office). I know at the very minimum there are more than 300 enforcing the law in Hong Kong. They often go on house searches, knocking on doors, go to banks to check on capital, shadow suspects, they are already in Hong Kong enforcing the law. Hehe, outside media says that Ma Jian (former Ministry of State Security vice director), in his two suites in Hong Kong’s Tai Koo Shing, the ones he said that I gave him, those two, that people broke in and searched many times. You think for a sec, were those doors opened by Hong Kong police? Certainly not, so who? Definitely they were from the mainland, officers from the mainland knocking at the door to search. Before I’d arrived in the U.S., I came over to Hong Kong, I’d often meet these people, some from Beijing Public Security Bureau, some from state security, including general staff from the two intelligence bureaus. At the very least there are several thousand operating in Hong Kong. Next: How do you see Xiao Jianhua “being carried away” from the Hong Kong Four Seasons Resort and returned to the mainland, and the Causeway Bay Bookstore incident? Guo: Several years prior people had already been caught in Hong Kong and returned, this much is clear! Because people from the Ministry of State Security are in Hong Kong, many of whom I know, they do it so much, kidnapping and returning people, it’s just that Xiao Jianhua was well-known. I wasn’t at all surprised about the Causeway Bay incident! The Causeway Bay incident is a plot, part of an upper-level political struggle, basically completely different than the rule of law of Hong Kong. Think about it, Xiao Jianhua’s office was searched and his computers taken away, who would do this? All of them were mainland police who came to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong police were not concerned! Hong Kong people still fill the streets in demonstration, saying: “Oppose Cross-border Law Enforcement in Hong Kong.” Early on they were in your home bedroom enforcing the law, what I feel sorrowful for is that the Hong Kong police all know about this affair, and that they have a firm handle on various evidence against Beijing that Hong Kong government officials have obtained. This is what is scary, this is what is really scary. To protect his safety wherever he goes, Guo Wengui bought a bulletproof Benz. Guo has many brand name luxury cars, worth more than 10 million HKD. In 2011 Guo Wengui purchased an 800 million dollar South Beach mansion. That project is still underway. News Item 2: Chinese Capital and the “Infiltrating and Dilution” Plan Next: Nearly a year ago, Chinese enterprise Hainan Airlines scrambled into the Hong Kong high-price rush, last year acquiring land from Qide at an astronomical price. The market is in an uproar. Guo: Land purchases in Hong Kong are not for development, it is known as “Infiltrating and Diluting.” First, send tons of immigrants over and then exchange the area so that there are no more locals but lots of mainlanders. Number two is economic infiltration and dilution. All real estate big shots and clans, you will not have the opportunity to develop. Only mainlanders control the entire real estate market. Control the real estate market, and you control Hong Kong’s livelihood, they can let you fall, let the real estate market fall 50%. Hong Kongers will be jumping off buildings and into the sea. They can also let you rise, real estate is a political plot. The money used by Hainan Airlines in the land purchases, in the future half will be borrowed from Hong Kong banks, who cannot pay back the money, it isn’t hijacked by mainland banks. In the end Hong Kong finance is hijacked and the ordinary people don’t dare to struggle. Great disaster on the economy, political system, and international reputation is possibly in Hong Kong’s future. An immense incident could occur. Next: What connections are there between Hainan Airlines and Wang Qishan? Guo: They had Wang Qishan’s support, Wang Qishan is a shareholder, who else could bring a few hundred million from China? How could that be? Of course it’s not normal, of course the shareholders are Wang Qishan’s clan (Hainan Airlines), he’s their boss. Before could you believe that Secretary Wang Qishan and his clan could act like this?  Nobody would believe it, Hong Kong is all under Meng Jianzhu’s complete control, anything he wants to do he can do.   (This publication asked Guo Wengui for proof of a connection between Hainan Airlines and Wang Qishan, and he failed to supply any definitive evidence.) In March at the NPC meetings Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan talked and smiled, not knowing that Guo Wengui was about to expose the investigation into Wang Qishan. News Item 3: Hong Kong’s Rich and Powerful Curry Favor With Beijing Officials, Pitiful!  Next: Do you know any Hong Kong business tycoons? Guo: I know a ton. Hong Kong tycoons all go to Beijing to curry favor with officials, to beg for shelter. But don’t forget, they’re all nothing but a bunch of tools. Hong Kong rich second and third generations all act so over-the-top toward everyday people. They’re always so arrogant. But as soon as they see a Mainland official, they kneel down on the ground like they’re nothing. Now you tell me–how pitiful is that kind of life, without dignity? I know a ton of Hong Kong tycoons. They used to be so respected by people. Now, it’s everyone for himself, bowing their heads. How pitiful! [Note] (This publication asked for the names of these tycoons multiple times. Guo Wengui did not respond. Many Hong Kongers with dim views of the future believe that the “One Country Two Systems” ideal is an unrealizable one. They believe Hong Kong will slowly become a regular mainland provincial-level municipality. Over the past few years, many Hong Kongers have talked about emigrating out of Hong Kong. Guo Wengui emigrated to a foreign country long ago, yet, ironically, he still criticizes Hong Kongers.) Guo: You want to emigrate, where can you go? Your own home has been stolen away from you, and you want to run away. You don’t protect your home. Instead, you run away. There are some problems with the way Hong Kongers think. The littlest thing and they immediately want to emigrate. That’s called running away, not emigrating. It has been pointed out that Guo Wengui has given up his Chinese citizenship and retains the right to residency in Abu Dhabi. Because his secret police “buddy,” former Vice Minister of State Security Ma Jian, was investigated and subsequently sacked corruption, in 2015 Guo left China to live in exile in the United States. He maintained his lavish lifestyle during that time, frequently “showing off” in posts on Twitter and elsewhere on the internet. He continuously posted pictures of his mansions in the U.S. and U.K. Guo Wengui claims to own 29 luxury vehicles, including a McLaren P1, LaFerrari, Koenigsegg CCX, Apollo, etc. Each of these costs over 10 million. His lavish lifestyle is staggering. For his personal safety, Mercedes Benz made him a custom-made bulletproof car. May 15
Photo: Xi’an, by NViktor - Xi’an © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 14
China Complains Over U.S. Lawmakers’ Dalai Lama Visit - A bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi visited the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India this week. The visit drew sharp criticism from Beijing, where a Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged the American lawmakers to cease contact with the exiled spiritual leader and use caution when dealing with issues related to Tibet. Christian Shepherd at Reuters report: House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi flew with a bipartisan delegation to the Himalayan hill town where the 81-year-old Buddhist leader is based, seeking to draw world attention to human rights in Tibet as President Donald Trump eyes warmer ties with China. […] “The visit by the relevant delegates of the U.S. Congress to meet the Dalai Lama sent a very wrong signal to the world about Tibet independence and goes against the United States’ promises on Tibet. China firmly opposes this and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S.,” Geng told a daily news briefing. “We urge relevant congress people in the U.S. to carefully handle the Tibet issue, stop all communications with the Dalai Lama and take immediate measures to deal with the negative impact of the visit.” The U.S. lawmakers’ visit comes at a awkward time for Trump. Campaigning for election, he had cast China as a trade adversary and currency manipulator, but he now wants President Xi Jinping’s support to restrain nuclear-armed North Korea. [Source] The visit was arranged to draw attention to the deteriorating human rights condition in Tibet. From Reuter’s Douglas Busvine: “As we visit His Holiness the Dalai Lama, our bipartisan delegation comes in his spirit of faith and peace. We come on this visit to be inspired by His Holiness and demonstrate our commitment to the Tibetan people, to their faith, their culture and their language,” Pelosi said. […] Pelosi last visited the Dalai Lama in 2008, in the aftermath of a Chinese crackdown on an uprising in Tibet that coincided with the Beijing Olympics. The situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region has worsened since then, according to experts and human rights activists, as authorities crack down on dissent and pursue systematic policies to assimilate Tibetans. “The level of repression in Tibet has increased tremendously,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. [Source] Pelosi voiced her support for the Tibetan community and denounced China for using its economic clout to silence Tibetans’ call for freedom and justice. Katy Daigle and Ashwini Bhatia at The Sacramento Bee report: “You will not be silenced,” said Pelosi, a California Democrat. “The brutal tactics of the Chinese government to erase race, culture and language of Tibetan people challenges the conscience of the world. We will meet that challenge.” […] In many cases, China has offered aid packages to foreign governments on the condition that they support China’s position on issues such as Tibet and Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing has pledged to take control of, by force if necessary. Mongolia said in December that it would no longer allow visits by the Dalai Lama after a recent trip by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader led China to suspend talks on a major loan. “China uses its economic leverage to silence the voices of friends of Tibet,” Pelosi said Wednesday. “But if we don’t speak out against repression in Tibet and the rest of China because of China’s economic power, we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights anywhere else in the world.” [Source] 16-year-old Tibetan teenager Chakdor Kyab set himself on fire earlier this month in an act of protest against Chinese rule. He is the latest of more than 140 Tibetans to die from self-immolation since the first wave of protests began in 2009. Local authorities have since restricted the boy’s family from holding prayers and hosting visits from relatives. Kunsang Tenzin and Dawa Dolma at RFA report: Authorities in northwestern China’s Gansu province have imposed restrictions on the family of a Tibetan self-immolation protester, preventing them from holding prayer services and blocking visits by relatives and friends, a source in the region says. The move has upset and distressed the parents of Chagdor Kyab, a 16-year-old student who set himself ablaze on May 2 in Gansu’s Bora township in a challenge to Beijing’s rule in Tibetan areas, a resident of the area told RFA’s Tibetan Service. “Chinese police have moved away from the site of the self-immolation itself, making it seem that things have returned to normal,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But security personnel and other officials have now gone to Chagdor Kyab’s family home, causing them much inconvenience.” “Authorities are not allowing the family to invite monks to perform religious rituals for Chagdor Kyab, and they are also preventing friends and other people from the village from visiting the family [to offer their condolences],” he said. [Source] © cindyliuwenxin for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Dalai Lama, Nancy Pelosi, self-immolations, Tibet exile, U.S. CongressDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 13
Rogue Tycoon Guo Wengui “Lets The Bullets Fly For A While” - In mid-April, Guo Wengui, a property tycoon currently living in New York who has suspected ties to China’s intelligence apparatus, began to release allegations of corruption and division among the top levels of the Communist Party leadership. Beijing responded by marshaling counteraccusations of corruption against Guo, obtaining an Interpol “red notice” for his arrest, and threatening “serious consequences” for failure to control online content related to the “highly sensitive political event.” For now, Guo is holding back promised evidence in order to “let the bullets fly for a while.” In the absence of such proof, English-language coverage has been relatively sparse in recent weeks. The New York Times’ Michael Forsythe alluded to the currently limited verifiability of Guo’s claims on Twitter in April, commenting that “There’s so much more to this story. […] So much left unsaid, untweeted.” But the affair has not gone away: Guo has kept up a steady stream of updates on Western-based social media, and adoption of his favored catchphrases on platforms within China shows that these have found their way through the Great Firewall. A recent brief report from the Hong Kong-based, Apple Daily-affiliated Next Digital sums up Guo’s recent accusations involving “naked officials” and hidden fractures in the supposed unity of the Party leadership. Translated by Josh Rudolph: Guo Wengui says he will hold a global news conference at which he’ll announce details of certain high-level CCP stashing mistresses and love children in Australia, proven by DNA he’s collected. Even though he’s wanted as a criminal, Guo’s words continue to make shockwaves. In a personally released video, Guo revealed that “among the samples we gathered, one was from a Politburo member’s Australia-based love child. While gathering [the love child’s] DNA a problem arose. It made everyone crazy, but finally we resolved it. The power of that force [the CCP] is really too much. Also, the DNA can be used as evidence: I hope that my global news conference can show that this is legally valid evidence.” Guo Wengui also pointed to many high officials stashing mistresses and fathering love children abroad. In the short clip, he revealed: “In Australia there are some 600 mistresses and illegitimate children that have settled there long-term. A lot of them aren’t in the U.S. Let’s be clear, there are a few exceptions in Japan and New Zealand, but the vast majority are in Australia. That’s our battlefield. I spent tens of millions there just last year on the investigation!” From the U.S., Guo Wengui previously made explosive allegations of a high-level CCP power struggle: that President Xi Jinping doesn’t trust Central Commission for Discipline Inspection secretary Wang Qishan, and secretly sent the Vice Minister of Public Security Fu Zhenghua to investigate Wang Qishan and his family’s overseas assets. There are some who want to avoid Guo Wengui’s continuing allegations, as they could influence the 19th Party Congress. Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan along with Political and Legal Committee secretary Meng Jianzhu have formed a united front, a unified official line to not mention Guo Wengui, and to severely punish Guo Wengui’s domestic protective umbrella. Aside from the former Ministry of State Security vice-director, Guo Wengui’s protectors also include Hebei Provincial Party Committee Political and Legal secretary Zhang Yue, as well as Henan Provincial Party Committee’s Wang Youjie. Guo may never return to the mainland, but his life in the U.S. is very comfortable. Along with his daily fitness regimen, he drinks expensive spirits, smokes high-grade Cuban cigars, and recently went to a gallery to buy art that he plans to put in his grand mansion in Hong Kong’s South Bay. On Twitter he said: “I just bought dozens of modern metal plate oil paintings. They’re amazing, I bought them all. Being wealthy feels great!” […] [Chinese] Anne Henochowicz has translated more of Guo’s comments in the May 6 video from which Apple Daily quoted: Dear Twitter followers and online friends, hello. This is Wengui’s May 6 “all’s-well” video report. Once again I didn’t sleep well last night, because our Australian team went to gather [samples]. Among the samples we gathered, one was from a Politburo member’s Australia-based love child. While gathering [the love child’s] DNA a problem arose. It made everyone crazy, but finally we resolved it. The power of that force [the CCP] is really too much. […] Our team in Australia has already worked on this for about a year. We’ve got around several dozen people’s DNA. And they’re undergoing a valid, legally valid medical inspection. And we have obtained records of their addresses, the movement of their wealth, and their social connections. And the litigant is carrying on this inquiry, talking to them. It’s spoken evidence, evidence from correspondence, along with medical evidence, which will be valid legal evidence in the U.S. Not to mention this bank statement. Now, whatever they’re going to say about this will be useless. Recently I’ve seen, you’ve seen this rebuttal that what we have is “useless.” It’s incredibly stupid. Because these so-called rebuttals, going forward, when this goes public, they will simply be proof that they have conned the country and the common people. This is what matters. So I’ve been saying all along, let the bullets fly for a while, because that’s the only way to make the enemy show his fear, to make the thieves stealing the nation show their fear, to make them show their privilege and their arrogance. Their expressions and their actions will become our evidence. And they will become the most important part of the facts. If they don’t do or say anything, you can’t really do anything, right? Now, we need to take this evidence, and these facts, to prove that they’re thieves who are stealing the nation. Now, a lot of people are deceiving themselves right now. I get them all too well. I was with them all those years. If they grabbed this guy tomorrow, they’d be kneeling all teary-eyed in front of some of the leadership. They’d swear they were telling the truth. Just like that, yep, just like that. But after he was detained, it would become fact. Yep, this is how all the corrupt traitors are. Because all they say are lies. It’s their specialty. Their profession is to lie. If our officials couldn’t lie, they wouldn’t become judges, or bureau chiefs, at the national level, they wouldn’t even make it to the section level. It’s simple. What is communism? It is utopianism. And what is utopianism? Utopianism is the doctrine of lies! It’s the doctrine of cheats. Of course they have to lie. This is how I would talk to standing committee members and Politburo leadership. I’d ask, “Don’t you get tired of lying all the time?” And they said, “We’re also actors. It’s our job. And our lies have been standardized. As long as you stick to the script, you’ll be fine.” So there’s nothing you can do. It was right to ask them back then, and it’s really pathetic. […] Yesterday in Australia, this one guy even came and offered money. He said, “We can give you a million dollars right now. You just give this stuff to us, and then you sign something, and that guarantees that you don’t have [additional copies], and that you will never bring forth any testimony.” Think about it. Our leaders send this pig of a lackey to deal with you. Everything you said was videotaped and recorded. On the other hand, they pull out a million dollars. I spent money on my team, you know. What makes you think I don’t have other means? Not only have you left this evidence, you’ve also confirmed that your illegitimate children and your mistress are all in Australia. In Australia there are some 600 mistresses and illegitimate children that have settled there long-term. A lot of them aren’t in the U.S. Let’s be clear, there are a few exceptions in Japan and New Zealand, but the vast majority are in Australia. That’s our battlefield. I spent tens of millions there just last year on the investigation! Now it’s basically done, because according to American law, and the requirements for proof, we’ve supplied some supplementary evidence. Do they think they can wipe all that out? [Chinese] Beijing’s position in response, meanwhile, is illustrated by an unsigned April 30 commentary on the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily News’ Dongwang news portal. The organization has a record of publishing pieces that signal Beijing’s stances. Translated by Samuel Wade: Every day brings new revelations from former subordinates in the corruption scandal surrounding mainland businessman and overseas fugitive Guo Wengui, who is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice calling for his capture. High level officials in Beijing have reportedly confirmed that Guo Wengui has been engaged in inflammatory activities to “save my life, save my money, and gain revenge” ahead of the Communist Party’s 19th Congress. The political context is complex. The main instigator is Guo’s protectors within China, who aim not only to influence the power struggle at the 19th Congress, but even more to escape the anti-corruption drive. CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection secretary Wang Qishan, and Central Political and Legal Committee secretary Meng Jianzhu already have this plot completely under control, and have unanimously agreed that Guo’s domestic backers must be severely and uncompromisingly punished. Reports indicate that the current central government has comprehensively intensified the deep investigation into Guo Wengui’s domestic criminal activities, both political and economic. Former vice minister for State Security Ma Jian, as well as former Hebei provincial Party standing committee member and Political and Legal Committee secretary Zhang Yue, among others, have already revealed much of the situation to central authorities. Guo’s confidant and former founder and executive director of Zhengquan, Qu Long, currently under escort from prison in Hebei’s Zhangjiakou to Beijing, is cooperating to advance the investigation. Qu Long had already fallen out with Guo Wengui because of unbearable pressure from Guo. After he reported Guo’s crimes to the authorities, Ma Jian and Zhang Yue intervened on Guo’s behalf, ordering the Chengde Public Security Department to arrest Qu for illegal possession of firearms. Qu was later sentenced to 15 years in prison for using his job to misappropriate funds. Throughout this, he was imprisoned in Hebei. Central authorities have already identified all of Guo Wengui’s domestic protectors, and established what benefits Guo gave them in return. Around ten people have confessed to central authorities that they received benefits from Guo Wengui, and drawn a firm line between themselves and him. Wang Qishan indicated at a recent internal meeting that central authorities are united on the Guo Wengui issue: tigers and flies who received benefits from him will be severely punished according to the law. Beijing-based political observers reckon that this Guo Wengui affair is a meticulously orchestrated political strategy by his protectors within China. Central authorities are not at all worried about his disclosures from outside China, but are focused on the investigation into these domestic protectors. This suggests that their next step will be to adopt strong tactics to broaden comprehensive opposition to Guo, and may take a range of measure to restrict his activities. [Chinese] © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: 19th Party Congress, Australia relations, communist party, corruption, Guo Wengui, Meng Jianzhu, Ministry of State Security, naked officials, ruling elites, Wang Qishan, Xi JinpingDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 12
OBOR: “Globalization with Chinese Characteristics” - Beijing is preparing to host a two-day meeting of business and government leaders to discuss the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) policy, a trade and development initiative that aims to link countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Sophia Yan of CNBC reports: This is part of China’s push to increase global clout — building modern infrastructure can attract more investment and trade along the “One Belt, One Road” route. It could be beneficial for western China, which is less developed, as it links up with neighboring countries. And in the long run, it will help China shore up access to energy resources. […] Plenty [of OBOR projects] have launched thus far, including a 418-kilometer rail link with Laos, and a collection of infrastructure projects totaling $46 billion, named the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. A freight train service is linking China and Europe. And China and France are jointly developing the $24 billion Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in the U.K. In reality, however, reports abound of delays and confusion. There are worries over due diligence — making sure the money is being well-spent — which is tough to track in other countries and remains a potent domestic challenge despite China’s anti-corruption crackdown. [Source] The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in particular has come under fire from local activists for its plans to build an international port in the Pakistan city of Gwadar in Balochistan, a region which has been the site of a long-running insurgency movement. Opponents have expressed concerns about security along a new trade route and Chinese funding going to Pakistani authorities who repress Baloch separatist groups. Due to concern over CPEC, India has not taken part in One Belt One Road negotiations and will not participate in the Beijing meetings, despite Beijing’s efforts to woo them in. However, some in India believe that their country should participate in order to gain the benefits of economic cooperation. Nilanjan Banik writes in The Wire: The CPEC has been the object of much ire in India, since it traverses the disputed area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). But we should remember that in the CPEC, China has placed a huge bet of US$ 46 billion which it hopes will kickstart the process of prosperity and stability in Pakistan. India too must hope that this gamble will work, for the prospects of failure will unleash a nightmare scenario in Pakistan with India as its focus. But it is worth remembering that the real potential of the CPEC for the entire region lies in connecting with India in the east, and with Iran and the Middle Eastern economies to the west. Pakistan can be a hinterland for the industrial hubs of western India and, in time to come, could connect with the Delhi-Mumbai economic corridor. The sub-continent forms a natural geo-economic entity and India must seriously pursue the goal of an economic reconnection with Pakistan, while keeping the political issues running on a parallel track. This is much like China and Japan maintaining an intense economic engagement whilst dealing with emotive historical legacies and territorial disputes. [Source] So far, 57 nations have agreed to send representatives to the Beijing meetings; of the 64 OBOR nations, only 20 are sending heads of state. The U.S. decided at the last minute to send Matt Pottinger, National Security Council’s senior director for East Asia, as part of a series of trade deals including the export of U.S. beef to China. From Keith Bradsher at The New York Times: The disclosure of the deals on Thursday evening — which included an announcement that the United States would be represented at a forum in Beijing devoted to President Xi Jinping’s ambitious “One Belt, One Road” international investment initiative — suggests that the Trump administration is trying to smooth relations with Beijing despite President Trump’s harsh anti-China language on the campaign trail. Under the newly announced deals, China set a deadline for fulfilling its promises to allow American beef and said it would speed up consideration of pending American applications to offer bioengineered seeds in China. It will also allow foreign-owned firms to provide credit-rating services in China, publish guidelines to let American firms offer electronic payment services there, and issue licenses to two American financial institutions to underwrite bonds. The United States, in turn, said that Matthew Pottinger, a National Security Council official who plays a central role in White House policy making on Asia, would travel to Beijing with one or more Commerce Department officials for the forum this weekend. Sending a delegation recognizes the importance of Mr. Xi’s signature foreign policy to build China’s economic, financial and political ties across Asia, the Mideast, Eastern Europe and East Africa. [Source] With the meeting, the Xi administration is promoting its new global ambition which it refers to as “globalization 2.0.” Bloomberg News reports on the draft communique that outlines Beijing’s vision for the new global order: The document includes a pledge to oppose all forms of protectionism, language which was removed from a communique issued by Group of 20 finance ministers in March at the insistence of the Trump administration. The document also includes a statement of support for the Paris Agreement on climate change, another topic Trump officials asked to be removed from the G-20 communique. […] The draft language, which is subject to change, also includes standard Chinese diplomatic appeals for signatories to respect the territorial integrity of countries and to consult with each other on an equal footing, phrases China often uses to discourage outside challenges to its territorial claims on Taiwan and the South China Sea. The fact that China’s diplomatic priorities are central to the initiative shouldn’t be surprising, said [Dennis] Wilder, who is a senior fellow with the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University in Washington. “The Chinese often go too far with these things, particularly when it’s an event on their own soil and when it involves a leader who has put their name to it.”[Source] In The Diplomat, Jason Zukus further writes about how increased isolationism from parts of Europe and the U.S. may make room for China’s efforts to flourish: China’s recent push for greater economic globalization can similarly be coined “globalization with Chinese characteristics.” Rather than welcoming economic, political, and cultural globalization, China has rejected the influence of these latter two international forces as destabilizing. Government campaigns against “Western values” have in fact gained new force under President Xi Jinping. Instead, China has embraced a narrower view that only economic globalization is appropriate for its unique domestic context. Other countries such as the U.S. have argued that economic liberalization should go hand in hand with social and political reforms around democratization, human rights, and civil liberties. So-called modernization theorists have even studied whether democratization is an inevitable result of economic development, demanded by a nation’s newly formed middle class. China has so far bucked this trend towards democratization, with the communist party maintaining rigid one-party control of the country. It has resisted political and cultural globalization, restricting access to information on the internet through the “great firewall” and limiting the ability of foreign NGOs to operate in China. […] With the U.S. and Europe now focusing inward, China is poised to capitalize on this unique moment to spread its model of economic globalization detached from political and cultural openness. By ramping up international investment through the Belt and Road initiative, China is providing concrete proof to illiberal states in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East that there is much to gain from embracing “globalization with Chinese characteristics.” [Source] Although Europe is a key part of the OBOR plan, the EU has been cautious in its approach to joining, according to Andrew Small in an interview with World Politics Review: WPR: What potential risks and rewards, both economic and geopolitical, does OBOR pose to individual European countries and the EU at large? Small: Although much of the focus is on Chinese investments in Europe itself, the greatest rewards arguably lie in the potential for the initiative to perform a stabilizing role in Europe’s broader periphery—the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, Afghanistan and elsewhere—as well as deepening European economic ties with these regions. There are more geopolitical sensitivities when it comes to Russia’s role as a Eurasian bridge, and the integration of OBOR and the Eurasian Economic Union. Generally, though, Europeans are inclined to see greater Chinese economic involvement in much of the developing world as at least potentially benign. There are evidently more problematic scenarios envisaged if China fails to adhere to basic environmental and social standards, loads countries with debt and worsens corruption problems. But part of the rationale behind European efforts to engage with Beijing on the initiative is to mitigate the risk of this happening. A more immediate concern is the impact of Chinese financing on Europe’s willingness to maintain a coherent China policy. It was notable that, when the EU attempted to issue a statement urging China to abide by a ruling from the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague concerning its activity in the South China Sea, the greatest difficulty in reaching an agreement came from prominent OBOR target countries Greece and Hungary. Europeans were already concerned about Chinese attempts to use divisive non-EU structures—such as the Chinese-European 16+1 initiative involving Central and Eastern European countries—to relate to EU members, and they don’t want to see OBOR used to deepen this approach. [Source] In an effort to win OBOR fans among the youngest global citizens, Chinese propaganda authorities have released as series of cartoons explaining the initiative to children as well as a music video lauding its benefits. For more on the ambitions and challenges of the One Belt, One Road initiative, see prior coverage via CDT. For more background and implications of the project, see Where Will China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative Lead? from Knowledge@Wharton, and Globalization 2.0: How China’s two-day summit aims to shape a new world order, from Jessica Meyers at The Los Angeles Times. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: globalization, India, One Belt One Road, Pakistan, U.S. relations, U.S. tradeDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 12
Photo: MY ROAD, by Lain - MY ROAD © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), get_post_time('Y'). | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: LainDownload Tools to Circumvent the Great FirewallMay 12

The Eyeopener from CBC Radio Calgary (Highlights)

Eyeopener Podcast for May 17, 2017 - Today's podcast: Payday lenders not happy with new regulations; calls for civilian oversight of the R.C.M.P.; Dr. George Wyse on his "Lecture of a Lifetime"; camping spots for the long weekend.May 16
Eyeopener Podcast for May 16, 2017 - Today's podcast: City mulls autonomous vehicle pilot project; a new way for kids to learn the alphabet; Dr. Raj Bhardwaj on gout; Julie Van Rosendaal cooks asparagus.May 15
Eyeopener Podcast for May 15, 2017 - Today's podcast: DIRTT co-founder Barrie Loberg honoured by Fast Company magazine; canoeing across the country for Canada 150; where did Eh come from ; Kath Smyth's spring gardening tips.May 14
Eyeopener Podcast for May 12, 2017 - Today's podcast: Transportation Minister Brian Mason on photo radar; 76-year-old high school graduate; mentorship program for girls connects science experts with students; Jesse Brown on his new book.May 11
Eyeopener podcast for Thursday May 11 - On today's podcast: We head to Washington to learn more about the firing of James Comey; the written, and unwritten rules of the road for cyclists; we visit a British pub where dogs have always been welcome; and how volunteering is good for the brain.May 10
Eyeopener Podcast for May 10, 2017 - Today's podcast: Deborah Yedlin on B.C. election results; why puppies are no longer allowed on the Cold Garden Beverage Company patio in Calgary; Canadian attitudes towards Indigenous reconciliation.May 9
Eyeopener Podcast for May 9, 2017 - New escape room at the public library helps Indigenous youth "unlock homelessness"; Calgary Tourism tries to recover after a slow year; how two neighbours found common ground on the difficult subject of addiction.May 8
Eyeopener Podcast for May 8, 2017 - Today's podcast: Do Alberta's compassionate leave laws need to be revised; where the NDP finds donations; remembering the founder of one of Calgary's original folk music venues.May 7
Eyeopener podcast for Tuesday March 23 - On today's podcast: why the face of a U of C professor is being plastered all over Pakistan - selling milk and cell phones; how Jason Kenney plans to unify the PCs with the Wildrose; find out about the first "goat yoga" class in Alberta.May 6
Eyeopener podcast for Tuesday March 21 - On today's podcast: how a hockey playoff game was decided with a coin toss; why it's almost impossible to get a service dog for kids with autism in Alberta; and teaching your kids how to make their own lunch during spring break.May 6

di


Daily Kos

U.S. sinks to third place behind China, India as most attractive nation for renewables investments - Last year, in its annual evaluation of the 40 most attractive national markets for investments in renewable energy, the accounting and professional services firm of Ernst & Young assessed the United States as No. 1. But this year the U.S. slipped to No. 3 with China placing first, and India second. The reason: that climate science denier squatting in the White House. You can see an E&Y infographic for all 40 countries here. Nina Chestney at Reuters reports: Trump has issued orders to roll back many of the previous administration's climate change policies, revive the U.S. coal industry and review the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, China announced this year that it would spend $363 billion on developing renewable power capacity by 2020. India's government has unveiled plans to build 175 gigawatts of renewable energy generation by 2022. Among European countries, Germany ranked fourth, France eighth and Britain moved to 10th place, from 14th last year. India currently has a total installed electricity-generating capacity of 329 gigawatts, so if it succeeds in adding 175 gigawatts of renewables, it will be no small matter. But both India and (to a lesser extent) China are adding coal-burning plants, too. The three nations are the world’s largest carbon emitters, ranked in order: China, United States, India. But while China’s aggregate emissions exceed the U.S. aggregate, per capita emissions are much higher in the United States. U.N. data for the most recent year available, 2013, show the average American emitted 16.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013, as opposed to 7.6 tons by a Chinese person and only 1.6 tons by an Indian citizen. The U.S. continues to reduce its aggregate and per capita emissions, while China and India are still adding to theirs.  4 min
Justice Department appoints special prosecutor to investigate Russia, Trump campaign ties - Here we go: In the investigation between potential collusion between Russian hacking efforts and members of the Donald Trump campaign, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has just announced the appointment of a special prosecutor. "In my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter," Rosenstein said in a statement. "My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command." Rosenstein has appointed ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller, who served in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, to the role. 30 min
A progressive outsider wins big in Democratic primary for district attorney in Philadelphia - At a time when it feels as if all hope is lost and it seems like there is little chance of restoring sanity to the federal government anytime soon, it is especially important to remember that local elections matter. That’s why Tuesday’s upset in the race for district attorney in Philadelphia is such a big deal. The ACLU had undertaken a massive canvassing effort to turn out its voters in the race and try to get candidates with progressive stances elected. With Jeff Sessions as attorney general and a return to mandatory minimums for drug sentences newly in effect under his watch, the organization believes that a local strategy is an effective way to combat the nation’s insanely high incarceration rate. And so far the strategy seems to be working: a combination of the anti-Trump resistance along with voter turnout. These proved to be key in Larry Krasner’s victory in the Democratic primary—a progressive candidate who has a background in civil rights law and has defended Black Lives Matter and Occupy protesters.  In a typical race for DA, candidates advertise their tough-on-crime credentials and their proposals for improving public safety. Krasner, however, took an unorthodox approach. He wants to end cash bail. He's against the death penalty. He wants fewer people stopped and frisked. And he bragged about all the cops he's sued over the years. "I have filed 75 civil rights lawsuits in the last 25 years against police for corruption, and for physical abuse. I have pursued those cases vigorously, even though it's not the most lucrative thing, and doesn't make you especially popular," Krasner said during the campaign. Krasner ran against six other candidates, including five former prosecutors and a former judge. He has no government experience and it was his outsider status along with his differing views—like his desire to move away from the antiquated approach of locking people up and throwing away the key (a move right out of the Jeff Sessions playbook) for nonviolent offenses, and his opposition to the death penalty—that made him attractive to voters.  45 min
This is where Trump loses voters: Putting America's safety at risk - People have predicted Donald Trump's demise a million times and been wrong about it. I will now add my name to the list of fools willing to tread this territory. I'm not necessarily talking about an immediate ouster or even an erosion of the 35 percent of stooges who will never leave his side, but rather a hit in public confidence among the relatively sane people left in this country that ultimately proves unrecoverable for him. Trump's downfall with voters will be the fact that he put America's national security at risk when he revealed intelligence from a key U.S. ally, Israel, to operatives of that country's sworn enemy, Russia. The kicker is that the Comey memo detailing Trump's effort to end the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn has simultaneously ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill. Taken in tandem, Trump will lose the confidence of a solid majority of voters just as Democratic lawmakers stand to gain the ammunition they need to claim Trump either violated the law or, at the very least, breached every Beltway standard for politically acceptable behavior. This one-two punch could force Republicans to acquiesce to a special prosecutor or an independent commission or (gulp) even impeachment (though impeachment is probably a stretch for the GOP). But it was Trumps' leak of Israeli intelligence to the Russians that will be his ultimate undoing with voters, which will put Republicans in a bind. In the past when people have predicted Trump crossed a line, it was always about him transgressing political norms. Like when he mocked Sen. John McCain for getting "captured" in Vietnam and pundits lined up to say Americans would never stand for him maligning a war hero. Yet Trump did survive—and was even celebrated for saying whatever he thought, political norms be damned. But there's two instances in which most voters won't celebrate stupidity—when it affects their pocket books or their safety. I learned this from covering the LGBTQ movement for a decade-plus. One of the key turning points in public support for the movement was when stories hit that the military was expelling gay Arabic linguists from units in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those stories, which surfaced several times between about 2002 and 2009, essentially went "viral" in today's terms. Americans started to think, "You know what, this policy doesn't make me or my loved one serving in Iraq any safer." 3:36 PM
ACLU strategy puts the formerly incarcerated on the front line in the battle against Jeff Sessions - By now, if you’ve been paying attention, you know that Jeff Sessions poses a dangerous and grave threat to the American justice system. But the good news is that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a strategy for fighting him off and for mitigating the possible damage done under a Trump administration. In Philadelphia, the organization is utilizing a canvassing effort to turn out its members to vote in key races that could have a major impact on the issue of mass incarceration.  Tuesday’s election in Philadelphia, then, is Act 1: Scene 1 of the ACLU’s new localized plan, called the Smart Justice campaign, which was hatched back in October. [Udi Ofer], the campaign’s director, calls the strategy Ten-Ten-Ten: A three-year nationwide push for 10 new lawsuits, 10 new state laws, and victories in 10 key district attorney races—a local pincer attack against the nation’s incarceration rate. Ofer says his team hopes to cut that rate one day by 50 percent. To many, it’s not at all obvious why the ACLU should target local races, rather than use its precious money to challenge Sessions head-on—a stark imperative when your organization’s raison d’etre is to sue the Justice Department. But the Sessions DOJ, Ofer explains, isn’t as powerful as it seems. “Ninety percent of incarcerated populations are in state prisons or in local jails,” Ofer says—the reason why Obama-era clemency policies barely made a dent in the number of incarcerated Americans. “It’s a state-based problem, and it’s a problem that needs to be resolved by the states.” This strategy couldn’t come at a better time. Last week, Sessions moved forward with a move to toughen rules on prosecuting drug crimes even though Democrats and Republicans both agreed that mandatory minimums were an enormous waste of taxpayer money and resources and unnecessarily penalized nonviolent drug offenders. His renewed war on drugs is yet another way to increase the nation’s incarceration rate and add more black and brown bodies to jails by any means necessary. And in Philadelphia, evidence of the structural injustice that leads to mass incarceration is particularly stark. 3:16 PM
ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record surge 156 percent - In the first months of Donald Trump’s mass deportation force, ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record have nearly tripled from this same time last year, despite his repeated claims that he would only be targeting dangerous criminals and “bad hombres.” More from USA Today: In the 100 days since President Trump signed an executive order to enhance immigration enforcement, the arrests of undocumented immigrants is up 38% from the same time period in 2016, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data released Wednesday. ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan said his agency is focusing on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, the "bad hombres" that Trump spoke about throughout his presidential campaign. But the data show that the biggest jump in arrests involved undocumented immigrants without a criminal record, a 156% increase from last year. Between Jan. 22 and April 29, ICE arrested 10,845 people whose immigration violations were the only marks on their record. That's nearly triple the 4,242 people arrested during the same time period in President Barack Obama's final year in office. Of all the people arrested by ICE this year, nearly 75% had a criminal record. In Obama's final year in office, 92% of people arrested by ICE in the country had a criminal record. "I get asked a lot why we arrest somebody that’s not a criminal," Homan said. "Those who do enter the country illegally, they do violate the law, that is a criminal act." Immigrant rights activist have been sounding the alarm for months now that this claim has always been a lie to cover for the fact that Trump and his immigration agents are in reality “targeting every immigrant they can get their hands on and calling all of them criminals.” Under Trump’s racist agenda, immigrant parents who have been using a fake document for the sole purpose of working and supporting their families (since Congress won’t pass legislation to let them work legally in the first place) are treated the same as dangerous criminals. 2:56 PM
Rob Quist's millionaire Republican opponent has an ISIS problem - The Republican running for Montana's lone congressional seat has—believe it or not—an ISIS problem, like so many millionaires must. How can they know where all their millions are going? In this case, to a company that has done business with the world's uber-terror group. Greg Gianforte, the millionaire GOP contender for Montana’s open seat in the House, reported owning $47,066 worth of shares in LaFargeHolcim as recently as December in an individual retirement account at TWP, a brokerage firm and private wealth manager. He and his wife, Susan Gianforte, are listed as trustees on the account. LaFargeHolcim operated a factory in the north Syrian town of Kobane for three years after civil war broke out and most foreign companies fled. The company evacuated foreign employees in 2012, but kept the business going with local workers until ISIS fighters seized the factory two years later. Payments made to local armed groups to secure the factory may have unwittingly ended up in ISIS coffers, the French newspaper Le Monde reported last year. CEO Eric Olsen resigned from the firm last month. Gianforte's LaFargeHolcim holdings, by the way, are close to the median household income in Montana, just for some perspective on how multifaceted this problem could be for the Republicans. If this rings any political bells for you at all, it might be because "Republicans attacked 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for accepting a donation from the company to the Clinton Foundation worth between $50,000 and $100,000." They have no comment on Gianforte's investment. They do like the fact, though, that the guy has enough money to loan his own campaign $1 million, which he just did. They also have no comment with the fact that he "invested about $250,000 in index funds with holdings in Gazprom and Rosneft, oil and gas firms sanctioned by the U.S. after the Russian invasion of Crimea." Cozying up to Russia is the new bar Republicans must meet, apparently. He fits right in, which is precisely why he has to be kept out of Congress. The election is May 25. Can you help Rob Quist flip this seat to the Democrats with your $3? 2:36 PM
Money from a sanctioned Russian bank made its way to a Trump project through a partner - Another day, another example of those no ties to Russia. Alexander Shnaider, a Russian-Canadian developer who built the 65-story Trump International Hotel and Tower, put money into the project after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from a separate asset sale that involved the Russian bank, whose full name is Vnesheconombank. Trump Tower? Home to Bayrock and a Russian money laundering ring.  Trump SoHo? Developed by Russian crime bosses. Trump’s Florida condos? Owned by mobsters working for a “crime boss based in Russia.” Trump’s biggest home sale? To a Russian oligarch. Trump’s golf courses? Financed by Russian backers. And now Trump International received a secondhand loan from a Russian bank that’s currently under US sanctions. No matter how many times Trump claims … "I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we’ve stayed away. And I have no loans with Russia. I have no loans with Russia at all." That doesn’t make these connections go away. And the latest one is more than just another mobster. Because it looks like a series of steps were made to get money from the Russian government, to Donald Trump. 2:16 PM
House committee to take up mass deportation agenda, including bill to arm ICE agents with M-4 rifles - The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte, is set to take up a series of anti-immigrant bills this week that will “ramp up a Trump deportation force,” undermine public safety by militarizing federal immigration agents, and waste millions in taxpayer dollars to terrorize millions of immigrant families nationwide. Goodlatte’s deplorable bill, in particular, “would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] deportation officers to have access to not just standard-issue handguns and stun guns, but also M-4 rifles or equivalents”: The little-noticed legislation is one of four immigration-related bills that the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider, two of them specifically focused on ICE, the third on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the fourth on human trafficking. If passed, they would give the Trump administration more resources to deport immigrants and make it easier to do so. “As a package, the House Judiciary bills would turbocharge Trump’s mass deportation agenda,” Frank Sharry, head of pro-immigration group America’s Voice, said in an email. “It seems Goodlatte and fellow Republicans want to go down in history as the Congress that aided and abetted one of America’s darkest chapters.” Goodlatte’s ICE authorization bill would add 10,000 officers focused on deportation, 2,500 in detention, and 60 trial attorneys. It would authorize officers to make arrests without a warrant if they had reasonable grounds to believe the person had committed a felony, and would allow ICE to arrest people for civil offenses without a warrant, even if they are not considered “likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained,” which is the case under current law. None of these hateful bills would do anything to finally fix our nation’s outdated immigration system and give hardworking immigrant families who have contributed to their communities and have U.S. citizen children a chance to finally become a part of this country on paper. Instead, House Republicans—led by Goodlatte, who just three years ago floated the idea of legal status for undocumented immigrants and is funded by top donors like Comcast, Facebook, and Alphabet—are aiding Trump’s mass deportation agenda targeting Dreamers, moms and dads, and even one veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. 1:56 PM
The white supremacy behind the Louisiana House vote to keep confederate monuments in tact - At one point, it seemed hard to imagine white supremacists sinking any lower to protect their confederate monuments. After all, even though they’d lost and several monuments had already come down, they’d waged a campaign and intimidated a number of contractors, public workers and politicians with death, car bombs and harassment in New Orleans. And lawmakers in Alabama passed a bill to ensure that it was next to impossible to make any changes to confederate monuments in the state. Then, over the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Klan 2.0 gathered with torches shouting “You will not replace us” in an effort to halt the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from one of the city’s parks. So it seemed like, at this point, they had really done all they could do to make sure they had fought the good fight to keep these monuments in tact. But, alas, we can never really underestimate white supremacy and the lengths it will go to in order to preserve itself. Which is why on Monday, the Louisiana House passed a bill which now requires an election before any war memorial can be removed or even altered. How convenient. By preventing “any” war memorial from being removed or altered at all, they are ensuring the protection of any and all confederate monuments.  The fraught debate over the bill quickly turned to its authors’ conception of Civil War history, or the “War Between the States,” as the bill calls it. After being questioned by Rep. Sam Jones (D), Rep. Thomas Carmody (R) said he did not believe slavery was the reason for the Civil War, and that the South had a legal right to secede from the Union. The proposed law has implications beyond the current firestorm. Any time a city wants to re-dedicate a street or park or school named after virtually any veteran of any war, they would be required to hold an election seeking permission. [...] The bill’s language is exceptionally broad. It stipulates that “no public memorial, including any structure, plaque, statue, monument, school, street, bridge, building, park, or area, that has been dedicated in memory of or named for any historical military figure, historical military event, military organization, or military unit shall be altered, removed, relocated, destroyed, rededicated, or renamed.” 1:36 PM

Democracy Now!

Activists Sue to Block Plans to Bury 3.6 Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste Near California Beach - Environmental activists in California are fighting plans to store 3.6 million pounds of highly radioactive nuclear waste on a popular beach in San Diego County. In 2012, a radioactive leak at the San Onofre nuclear power plant forced an emergency shutdown. The plant was fully closed by June 2013. Now residents are fighting the permit issued by the California Coastal Commission to store the millions of pounds of nuclear waste in thin, stainless steel canisters, within 100 feet of the ocean. We speak to Ray Lutz, founder of Citizens’ Oversight, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the expansion of the nuclear waste storage facility.6:55 AM
Border Angels Resist Trump's Immigration Crackdown with Services and Water for Border-Crossing Migrants - Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly recently visited the San Diego-Tijuana border, where they vowed to crack down on sanctuary cities and urged local officials to cooperate fully with federal immigration agents. We speak to Enrique Morones, executive director and founder of Border Angels.6:47 AM
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Probe U.S. Border Patrol over Killing of Mexican Father - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C., has agreed to open a case against the U.S. government for the murder and cover-up of Anastasio Hernández Rojas, who was killed by border agents seven years ago. Hernández Rojas died as he tried to cross the border to return to San Diego, where he had lived for 25 years and had fathered five children. The San Diego Coroner’s Office classified Anastasio Hernández Rojas’s death as a homicide, concluding he suffered a heart attack as well as "bruising to his chest, stomach, hips, knees, back, lips, head and eyelids; five broken ribs; and a damaged spine." We speak to Christian Ramirez, the director of Southern Border Communities Coalition and human rights director of Alliance San Diego.6:37 AM
John Kiriakou on Blowing the Whistle on CIA Torture & Why Trump's Presidency Worries Him - The report on President Trump urging FBI Director James Comey to end the agency’s investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, came just a day after The Washington Post revealed President Trump had disclosed highly classified intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House. We talk to CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou about his own case and the significance of Trump divulging classified secrets to Russia.6:24 AM
CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: We Should Be Considering Impeachment If Trump Obstructed FBI Probe - President Trump is facing yet another major scandal. The New York Times is reporting Trump personally asked FBI Director James Comey to end the agency’s investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. The New York Times reports President Trump made the extraordinary request to James Comey during an Oval Office meeting on February 14—one day after Trump fired Flynn for lying both publicly and privately about his contacts with Russian officials. Trump reportedly asked Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to leave the room before making the request to Comey. After the meeting, Comey wrote a memo quoting the president saying, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." We speak to John Kiriakou, who spent 14 years at the CIA as an analyst and case officer. He was jailed for 23 months after he became the first CIA official to confirm publicly the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding.6:14 AM
Headlines for May 17, 2017 - NYT: Trump Asked Then-FBI Director Comey to End Michael Flynn ProbeNYT: Trump Asked Comey to Jail Journalists Who Report on LeaksIsrael Cited as Source for Intel Disclosed by Trump to RussiansSome Lawmakers Considering Trump ImpeachmentTrump Welcomes Turkey's Authoritarian President to the White HousePresident Erdogan's Bodyguards Attack Peaceful Protesters in D.C.Afghanistan: Gunmen Storm Jalalabad Radio and TV StationIraq: Family of 8 Killed in U.S.-Led Coalition Airstrike on MosulU.S. Army Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Freed After 7 Years in PrisonPuerto Rican Independence Activist Oscar López Rivera FreedMexican Journalists Protest Violence Against Media WorkersBritain: Labour Platform Would Tax the Rich, Expand Social ProgramsMississippi: First-Ever Hate Crime Conviction for Transgender MurderGeorgia: Immigrant Detainee Hangs Self After Solitary ConfinementGeorgia Executes Prisoner After SCOTUS Denies Firing Squad RequestCivil Rights Lawyer Larry Krasner Poised to Become Philadelphia DA6:00 AM
Why I Am Suing Trump: Washington State AG Fights Admin on Muslim Ban, Drilling, Drug War & More - On Monday, a federal appeals court in Seattle, Washington, heard arguments over Trump’s second travel ban, which sought to prohibit all refugees and citizens of six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. This is the second such court review this month. This marks Trump’s second attempt to roll out a nationwide Muslim ban. We speak to the man who successfully blocked Trump’s first attempt—and ignited a legal firestorm of resistance: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.May 16
An Impeachable Offense? Questions Swirl as Trump Accused of Sharing Top Secret Intel with Russians - Senior White House officials were apparently so alarmed by President Trump’s disclosures of classified intelligence to Russia that they called the CIA and National Security Agency afterward to warn them of what had happened. Officials said they were concerned Trump’s comments would jeopardize a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State. We speak to Columbia Law School lecturer Scott Horton and Stanford professor Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institute. Diamond served as senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad.May 16
Breathtakingly Irresponsible: Former Bush Iraq Adviser on Trump Sharing Secret Intel with Russians - President Trump has appeared to confirm parts of a bombshell Washington Post story that he had disclosed highly classified intelligence last week to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak last week during a meeting at the White House. Earlier this morning Trump wrote on Twitter, "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism." According to The Washington Post, Trump disclosed highly classified intelligence—what’s known as code-name information—about the possible threat of ISIS launching an attack on an airplane using a computer bomb. We speak to Stanford professor Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institute. He served as senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad.May 16
Headlines for May 16, 2017 - WashPost: Trump Shared Classified Intelligence to Russian Foreign MinisterAirwars: Up to 100 Civilians Reported Killed by U.S.-Led Airstrikes in IraqReports: U.S. Airstrikes Killed 30 People, Including a Dozen Children, in SyriaState Dept.: Syrian Government Burning Bodies of Those Killed at Saydnaya PrisonYemen: Death Toll from Cholera Outbreak Rises to 187Afghanistan: 5 Children Killed While Playing Near Mortar RoundAward-Winning Mexican Journalist Javier Valdez Assassinated in SinaloaTrump Meeting with Turkish President at White House TodaySeattle Appeals Court Hears Arguments over Trump's Second Muslim BanJapan: Thousands Protest U.S. Military Bases on OkinawaU.N Calls for Investigation into Murders of Transgender Women in El SalvadorTrump to Expand Global Gag Rule, Threatening Funding of Hundreds of Health ClinicsIn Victory for Voting Rights, Supreme Court Refuses to Hear NC Voter Law AppealCalifornia: Farmworkers Sickened by Toxic Chemical Approved by Scott Pruitt's EPAWest Virginia: Former Cop Sues After Being Fired for Not Shooting Suicidal ManMay 16

John Perkins

Creating Reality – Yours and the World’s - I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. – Michelangelo Michelangelo understood that creativity springs from perception. He perceived an image in the marble and – at other times – on the canvas; then he transformed that perception into artistic reality. My September 2016 blog was entitled “The Perception Bridge: Building a Better Reality.”  Since then, I’ve explored this concept – and the hope it offers for your future, our future – in great detail. I’ve discussed it with many writers, artists, philosophers, therapists, and scientists. It is the theme of the book I’m currently writing and it plays a large role in the Writer’s Webinar I’m facilitating that begins later this month, and the workshop entitled “Prosperity Through Creativity” I’ll be teaching at Omega Institute in September. The fact is that religion, culture, legal and economic systems, countries, and corporations are created and maintained by perceived reality. When enough people accept a perception or when it is codified into law, that perception changes objective reality. Before Copernican, it was an accepted “fact” that the earth was the center of the universe. The belief that we were the stewards, the lords, of a planet at the center of the universe had a profound impact on religion, science, philosophy, medicine – reality. When Copernicus proved that the earth revolved around the sun, people had to cross a new Perception Bridge. Overnight, our whole way of thinking about ourselves changed. Today our reality is molded by our perceptions of concepts expressed by words like success, sustainability, justice, democracy, capitalism, and prosperity. Individuals struggle with what it means to prosper in a world where that very word is generally understood in materialistic terms. Business executives define capitalism within very narrow and highly predatory limits and success as being solely about maximizing shareholder profits. People across the planet are challenged to envision what democracy and sustainability truly look like. Michelangelo’s genius lay in his ability to cross a Perception Bridge. His Objective Reality 1 was a hunk of marble. His Perceived Reality, the vision of an angel within the marble, transported him to Objective Reality 2 – the beautiful statue of an angel. My job as an EHM illustrates another Perception Bridge. Objective Reality 1 was that countries had resources US corporations wanted. We EHMs promoted the Perceived Reality that using those resources as collateral on loans to finance the building of infrastructure projects would create economic growth and prosperity for everyone in those countries. Government leaders used our econometric models and glowing forecasts of unfettered prosperity to sell this perception to their people. The Perception Bridge was crossed, intoObjective Reality 2, a situation where economic growth did occur – at least at the statistical level, as measured by GDP. However, since GDP statistics are skewed in favor of big business and the wealthy, the fact was that only our companies and the wealthy families benefited. The rest of the population suffered. Money was diverted from education, health care and other social services to pay interest on the loans. National resources were exploited by foreign companies. In many cases this has led to political unrest, resentment, and the rise of various forms of radicalism and terrorism. I recently spent time with Dr. Deepak Chopra, a cardiologist by training who has gained world-wide fame as a philosopher and advocate of new ways to look at medicine and the world, and Dr. Menas Kafatos, a physicist who specializes in cosmology, quantum mechanics, and climate change. The three of us were teaching at the same venue in the Bahamas the week the book they co-authored, You Are the Universe, was published. We spent lots of time discussing the impact perception has on reality. A sentence in their book echoes Michelangelo: “Words aren’t stored in a physical state in brain cells; instead, they exist invisibly but ready at hand – in a virtual state. . .” When you come right down to it, just about everything we humans do originates in that virtual state – which is another way of saying that our words, art, ideas, and actions are driven by perception. Sculptures, books, music, medicines, computers, rockets that fly to other galaxies – they all are germinated by perceptions. Human perceptions have created the wars, pollution, species extinctions, social injustices and other crises that currently threaten our planet. Your perceptions have created the life you are currently living. Since writing that September blog, I’ve traveled to many countries and spoken at a variety of venues – ranging from a dinner for billionaire real estate executives at an outrageously plush California resort to a rock concert in the jungles of Costa Rica (and just about everything in between!). I’ve seen how perceptions are changing. We humans collectively are waking up to the realization that in order to survive we must rise to a higher consciousness. And we humans individually are waking up to the realization that we can in fact realize prosperity – however we define it – through our own creativity. All we have to do is look at where we want to go, at the angel hiding in our version of Michelangelo’s marble, our current objectivity, and then create and cross a Perception Bridge that takes us to the new reality we desire. You can do it for yourself. You and I can do it for the world. Upcoming Events Writer’s Webinar “How to Write a Bestseller”4 sessions, every Tuesday from May 30 – June 20, 2017 // 7 PM – 8:30 PM EST Do you want to write a bestseller that accelerates change? In my upcoming writer’s webinar, I will share my experiences of many years of writing bestsellers to help you improve your skills, get published, and reach large audiences. This writer’s salon is limited to 24 participants and there are just a few spots left. Reserve yours today. Omega Workshop “Prosperity Through Creativity”September 8 – September 10, 2017 // Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY Tap into your deepest creativity, honor your passions, realize your true potential, and shapeshift your ideas into projects, books, works of art, successful businesses, fruitful relationships, and ultimately the life you want. To register, click here.9:06 AM
Join Me This Fall at the #LoveSummit2017 - The Love Summit has the potential to be one of the most provocative, most transformational get togethers you have ever participated in. — Dan Wieden, Creator of Nike’s slogan “Just Do It”, Co-Founder & Chairman, Wieden+Kennedy This October 12-13, join me and my nonprofit organization, Dream Change, for our 2nd Love Summit business conference at LPK headquarters in The Queen City Cincinnati! We’ll be covering the latest trends in heart-centered enterprise—exhibiting how #BottomLineLove business practices can help solve the most pressing social, environmental and economic issues of our time. Join us for: Game-changing TED-style talks by some of the most pioneering business and thought leaders of our time; Interactive breakout sessions for hands-on, experiential learning; And fun networking events to build and broaden your network. The summit will sell out, so reserve a spot for you and your colleagues soon. I had the privilege of hosting the 1st Love Summit with my dear friend, Dan Wieden — creator of Nike’s slogan Just Do It, and co-founder and chairman of Wieden+Kennedy. As Dan says, “The Love Summit has the potential to be one of the most provocative, most transformational get togethers you have ever participated in.” I couldn’t agree more. Please join us for another amazing event! Save $200 by registering before July 1. Watch the short video below to hear Dream Change’s executive director, Samantha Thomas, and me explain more about the Love Summit conference and cause. See you in Cincinnati! May 13
These are the Times - 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. George Washington ordered that these words written by Thomas Paine be read to his troops at Valley Forge in December 1776. They were also read aloud in taverns, schoolhouses and churches throughout the colonies. They rallied a nation that had experienced one defeat after another to keep up the struggle against the oppressive powers of imperialistic England. We are at such a time once again. We are being tested. Our souls are being tried – here in America and in so many other countries across the globe. We need writers like Tom Paine. We need YOU. Whether you think of yourself as a writer or not, the fact that you are reading this blog says that you are a writer. You write emails. You may also tweet, post on Facebook, or use other social media. Perhaps you write short stories, articles. . . books.  The important fact is that you write and the written word has never been more important or necessary. And so very powerful. There is an interesting parallel between Tom Paine’s time and ours. Although popular history portrays the American Revolution as an idealistic uprising, it was driven by economics. The East India Company controlled world trade, as well as many of the policies of the British government. Its abusive actions in the colonies led to the Boston Tea Party and ultimately the Revolution. After independence, the US Congress perceived corporations as threats to democracy and determined never to allow them to have such power again. Laws were passed that restricted the granting of corporate charters to companies only if they guaranteed to perform a public service. No company was allowed to purchase another. On average, charters were limited to ten years. After that, as a condition for renewing its charter, each corporation had to prove that it had in fact served the public and guarantee that it would continue to do so. These laws lasted for roughly a century, until John D. Rockefeller and his associates convinced legislators in the states of New Jersey and Delaware that in order to best serve the public in a new industrialized era, the rules needed to change. Efficient oil exploration and processing, they argued, could not be done in ten years or on a small-scale. What was required were new laws that encouraged long-term charters and consolidation of financial and technological resources – in other words, monopolies. Known as “enabling acts,” these laws would, their proponents promised, generate huge profits that could be taxed. The taxes would fatten government coffers – which in turn would pay the legislators and other politicians higher salaries. Other states quickly followed. Rockefeller and his cronies created conglomerates that purchased their competitors or drove them out of business; their monopolistic tentacles eventually spread across the planet. Sound familiar? It gets worse. After Milton Friedman won the 1976 Noble Prize in Economics, the idea that corporations should maximize profits, regardless of the environmental and social costs, became the overarching goal of business. It also led to the extremely rapid growth of global corporations. Local companies in countries as diverse as Japan, Korea, Germany, UK, China, and the US expanded and quickly took control of governments. Through an assortment of strategies, including financing political campaigns, maneuvering their executives into high government positions, hiring armies of lobbyists, flooding consumers with extensive public relations and marketing crusades, and promising – as well as threatening – to impact economies by locating their facilities in – or removing them from – cities and countries, these companies have elevated themselves to positions of great power. The East India Company shareholders of the 1700s are peering down at us. Their mouths are watering. Tom Paine is also peering down. He is waging his finger at YOU. “Write!” he says. “Expose the story of a system that is failing – this Death Economy that is based on warfare and destruction of the planet. Tell the new story about the need for – and fun of – transforming it into a Life Economy – one based on cleaning up pollution, regenerating devastated environments, and creating new technologies that do not ravage the earth.” Tom stares across the centuries at you. “These are the times. . . write!” Upcoming Writer’s Webinar:4 sessions, every Tuesday from May 30 – June 20, 2017  //  7 PM – 8:30 PM EST Do you want to write a bestseller that accelerates change? In my upcoming writer’s webinar, I will share my experiences of many years of writing bestsellers to help you improve your skills, get published, and reach large audiences. This online writer’s salon is limited to 24 participants and spots are filling up fast. Reserve yours today.Apr 25

Media Monarchy

#MorningMonarchy: May 17, 2017 - Old wars, new drugs and the Maryjane Report + this day in history w/the SLA raid and our song of the day by Greg Graffin on your Morning Monarchy for May 17, 2017. 11:47 AM
#GoodNewsNextWeek: School’s Out, Crowdfunded Journalism, Seed-Sharing Site (Audio) - This week on #GoodNewsNextWeek: Schools out for summer, schools out forever; people are spending more on independent journalism; and a new website hopes to be the Match.com of the seed-sharing scene. 12:35 AM
#PumpUpThaVolume: May 16, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays Magic Sword, Blooded The Brave, Elbows and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for May 16, 2017. ♬ May 16
#MorningMonarchy: May 16, 2017 - Rejected reports, convenient dystopias and stumped scientists + this day in history w/Andrew Johnson acquitted and our song of the day by San Cisco on your Morning Monarchy for May 16, 2017. May 16
#GoodNewsNextWeek: Seed Sharing Website Is Connecting Resources (Video) - This week on #GoodNewsNextWeek: Schools out for summer, schools out forever; people are spending more on independent journalism; and a new website hopes to be the Match.com of the seed-sharing scene. May 15
#PumpUpThaVolume: May 15, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays Matthew O'Neill, The 131ers, Last Giant and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for May 15, 2017. ♬ May 15
#MorningMonarchy: May 15, 2017 - Saudi situations, surveilled senators and the Eurovision moon shot + this day in history w/George Wallace shot and our song of the day by R.LUM.R on your Morning Monarchy for May 15, 2017. May 15
#PumpUpThaVolume: May 12, 2017 - Media Monarchy plays TOMA, Naked Giants, Teksti TV-666 and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for May 12, 2017. ♬ May 12
‘The Target Shoots First’ at the Music Business, Then Itself - This month's #DeepFocus segment looks at a little-known documentary film called, 'The Target Shoots First'. It shows what happened inside the world's biggest mail order music club during the so-called alternative explosion of the early 1990's. May 12
#MorningMonarchy: May 12, 2017 - Rock heaven, liberal loopholes and 'The Target Shoots First' + this day in history w/the Lindbergh baby and our song of the day by The National on your Morning Monarchy for May 12, 2017. May 12

NATO Latest News

The NATO Chiefs of Defence committed to keeping NATO, ready, relevant and able - The Allied Chiefs of Defence gathered in Brussels on 17th May 2017 for their second meeting of the year, ahead of the Heads of State and Government meeting on 25th May 2017. Discussions on the threats and challenges facing the Alliance emanating from the South, the implementation of Projecting Stability and enhancing NATO’s role in fighting terrorism framed the morning sessions. The RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission beyond 2018, recommendations on capability development and resource requirements and the NATO Command Structure review were the focus of the afternoon.6:00 AM
NATO Secretary General marks International Day Against Homophobia - NATO marked the International Day Against Homophobia on Wednesday (17 May 2017) with a tweet by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He said: “LGBT people everywhere deserve dignity, inclusion and freedom from fear. Diversity makes our open societies stronger and safer.”6:00 AM
NATO Secretary General to participate in the European Union Foreign Affairs Council - The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will attend the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Defense format on Thursday, 18 May 2017.6:00 AM
NATO Secretary General welcomes political progress in Skopje - I welcome President Ivanov’s decision to grant Mr. Zaev’s parliamentary majority a mandate to form a new government. This is a step in the right direction, and the right thing to do. I encourage the swift formation of a new government, a timely confirmation vote in parliament and a constructive attitude by all parties. It is important the country can start to focus on its urgently needed reforms. I urge all those concerned to continue their efforts to advance the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.6:00 AM
NATO and Partners to discuss Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-proliferation and Arms Control in Helsinki - As a valued NATO Partner, Finland will host the 13th Annual NATO Conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-proliferation from 29 to 30 May 2017 in Helsinki.5:28 AM
Visit to NATO by the Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria - The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet the Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Mr. Krasimir Karakachanov, on Thursday, 18 May 2017 at NATO Headquarters.5:28 AM
Secretary General commends Bulgaria’s contributions to NATO - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Bulgaria’s contributions to NATO in talks with the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ekaterina Zaharieva, on Tuesday (16 May 2017).May 16
''She Runs, He Runs, We Run'' – NATO HQ runners promote gender equality - The second edition of the “She Runs, He Runs, We Run” took place at NATO Headquarters on Saturday 13 May 2017. The run with a distance of exactly 13.25 km (8.2 miles) aimed to raise awareness of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and gender equality.May 16
Visit to NATO by the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria - The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Mrs. Ekaterina Zaharieva at NATO Headquarters on Tuesday, 16 May 2017.May 15
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu on the latest ballistic missile test by North Korea - The launch of a new ballistic missile test by North Korea this morning (14 May 2017) is a new flagrant breach of a series of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, constituting a threat to international peace and security.May 14

National Post

Greg Palast

Did Black Turn-Out Fall in 2016?Greg Palast on AM Joy with Joy Ann Reid - Are Black people too lazy to vote? No. No one understands rhetoric. Behind Black vote drop: Jim Crow in Cyberspace. Reports claim black voter turnout fell for first time in 20 years. But it’s not that black voters are too lazy to come out to vote, it’s that they’re trying to vote and their names have disappeared from voter rolls. We estimate that before the last election, 1.1 million voters were removed from voter rolls in sates where Crosscheck was being used. Crosscheck is the flawed-by-design, racist vote purging system instigated by Trump’s Vote Suppressor in Chief, Kris Kobach, who this past week was appointed as the Vice Chair of the Presidential Commission for Election Integrity — see story. The intent is clear: The GOP are using the fake claims about millions of illegal alien and double voters as an excuse to take Crosscheck nationwide so they can whitewash voter rolls before 2018 and 2020. * * * * * 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 Did Black Turn-Out Fall in 2016?Greg Palast on AM Joy with Joy Ann Reid appeared first on Greg Palast.May 14
The Voting Rights Project LaunchRoswell, GA — Saturday, May 27 - Join us for the launch of The Voting Rights Project on Saturday May 27, 2017 from noon until 3 pm. The event will feature a screening of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, a panel discussion on "Georgia Voter Suppression Counter-Strategy and Tactics" and a press conference to demand voting rights reform. Time: Sat, May 27, 2017 — Noon until 3 pmPlace: Eagles Nest Church, 50 Mansell Court, Roswell, Georgia 30076Tickets: FREERegister: StopCrosscheck.orgSponsored By: The Civil Rights Center & The Palast Investigative FundCo-Sponsors: Eagle Nest Church, Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Common Cause Georgia, The Cobb County NAACP, and WRFG Radio * * * * * 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 The Voting Rights Project LaunchRoswell, GA — Saturday, May 27 appeared first on Greg Palast.May 13
Trump picks Al Capone of Vote Rigging To investigate Federal Voter Fraud - By Greg Palast for Alternet Kris Kobach is the GOP mastermind behind a secretive system that purged 1.1 million Americans from the voter rolls. Kris Kobach was spooning down vanilla ice cream when I showed him the thick pages of evidence documenting his detailed plan to rig the presidential election of 2016. The Secretary of State of Kansas, sucking up carbs at a Republican Party Fundraiser recognized the documents – and yelled at me, "YOU'RE A LIAR!" then ran for it while still trying to wolf down the last spoonful. But documents don't lie. That was 2015 (yes, the ballot heist started way back). Today this same man on the run, Kris Kobach, is now Donald Trump’s choice to head the new “Voter Integrity Commission.” It’s like appointing Al Capone to investigate The Mob. How did Kobach mess with the 2016 vote? Let me count the ways—as I have in three years of hunting down Kobach’s ballot-box gaming for Rolling Stone and Al Jazeera. Just two of Kobach’s vote-bending tricks undoubtedly won Michigan for Trump and contributed to his “wins” in Ohio, North Carolina and Arizona. First, Interstate Crosscheck. Kobach is the GOP mastermind behind this secretive system which purged 1.1 million Americans from the voter rolls. When Trump said, “This election’s rigged,” the press ignored the second part of his statement: “People are voting many, many times.” Trump cited three million votes illegally cast. The White House said Trump got this information from Kobach. Indeed, it specifically comes from a list of 7 million names—or, as Kobach describes it, a list of 3.5 million “potential double voters.” How did Kobach find these three million double voters? He matched their names, first and last. And that’s it. Here’s an unedited screen-shot of a segment of his list: James Edward Harris Jr. of Richmond, Virginia, is supposed to be the same voters as James R. Harris (no Jr.) of Indianapolis, Indiana. Really? Note that not one middle name matches. And here’s the ugly part. Both James Harris (in fact, hundreds of them) are subject to getting scrubbed off the voter rolls. And these are Kobach’s lists, tens of thousands of names I showed Kobach, falsely accused of the crime of double voting. And that’s why Kobach was stunned and almost dropped his vanilla, because he and his GOP colleagues kept the lists of the accused strictly confidential. (The first of the confidential lists was obtained by our investigative photojournalist, Zach D. Roberts, through legal methods—though howling voting officials want them back.) In all, about 1.1 million voters on that list have been scrubbed already—and they don’t know it. They show up to vote and they’re name has simply vanished. Or, the voter is marked “inactive.” “Crosscheck” is not marked on the victim voter’s record. It’s a stealth hit. And it’s deadly. Doubtless, Crosscheck delivered Michigan to Trump who supposedly “won” the state by 10,700 votes. The Secretary of State’s office proudly told me that they were “very aggressive” in removing listed voters before the 2016 election. Kobach, who created the lists for his fellow GOP officials, tagged a whopping 417,147 in Michigan as potential double voters. And not just any voters. Mark Swedlund, a database expert who advises companies such as Amazon and eBay on how not to mis-match customers was “flabbergasted” to discover in his team’s technical analysis, that the list was so racially biased that fully one in six registered African-Americans were tagged in the Crosscheck states that include the swing states of Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona and more. The effect goes way beyond the Trump v. Clinton count. I spoke to several of the targeted voters on the list in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional district where the Democratic candidate fell just short of the margin to win a special election. Especially hard hit in the northern Atlanta suburbs were Korean-Americans, like Mr. Sung Park, who found he was tagged as voting in two states in 2012 simply because he had a name that is as common in Korea as James Brown. And Kobach, in fact, tagged 288 men in Georgia named James Brown on his Crosscheck blacklist. As Crosscheck spreads—and it was just signed into law in New Hampshire in the last days of a lame-duck Republican governorship—it will undoubtedly poison the count in the fight for Congress in 2018. And that’s why Trump needs Kobach on his “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity”: To spread Crosscheck with an official federal endorsement and, likely, Congressional legislation. And if Crosscheck isn’t enough to scare you, Kobach is also pushing Trump to require voters to prove their citizenship. At first blush, it seems right to demand people prove they are US citizens to vote. But here’s the rub: We are not Red China and don’t carry citizenship cards. Resident Aliens holding Green Cards have, indeed are required to have, Social security cards and drivers’ licenses, if they drive or work. The readiest proof of citizenship is a passport. And what is the color of the typical passport holder, their income—and the color of their vote? The other form of proof, besides naturalization papers, is your original birth certificate. And there’s the rub: the poor, minorities and especially new young voters do not have easy access to a passport or their birth certificates. Kobach took his citizenship proof requirement out for a test drive in Kansas. The result: 36,000 young voters were barred from voting… that is, until a federal judge, citing the National Voter Registration Act, told Kobach that unless he could produce even one alien among those 36,000, she was ordering him to let them vote. Kobach’s response: a private meeting with Trump at Trump Tower where he proposed changing the Act. All of this to eliminate a crime which does not occur. Besides Trump’s claims of alien voters swimming the Rio Grande to vote for Hillary, I have found only two verified cases of votes cast by aliens in the US in the last decade. (One, an Austrian who confessed to voting for Jeb Bush in Florida.) Don’t laugh. The threat of “alien voters” – long a staple claim by Kobach on his appearances on Fox TV – will be the Kobach Commission’s hammer to smash the National Voter Registration Act’s protections. Based on the numbers from Kansas, and its overwhelming effect on young – read “Democratic” – voters, this shift alone could swing the election of 2018. Indeed, Kobach’s Crosscheck con together with his “alien” voter attack,could mean the choice of the electorate in 2020 may already be trumped. * * * * * 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. Palast is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Armed Madhouse and BBC Newsnight book of the Year Vultures' Picnic. 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 Trump picks Al Capone of Vote Rigging To investigate Federal Voter Fraud appeared first on Greg Palast.May 12
Turn-Around: Joy Reid Interviewed by Greg Palast - "It is difficult to get the issue of voter suppression on television at the moment, I think for a couple of reasons. Number one: Donald Trump — he sort of blocks out the sun. He’s taken up so much of the airtime on any given day that the media just feels that it can’t not talk about him. Between the insane things that he’s tweeting, or the policies that he’s putting forth that are draconian and scaring the hell out of people, I think that he sucks up so much of the oxygen that other stories are getting drowned out…The election of Donald Trump had a lot to do with the suppression of votes. It had a lot to do with the aftermath of gutting the Voting Rights Act… Unfortunately, we’re not focussing on it." — Joy-Ann Reid, host of #AMJoy on MSNBC * * * * * 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 Turn-Around: Joy Reid Interviewed by Greg Palast appeared first on Greg Palast.May 7
Drill Baby Drill Why Drilling In The Arctic Is A Terrible Idea - President Trump aims to roll back the Obama administration’s attempts to ban oil drilling off the southeastern Atlantic and Alaskan coasts. I was in the Arctic where Trump wants to drill baby drill. Drilling means the ethnic cleansing of the Inuit speakers who still live there. Whales won't swim in hydrocarbon. I noticed Trump did not OK drilling off Mar-a-Lago. For more on this watch my movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy — available to stream worldwide from just $2.99! * * * * * 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. vStay 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 Drill Baby DrillWhy Drilling In The Arctic Is A Terrible Idea appeared first on Greg Palast.Apr 29
Trump Stumped: Tax Cut based on his D-Student Misunderstanding of Laffer Curve - Trump claims his big tax cut will pay for itself based on his D-student misunderstanding of the "Laffer Curve." Economist Art Laffer, my mentor at U Chicago, showed how cutting taxes could produce more tax revenue, a theorem he famously drew on a napkin. Laffer drew the Curve for me—also on a napkin. (I can’t make this up: Art was addicted to cheeseburgers and always scribbled diagrams as he talked and chowed down. This is a replica of what he showed me—he used the original to wipe up.) One napkin was shown to Ronald Reagan who, foreshadowing Trump, was too thick to understand it. Like Trump, the Gipper thought that it proved that, 'the lower the tax, the more tax revenue collected.' George Bush Sr. called that "voodoo economics." Not voodoo, no; but here’s the key—pay attention, A students!— it’s a CURVE. When "marginal" tax rates are ABOVE 90%, cutting to, say, 85%, will actually produce more tax revenue from increased business activity. But at the lower end of the curve, with taxes below 40% as they are now, there’s no tax gain—just the opposite, the Laffer Curve shows tax collections will collapse. Cutting the corporate rate to 15% from 40% will cause a $4 trillion-dollar tax loss — which non-corporations, that is, working class schmucks who voted for Trump, will have to make up. Take a look…then wipe that cheese off your chin. And that ain’t the bottom of the stupid and venal oozing from the Oval Office. The Donald’s tax plan includes opening new loophole called, "territoriality." To translate from the pigs’-Latin, this means that the US can no longer collect taxes on profits of US corporations on their foreign operations. In other words, THIS IS A MASSIVE TAX BREAK FOR MOVING A FACTORY OVERSEAS. Shifting your plastics factory from Midland, Michigan to Monterey, Mexico means you no longer pay taxes on it. Hey, wasn’t this the guy who said he’d TAX companies that leave the USA? Well, it looks like he’ll make Mexico great again. But maybe Trump is no tax dunce—but one very brilliant business man who knows how to dupe his troops. After all, he’s a casino magnate who makes his money by fleecing those suckers in the red trucker hats. Trump knows: the house always wins. The post Trump Stumped: Tax Cut based on his D-Student Misunderstanding of Laffer Curve appeared first on Greg Palast.Apr 26
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

Public Intelligence » Feed

(U//FOUO) New Jersey Regional Operations and Intelligence Center: Reduce Online Exposure by “Opting-Out” - Key Findings: Law enforcement and public officials should take the following proactive steps to limit the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) that is accessible online. Cyber criminals and extremists, such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), capture personal information of law enforcement, military, and government officials, and then share it with their associates, encouraging both physical and virtual attacks. The Office of the ROIC Threat Analysis Unit, and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit, are providing these “opt-out” guidelines to reduce online exposure from websites that provide or sell PII. Details: Data brokers profit from the sale of personal information, therefore, they will continue to expand their databases to generate revenue. Data brokers collect and store personal data such as: names, addresses, shopping habits, internet protocol addresses, and other meta-data. Data is stored and sold through multiple exchanges for various reasons. Law enforcement, dignitaries, military personnel, and government officials are vulnerable because data brokers share personal information with anyone willing to pay. “Opting-out” is not a permanent solution. Individuals must consistently monitor their online footprint to limit exposure. Data brokers are not always legally obligated to remove your information. Some sites attempt to collect PII during the “opt out” process, then redistribute it. Recommendations for Law Enforcement, Military and Government Officials: The attached document contains links to commonly used websites that collect and/or store personal information, along with instructions to “opt-out”. The list is not comprehensive, but highlights the most popular data sources. Some sites require you to submit personal data in order to prove you are the person requesting to “opt-out”. Individuals may want to create a temporary or administrative email to communicate with data brokers. … May 14
(U//FOUO) Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center: Vehicle Ramming Attacks Increasing - (U//FOUO) Use of vehicles by violent extremists for ramming attacks has increased steadily, while use of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) remains rare outside the Middle East. Given the ease with which ramming attacks can be accomplished, it is likely use of this tactic will continue to rise. Unlike VBIEDs, ramming attacks require little specialized training or skill, present minimal risk of detection when acquiring the weapon, and offer flexibility with regard to preparation, timing, and target. Foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) have pointedly encouraged use of vehicle ramming attacks, offering explicit tactical advice on vehicle selection, driving tips to maximize fatalities, and targeting suggestions that include parades, festivals, street fairs, outdoor markets or conventions, political rallies, and other crowded targets of opportunity. (U//FOUO) VBIED trends have moved toward simpler bombs built with grouped, pressurized gas cylinders; materials are readily available and raise little suspicion at purchase, and instructions for building the bombs have been published in English-language extremist magazines. VBIEDs remain attractive weapons because successful deployment generates significant damage, can produce high death tolls, and garners high-profile media coverage. Sophisticated VBIEDs constructed with fuels, fertilizers, and other chemicals are infrequently used, reflecting increased barriers to material acquisition, lack of specialized training and knowledge to construct the weapon, and high risk of detection and interdiction during these phases of the attack. (U) Recent Extremist Messaging Encourages Vehicle Ramming Attacks (U//FOUO) In 2016, FTOs actively encouraged vehicle ramming attacks in simple, clear terms in English-language extremist magazines. In a September 2014 speech, Islamic State in Iraq and ash-Shams (ISIS) spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani told listeners to “run over [infidels] with your car,” adding “It is immaterial if the infidel is a combatant or a civilian. They are both enemies. The blood of both is permitted.” (U//FOUO) Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS have both published explicit tactical advice/direction for vehicular attacks. Instructions for selecting a suitable vehicle, driving to increase lethality, potential targets, and ways to claim attacks in the name of a given FTO are among the tactics explained in detail. Some advice (attaching blades to the wheel of a car to “mow” down victims) seems fanciful; instructions for building gas cylinder bombs may be riskier and harder to accomplish than they appear on the page. (U) Vehicle attack advice offered in English-language extremist magazines consists of: (U) 2016 | ISIS, Rumiyah 3: Just Terror Tactics: Vehicle Attacks; advice to improve lethality (U) 2016 | AQAP, Inspire Guide 2: Nice Operation, France; examines truck ramming attack (U) 2014 | AQAP, Inspire 12: Car Bombs in America; gas cylinder vehicle bomb instructions (U) 2010 | AQAP, Inspire 2: The Ultimate Mowing Machine, car fitted with bladesMay 13
(U//FOUO) TSA Report: Vehicle Ramming Attacks Threat Landscape, Indicators, Countermeasures - (U) Vehicle ramming is a form of attack in which a perpetrator deliberately aims a motor vehicle at a target with the intent to inflict fatal injuries or significant property damage by striking with concussive force. (U) THREAT LANDSCAPE (U) Terrorist organizations overseas have advocated conducting vehicle ramming attacks—using modified or unmodified motor vehicles—against crowds, buildings, and other vehicles. Such attacks could target locations where large numbers of people congregate, including parades and other celebratory gatherings, sporting events, entertainment venues, or shopping centers. (U) Vehicle-ramming attacks are considered unsophisticated, in that a perpetrator could carry out such an attack with minimal planning and training. It is likely that terrorist groups will continue to encourage aspiring attackers to employ unsophisticated tactics such as vehicle-ramming, since these types of attacks minimize the potential for premature detection and could inflict mass fatalities if successful. Furthermore, events that draw large groups of people—and thus present an attractive vehicle ramming target—are usually scheduled and announced in advance, which greatly facilitates attack planning and training activities. (U) From 2014 through 2017, terrorists carried out 17 known vehicle ramming attacks worldwide, resulting in 173 fatalities and 667 injuries. … … (U) COMMERCIAL VEHICLES USED IN VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACKS (U) Commercial vehicles – distinguished by their large size, weight and carrying capacity – present an especially attractive mechanism for vehicle ramming attacks because of the ease with which they can penetrate security barriers and the large-scale damage they can inflict on people and infrastructure. Furthermore, commercial trucks and buses are plentiful and routinely arouse no suspicion because of the exceptional access they have to structures and activity centers. (U) Commercial vehicles may be obtained for terrorist activity in a variety of ways, including: (U) Insider threat – authorized commercial vehicle driver carries out or facilitates the attack; (U) Hijacking – attacker gains control of a commercial vehicle by force; (U) Theft – attacker steals a commercial vehicle; (U) Rental – attacker rents a commercial vehicle; and (U) Purchase – attacker purchases a commercial vehicle.May 7
DHS Guide: Risks to Critical Infrastructure Using Cloud Services - Cloud services offer a number of benefits such as scalability, high availability, and decreased ownership cost. As a result, owners and operators in several critical infrastructure sectors such as Communications, Energy, Financial Services, Information Technology, and Transportation Services have migrated in-house computing resources to cloud infrastructures. However, cloud service environments still possess many of the same potential vulnerabilities associated with internally hosted environments, as well as additional exploits to virtual systems or networks. Owners and operators of critical infrastructure need to fully understand the risk environment as they address current cloud services and consider additional migration. Key Findings Although cloud services and physical information technology infrastructures are vulnerable to some common attack vectors, such as Denial of Service attacks, cloud services are also potentially vulnerable to a number of unique attack vectors such as Hyperjacking. When a vulnerability is exploited, cloud service providers are often reluctant to provide incident details except what is explicitly identified in the Service Level Agreement, making incident response difficult at times. More rigorous security standards and development of “best practices” are necessary to assist critical infrastructure providers in understanding and managing risks to cloud-based services. Government and industry information technology owners and operators should consider the risks and fully vet cloud service providers before adopting or expanding current cloud-based services. … Apr 30
(U//FOUO) DHS Critical Infrastructure Note: Healthcare and Public Health Sector Cyberdependencies - (U//FOUO) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assesses that given the high value of patient information and proprietary data on the black market, the Healthcare and Public Health Sector will continue to be one of the primary targets for malicious cyber actors. Stolen health data sells on the black market for more than 10 to 20 times the price of stolen credit card data. DHS assesses that growth in the medical device market over the next 4 years will result in more devices connected to the Internet, and an increase in the number of cyber-related incidents that target those devices. This is partly because manufacturers do not place enough emphasis on the security of medical devices. … (U) CYBER INCIDENTS AFFECTING MEDICAL DATA (U//FOUO) Electronic Health Records can contain personal data such as names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, insurance policy numbers, diagnosis codes, billing information, employment information, and income. Criminal and nation-state cyber actors use malware to exfiltrate personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information, and intellectual property data from healthcare companies for illicit financial gain, stock manipulation, or industrial espionage. Malicious cyber actors sell stolen electronic health records on the black market for more than 10 to 20 times the price of stolen credit card data.24,25 Malicious cyber actors can use this data to open new credit accounts, access an individual’s personal financial accounts, falsify medical identities to buy prescription drugs or medical equipment, or file fraudulent claims with insurers. (U//FOUO) Some methods of attack used by malicious cyber actors against the Healthcare and Public Health Sector include ransomware or distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS). New ransomware variants display increasingly advanced function and capabilities such as targeted delivery techniques, obfuscation mechanisms, persistence capabilities and backup system deletion tools that likely constitute a high threat to the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. (U//FOUO) According to a Federal Government official, advanced persistent threat malware infected eighty percent of U.S. healthcare network systems in late August 2015. DHS Industrical Contorl Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) uncovered a total of 1.66 gigabytes of data staged for exfiltration. One system contained 290 malware samples, with 76 samples being unique.26 (U//FOUO) On June 23, 2016, the criminal hacker group known as Armada Collective sent an email to a U.S. healthcare company based in Rhode Island threatening to conduct a DDoS attack if the company failed to pay a ransom in Bitcoin. As of mid-October 2016, State officials reported the company did not pay the ransom and a DDoS attack did occur.27 (U//FOUO) A ransomware attack in March 2016 compromised a U.S.-based hospital using an outdated server vulnerability, according to a state government official with direct access to the information. The cyber actors used administrator-level access to locate and encrypt more than 100,000 files on 4,000 systems, including 600 servers. This attack denied hospital personnel access to sensitive files for two days, according to the same reporting.28 (U) On February 5, 2016, malicious cyber actors encrypted access to patient medical records and other essential computer systems at a Los Angeles, California hospital. Hospital administrators paid the cyber actors a ransom of $17,000 to regain access to their computer systems. Apr 30
Regional Organized Crime Information Center Research Report: War on Cops - Friday, July 22, 2016 It seemed as if war had been declared on cops. First a sniper in Dallas and then an active shooter in Baton Rouge. “It has been a tough week physically and emotionally,” said Senior Corporal Trevor Perez, one of a couple dozen Dallas police officers and honor guard members to make the seven-hour trip to Baton Rouge to attend the funerals of Baton Rouge police officers, in this case that of Matthew Gerald. All the more tough because the corporal and his colleagues had just recently paid their respects at nearly a dozen similar funerals back in Texas. “We all know it can happen,” said Sr. Cpl. Perez. “But when you see it like this, happen to four co-workers wearing the same uniform as you are, once you have time to think about it, it hits you like a ton of bricks.” “It was just such an outpouring of support last week from around the country for us,” said Dallas Police Senior Corporal William Hughes outside the Healing Place Church, which was filled with more than 3,000 attendees, some from faraway states. “We felt we needed to pay it forward for them.” Baton Rouge Police Officer Matthew Gerald, 41, had been married and a father of two children. He had served three tours in Iraq as a U.S. Marine. When he started training at the Baton Rouge Police Academy—from which he had graduated in March—he told his training officer, “I’ve been serving my country, and now it’s time to serve my community.” His service was typical of all of the recently fallen heroes, those killed and the two dozen others wounded, some grievously. “It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived,” states the motto of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. “People don’t understand our job,” said Dallas Senior Corporal William Tony Rodriguez. “It’s getting to where you can’t talk to anyone without them saying, ‘Don’t shoot me!’ I mean, really? I’m trying to help you. Just comply and we’ll be done and you’ll go about your merry way and I’ll go about mine.” … … Similarities: • Both subjects were black males under the age of 30. • Both subjects had previously expressed motivation to kill law enforcement officers. • Both subjects had active and reserve enlisted military service with honorable discharge. Both subjects had overseas deployments with the military. • Both subjects were unmarried at the time of the events. The Dallas subject was living with his mother and the Baton Rouge subject was living in an apartment paid for by his mother. • During both events law enforcement officers were killed and wounded. During the Dallas shooting civilians were also injured; preliminary Baton Rouge reporting indicated that a civilian vehicle may have been shot. • Both events happened in public places within a close distance to police department locations. • Both subjects had a negative criminal history. • Both subjects wore body armor during the events. • At this time, there is no indication that either subject was tasked by any Domestic Terrorist group. • Both subjects had engaged in foreign travel. The Baton Rouge subject spent two years traveling in Africa; the Dallas subject travelled to Panama. Discrepancies: • Both subjects had three weapons with them during the events; however, the Baton Rouge subject used only one in the event. The Dallas subject also had multiple weapons and unfinished IEDs at his residence. • The Dallas subject was recently terminated by his employer; the Baton Rouge subject continued to promote his books at the time of the events but was in financial trouble. • The Baton Rouge subject had more social media accounts than average but less social media friends/followers than average social media users. Conversely, the Dallas subject’s social media presence was more in line with the average social media user. • According to preliminary reports, the Dallas subject had plans for an unspecified attack that seemed to be executed impulsively based on the opportunity. While there is evidence of planning by the Baton Rouge subject, it is unknown at this time to what extent or when this planning began. • The Dallas shooting occurred during a large gathering of people exercising their First Amendment protected rights. Police presence was already in place for this gathering. Conversely, the Baton Rouge subject sought out engagement with multiple empty police vehicles before police officers were dispatched to the area.Apr 29
Idaho National Laboratory Cyber Threat and Vulnerability Analysis of the U.S. Electric Sector - With utilities in the U.S. and around the world increasingly moving toward smart grid technology and other upgrades with inherent cyber vulnerabilities, correlative threats from malicious cyber attacks on the North American electric grid continue to grow in frequency and sophistication. The potential for malicious actors to access and adversely affect physical electricity assets of U.S. electricity generation, transmission, or distribution systems via cyber means is a primary concern for utilities contributing to the bulk electric system. This paper seeks to illustrate the current cyber-physical landscape of the U.S. electric sector in the context of its vulnerabilities to cyber attacks, the likelihood of cyber attacks, and the impacts cyber events and threat actors can achieve on the power grid. In addition, this paper highlights utility perspectives, perceived challenges, and requests for assistance in addressing cyber threats to the electric sector. There have been no reported targeted cyber attacks carried out against utilities in the U.S. that have resulted in permanent or long term damage to power system operations thus far, yet electric utilities throughout the U.S. have seen a steady rise in cyber and physical security related events that continue to raise concern. Asset owners and operators understand that the effects of a coordinated cyber and physical attack on a utility’s operations would threaten electric system reliability–and potentially result in large scale power outages. Utilities are routinely faced with new challenges for dealing with these cyber threats to the grid and consequently maintain a set of best practices to keep systems secure and up to date. Among the greatest challenges is a lack of knowledge or strategy to mitigate new risks that emerge as a result of an exponential rise in complexity of modern control systems. This paper compiles an open-source analysis of cyber threats and risks to the electric grid, utility best practices for prevention and response to cyber threats, and utility suggestions about how the federal government can aid utilities in combating and mitigating risks. Among the findings of this paper, several key elements are: Growth of networks and communication protocols used throughout ICS networks pose vulnerabilities that will continue to provide attack vectors that threat actors will seek to exploit for the foreseeable future. The interoperable technologies created for a shift toward a smart grid will continue to expand the cyber attack landscape. Threat actors on multiple fronts continue to seek to exploit cyber vulnerabilities in the U.S. electrical grid. Nation-states like Russia, China, and Iran and non-state actors, including foreign terrorist and hacktivist groups, pose varying threats to the power grid. A determined, well-funded, capable threat actor with the appropriate attack vector can succeed to varying levels depending on what defenses are in place. Utilities often lack full scope perspective of their cyber security posture. Total awareness of all vulnerabilities and threats at all times is improbable, but without enough cyber security staff and/or resources utilities often lack the capabilities to identify cyber assets and fully comprehend system and network architectures necessary for conducting cyber security assessments, monitoring, and upgrades. Some utilities require financial assistance in creating or shaping their cyber strategy, both to meet regulatory standards and for business security. While regulatory requirements for the bulk electric system are clear about what compliance outcomes utilities should achieve, utilities desire guidance about how to best achieve cyber security outcomes, as well as how to develop active defenses capable of addressing a highly targeted cyber attack. The assortment of regulatory standards and guidelines applicable to utilities regarding cyber security practices produces varied methods of adoption. This causes some overlap and confusion in jurisdictional applicability (federal vs. state) and has produced a wide range of differing practices by utilities in meeting standards, making an evaluation of industry-wide best practices difficult. Utilities expect more qualitative, timely threat intelligence from existing federal information sharing programs. Utilities also seek clarity about the conditions of information sharing programs based on new national cyber security policy (CISA 2015). … 1.2. Reported Cyber Attacks Involving U.S. Utilities It is likely that many more cyber incidents occur than are reported. Known attacks against the energy sector often follow a phased pattern that focuses on discovery, capture, and exfiltration of data, which generally does not produce tangible or immediately detectable consequences. However, if an attacker’s goal is to “degrade, disrupt, deny, [or] destroy” utility operations, prior reconnaissance and established access provide launch points for destructive payloads (malware). No lasting damage–physical, cyber-physical, or otherwise–to U.S. utilities as a result of a cyber attack has yet been reported publicly, but known cyber attacks and campaigns targeting U.S. electric utilities have been highly publicized. In early 2014, ICS-CERT released information about an unnamed public utility that was compromised via remote access. Not only was the control system configured for remote access, “the software used to administer the control system assets was accessible via Internet facing hosts.” Intrusion activity prior and related to this threat was also discovered. Researchers also found that though the remote access point was password-protected, the password was weak. Brute forcing techniques, or ‘trial-and-error until solved’ attempts to discover the password were found to be a threat to the access point. No long term costs or damage have been attributed to this attack, but an onsite cyber security assessment conducted by ICS-CERT as a result of the event likely resulted in recommendations for the utility’s future control system administration. Conversely, the Havex campaign uses spam email to distribute a remote access Trojan (RAT) tool to targets and in the past used watering hole attacks deployed from compromised ICS/supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) vendor websites. Since around 2013 a group known as ‘Dragonfly’ and ‘Energetic Bear’, thought to be a state-sponsored organization is responsible for Havex and targets energy sector companies (and other sectors) in the U.S. among other countries. By targeting electric grid operators, equipment vendors, and relevant software providers, the attackers were able to spread malware that “instruct infected machines to download and execute additional components.” Though no reports have yet emerged confirming exploit or damage of Havex in infected systems, the malware’s complexity and range of access thus far could produce future effects if not properly mitigated. Another incident to which ICS-CERT responded was found to have been ongoing since 2011 but with no detectable “attempts to damage, modify, or otherwise disrupt the victim systems’ control processes.” The threat, known as BlackEnergy, is a Trojan-based hacking campaign that exploits human-machine interface (HMI) software often used by utilities in grid control among other systems. While General Electric (GE), manufacturer of an HMI believed to be the target of the BlackEnergy campaign released a patch for its HMI software in response to the incident, future vulnerability based on this attack vector depends in part on awareness, detection and defense in depth.iii The BlackEnergy malware is described as “highly modular” with functionality varying in deployment to different victims, making it difficult to determine its future impact in the electricity industry. ICS-CERT published a Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) Amber-designated version of this information, a limited-release sharing mechanism by which companies affected by and/or requiring the information to mitigate a related cyber threat can receive and share the information internally on a need-to-know basis. A now-dated but well documented attack on a California independent system operator (ISO) responsible for electricity distribution across the state which occurred in 2001 highlights a lack of cyber security consideration in planned system maintenance. Taking advantage of poor security configuration, attackers compromised two web servers under development to access the ISO’s network. The attack was halted before attackers were able to access grid-connected systems, but took nearly three weeks to detect and was eventually assessed to be of Chinese origin. The servers that exposed the utility’s network were not firewalled and appear to have been an overlooked threat, the result of a time-sensitive business operations priority. … Apr 23
(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

Sunlight Foundation Blog

Today in OpenGov: Tempe opens by default, Comey wrote a memo, and more… - In today's edition, we share some good open data news from Tempe, James Comey's notes from his meetings with Trump come out, we agree that Brexit talks must be transparent, Alex Howard articulates the need for civics education, and more… states and cities   Tempe, AZ goes open by default, asks for feedback. In a guest post on Sunlight's blog, Stephanie Deitrick, manager of Tempe, Arizona's Open Data Program and the Enterprise GIS, Data and Analytics group, talks about the city's work to improve public access to information. She also asked for feedback on the policy from local residents and individuals with expertise. We urge you to read the policy and share your thoughts here! Lawmakers in Maine consider data privacy legislation. "Some state lawmakers want to pass a new law to keep Mainers’ internet browsing data private in response to a federal rule change allowing internet service providers to sell the web browsing data of their customers to advertisers and others." (Government Technology) Grand jury indicts South Carolina state representative. "South Carolina state Rep. Rick Quinn used his public office as a multimillion-dollar money funnel that enriched his family’s powerful political empire while doing the bidding of shadowy corporate interests in the Legislature, prosecutors said Tuesday." (Center for Public Integrity) New research explores technology used by local governments to serve and communicate with citizens. mySociety has teamed up with Microsoft on a CivicTechCities "a new piece of research looking at the technologies local governments implement to serve and communicate with their citizens." (mySociety)  trumpland Image: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform   Comey memos detail efforts by Trump to curtail Flynn investigation, suggestions that FBI imprison journalists for leaks. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that former FBI Director James Comey wrote memos detailing his various conversations with President Trump. The specific memo in question detailed a request by the president to shut down the investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn and a suggestion that the FBI should imprison journalists for publishing classified material that had been leaked to them. The memos were "part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president's improper efforts to influence a continuing investigation."  Chaffetz demands documents from the FBI. "House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz is demanding the FBI hand over all documents detailing communications between President Donald Trump and fired agency Director James Comey within the next week." He also threatened to issue a subpoena if the FBI declined to voluntarily share the documents. (POLITICO) The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press denounced Trump for reportedly suggesting journalists should be jailed. RCFP executive director Bruce Brown denounced the report, stating that “Reporters are protected by judges and juries, by a congress that relies on them to stay informed, and by a Justice Department that for decades has honored the role of a free press by spurning prosecutions of journalists for publishing leaks of classified information.” Read more in The Hill. Trump has made a habit of meeting with world leaders whose countries don't hesitate to put journalists behind bars, as the Columbia Journalism Review pointed out earlier this week.  washington watch Image: Alex Howard   Sunlight's Alex Howard weighed in on how technology can improve democracy at the Atlantic. He argued that a renewed focus on civic education is key: "Every member of civil society and institution has a role in informing communities about how government works. A core component of a high school education should include teaching people how to judge risk, statistical literacy, and how to exercise our rights to access public information." Read more here.  Congressman faces ethics complaint after targeting activist in fundraising plea. "An ethics watchdog claims Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen violated House rules by criticizing a local bank executive in a fundraising letter to her employer." (POLITICO) New York Representative under scrutiny for investments. "Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is under scrutiny by ethics investigators for his role in soliciting investors for an Australian biotech company, according to a news report." Collins owns a share of the company worth between $5 and $25 million and several other lawmakers, including current HHS secretary Tom Price, have benefited from purchasing stock in the company. (POLITICO) around the world Journalism++   EU demanding transparency in Brexit negotiations despite U.K. misgivings. "The European Union is refusing to allow the upcoming Brexit talks to take place in secret, in a rebuff to U.K. appeals to keep positions confidential. With just over a month to go before negotiations are due to start, the bloc set out how it will make its negotiating documents public every step of the way." (Bloomberg) Helping journalists harness budget and spending data to benefit their reporting. "For journalists to produce more content on budget and spending issues, they must be incentivised to do so by their organizations. This could mean for news organizations to shift their focus towards public accountability. Organizations that have, such as ProPublica in the USA and Correctiv in Germany, happen to employ journalists who know how to decipher budget data." Read the full interview with Nicolas Kayser-Bril at Open Knowledge International 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. 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." Check out the panels and Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 12th through 14th: Canadian Open Data Summit in Edmonton, Canada. "The Canadian Open Data Summit (CODS) is an annual event where the most pressing challenges facing the open data and open government communities are addressed on a national scale." Learn more here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   5:56 AM
Open data by default: Challenging but worth it - (Tempe’s What Works Cities team launching their open data program in February 2017. Credit: Nikki Ripley) Open data is about more than releasing data for outside use. For Tempe, it’s about creating a data-driven culture by changing the ways that we think about and use data inside of government. We believe that working toward a culture that views data as a strategic asset will allow us to accomplish our strategic goals while meeting the needs of the community. In February 2017, Tempe launched its open data program. Working with the Sunlight Foundation through the What Works Cities initiative, we started developing an open data policy that defines the city’s objectives and the key staff positions needed to run the program. We are now asking for feedback on our draft policy from residents and subject matter experts. The draft open data policy is available online in a format that allows you to leave comments directly in the document text. The draft open data policy will be open for comment until Wednesday May 31, 2017. Our policy’s central idea is that data should be released proactively, without waiting for someone to request it, without fees, and without restrictions on its use. This represents an exciting culture change for Tempe. Our policy and the open data program are major elements of Tempe’s commitment to using data to make better-informed, transparent decisions. While the policy is an important step in launching a successful open data program, there are many challenges in creating a culture that values data as a public asset and presumes that data should be open and accessible by default. Documenting impact. The benefits of, and demand for, open data in the community are often uncertain or unclear to city staff or departments.  It’s understandably hard to take on change when it’s not clear that your efforts will impact the community in a positive way. While the policy emphasizes the potential benefits and value that opening data to other departments, the community or businesses may bring, telling people something works isn’t a powerful motivator for change. We have worked to overcome this uncertainty by seeking out and using tangible examples of open data projects that have benefited residents, and shared them with our staff. As a city starting out with an open data program, we did not have a large reserve of examples for our City’s open data program. But as part of the What Works Cities initiative, we have been able to leverage the stories and challenges shared by other cities to illustrate the benefits of open data in different communities. Protecting privacy. Being good stewards of the city’s data means ensuring that there are protections in place to avoid releasing protected or sensitive data or putting the public at risk. A process for reviewing each dataset is a key element of meeting the security and privacy objectives of the open data policy. Potential risks to privacy and security is a complicated issue that begins — but doesn’t end — with protecting personally identifiable information. This includes not only ensuring that no personal information is released with a single dataset, but also that the combination of datasets does not enable the identification of individuals. Additionally, providing the specific location of certain types of incidents, even without specific information about an individual, may still have an impact on the area. Moreover, providing raw data does not ensure that meaningful information or conclusions will come from that data when it is used. Managing Risk. We are approaching these issues during the data inventory and publication process in several ways. We complete a Sensitive and Secure data worksheet for each dataset, including prompts when additional legal reviews are needed. We will maintain information on published datasets in a single catalog location. Departments can review related datasets and will begin working to ensure that they cannot be combined with new data to uncover personal information. For sensitive location information, locations may be randomized at the block level. For example, the city might generalize sexual assault locations to the 100-block level. If mapped, then the location could be randomized within that 100-block. Catalyzing Collaboration. City staff often have concerns about the potential for negative feedback or misinterpretation that may come from releasing data or performance analytics. Releasing data to the public or other city departments requires trust that departments will have support addressing challenges or questions that arise from releasing that data.Our draft open data policy makes the release of data a collaborative effort that engages people beyond the group responsible for maintaining the data, including city leadership, directors, supervisors and city staff. We hope to continuously address this challenge by learning from positive examples of other What Works Cities overcoming setbacks through collaboration between city staff.During the process of creating the open data policy and working on the portal, we experienced internal challenges that we faced (and continue to face) but addressed through collaboration. Working across departments has helped us gather information more efficiently, develop complete materials for the data coordinators, and even recreate the design of the data pages. This illustrates that it is possible to move past challenges through trust and collaboration. These represent only some of the challenges that arise when you try to spark a change in data culture. They are not unique to Tempe. Initial resistance to change is understandable when people are asked to shift the ways that they think about and use data. When we started this work, our goal was to create a policy that addresses the needs of our community, city officials and city staff. Meeting our challenges, incorporating the lessons into our policy, and collecting feedback from residents are all key elements of achieving that goal. Stephanie Deitrick serves as the manager of Tempe’s Open Data Program and the Enterprise GIS, Data and Analytics group. She has been with Tempe since 2014, when she began working to establish Tempe’s Enterprise GIS Services Team. You can email her at stephanie_deitrick@tempe.govMay 16
Today in OpenGov: Sources and methods, stock trades, riot gear, and more - In today's edition, we wrap our heads around reports that President Trump disclosed highly classified intelligence information to the Russian foreign minister, POLITICO explores the stock trading habits of members of Congress, MuckRock tracks local spending on riot gear, and much more… trumpland   Yesterday afternoon, the Washington Post reported that President Trump revealed highly classified information about Islamic State operations during a meeting with Russian officials last week. The report was independently confirmed by other news sources including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, BuzzFeed, and Reuters. The White House did not deny the specifics of the report, but did make it clear that the President did not discuss "sources and methods" during the conversation. For a deeper analysis of this evolving story we recommend reading this post on the Lawfare blog. Trump will release 2016 personal financial disclosure. "President Donald Trump is preparing to go public with information about how last year shaped his personal fortune, a White House official says…The plan was disclosed Monday as Vice President Mike Pence filed his own 2016 personal financial disclosure form with the Office of Government Ethics." (Associated Press) ACLU files FOIA for documents related to Comey firing. "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding records about President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey." (The Hill) Meanwhile, OpenTheGovernment calls on DOJ IG to preserve Comey records. "Today, OpenTheGovernment called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General to take immediate action to ensure the preservation of and public access to records relating to the dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey." (OpenTheGovernment.org) White House seeking public comment on ways to reform the federal government. "White House officials have set a deadline of one month from now for members of the public to offer their suggestions on how to reform the federal government." Comments can be submitted via this White House page. states and cities Image Credit: Government Accountability Office   Notoriously tech-resistant Virginia legislature to stream some proceedings. "The Virginia General Assembly will stream some committee meetings over the Internet next session, a milestone for a body that has resisted this sort of technology." (Daily Press via NFOIC) Document requests reveal large outlays for police riot gear. "We’ve all seen the lines of police at protests donning head to toe armor, batons and/or launchers at the ready, glowering down at protesters through face shields. But how much does all that gear cost? According to the early returns on riot gear budgeting requests we have been filing, quite a lot." (MuckRock) The GAO celebrates National Transportation Week with a look at "Intelligent Transportation Systems". "Intelligent Transportation Systems, or ITS, can make using public transit easier for you, from improving how fares are collected to providing real-time information on the status of your ride. Some transit agencies have even made their data open to the public so you can use your smart phone to plan your trip or pay your fare." (GAO WatchBlog) Profiling Boston's Citywide Analytics Team. "In Boston, when an ambulance arrives at an address in under six minutes, when a resident’s call to 311 is answered in less than 30 seconds, or when a restaurant inspector finds a health code violation before anyone gets sick, there is one common thread — Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team. The team is on a mission to improve the way the City of Boston delivers services using the power of data." (Data-Smart City Solutions) washington watch Image Credit: POLITICO   Members of Congress trade stocks that may present conflicts of interest. "POLITICO found that 28 House members and six senators each traded more than 100 stocks in the past two years, placing them in the potential cross hairs of a conflict of interest on a regular basis. And a handful of lawmakers, some of them frequent traders and some not, disproportionately trade in companies that also have an interest in their work on Capitol Hill." (POLITICO) Hillary Clinton officially launches new dark money group. "Hillary Clinton formally announced a new political group — Onward Together — on Monday, describing in a series of tweets the endeavor, her first since losing the November election." The group, structured as a 501(c)(4) will be able to accept unlimited contributions without revealing its donors. (BuzzFeed) House Oversight Chairman to take job at Fox News? "Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is reportedly telling House Republicans he is planning to take on a role on Fox News." (The Hill) New report outlines steps that Congress can take to accelerate data innovation. The report, from the Center for Data Innovation, "lays out 10 concrete steps Congress can take in 2017 to accelerate how data is collected, shared, and used in the United States." Read it here.  Upcoming Events   #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. May 17th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the 2017 Doorstop Awards 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 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." Check out the panels and Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 16
Today in OpenGov: Fears of federal data disappearing grow, transparency in Nigeria, disinfecting ransomware… - In today's edition, we try to stay on top of the latest news from the White House, learn about a Nigerian transparency campaign, shed some light on a ransomware campaign, and more…   Disappearing data   Access to certain data obscured under Trump. "The Trump administration has removed or tucked away a wide variety of information that until recently was provided to the public, limiting access, for instance, to disclosures about workplace violations, energy efficiency, and animal welfare abuses." (Washington Post) Some of the changes are more concerning than others, but all are worth investigating. Sunlight has been tracking data removed from the internet during the Trump administration and will continue to do so. We have also expressed our concerns over the President's lack of transparency around ethics waivers, White House visitor logs, and much more.   weekend in trumpland Image Credit: CNN Money/Shutterstock/Getty   Instead of releasing his tax returns President Trump got a letter from his lawyers to prove he's not in business with Russians. "President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers said in a letter that his tax returns from the past 10 years show that — with a few exceptions — he received no income from Russian sources and owed no debts to Russian lenders…An independent tax lawyer questioned the letter’s value," noting how easy it is to conceal the real source of income and debt. (Bloomberg) Sunlight's take? This letter from Trump lawyers is no substitute for President Trump disclosing his tax returns. While firing back at Comey on Twitter, Trump raised the possibility that he is taping White House conversations. "The suggestion that the president may be surreptitiously recording his meetings or telephone calls added a twist at the end of a week that roiled Washington. The president and his spokesman later refused to say whether he tapes his visitors, something Mr. Trump was suspected of doing when he was in business in New York." (New York Times)  WHCA decries Trump threat to do away with press briefings. "President Trump's threat to cancel future White House press briefings would 'reduce accountability,' the president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) said on Friday." (The Hill) sunshine disinfects computer viruses, too Image Credit: MALWAREHUNTERTEAM   National governments are responding to an unprecedented wave of digital attacks in dozens of countries that uses ransomware to lock up multiple computers and demand payment. The attacks have compromised hospitals, utilities and telecom companies, among many other institutions and organizations. Microsoft and security experts say the software is based on tools stolen from the National Security Agency. (Wired) This should reopen the debate on whether it's wise for the US government to stockpile vulnerabilites in an operating system when doing so puts billions of risk. (Wall Street Journal) around the world Image Credit: Tomek Nacho   Leaked documents connect American mega-donor Robert Mercer to Brexit campaign. "This is a deeply complex story. It has taken three months of investigation to unravel the web of connections – both human and contractual. But these connections and threads linking two separate foreign data analytics companies – one based in Canada and one based in London – raise profound and troubling questions about our democratic process. Because these intricate links lead, in not many steps, to Robert Mercer." (The Guardian) Mobile platform helps refugees reconnect with family. "Two Danish brothers and social entrepreneurs David and Christopher Mikkelsen have found a solution to this challenge. Their platform, REFUNITE, for Refugees United, has enabled more than half a million migrants around the world to re-establish lost contact with their families." (Global Voices) Transparency campaign sheds light on Nigeria's legislative budget. "After many years of keeping its budget secret, Nigeria’s National Assembly, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives, has finally published a breakdown of its annual budget." (Quartz) 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. May 17th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the 2017 Doorstop Awards 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 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." Check out the panels and Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 15
Today in OpenGov: Colorado modernizes records, China tries to tackle corruption in school, and more… - In today's edition, we congratulate Colorado on passing legislation to modernize its open records, try to keep up with the latest news around President Trump's decision to fire James Comey, think critically about the President's new commission on election integrity, read about Chinese efforts to stamp out corruption in grade school, and more… states and cities   Congratulations to Colorado for passing legislation modernizing open records. "An 18-month push to update Colorado’s open-records law for the digital age culminated Wednesday in the final passage of a bill that clarifies the public’s right to copies of electronic government records in useful file formats that permit analysis of information in those records." (Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition) West Virginia takes a page from Ohio's successful playbook with new open budget data platform. "To combat a budget deficit of nearly $500 million, West Virginia State Auditor John B. McCuskey is launching a new open data platform that will make it easier for everyone — from ordinary citizens up through actual policymakers — to find, analyze and disseminate specific information about government spending." (Government Technology) Court keeps California water information secret. "Crucial details about the location and depth of certain California water wells can be kept secret, and out of the hands of an environmental group, a top federal appeals court ruled Tuesday." (Sacramento Bee via NFOIC) Texas Senate approves bill that would reopen public access to state contracts and spending. "A move to keep alive the most significant open-government measure of the legislative session was overwhelmingly approved by the Texas Senate on Thursday, including measures to reopen government contracts and spending open to public disclosure." The will now go back to the Texas House for final approval. (Chron.com) The public deserves access to state spending information. We hope the House moves quickly to approve this legislation.  money talks Photo Credit: Nick Ares   Former congresswoman convicted of funneling charity money to herself. "Corrine Brown, a former longtime United States representative from Florida, was convicted on Thursday of taking for herself thousands of dollars in donations that were meant to fund student scholarships." (New York Times) Crowdpac is shaking up House races by helping potential candidates raise money before officially jumping in. "For people like Allen who are weighing runs for public office but may have little or no political experience, Crowdpac creates the political equivalent of a crowd-funding page. That’s used to raise money until the prospective candidate hits a target amount or officially announces." If the candidate decides not to run, donors aren't charged. (Roll Call) Jared Kushner's relatives are pulling out of pitch meetings in China following uproar. "The real estate company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Trump, said on Friday that its leaders would not take part in sales pitches to Chinese investors this weekend." (New York Times) A Trump property in the Caribbean is on the market, raising new ethics concern. "President Trump's trust is selling off a Caribbean resort, which creates an ethical dilemma. On the one hand, ethics experts want Trump to divest. But when he sells, that opens an opportunity for a wealthy buyer to try to win his favor." (NPR) Don't forget that we've been tracking Trump's conflicts of interest and our list has over 500 entries. trumpland   "This Russia thing", Comey's refusal to pledge loyalty may have contributed to the President's decision to fire the F.B.I director. The story of President Trump's decision to fire James Comey is full of conflicting accounts, but two particularly concerning narrative threads emerged yesterday. First, sources indicate that Comey rebuffed Trump's demands for loyalty from the F.B.I director — whose 10 year term is designed to guarantee political independence. (New York Times) Second, in a statement that directly contradicted earlier White House explanations, the President cited "this Russia thing" as part of his rationale for the dismissal. (Washington Post) Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order creating a Presidential Advisory Committee on Election Integrity. There are some serious systemic issues with the American electoral system including voter suppression based on race and sex. We hope the committee carefully considers these issues and not just the President's unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in 2016. You can find more of our reactions to the announcement in this Twitter thread. We also recommend reading Rick Hasen's, healthily skeptical, thoughts on the committee.   Office of Government Ethics want to know if top Trump appointees are keeping up their ethics bargains. "When the Senate was preparing to confirm President Trump's Cabinet and other top officials, the nominees negotiated ethics agreements, promising to rearrange their financial lives to avoid conflicts of interest…Now the Office of Government Ethics wants to know if they kept their word." (NPR) think global Chinese media warns against classroom corruption. "A commentary in the Communist Party newspaper said it was common to see students bribe teachers and other students to gain advantage in class. The paper urged people to teach children correct conduct before they grow accustomed to a corrupt culture." This may be part of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping's larger efforts to consolidate power in the Communist Party. (Bloomberg) Togo moves forward with Access to Information law. "The Togolese Council of Ministers has adopted on first reading a decree on the implementation of March 30, 2016, law on freedom of access to information and public documentation." (FreedomInfo.org) Threats to press freedom in Tanzania. "Tanzanian President John Magufuli's ominous warning to journalists last month that press freedom had 'limits' following a sequence of events that led to the firing of his information minister has raised new concerns about authoritarianism in the east African republic." (ifex.org) 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. May 17th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the 2017 Doorstop Awards 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 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." Check out the panels and Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 12
Today in OpenGov: An HHS gag order, a quantitative measure for open government, and more… - In today's edition, Congress keeps up its interest in the DATA Act, James Comey gets an invitation from the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mexico explores a quantitative open government measuring system, and more… washington watch   Agency engagement, agile approach helped boost DATA Act implementation. "In part one of a special report looking at the implementation and impact of the DATA Act, Christina Ho, Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for accounting policy and financial transparency, said during an exclusive interview with Federal News Radio that she credited her small team, and agency’s engagement, to the success of the rollout." (Federal News Radio) House Oversight staying on top of DATA Act implementation issues. "The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants to know how the Treasury Department is tackling problems that crop up during implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014." The Committee recently sent a letter asking how the Treasury Department plans to address recommendations for improvement issued by the GAO. (FedScoop) Agencies turn to data analytics and machine learning to fight fraud, waste, and abuse. "Today, government agencies increasingly turn to data analytics as a crime-fighting tool. In the process, they scour a more varied and greater amount of data — structured and unstructured, internal and external — for insight into identifying fraud, waste and abuse." (FedTech Magazine) "Gag order" on communications between HHS employees and Congress criticized by watchdogs and key committee chairmen. "The May 4 letter to Secretary Tom Price from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called a recent departmentwide memo sent on Price’s behalf 'potentially illegal and unconstitutional.'" The memo prevents any communication with congress without prior authorization from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation. (Government Executive) The Project on Government Oversight weighed in, explaining that the memo violates the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012.  Interested in congressional efforts to preserve federal data? You can now weigh in on the Preserving Data in Government Act of 2017 on Madison.io.  trumpland Image Credit: Alex Howard via Twitter   Comey invited to testify before closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Recently ousted FBI director James Comey has been invited to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next Tuesday, ranking member Sen. Mark Warner's (D-Va.) office confirmed Wednesday." (The Hill) Meanwhile, Chaffetz asks DOJ IG to probe Comey's firing. "Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Wednesday he's asked a Department of Justice inspector general looking into the FBI's behavior in the run-up to the 2016 election to expand its scope and include the firing of FBI Director James Comey." (POLITICO) Trump uses loophole to sidestep scrutiny for new Wall Street regulator. "The Trump administration used a highly unusual personnel move to skirt Senate confirmation and standard ethics requirements when it installed a financial services lawyer atop a powerful banking regulator. Keith Noreika’s transition from representing banks to overseeing them came courtesy of a quick two-step. He was made “first deputy” at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a designation that ensured he would ascend to the top job once it opened. Then the administration ousted Thomas Curry, an OCC head picked by Barack Obama who had imposed tough rules and record fines on lenders. Just like that, Noreika became acting comptroller." (Bloomberg) Charles Schwab gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee, now his granddaughter is a "volunteer" in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. "Samantha Schwab, the 21-year-old granddaughter of brokerage billionaire Charles Schwab, has been working in the Trump White House Office of Legislative Affairs….The header on Schwab’s White House email address says 'Volunteer' in parentheses after her name, suggesting she may not be a full-time staffer. She is not an official White House intern." Sunlight's Alex Howard weighed in on the potential conflict of interest "But when someone is given this incredibly valuable experience in secret, because of their family’s political contributions, it erodes the public trust in the entire government". (HuffPost) Speaking of conflicts of interest, we recently updated our spreadsheet tracking the president's conflicts. It now has over 500 entries.  around the world   Celebrating Europe Day with calls for transparency reforms. "On Europe Day, Access Info is calling on the European Union to commit to and implement essential transparency and open government reforms to reverse the growing sense among European citizens that they are distanced from Brussels and that decisions are taken behind closed doors with little or no accountability." (Access Info Europe) A quantitative metric to measure open government at all levels of Mexican administration. "Mexico has carried out open government initiatives both at the federal (since 2011) and local (since 2015) levels. INAI knew that over the next five years, OGP countries’ results would be evaluated, and that Mexico’s progress in opening its government needed a baseline and indicators to identify how Mexican public agencies were adopting open government and to find out what could be improved. To answer these questions, INAI asked a group of academics from the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) to develop a quantitative instrument. We named it the Open Government Metric." (Open Government Partnership) 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. May 17th: Reboot Congress 2017 and the 2017 Doorstop Awards 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 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." Check out the panels and Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 11
Today in OpenGov: Trump fires Comey, reverse engineered visitor logs, and more… - In today's edition, we explore the fallout from President Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey, continue to celebrate the DATA Act's recent deadline, look at how leaks are playing a role in Brexit strategy, and more… "you're fired" Image Credit: Brookings Institution   Yesterday, President Trump fired FBI director James Comey. The White House attributed the decision, which came as a surprise to most everyone in Washington, to Comey's handling of the investigation around Hillary Clinton's emails. Many others are tying the move to the FBI's ongoing investigation into Russian interference in last year's election. (Reuters) The dismissal received immediate bipartisan backlash and renewed calls for a special prosecutor for Russia investigation. "Three Senate Republican chairmen with oversight of national security issues signaled Tuesday evening their concern over the sudden termination of FBI Director James Comey in the midst of his agency’s investigation of Russia’s influence over the White House." (The Hill) "Calls to appoint an independent prosecutor have simmered for months, but until now, they had been voiced almost entirely by Democrats…Mr. Comey's firing upended the politics of the investigation, and even Republicans were joining the call for independent inquiries." (New York Times) Further coverage of Comey's dismissal, its relationship with the investigation into the relationship between Trump and Russia, and the ongoing political fallout can be found at Bloomberg and POLITICO.  Sunlight's take? Trump's decision created new urgency for an independent investigation and special counsel. "The Sunlight Foundation renews our calls for an independent commission in Congress to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. We now call on the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor and to seal Director Comey’s records. Congress must use its powers as a separate, co-equal branch of government to check an executive run amok." Read more on the Sunlight Blog. washington watch Image Credit: Eben McCue via POLITICO   Reverse engineering White House visitor logs. "To build a better, completely public visitor log, we compiled not just visits to the White House, but interactions that include in-person meetings with the president at Mar-a-Lago and other venues, appearances at events and documented phone calls with foreign leaders and other politicians." (POLITICO) Judicial Watch wants records on Trump travel spending. "A conservative legal and transparency advocacy group on Monday filed suit against the Defense and Homeland Security departments to obtain details on the travel costs incurred by President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence." (Government Executive) DATA Act deadline marks milestone in six year journey. "Today, for the first time in history, the U.S. federal government’s spending information is one single, unified data set." (Data Coalition) But Congress makes it clear this is only the beginning. "As agencies are wrapping up submissions for the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act’s first deadline, transparency advocates and lawmakers are framing the milestone date more as a starting point." (Federal Computer Week) Census director announces retirement as 2020 count nears critical moment. "John Thompson announced his retirement, effective June 30, as director of the Bureau of the Census. The move comes as the bureau is set to make some big decisions about the 2020 census and deliver a long-awaited cost estimate that could show cost overruns." (Federal Computer Week) Sunlight joins coalition urging Hensarling to rescind letters to agencies on FOIA. "A group of government watchdogs sent a letter to Congressman Jeb Hensarling Tuesday afternoon urging him to rescind the letters he sent government agencies informing them about Freedom of Information guidelines." Read more, including the full text of the letters on Buzzfeed. around the world European leaders embrace a leaky Brexit strategy. "One woman’s leaky breach of confidence, however, is another man’s transparency in government. And if there is a moral to the story for senior EU officials it is that their first instinct was the correct one: When it comes to Brexit, leak early and leak often and thereby control the narrative." (POLITICO) Research shows citizens want open data, but also more dialogue with government. "The research found a demand not only for data, but also for dialogue between government and citizens to further accountability. While most participants demonstrated their creative and nuanced thinking about using data to further accountability, they also expressed their frustration with local government actors’ lack of response to their efforts." (Open Government Partnership) How the Internet changes democracy through flattened geography. "One universal human trait is to seek out and connect with other people who have shared perspectives or experiences. The internet, because it inherently collapses geography, greatly amplifies people’s ability to make those connections regardless of physical location." (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. May 17th: Reboot Congress 2017 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." Learn more 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." Yesterday, organizers announced the #PDF17 panels. Learn more about #PDF17 and get your tickets here.  June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 10
In firing Comey, Trump creates new urgency for independent commission and special counsel - President Donald J. Trump has now dramatically deepened the crisis of public faith in his administration by abruptly firing James Comey, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while the president’s campaign was under active, ongoing investigation by the department. The Sunlight Foundation renews our calls for an independent commission in Congress to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. We now call on the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor and to seal Director Comey’s records. Congress must use its powers as a separate, co-equal branch of government to check an executive run amok. After promising to prosecute his opponent, cheering on the unprecedented theft and disclosure of her campaign manager’s correspondence during the Presidential election, and bringing unprecedented, secret conflicts of interest to White House, Comey’s firing suggests President Trump is now incapable of restoring public trust in the face of investigations into his election. Trump’s false claims about fraudulent votes or that the FBI investigation are a “hoax” – in the face of grand jury subpoenas  – have demonstrated a disregard for public accountability that has now spread beyond rhetoric to explicit interference. On questions of ethics, transparency, accountability and press freedom, President Trump has consistently chosen his own power and authority over the stability of our political system and the public’s right to know. By firing Director Comey, the Trump administration has sent a clear message to Congress: without independent oversight, even fundamental questions of accountability will decay into impunity and political interference under President Trump’s leadership.May 9
Today in OpenGov: DATA Act deadline, going beyond open data in South Bend, and more… - In today's edition, we look back on the DATA Act as a key deadline arrives, Illinois moves to protect personal data, two business professors explain the importance of visitor log transparency, and more… washington watch   We looked back on the history of the DATA Act as the law reached a key implementation deadline. "May 9th is one of the most significant deadlines in the DATA Act implementation timeline. We didn’t get to this moment by accident. This is the culmination of years of work by public servants inside of our Congress and federal government, and public advocates outside of the system. The Sunlight Foundation supported the DATA Act since it was first introduced in Congress in 2011 and advocated for its passage in the face of opposition from the Obama White House. Why? High quality, standardized, public data on government spending can identify waste, prevent fraud, increase efficiency, and ultimately lead to a more effective, accountable government for American citizens." Read more on the Sunlight Blog and cheeck out the newly standardized data at beta.usaspending.gov The GAO has its eye on agencies as they attempt to meet today's DATA Act reporting deadline. "Over the past 3 years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of the Treasury (Treasury), and federal agencies have taken steps towards addressing policy and technical hurdles to producing comparable spending information. For example, OMB and Treasury established financial data standards and related guidance to assist agencies in preparing their spending data, and Offices of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed their agencies’ implementation plans to help identify challenges." (GAO WatchBlog) IRS Inspector General finds high improper payment risk tied to tax credits. "Ongoing efforts by the Internal Revenue Service to minimize erroneous payments for various tax credits remain an at unacceptable risk level, a watchdog found." (Government Executive) Census, industry teaming up to better distribute and utilize American Community Survey data. "The nation’s next wholesale population count is still more than two years away but U.S. Census Bureau officials are not only preparing to migrate that process online — they’re also working with private industry to devise better ways of sharing the yearly American Community Survey (ACS) data that’s produced." (Government Technology) House committee chair walks back efforts to keep correspondence with agencies private. "The Texan who chairs a powerful committee over banking policy says he won't ask federal agencies to withhold 'all records' of the panel's communications from journalists, watchdogs and others — despite recent letters that suggested the opposite." (Dallas Morning News) trumpland   Business professors write in support of White House visitor logs transparency. "Having reviewed years’ worth of White House visitor logs, we agree there are major risks associated with the documents’ release—political ones. Keeping the logs secret makes it more difficult for the American public to know who’s seeking favors from the administration and leveraging the prestige and power of the White House for their own benefit." (POLITICO Magazine) It's hard to tell how much it costs for President Trump to travel every weekend. "But the White House makes it hard for taxpayers to know anything about the costs. Trump and his aides are mum when asked for an accounting. Past attempts by government auditors to gauge the costs of presidential travel have been sketchy, fragmentary and outdated." (Associated Press) Jared Kushner's sister apologized for mentioning him while pitching "investor visa", development deal at Beijing event. "A company owned by Jared Kushner’s family is apologizing for mentioning him during an investment conference in China. Nicole Kushner Meyer referenced her brother, who is now a White House adviser, during an event in Beijing last Saturday." (The Hill) states and cities Image Credit: Bob Gradeck   Illinois Senate moves to protect personal information collected online. "The state Senate on Thursday approved the groundbreaking Right to Know Act, a measure that would require online companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to disclose to consumers what data about them has been collected and shared with third parties." (Government Technology) Making open data inclusive, attractive, and impactful in South Bend, Indiana. "The next stage of open data is expanding what cities share and providing context and tools to make open data more inclusive and attractive, and therefore more impactful. This shift requires us to recall the movement’s roots in open government and to retain a share of the responsibility for what happens once data is accessible. This is not meant to water down open data at all, but to make the conversation much richer, more vibrant, and more in sync with its objectives." (Data-Smart City Solutions) Technology is key to fighting NYC's homelessness epidemic. "The effort will also require having the technology in place to ensure that work happens as efficiently as possible. To that end, the city is rolling out a new tool, StreetSmart, aims to give city agencies and non-profit groups a comprehensive view of all of the data being collected on New York’s homeless on a daily basis." (Wired) 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. 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." Learn more 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. June 27th: Legislative Data and Transparency Conference in Washington, DC. "The Legislative Data and Transparency Conference 2017 (#LDTC17), hosted by the Committee on House Administration, will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2017in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. The #LDTC17 brings individuals from Legislative Branch agencies together with data users and transparency advocates to foster a conversation about the use of legislative data – addressing how agencies use technology well and how they can use it better in the future." Learn more here.  June 29th: DATA Act Summit 2017 in Washington, DC. "The fourth annual DATA Act Summit, hosted by the Data Coalition and Booz Allen Hamilton, will bring together supporters of the open data transformation from across government and the private sector." Learn more and get your tickets here. September 11th and 12th: TicTec@Taipei in Taipei. "TICTeC@Taipei is the first ever conference about the influence of civic tech to be held in Asia. We’ve invited members of academia, business, politics, NGOs, education to participate, and discuss their research. We hope through this event, we can build a global network of civic tech enthusiasts." The event is being held during #CivicTechFest 2017. Learn more, submit a session proposal, and register to attend 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!   May 9
A brief history of the DATA Act - Tuesday morning is a significant moment in the long history of making the spending of the United States government more transparent to the American public. On May 9th, federal agencies will officially begin reporting data in compliance with the open standards created under the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, the landmark legislation that cleared Congress in 2014. (It’s called the DATA Act, for short, which is how we refer to it today.) The data will start flowing to beta.usaspending.gov in the coming days and will eventually be transitioned to USAspending.gov, the long term online home of federal spending data.     In doing so, our government will give citizens, watchdogs, Congress and federal workers unprecedented public access to structured information about spending and open up new horizons for oversight, accountability, activism and innovation. May 9th is one of the most significant deadlines in the DATA Act implementation timeline. We didn’t get to this moment by accident. This is the culmination of years of work by public servants inside of our Congress and federal government, and public advocates outside of the system. The Sunlight Foundation supported the DATA Act since it was first introduced in Congress in 2011 and advocated for its passage in the face of opposition from the Obama White House. Why? High quality, standardized, public data on government spending can identify waste, prevent fraud, increase efficiency, and ultimately lead to a more effective, accountable government for American citizens. Following is a brief history of how we came to today — and what’s next. How Reporting Bad Data Drove Reform Our story starts with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), which originally sponsored by a bipartisan group led by then-Senators Barack Obama and Tom Coburn. The longer arc story of federal spending transparency stretches back to our nation’s founding, of course, but we’re fast-forwarding to when Congress started trying to publish data on the Internet. FFATA required that “federal contract, grant, loan, and other financial assistance awards of more than $25,000 be displayed on a searchable, publicly accessible website, USAspending.gov, to give the American public access to information on how their tax dollars are being spent.” FFATA represented a significant boost for federal spending transparency, but it soon became clear that it was only a small step in the right direction. That clarity was driven by the work of Sunlight staff, who examined the data published on USASpending.gov as part of the Clearspending project. We found significant issues with the completeness, consistency, and timeliness of grants data on the portal, which all represent significant limitations to the overall quality and usefulness of the data. Other government watchdogs pointed out the limitations of USASpending for those seeking community level data, trying to track spending by smaller agencies, attempting to discern how much the government spent on salaries, and more. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) eventually confirmed a range of issues with USASpending data. Meanwhile, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — also known as the Stimulus — injected more than $800 billion into America’s struggling economy. What happened next, however, was a critical test case for open data that laid the ground work for the DATA Act. The federal government applied data standards to grants, tracked and disclosed spending publicly on Recovery.gov and gave special oversight to the Recovery Accountability at Transparency Board. That board ultimately identified hundreds of millions of dollars in savings. In 2011, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced the first iteration of the DATA Act. The bill changed a great deal before it was eventually passed in 2014, but one key piece always remained: the creation of government-wide financial data reporting standards. In a highly politicized climate, the DATA Act struck a bipartisan chord in Congress. It passed through the U.S. House of Representatives nearly unanimously in 2012 and 2013. The bill was championed through multiple Congress’ in the Senate by a bipartisan group led by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Mark Warner (D-VA). When the bill was ultimately passed by both chambers in 2014, there was not one dissenting vote. In fact, the bill’s strongest opposition came from what might seem like an unlikely source: the Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB began expressing doubts about the bill shortly after it was introduced in 2011 and continued efforts to weaken it up until the moment it was passed by both the House and Senate in 2014. Implementation and the May 2017 Deadline After Congress passed the bills, President Barack Obama quietly signed the DATA Act into law in the spring of 2014. In many ways, the hard work of the past three years just began that day. The law split responsibility for implementation between OMB and the Department of the Treasury. Many stakeholders — including Sunlight and members of the United States Senate — expressed concern that the executive branch would not implement the law with the same energy that it took to get it through Congress. Happily, those fears have proven to be mostly unfounded as Treasury embraced its role as well as the principles of openness at the foundation of the DATA Act. In September 2014, the Treasury Department hosted a town hall to kick off the implementation process and gather stakeholder feedback. At that event, Sunlight urged the OMB and Treasury to embrace innovative tools and conduct an open policy making process that included real-time, online feedback mechanisms as well as more traditional avenues for collecting stakeholder input. The implementation team at Treasury embraced these ideas, creating an online hub for information and feedback on the DATA act data standards, running an open beta as they built a new version of USASpending.gov, and consistently seeking feedback from the public. In a sign of their commitment that hit even closer to home for us, Kaitlin Devine — who was one of the driving forces behind Sunlight’s Clearspending project — eventually entered public service to work with 18F and ultimately joined the DATA Act implementation team. DATA Act implementation has not been perfect, but the public nature of the process, along with a continued bipartisan commitment to oversight by Congress and regular feedback from the Government Accountability office, has helped ensure steady, consensus driven progress. What’s next? Key stakeholders from in and outside of government have tempered expectations ahead of the May 9th deadline. Agreeing upon and implementing new standards for federal spending data was a complex process that stretched over several years. Not every agency should be expected to report perfect data on day one, nor do we expect that to occur, particularly outside of the 24 agencies under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. Members of Congress, officials at the Treasury Department and groups outside government have acknowledged the complications and, today, all appear prepared to work through issues that may emerge. Additionally, despite its poor record on transparency issues elsewhere in government, the Trump administration appears to have embraced the DATA Act.   As agencies work out the kinks, it is vital that everyone outside government with a stake in the DATA Act’s success continue to support the law’s implementation by using the new data, helping identify and fix problems where they appear, and holding agencies publicly accountable if it’s clear that they’re dragging their feet. A report released this week by the Data Foundation and Deloitte (which was co-written by this piece’s author) highlights a number of challenges to the DATA Act’s success as well as potential solutions. The report lays out a vision for the future of federal spending data that can serve as a guide for future oversight and reform. The DATA Act has already led to a major success that’s worth specifically hailing today, given how little fanfare we expect to accompany it because of how much the work has proceeded in the open. As we’ve highlighted, over the past three years the work on implementing Congress’ mandate has proceeded mostly in the public eye, on the Web at openbeta.usaspending.gov and spendingdata.us, and on Github at federalspendingtransparency, which connects to fedspendingtransparency.github.io. What the DATA Act represents is an unprecedented bipartisan effort to ensure that federal spending data is standardized and easily available online to agencies, oversight bodies, journalists, and — most importantly — the American people. In a historic moment when political polarization and bitter partisanship are at a fever pitch in our politics, it’s useful reminder that our government of, by and for the people can still come together to effectively work on behalf of the public they serve. We hope that similar bipartisanship and collaboration continues in passing the OPEN Government Data Act and implementing the FOIA Improvement Act in 2017. The DATA Act is a vital piece of the larger picture of open government data. If successful, it will serve as an important stepping stone to the widespread use of standardized, open government data in areas as varied as performance tracking, records management, regulatory reporting, and more. Most importantly, it creates a more effective, accountable government for the American people. We look forward to seeing how its authors and implementers take the work forward, in the open, in the months ahead.May 8
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