Category Archives: Profiteering

Inoreader – Facebook Moves to Block Ad Transparency Tools — Including Ours

A number of organizations, including ProPublica, have developed tools to let the public see exactly how Facebook users are being targeted by advertisers. Now, Facebook has quietly made changes to its site that stop those efforts. ProPublica, Mozilla and Who Targets Me have all noticed their tools stopped working this month after Facebook inserted code in its website that blocks them. “This is very concerning,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who has co-sponsored the Honest Ads Act, which would require transparency on Facebook ads. “Investigative groups like ProPublica need access to this information in order to track and report on the opaque and frequently deceptive world of online advertising.”

Source: Inoreader – Facebook Moves to Block Ad Transparency Tools — Including Ours

Russia denies sending mercenaries to shore up Nicolás Maduro’s position | World news | The Guardian

The man leading the charge has been Igor Sechin, the former military translator who now heads the Russian oil firm Rosneft. A fluent Spanish speaker, Sechin has met with Maduro regularly and has increased the Rosneft’s investment in Venezuelan oil production and its state-owned producer.

Source: Russia denies sending mercenaries to shore up Nicolás Maduro’s position | World news | The Guardian

$20 billion in investments?

Trump ordered 15,000 new border and immigration officers — but got thousands of vacancies instead – Los Angeles Times

In a sign of the difficulties, Customs and Border Protection allocated $60.7 million to Accenture Federal Services, a management consulting firm, as part of a $297-million contract to recruit, vet and hire 7,500 border officers over five years, but the company has produced only 33 new hires so far.

Source: Trump ordered 15,000 new border and immigration officers — but got thousands of vacancies instead – Los Angeles Times

 

The PAC for Accenture Federal Services gave around $250,000 to 112 members of Congress in campaign donations 2015-2016. Pretty good investment return and insurance policy against not getting raked over coals for not fulfilling contract. And says a lot too for incompetence of the White House managers of the contract. $5+ billion demanded for a wall would produce a 2 or 3 miles of wall at this rate.

Avian Flu Diary: Emerg. Microbe & Inf: MERS Infection In Non-Camelid Domestic Mammals

It took roughly a year after the first human infection with MERS-CoV was announced out of Saudi Arabia for dromedary camels to be identified as a host species for the MERS coronavirus (see 2013’s The Lancet Camels Found With Antibodies To MERS-CoV-Like Virus). While bats are believed to be the primary host reservoir for MERS, SARS, and an array of other novel pathogens (see Curr. Opinion Virology: Viruses In Bats & Potential Spillover To Animals And Humans), the hunt continues for other susceptible species where these viruses may reside.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Emerg. Microbe & Inf: MERS Infection In Non-Camelid Domestic Mammals

NH: There had been a significant increase in date tree cultivation in Saudi Arabia to serve increased worldwide demand for dates. That increase led naturally to an increase in the bat population and the possibilities of a new variant of disease to be passed on to animals and humans.

Wednesday Open Thread | There Is No Deal To Be Made…Stay Strong, Madam Speaker | 3CHICSPOLITICO

There is no BOTH SIDES to this Government Shutdown. There simply isn’t. Dolt45 and The Turtle are responsible for the Government Shutdown. Period. The Democrats have watched and have had their last nerve snapped. They are done. They are not going to negotiate with terrorists. It was Dolt45 who damaged DACA. It was Dolt45 who damages TPS. The Supreme Court has already given a pass to hearing the case on DACA, which means that those under DACA’s protections don’t have to worry about it for another year. So, exactly what was Dolt45 going to negotiate with, considering that the Supreme Court has already made its decision. Give into them now, and they’ll be back to the well when the debt ceiling comes up. And, then, it ‘ll be something else. NO.NEGOTIATING.WITH.TERRORISTS.

Source: Wednesday Open Thread | There Is No Deal To Be Made…Stay Strong, Madam Speaker | 3CHICSPOLITICO

Mnuchin Flew to L.A. on Private Jet of Billionaire Michael Milken – The New York Times

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin flew from Washington to Los Angeles this month on the private aircraft of Michael R. Milken, the billionaire “junk bond” king who pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 1990 and served two years in prison. The flight, which was confirmed by the Treasury Department on Friday, was the latest example of Trump administration officials using luxury or government aircraft for personal reasons. Mr. Mnuchin, who was accompanied by Secret Service agents on Mr. Milken’s jet, travels frequently to California to visit his children who live there. A Treasury Department spokesman said that Mr. Mnuchin and Mr. Milken have known each other for years and that after reviewing internally the secretary’s plans to take the flight, it was decided that he did not need an ethics waiver. Mr. Mnuchin has reimbursed Mr. Milken for the cost of the flight, the spokesman said, but did not disclose the amount. Trump administration officials, including Mr. Mnuchin, had been encouraging President Trump last year to pardon Mr. Milken, who pleaded guilty to six criminal charges related to securities transactions undertaken in the 1980s. Mr. Milken, who had to pay $600 million in f

Boris Johnson wrongly denies stirring Turkey fears in Brexit campaign | Politics | The Guardian – He is a liar!

A week before referendum day in June 2016, Johnson and Michael Gove wrote a joint letter to David Cameron claiming that the government supported the idea of Turkish membership of the EU. “The public will draw the reasonable conclusion that the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote leave and take back control on 23 June,” the letter stated. And during the BBC’s EU referendum debate, two days before the poll, Johnson said: “It’s government policy to accelerate Turkish accession.” A couple of weeks earlier, interviewed on the Andrew Marr Show, he said: “Frankly, I don’t mind whether Turkey joins the EU, provided the UK leaves the EU.”

Source: Boris Johnson wrongly denies stirring Turkey fears in Brexit campaign | Politics | The Guardian

Steve King Still Has Backing in Iowa, but Even Supporters Say ‘He’s Done’ – The New York Times

Mike McCarville, a former Fort Dodge mayor, said that when it came to the many Latinos who work in meatpacking, construction and agriculture in the region, native-born Iowans could be “two-faced.’’ “All the farmers will bitch about all the Hispanics,” he said, “but they hire them and we can’t get along without them.” “If they accomplished what they say they want and just round them all up and ship them back, our economy would grind to a halt,” he added.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General’s aggressive tactics leave patients with big bills – Vox – Plain and simple – the hospital is gouging those it can get away with gouging – driving them to low-income status.

I spent a year writing about ER bills. Zuckerberg San Francisco General has the most surprising billing practices I’ve seen.

Source: Zuckerberg San Francisco General’s aggressive tactics leave patients with big bills – Vox

Opinion | Who Speaks for America? – The New York Times

But the degree to which senior officials have had to reverse or slow roll precipitous, ill-considered, even dangerous decisions by the president also erodes civilian control of the military and sows uncertainty. Such an approach will embolden adversaries, confuse friends and confound the servicemen and servicewomen who depend on their president for clear, principled leadership, especially when they are putting their lives at risk. Mr. Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are crisscrossing the Middle East this week to reassure friendly governments that the administration is pursuing a coherent agenda, particularly in building a coalition against Iran. Is Mr. Trump also on board?