Beet L. Jooz

Trump was absolutely right to mock Ford's ridiculous testimony on Tuesday and all the evidence bears this out.

Three activists filed a lawsuit in federal court last week to block President Trump from sending alert messages directly to U.S. cellphones under a new system ran by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)....

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has nothing to offer but mockery and contempt for the newly-uncovered police report about Brett Kavanaugh‘s connection to a bar fight in 1985.

Carlson joined his Fox & Friends colleagues on Tuesday to react to New York Times‘ report on how Kavanaugh was questioned by the cops decades ago over an altercation where he allegedly threw ice at someone.

While this news comes amid numerous questions about Kavanaugh’s conduct and drinking habits, Carlson responded to the report with sarcastic ridicule and called it a prime example of how the media has gone wrong with covering Kavanaugh.

“If you’re the guy writing that headline…at some point a normal person would ask ‘what am I doing with my life?’ Carlson said. “‘Did I write a headline that stupid and irrelevant?’ I’m quitting, I’m gonna sell insurance because this is just too dumb.”

Carlson went on to say that the report didn’t even really qualify as journalism so much as propaganda and “[carrying] water for a political party.”

“People never pause to answer ‘what am I doing with my life?'”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[Image via screengrab]

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>> Follow Ken Meyer (@KenMeyer91) on Twitter

Authored by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,

Remember Stormy Daniels? Bet you do. And lucky you, you’ll be hearing and seeing a lot more about her -again- as her already classic tome “Full Disclosure” is due out tomorrow - wouldn’t Full Frontal have been a better title?.

Poor Stormy though has to compete with two other anti-Trump books coming out om the same day, “The Fifth Risk” by Michael Lewis, which could actually be good, and “The Apprentice” by Greg Miller, who’s a journo at the WaPo, so that will definitely not be any good. Hope for Miller that he’s got some sex in his book.

That all these books come out now is no coincidence; it’s because Trump sells better than sex in America these days, and the combination of the two is a can’t miss. AFP writes about the books about Trump, of which “Fire and Fury,” “A Higher Loyalty” “and “Fear” have already sold over a million copies each.

The article quotes a certain David Corn, co-author of “Russian Roulette,” a book about Russian interference in the American presidential campaign (YAWN, not enough sex!), as saying: 

“There is deep desire on the part of many Americans for an understanding of what happened in this country” during the 2016 presidential campaign”, and also of “what’s going on now within the Trump White House.”

C’mon, no, Americans simply have grown addicted to reading stories bashing Trump every single day, and as behooves addicts, they want more every day. The coverage of the Kavanaugh hearings has only enhanced their lust for dirt, sex and sensationalism. And the media stand ready to give them more.

Corn again: 

“One potential problem is that people get too accustomed to the outrages of the Trump administration, and therefore become less interested in books like these. “But I don’t see that happening any time soon.” 

He’s right on that last bit. But forgets to mention -or simply doesn’t understand- that the ‘outrages’ are largely made up by the media who ‘report’ on them.

Why do they do this? Because it sells. No mystery there. Anything Trump sells. The Donald is the Golden Eggs Goose. That is the no. 1 business model for not just the US media, but for its entire society. Everything Trump touches turns into gold for someone. The media are making a killing, and they’re going to keep doing the same 24/7 scandal stories.

Yes, Brett Kavanaugh is undoubtedly a prick. So first thought: he’ll fit right in. But his accusers so far have not been very convincing. Nice performance from Blasey Ford, but the memory loss is weak. Still, it doesn’t matter, the story sells. It has Trump, it has sex, it has drama, abuse, the promise of more to come. Ideal set-up for the media.

Still, somewhere along the line one issue emerges: for many people in the anti-Trump crowd, this whole campaign is supposed to be based on working towards the impeachment of Donald Trump. The ultimate prize. But does anyone think that the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC really would want to see him impeached right now?

Think again. Where and how would they make money? Why would they kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs? It makes no sense at all from a business point of view. The ideal world for the MSM is to let things continue just the way they have: bash Trump and anyone associated with him, but never run the risk that anyone would actually think of getting rid of him.

What would they do, the journalists, the TV presenters, the book writers, if Trump would leave, and Mike Pence were to live in the White House? They would all be back to grave financial problems. In a heartbeat, because digital media are inexorably taking over from them, even if Trump temporarily saved them. They need Trump much more than he needs them.

All this puts the old media in an interesting -potential?- conflict with the party they’re so enthusiastically supporting, the Democrats. And it’s good to ponder, too, that the MSM didn’t see this coming, at all. They were just going after Trump with all they got and then some because their owners and sponsors wanted Hillary and certainly not him.

When Trump raised their reader and viewer numbers through the roof because of all the Russia and corruption and, yes, sex, stories, they were taken by surprise, but they adapted fast, egged on forcefully by their financial departments: Look at the numbers, keep this up no matter what you do!

It works for them for now, and they don’t look much further; they can’t afford to. But the next problem is already on their horizons. That is, their editorial policies have alienated them from half the entire American population: Trump voters. And they will have a hard time ever getting any of those back, if ever.

There’ll be a time when the Donald is no longer the president and the attention magnet he is today. That will make much less people want to read and view the MSM. It’s all about entertainment, after all, and they can’t make up the kind of entertainment Trump provides. They can distort and exaggerate what he gives him, but they can’t invent him.

Like it or not, like him or not, Trump is a unique phenomenon not only in America, but globally. Perhaps most interesting is that he was never all that special, just a business guy surrounded by -too- many questions, and a reality TV person, who got some attention but in a limited way.

Once he entered politics that all changed. And it did through a very particular kind of cross-breeding. The media all lined up against him, and he fed off that, and then they fed off of that. It’s quite the symbiosis. The one big difference is that he never needed them as much as they did him, he built his victory, found his voters, on new -social?- media.

The MSM tried to destroy him and instead they built him up. And perhaps that’s not so surprising if your worldview and business model is based on polarization and antagonism, on excluding entire segments of a population and fulminate against them 24/7. But then again, if you’re a business and you’re making big profits, it’s easy to lose sight of longer term issues.

From my point of view, I’d say America needs to come together a lot more than it is right now; the present chasm is extremely volatile and can lead to really bad outcomes. But how can you do this if your media depend on keeping that chasm alive, and widening it, to make money?

Kavanaugh is an ordinary prick who’d fit right in in DC and so shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near it.  Blasey Ford is a sympathetic person who forgot more than she should have if she wants to accuse anyone of anything 35 years later. In a normal world many people would agree with both statements. But today it’s “I believe her no matter what” or “confirm him tomorrow”.

Today the media realize if they don’t antagonize and set people up against each other, they’re done. Maybe it was inevitable that Trump would bring that out, that he would reveal what was waiting under the surface all along. No matter how you see this, it’s obvious that it’s poison for the nation. It’s toxic and dangerous.

However, isn’t all of America by now based on profit first and nothing second? And isn’t some form of civil war then the only possible outcome?

The White House has denied that it has a "secret" committee seeking negative information about marijuana, according to a letter from the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) obtained by Buzzfeed News. “I assure you that...

'You are not entitled to my pain and trauma'

The video shows a man rushing behind the counter and grabbing money from the cash register.

It seems CNN let the F-bomb slip through on Monday night when they aired a taped interview between Chris Cuomo and Brett Kavanaugh‘s former classmate, Chad Ludington.

Ludington, who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, made several public statements today contradicting the testimony the Supreme Court nominee gave last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This was the hearing during which Kavanaugh tried to downplay his past drinking habits while denying the multiple sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against him.

Ludington spoke to Cuomo tonight to describe what he knew Kavanaugh’s boozy conduct, along with a newly-uncovered police report connecting Kavanaugh to a 1985 incident at a bar. The Yalie, during the segment, quoted his classmate as saying “fuck you” during the altercation.

Sure, it was a paraphrased statement rather than a direct quote from Ludington himself, but still, interesting that it made it to the airwaves.

Watch above, via CNN.

[Image via screengrab]

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>> Follow Ken Meyer (@KenMeyer91) on Twitter

'Well NBC, here's the biggest offense to me'

Louisiana has been picked to host the 2019 Southern Republican Leadership Conference — one of the biggest GOP events leading up to presidential elections.

Megyn Kelly and Michael Avenatti feuded Monday, with the NBC host criticizing Avenatti for not offering corroborating witnesses for Julie Swetnick, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduc...

A combative President Trump initially deflected questions about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a White House press conference on trade, and also accused reporters of working for the Democratic Party.During an extended attack on...

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He was found guilty on an eighth charge, however — a lesser one of possession of a controlled substance.

Google has brushed aside consumers' complaints about its lack of transparency surrounding what personal data it collects (including users' location) and how it monetizes that data. And apparently, the company is subjecting foreign governments to the same treatment.

As Reuters reported Friday, Google's steadfast refusals to blur satellite images of sensitive military sites has provoked the Belgian defense ministry into suing the US tech giant and Alphabet subsidiary. This despite the fact that Google has complied with similar requests from other governments pertaining to the exposure of sensitive sites via its Google Earth, Google Maps and Google Street View. For example, the company has blurred French sites.

"The Ministry of Defence will sue Google," the spokeswoman said, without giving further details.

In response to the lawsuit threats, Google claimed that it has been working with the Belgian government for more than two years to address sensitive sites that have been flagged. Though this dubious claim begs the question: How long does it really take to blur out a few military bases on Google maps?

"It’s a shame the Belgium Department of Defense have decided to take this decision," said Michiel Sallaets, a spokesman for Google in Belgium.

"We have been working closely with them for more than two years, making changes to our maps where asked and legal."

As RT points out, these unblurred targets could make it easier for terrorists to carry out attacks against key infrastructure. Some of the bases that can be viewed in granular detail host US Air Force assets, as well as US nuclear weapons.

"...The military fears that the unblurred maps would make things easier for terrorists planning attacks on the sites. For example, Kleine Brogel Air Base was among the planned targets of Tunisian jihadist Nizar Trabelsi, who was associated with Al-Qaeda. The facility, which is currently home to the United States Air Force (USAF), reportedly stores US nuclear weapons and the site is clearly visible on Google Maps."

Kleine Brogel Air Base can be seen below:

Florennes Air Base, where the US has stationed F-16 Fighting Falcons, can also be viewed easily.

A national crisis center in the heart of Brussels where the country responds to terror threats like the 2016 bombing at the Brussels airport and metro.

The plotters of the 2016 airport bombing had reportedly planned to attack Brussels nuclear power stations, which could provoke an unmitigated disaster as intense radiation is unleashed on the country's residents.

Those sites could also be vulnerable.

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Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said the Democratic walkout at the beginning of Friday's Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination was not planned in advance.Asked if Democrats may...

What is going on here?

Another day, another major security breach, and even more pain for Facebook which in recent months has failed to keep up with the FANG euphoria.

Facebook said that on September 25 it discovered a security breach which affected almost 50 million accounts. The company said it’s investigating the breach, which allowed hackers to take over a person’s account.

In the statement, Facebook said that "attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts. Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app."

This attack exploited the complex interaction of multiple issues in our code. It stemmed from a change we made to our video uploading feature in July 2017, which impacted “View As.” The attackers not only needed to find this vulnerability and use it to get an access token, they then had to pivot from that account to others to steal more tokens.

The social network added that it has "yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed." It also doesn't know "who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based."

As part of its response, the social-media network said that it has fixed the vulnerability, reset the access tokens of the almost 50 million accounts we know were affected to protect their security, turned off the "View As" feature, and told law enforcement authorities about the breach.

Shares declined over 2% percent on the news.

... with the drop enough to push the Nasdaq lower:

Full  Facebook statement below:

Security Update

By Guy Rosen, VP of Product Management

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25, our engineering team discovered a security issue affecting almost 50 million accounts. We’re taking this incredibly seriously and wanted to let everyone know what’s happened and the immediate action we’ve taken to protect people’s security.

Our investigation is still in its early stages. But it’s clear that attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts. Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app.

Here is the action we have already taken. First, we’ve fixed the vulnerability and informed law enforcement.

Second, we have reset the access tokens of the almost 50 million accounts we know were affected to protect their security. We’re also taking the precautionary step of resetting access tokens for another 40 million accounts that have been subject to a “View As” look-up in the last year. As a result, around 90 million people will now have to log back in to Facebook, or any of their apps that use Facebook Login. After they have logged back in, people will get a notification at the top of their News Feed explaining what happened.

Third, we’re temporarily turning off the “View As” feature while we conduct a thorough security review.

This attack exploited the complex interaction of multiple issues in our code. It stemmed from a change we made to our video uploading feature in July 2017, which impacted “View As.” The attackers not only needed to find this vulnerability and use it to get an access token, they then had to pivot from that account to others to steal more tokens.

Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed. We also don’t know who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based. We’re working hard to better understand these details — and we will update this post when we have more information, or if the facts change. In addition, if we find more affected accounts, we will immediately reset their access tokens.