SoylentNews

Q&A: Michael Eisen bids to be first fly biologist in the U.S. Senate

Bernie Madoff is cornering the prison market on Swiss Miss hot chocolate

“One of the most important things about this story is that it is a mistake to view him as an outlier,” Fishman told MarketWatch. “He profited from the way financial systems work, which is a point most people don’t really grasp. He wasn’t a freak. He was sustained by the system, embraced by it, because it profited from him.”

[...] Madoff’s multidecade scheme unraveled in 2008, when the market collapse in the financial crisis caused a number of his investors to pull their holdings, but Fishman said he “was never really caught.”

“The system never really rejected Bernie,” he explained, noting that Madoff’s 150-year prison sentence only came after he admitted the fraud to his sons, who, on the advice of a lawyer, alerted authorities. When questioned, Madoff confessed.

“It’s clear to me that if he hadn’t confessed there would have been years of expensive work to get him convicted,” Fishman said, referring to the cost of an investigation and a trial. “Who knows, maybe if he had pulled down the gates on his fund, gone out and raised money, he might have been able to continue.”

Never-before-heard Bernie Madoff tapes reveal details of ruinous Ponzi scheme

Fishman, who conducted three hours of interviews with Madoff personally, points out that while the fraudster ruined many lives, roughly half of Madoff’s investors still ended up in the black. “Yeah, he was a criminal talent, with God-given gifts in a sense, but Madoff was Patient Zero,” Fishman said. “What really makes him a pandemic is all the feeder funds [who introduced new clients to Madoff] and the banks,” Fishman told the Guardian. “They take him around the world. They recruit investors, in Latin America and through Europe, and they basically pour gasoline on this dumpster fire. Madoff could have been kind of a local swindler until he meets this massive distribution network.”

[...] When an investigator asked to see a report that a legitimate firm would have on hand in the course of its normal businesses, Madoff’s second-in-command, Frank DiPascali, stalled for time while downstairs others printed out a faked report, put it in the refrigerator so it wouldn’t be obviously warm from the printer, and “played football with it”, Schwartz says – tossing it back and forth across the room like a football to make it look weathered.

Set dressing was also important: on the credenza behind his desk, Madoff displayed a sculpture by the renowned artist Claes Oldenburg of a giant black screw, listing a little to one side. The 1976 sculpture, called Soft Screw, drew nearly $50,000 at Sotheby’s when Madoff’s assets were sold off after his disgrace.

When financial regulators visited his firm’s offices, Madoff put the Soft Screw away.

Ponzi Supernova

Secret Service agent may face disciplinary action over her anti-Trump Facebook posts

A senior official with the U.S. Secret Service may face disciplinary action after posting comments to Facebook suggesting that she would not "take a bullet" for President Trump. [...] O'Grady's comments were made in October, during the height of the presidential campaign and shortly after the release of a tape in which Trump made lewd comments about women. But they only came to light this week.

Great career move.

It looks like CBS could be running another fake news segment:

Red Cross Reports Major Blood Shortage, Urges Donations [video] (text version)

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion. Now a major blood shortage has the American Red Cross issuing an emergency call for donations. [...] The Red Cross is hoping more people get the message and roll up their sleeves. They say the nation is facing a shortage because of all the snowy, cold weather across much of the country.

Are you sure?

According to an investigative report by WPTV, blood donations stop being donations after the needle comes out of your arm. A blood brokerage firm CEO tells WPTV that your donated blood actually winds up getting sold, and sometimes for a very large profit.

Many in the blood industry characterize the money they receive for your donation as “reimbursement fees” for testing and administration. But the fact is that your blood donations are a very profitable commodity that, depending on demand and the location where you live, can bring in some serious cash to the blood organizations that have collected it.

Another thing most people don’t realize is that local blood drives don’t always keep their donations local. While many organizations try to use donations locally, if need or demand arises elsewhere, your blood can be shipped and sold out of state.

Finally, it may surprise many that lots of blood that is collected gets thrown away. a 2011 government sponsored survey found that around one in 20 units of donated blood was just thrown away. This could be because blood has a very short shelf life of just over 40 days, or the fact that blood “shortages” are not as common as they once were.

The Huffington Post reported in 2013 that because of advances in medicine, not as much blood is actually needed for operations as it once was. While there might not be a huge blood surplus, the supply is certainly stronger than it was just a few years ago. In response, blood drives are now being more targeted to specific blood types and needs.

THE BLOOD BROKERS by Gilbert M. Gaul

Last December [1988], the Community Blood Center in Appleton, Wis., made a public appeal for blood. Residents were asked to "dig farther, wider and deeper" than ever before to keep local blood supplies at desired levels. "We've never had it quite this tough," Alan W. Cable, executive director of the nonprofit blood bank, told the local newspaper. The citizens did dig deep; last year, 15,000 pints of blood were donated by Appleton residents to help save the lives of their friends and neighbors.

What they didn't know, though - don't know to this day - was that the same month the blood bank was appealing for blood, it sold 650 pints - half its monthly blood collection - at a profit to other blood banks around the country. Or that last year the blood center in Appleton contracted to sell 200 pints a month to a blood bank 528 miles away in Lexington, Ky. Or that Lexington sold half the blood it bought from Appleton to yet a third blood bank near Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Which in turn sold thousands of pints it bought from Lexington and other blood banks to four hospitals in New York City. What began as a generous "gift of life" from people in Appleton to their neighbors ended up as part of a chain of blood brokered to hospitals in Manhattan, where patients were charged $120 a pint. Along that 2,777-mile route, human blood became just another commodity.

The buying and selling of blood has become big business in America - a multibillion-dollar industry that is largely unregulated by the government. Each year, unknown to the people who give the blood, blood banks buy and sell more than a million pints from one another, shifting blood all over the country and generating an estimated $50 million in revenues.

It is not uncommon for some blood banks to broker between 20 percent and 40 percent of what they collect. In Appleton, nearly half the blood collected from donors in the last two years was sold outside the area. In Waterloo, Iowa, the American Red Cross sold six of every 10 pints collected last year to other blood banks. They do it, blood bank officials say, to share a limited resource. Although they have a monopoly, blood banks in dozens of cities - Philadelphia among them - are unable to collect as much blood as they need. To cover their shortfalls, they buy blood from centers, such as Appleton, that collect more than they need.

Nobody disputes the value of sharing blood. But in the last 15 years, this trading in blood has become a huge, virtually unregulated market - with no ceiling on prices, with nonprofit blood banks vying with one another for control of the blood supply, with decisions often driven by profits and corporate politics, not medical concerns.

Maybe there is a shortage. But how can we be sure?

See also:

What many donors don't know: Their blood is sold

Pakistan student: 'I was tortured by hardline Islamists'

A Pakistani student has said he was abducted and badly beaten by hardline Islamist students after posting tweets in support of five liberal bloggers who have gone missing. The student said he needed hospital treatment after he was blindfolded for several hours and tortured. No-one at Punjab University responded to his cries for help, he said.

http://en.spaceengine.org/index/faq/0-29

Q: Will there be a version for Mac and Linux?
A: Yes, this is planned for in the near future.

http://en.spaceengine.org/

The interface can be a little finicky, so be patient with it.

"Settings - View" allows you to turn on/off the procedurally generated galaxies, stars, clusters, nebulae, and planets. I prefer to have most of these off, except for planets. It will be fun to watch the datasets get updated over the next few years, allowing us to have actual depictions of real planets.

Click on objects to select them and get stats like diameter, mass, and distance away from your current position. Selecting an object displays crosshairs on it or an arrow pointing in its angular direction that allow you to find it more easily.

WASD for basic movement. Left click and drag to shift your viewing angle.

Use a scrollwheel to control your velocity. If you collide with a star, planet, asteroid, etc. your velocity gets reset to a low number. As you get closer to objects, you tend to zip past them unless you lower your velocity at the same time as you adjust your angle to approach it head on.

Right click and drag allows you to rotate around the object you're following. Right click on an object to get a menu that allows you to go to the object or follow it.

Magnifying glass icon is the Find Object/"Go to" menu. If you have procedural planets on, try going to "Kraz 7.4" (no quotes). Then right click Kraz 7.4 and select the Parent option.

Try going to:

• Saturn
• Pluto
• Ceres
• Dysnomia
• Psyche
• Pleiades
• HIP 13484 3.D3
• Alnitak
• WOH G64
• HIP 28285 5.S47

Wasserman Schultz confronted Comey about Russian hacking

Uh oh. That Wasserman Schultz, huh?

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who was forced to resign last summer as head of the DNC amid the hacking scandal, told Comey that he should have come to her directly once the FBI was aware of the breach, just as he had done with other hacking victims. Comey, described by lawmakers in the room as unflinching and defiant, retorted that the FBI had properly notified DNC officials of the hacking.

"You let us down!" one Democrat yelled to Comey during the tense exchange, according to one attendee. Another Democrat described the scene: "Essentially Debbie asked, how was it that the FBI knew that the DNC was being hacked and they didn’t tell her? He gave some bulls--t explanation, ‘That’s our standard, we called this one, we called that one’ — [she said] ‘Well, why didn’t you call me?’ ”

And don't forget the guest host list:

The briefers at Friday's meeting included Comey; James Clapper, the director of national intelligence; CIA director John Brennan; and Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency.

It's hard to imagine such a small space with so many people to hate inside of it.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) took those criticisms a step further, accusing Comey of a double standard that "without question" makes him unfit to keep the position. "I have a great belief that the agency is a good agency, [but] I have a stronger belief that James Comey has done this nation a terrible disservice," he said. "I hope that Donald Trump fires him," Hastings said. "More important, he ought to resign.

Come on, Trump! Fire!

Justice Department inspector general to investigate pre-election actions by department and FBI

I guess I would keep my answers short too, if I were in his position.

The Hill didn't mention this bit:

The hearing took place a day after the Justice Department’s inspector general said it was investigating Mr. Comey’s decision during the campaign to hold a news conference announcing the end of the case — and then, just before the election, inform Congress there was possible new evidence only to say days later that it did not amount to anything.

Mr. Comey “didn’t really answer,” said Representative Jerold Nadler of New York. He dismissively referred to Mr. Comey as “a policeman,” and added, “I don’t remember anything substantive he said.”

Garbage in, garbage out! He should have recorded the meeting.

I, like a few Soylentils, hated Comey some time before he became a household name with the Apple unlock fiasco and election shenanigans. Much like I hate Clapper, Brennan, Rogers, and will have a new list of people to hate soon. What do you think of Comey today?

GOLDEN SHOWER? (NSFW)

Quick version and PDF link to the meat.

Previously, Senator Harry Reid alleged that there were ties between the Russians and the Trump campaign:

In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Trump praises at every opportunity. The public has a right to know this information. I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public. There is no danger to American interests from releasing it. And yet, you continue to resist calls to inform the public of this critical information.

That letter went beyond previous remarks by Reid.

Now, multiple sources are reporting that President Obama and President-elect Trump have been briefed on unsubstantiated allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, and that the Russians have damaging information about Trump:

Two U.S. officials with direct knowledge told NBC News on Tuesday that briefing materials prepared for President-elect Donald Trump included information that initially circulated among Trump opponents and was passed to U.S. intelligence agencies making damaging allegations about his dealings with Russians.

Neither of the officials said the FBI was actively investigating the information, which has not been verified by U.S. agencies.

Politico:

On Tuesday evening, multiple reports attributed to anonymous sources contended that the nation’s four top intelligence chiefs informed President Barack Obama and Trump of allegations that Russia had collected compromising and tawdry personal information about the president-elect. A two-page synopsis also included allegations of a running exchange of information during the campaign between Trump allies and Russian government intermediaries.

After the first report surfaced, BuzzFeed published the longer, unverified document that formed the basis of the two-page synopsis to the official report, which had been classified, that details the kompromat in graphic terms. Sean Spicer, who will serve as Trump's White House press secretary, called BuzzFeed "pathetic" in a tweet Tuesday night, part of a coordinated pushback from allies inside and outside Trump Tower.

Buzzfeed article, and the document (direct PDF link) they published that other media outlets seem reluctant to touch:

Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting at least 5 years. Aim, endorsed by PUTIN, has been to encourage splits and divisions in western alliance

So far TRUMP has declined various sweetener real estate business deals offered him in Russia in order to further the Kremlin's cultivation of him. However he and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his Democratic and other political rivals

Former top Russian intelligence officer claims FSB has compromised TRUMP through his activities in Moscow sufficiently to be able to blackmail him. According to several knowledgeable sources, his conduct in Moscow has included perverted sexual acts which have been arranged/ monitored by the FSB

A dossier of compromising material on Hillary CLINTON has been collated by the Russian Intelligence Services over many years and mainly comprises bugged conversations she had on various visits to Russia and intercepted phone calls rather than any embarrassing conduct. The dossier is controlled by Kremlin spokesman, PESKOV, directly on PUTIN's orders. However it has not as yet been distributed abroad, including to TRUMP. Russian intentions for its deployment still unclear

[...] However, there were other aspects to TRUMP's engagement with the Russian authorities. One which had borne fruit for them was to exploit TRUMP's personal obsesslons and sexual perversion in order to obtain suitable 'kompromat' [compromising material] on him. According to Source D, where s/he had been present, TRUMP's (perverted) conduct in Moscow included hiring the presidential suite of the Ritz Carlton Hotel, where he knew President and Mrs OBAMA {whom he hated] had stayed on one of their official trips to Russia, and defiling the bed where they had slept by employing a number of prostitutes to perform a 'golden showers' (urination) show in front of him. The hotel was known to be under FSB control with microphones and concealed cameras in all the main rooms to record anything they wanted to.

[...] PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: FURTHER INDICATIONS OF EXTENSIVE CONSPIRACY BETWEEN CAMPAIGN TEAM AND THE KREMLIN

Summary

- Further evidence of extensive conspiracy between campaign team and Kremlin, sanctioned at highest levels and involving Russian diplomatic staffbased in the US

- TRUMP associate admits Kremlin behind recent appearance of DNC e- mails on WikiLeaks, as means of maintaining plausible deniability

- Agreed exchange of information established in both directions. team using moles within DNC and hackers in the US as well as outside in Russia. PUTIN motivated by fear and hatred of Hillary CLINTON. Russians receiving intel from team on Russian oligarchs and their families in US

- Mechanism for transmitting this intelligence involves ?pension? disbursements to Russian emigres living in US as cover, using consular officials in New York, DC and Miami

- Suggestion from source close to TRUMP and MANAFORT that Republican campaign team happy to have Russia as media bogeyman to mask more extensive corrupt business ties to China and other emerging countries

[...] In terms of the intelligence ?ow from the TRUMP team to Russia, Source reported that much of this concerned the activities of business oligarchs and their families? activities and assets in the US, with which PUTIN and the Kremlin seemed preoccupied.

Trump tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!", presumably in response to the Russia news.

The Trump team is starting to criticize Russia more:

The Trump transition team circulated Tillerson's opening statement to be delivered during his Senate confirmation hearing. In them, he will explain to some extent why Trump has been in favor of a warmer relationship with Moscow, saying Washington needs an open and frank dialogue with Russia on its ambition in order for the United States to chart its own course.

But his rhetoric expressing concern about Russia goes beyond Trump's own frequent expressions of the need for better ties with Russia after what he feels was a bungling of the relationship by outgoing President Barack Obama. "Our NATO allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia," Tillerson will say. "But it was in the absence of American leadership that this door was left open and unintended signals were sent."

Found a story about my... well not my home town but the town you have to go to from my home town for anything besides gas, beer, or religion. Turns out Nick Cage's rental car broke down there and he had a thing or two to say about the place. See, that's what I mean when I say to folks who only see what my views on politics and other big shat are, you don't know me at all.

This kind of shit is just another day in a red state. If someone comes up and says you owe them something that you don't, you laugh and punch them in the face but if you see someone in actual need, you help your fellow man because it's the right thing to do and because you might need a hand too some time. In a place where most everybody grows up poor and having to work their ass off to get by, you help each other because it's just what you do. Nick could have broke down a half mile from where he did over by the meth dealers and he still would have gotten the same reception.

A CES story worth a damn, but not because it can be confused with journalism:

I Dropped Acid and Saw Into the Future: My Surreal First Time At CES