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Steve Bannon on Cambridge Analytica - SCL Group

by Oui Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 01:41:18 PM EST

Steve Bannon on Cambridge Analytica: 'Facebook data is for sale all over the world' | The Guardian |

Besides, he said, "Facebook data is for sale all over the world".

Bannon - Donald Trump's former chief strategist - later said outside the conference room that he "did not remember" being part of any scheme to buy data that came from Facebook and divert it to use for election propaganda, as the Observer revealed last weekend.

He blamed any "dirty tricks" on Cambridge Analytica's parent company, SCL Group, which he described as "the British guys, old Etonians and guys from Oxford and Cambridge".

More below the fold ...


And he denied that his former benefactor, US hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, who co-owns Cambridge Analytica, had any financial links to SCL. Mercer was also a major donor to Trump's election campaign.

It was Bannon's first public appearance and statement since the explosive reports by the Observer and the Guardian, sister publications, last weekend, that the personal data of about 50 million Americans had been harvested and improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

SCL received British government contracts and shared in military secrecy ...

MoD granted 'List X' status to Cambridge Analytica parent company, SCL Group

From my diary on February 2, 2017 ...

Cambridge Analytica (Mercer) the Real Election Cycle Culprit

From my diary on February 28, 2017 - Brexit: Putin Did It.

Covering one's tracks, pointing fingers towards the East, gullible readers ...

Revealed: how US billionaire helped to back Brexit | The Guardian |

My earlier diary ...

Cambridge Analytica (Mercer) the Real Election Cycle Culprit

Trump Data Gurus Leave Long Trail of Subterfuge, Dubious Dealing | Bloomberg |

Cambridge Analytica now hopes to leverage that success--and its ties to Trump--to do more business with the U.S. government. Working from offices just blocks from the White House, it's been pitching itself to defense and national security agencies. In February it signed a $500,000 U.S. State Department contract to fight radicalization of young people abroad.

While Cambridge Analytica has faced scrutiny before over whether its data models actually work, a closer look at the past practices of its London-based affiliate, SCL Group Ltd., reveals a corporate DNA less predisposed to dazzling technologies to sway voters than to using old-fashioned tricks and political subterfuge.

Alexander Nix set up Cambridge Analytica in 2013 to target the U.S. market, installing himself as chief executive officer after 14 years as a director of SCL. In the past year, Nix, 41, has become a darling in tech and marketing circles, popping up on the international speaking circuit to promote the firm's data-driven approach.

UK and US military using data mining and social media tricks to undermine terror and fight proxy wars in the Middle East.

U.K.: Bell Pottinger acted for controversial Yemen organization

Special Projects

Bell Pottinger Sans Frontieres (BPSF) the arm of the firm which managed the Yemen account, has a `special projects'  unit which describes itself as the `SAS of strategic communications'. Services offered by the special projects team include `geo-political reputation rebuilds'; `conflict zone influence operations'; `psychological warfare' and  `counter-radicalisation'.

`The company develops and delivers influence campaigns, products and events that address civic populations or adversary forces in support of political, military or diplomatic objectives,' its website says.

The NGO Reporters without Borders recently highlighted the difficulties in covering the protests in Yemen against a background of harassment of journalists including abductions, murder attempts, arrests, expulsions and attacks on offices.

Iona Craig, a freelance reporter based in Yemen, said: `The media situation is particularly tough for local Yemeni journalists who have come under consistent intimidation and sometimes direct physical attack from supporters of the regime. Several foreign journalists have been deported and others have been turned away at the airport as they tried to enter the country.'

Bell Pottinger has not done anything illegal, but Mike Harris, a spokesman for Index on Censorship, which has campaigned against British PR firms working for undemocratic regimes, said: `Bell Pottinger agreed to try and spin international coverage of Yemen, despite the appalling human rights situation in the country.'

Full Circle - Breitbart Jerusalem. Back to the roots of Islamophobia, the nation of Bibi Natanyahu.

Breitbart's Jerusalem chief explains site's `nationalist' appeal | JTA |

Bannon has described himself as an "economic nationalist" and has railed against globalists who have "gutted the American working class." He has warned of a brewing war between "the Judeo-Christian West" and "Islamic fascism." Under his leadership,

 « click for more info »

Bannon said Breitbart had become "the platform for the `alt-right,'" as he put it, using the term for a loose far-right populist movement that mixes anti-Semitism, racism, white nationalism and disdain for "political correctness." Bannon has also said he rejected the racism and anti-Semitism heard among the alt-right and that it would wash out of the movement over time.

Breitbart News Network: Born In The USA, Conceived In Israel

    From that humble beginning grew Breitbart News Network.

    One thing we specifically discussed that night was our desire to start a site that would be unapologetically pro-freedom and pro-Israel. We were sick of the anti- Israel bias of the mainstream media and J-Street. By launching Breitbart Jerusalem, the journey comes full circle and a promise between two friends is fulfilled. And in a very real sense, Breitbart News Network returns to its roots.

     « click for more info »

Steve Bannon's Romance with Hollywood Islamophobia | Tikun Olam |
Protest at ZOA Bannon gala shows, Zionism does not unify Jewish community | Mondoweiss |

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How did Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media "user" data become marketable --"for sale all over the world"?

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 09:53:59 PM EST
Facebook, Google and other social network users always have been the marketable product. We know this.

My guess is that there was/is no incentive to care about realising how deep their own rabbit holes could go. Even in case you initially promise to try to not be evil, most that is meant to do good, can be used for evil purposes.

Care to guess yourself?

by Bjinse on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 at 08:05:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Just testing the water here, so to speak.

I mentioned, I worked in the advertising industry for the better part of 30 years before I climbed out. '90 - '97 was a particularly ugly "transition period" to "digital" marketing and publishing. I recall very clearly common wisdom and rivalry between standards-setters. A lot of jobs lost, and a lot of profit taken from the spread.

I am not perplexed by the general market's enthusiasm for so-called social media/sharing/AMZN/Cloud economies: Plenty of "users" earn income from producing controversy where none exists.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 30th, 2018 at 12:09:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
< pick teeth, suck vigorously >
backbiting
*An explosive memo detailing Facebook's cutthroat growth mentality was leaked to BuzzFeed and published on Thursday night.

*But some Facebook employees think the real problem is leakers, according to posts leaked to The Verge.

"Right-sizing" story developing ...

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 30th, 2018 at 04:58:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Zuckerberg: Maybe ["]tech["] should face some regulations

hmm, yes, it appears the US Senate Select Committee has graded Facebook's 1Q2018 exam rather than entirely revoke its "press" privileges. After all, without "information service providers" democracy would be a shell of its former glory. And the engines of innovation would be suspect.

archived
LQD: Censorship
A Trip to the Woodshed

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 10:14:08 PM EST
The Latest: Cambridge Analytica links to Blackwater founder | The Washington Post |

Of course Cambridge Analytica was in a way linked to Cambridge and Alexander Nix ... with new corporate change to Emerdata, do the Mercers give recognition to Abu Dhabi Sheikh of the Emirates? Should we ask Erik Prince?

Cambridge Analytica founders have set up a new London-based Data Company Emerdata

The founders and funders of controversial election consultants Cambridge Analytica are behind a new company registered in London appearing to offer similar services.

Executives at Cambridge Analytica (CA) and parent company SCL Group registered Emerdata Limited as a data processing company last summer but they have since listed directors linked to private military contractors, secretive political meetings and the Trump administration.

Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of the billionaire Robert Mercer who funded Cambridge Analytica, its parent company SCL Group and Donald Trump's election campaign, were officially registered as directors of the company on Tuesday, the same day CA chief executive Alexander Nix was suspended from his role for comments made to journalists posing as prospective clients.

Also named as a director of Emerdata is 66-year-old Hong Kong businessman Johnson Chun Shun Ko, a close associate of Erik Prince, founder of private military contractor Blackwater, which secured hundreds of millions in government contracts for private military operations during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Ko serves as deputy chairman for Frontier Services Group Limited, a company which describes itself as a 'Africa-focused security, aviation and logistics company' and is led by Mr Prince, its chairman.

Full diary posted @BooMan today - here.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 10:29:08 PM EST
U.S. lawmakers formally ask Facebook CEO to testify on user data
Advertisers Mozilla and German bank Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) have suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online.

On Friday, electric carmaker Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) and its rocket company SpaceX's Facebook pages - each with more than 2.6 million followers - were deleted after Chief Executive Elon Musk promised to do so.

"I didn't realize [!] there was one. Will do," Musk wrote on Twitter [!], responding to a person urging him to delete the SpaceX page. The Tesla page was taken down shortly afterwards. "Definitely. Looks lame anyway," Musk tweeted.



Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 10:40:54 PM EST
ICO statement: investigation into data analytics for political purposes

British authorities raid Cambridge Analytica offices in London | DW |

Investigators from Britain's information regulatory agency on Friday raided the central London offices of Cambridge Analytica, the consulting company at the center of a Facebook data misuse scandal.

A Hugh Court judge had granted the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) a warrant for the search on Friday evening.

UK investigators raid offices of firm at centre of Facebook data storm | France24 |

Investigators from Britain's data watchdog entered the London offices of a data analytics firm at the centre of a storm over allegations it improperly harvested Facebook data to target U.S. voters.

About 20 officials, wearing black jackets with ICO Enforcment on them, arrived at the central London offices of Cambridge Analytica on Friday. This occured soon after a High Court judge granted a search warrant sought by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in connection with their alleged abuse of Facebook data.

    It is understood they are searching for correspondence and communications between SCL and GSR, as well as data obtained from Facebook via Kogan.
    News of the raid came as the acting CEO of Cambridge Analytica, Dr Alexander Tayler, appointed after the suspension of Alexander Nix, issued an apology about the way some data had been collected by an affiliate company

    "I am sorry that, in 2014, SCL Elections [an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica] licensed Facebook data from a research company [GSR] that had not received consent from respondents."

The officials, who were let into the building by security guards, brought crates with them, according to witnesses.  

CA parent company director SCL Group Roger Gabb donated over £700,000 to Tories

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 11:47:41 PM EST
Information Commissioner told Facebook to 'back off' from CA HQ search | Mail Online |

 « click for more info Kenya election Jubilee party
Storage crates were removed from Cambridge Analytica's London headquarters on Tuesday (pictured) but it is not yet known who has ordered them to be taken away (Reuters)



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 at 11:58:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Have you read Caroline de Gruyter's latest column yet?


Op datagebied hebben maar twee landen echt macht: de VS en China. Zij hebben begrepen dat degene die wereldwijd de meeste data weet te verzamelen, de race om de mondiale hegemonie kan winnen. In dit machtsspel zijn Google, Facebook of Amazon de belangrijkste vehikels - zoals je een boor gebruikt om olie te winnen. Al jaren is het hoofdstuk `data' het meest cruciale deel van handelsakkoorden die de VS met derde landen of (tot voor kort) regio's afsluiten. Aan deze geopolitieke titanenstrijd doet Europa niet mee. Dát is ons ware probleem. Het enige echte antwoord dat wij Europeanen kunnen formuleren op de constante schendingen van onze dataprivacy is dat we zélf sociale media en zoekmachines gaan ontwikkelen.

by Bjinse on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 at 07:55:52 PM EST
In het landsbelang
.
PM Mark Rutte bowing to AngloSaxon interests ...

The Netherlands to expel two Russian diplomats over British nerve gas attack
Germany, other countries expel Russian diplomats over Skripal poisoning

Opinie op zondag: 'Als het om Rusland gaat, regeert de intellectuele luiheid' | De Volkskrant |

May slaat terug, zogenaamd, maar Londen blijft speeltuin voor Poetins oligarchen en hun roebels. Dan vergelijken Britse politici Poetin indirect met Hitler - de ultieme belediging voor Russen, die zich dus weer snel achter de grote leider scharen - en is de cirkel weer rond.

Zoals Londen de thuishaven is voor de Russische kleptocratie zijn wij de doorvoerhaven van haar voornaamste bron van inkomsten: olie en gas. Wij hebben ons ook enthousiast aan Gazprom vastgeklonken - en lachen elke Oost-Europeaan die bezwaar maakt tegen Nordstream I of II, hartelijk uit.

En dan is er het gevaar van de te eenvoudige historische vergelijkingen, het gevaar dat we de vorige oorlog gaan uitvechten. Een recent stuk van de historicus Stephen Walt verscheen onder de kop: 'I knew the Cold War. This is No Cold War.' De Britse kenner Lawrence Freedman schrijft in New Statesman over 'Putins New Cold War '. Poetin heeft die nieuwe Koude Oorlog misschien nodig om zijn legitimiteit thuis te schragen. Wij niet.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Mon Mar 26th, 2018 at 08:13:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I read this synopsis while on the way to acquainting myself with Murdoch MacLennan's businesses (chiefly Belfast Telegraph, chair, Independent News & Media PLC; coverage of Alliance Party's and UK Lords' imminant "gay marriage" victory over Arlene The Paisley in NI).

Difficult to decide which is the more revolting barrel of monkeys.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu Mar 29th, 2018 at 11:46:26 PM EST


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