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The Guardian has an interesting article describing how Robert Mercer, Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage used techniques developed within the military to influence Britain's vote to exit the EU. Although it appears that the companies involved (AggregateIQ and Cambridge Analytics) are private companies, they have deep roots within the military.
The article describes Britain as a "managed democracy", with major decisions controlled by a US Billionaire.
[ n1: The article is an interesting read, including a reference to how in 2013, Google Founder Eric Schmidt's daughter Sophie suggested Cambridge Analytics get in touch with Palantir, Peter Thiel's data mining contractor for the GCHQ and many US military and intelligence agencies. Sophie currently works at Uber. According to a former employee, in 2013 Cambridge Analytics was just a "psychological warfare firm [...] before we became this dark, dystopian data company". ]
It was with AggregateIQ that Vote Leave (the official Leave campaign) chose to spend £3.9m, more than half its official £7m campaign budget. As did three other affiliated Leave campaigns: BeLeave, Veterans for Britain and the Democratic Unionist party, spending a further £757,750. “Coordination” between campaigns is prohibited under UK electoral law, unless campaign expenditure is declared, jointly. It wasn’t.
[...] The Electoral Commission has written to AggregateIQ. A source close to the investigation said that AggregateIQ responded by saying it had signed a non-disclosure agreement. And since it was outside British jurisdiction, that was the end of it. Vote Leave refers to this as the Electoral Commission giving it “a clean bill of health”.
[...] I asked David Banks, Veterans for Britain’s head of communications, why they spent the money with AggregateIQ. “I didn’t find AggegrateIQ. They found us. They rang us up and pitched us. There’s no conspiracy here. [...] Their targeting was based on a set of technologies that hadn’t reached the UK yet. A lot of it was proprietary, they’d found a way of targeting people based on behavioural insights."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by turgid on Monday May 15 2017, @07:20AM (11 children)
There's also a very enlightening article about the influence, Paul Dacre [theguardian.com], has on the UK government and democratic system, and the Daily Mail's historical support for the far right. The turkeys will vote for Christmas.
With a bit of luck, Scotland will vote to break away from this corrupt dictatorship in the next few years. Maybe Northern Ireland will too, and reunify with Eire.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday May 15 2017, @08:05AM (7 children)
Maybe Northern Ireland will too, and reunify with Eire.
How about no? We can't afford to support Northern Ireland's lack of employment. We have enough of our own money problems.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday May 15 2017, @08:08AM (1 child)
Maybe the EU could help out? You never know.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday May 15 2017, @08:17AM
Well, we've got 7 years [wikia.com] to work out the details then.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 15 2017, @09:27AM (4 children)
Is there any advantage that gives a sufficient return on investment to keep North Ireland under British control? sounds like a economic disaster and no geostrategic advantage.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by choose another one on Monday May 15 2017, @02:07PM
Is there any advantage that gives a sufficient return on investment to keep North Ireland under British control? sounds like a economic disaster and no geostrategic advantage.
Nope, well possibly some territorial waters advantages, but not a lot else.
It used to provide a very very good counter-insurgency/occupied-territory training ground for our armed forces, but it doesn't any more, and in any case there are dozens of other places round the world to do that now.
Main problems are probably political (remember the Tories are officially the "Conservative and Unionist Party") and the issue of what the mainland would do with a million or so refugees who are economically useless but think they are qualified for jobs by virtue of not being catholic.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Monday May 15 2017, @02:40PM (2 children)
Its not about economic advantage.
It's about loyalty to the majority population in NI. Note that the majority in NI want it to remain part of the UK.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by turgid on Monday May 15 2017, @08:11PM (1 child)
The demographics of Northern Ireland have changed some since the last time they were asked. The proportion of Republicans has increased. Also, they voted (narrowly) to stay in the EU, so Brexit may tip the balance in favour of reunification, so that they can stay in the EU by being part of Eire.
The EU does a far better job of investing in the poorest parts of the UK than our own Home Counties-obsessed perpetual Tory governments do. One of the many fantasies peddled by the pro-Leave people was that being out of the EU we'd have more choice of what we did with our own money, implying that the less rich regions could get more investment. Historically, that has never happened. Why should things be any different now? They Tories are still Tories (Conservative and UKIP). The money stays in and around London, in the hands of the Establishment. The rest of us get the crumbs from the table.
What we are witnessing just now is the Establishment, in the form of the Conservative Party, and its propaganda mouthpiece the Daily Mail, doing a very effective psychological campaign to keep control, to silence dissent (May doesn't do debates and she doesn't do serious interviews) and to keep the United Kingdom together at all costs. Are there any reasons other than sentimentality for keeping the UK together?
If the UK breaks up, it will be sad, but Brexit is going to be very painful. I believe it will be better for those who can to save themselves and to get out while they can.
Brexit means Brexit. There is no turning back. Strong and stable.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Whoever on Monday May 15 2017, @08:45PM
Yes, the proportion of Republicans has increased, but I don't think that it has reached 50% yet.
I don't think there is a strong desire in England to keep NI in the UK if the majority population of NI wants to leave. That will happen (higher birth rate among Catholics), but it hasn't happened yet.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 15 2017, @09:02AM (2 children)
Statements like that are the actual problem. Daily Mail is a tabloid that is sold en masse to... mass. You know? - The blue collar workers and fast food restaurants. The branding of this poor class as 'far right' to facilitate suppressing of their voice, is how polarization starts (or how it started).
I am commenting as AC, because I don't really blame the middle class either. Just like there are people who want to regulate education because they are afraid a larged pool of educated poor class will take away their jobs, there are people who don't like to read and hold education in contempt.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 15 2017, @09:26AM (1 child)
> I am commenting as AC, because I don't really blame the middle class either.
lolwut?
Are you afraid "the middle class" is going to hunt down your nic and spam it or something?
Its bizzaro logic like that which confirms that anything else you wrote is also highly suspect.
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Monday May 15 2017, @01:55PM
>> I am commenting as AC, because I don't really blame the middle class either.
>lolwut?
Says another personality shard of AC...
>Are you afraid "the middle class" is going to hunt down your nic and spam it or something?
Not until they legalize hunting again...