Beijing Says TikTok's Algorithm "Not For Sale" As Deadline Looms

As both ByteDance and Washington dig in their heels in a dispute over a potential sale of TikTok's US-focused business, the Chinese tech upstart has just sent out its latest trial balloon in what has become a rapidly escalating game of chicken: The SCMP, a paper with ties to the CCP, is reporting that TikTok's algorithm will not be sold to an American buyer.

Any potential buyer could simply buy TikTok's US business, and build its own algorithm. But the TikTok algorithm uses advanced AI technology - technology that was recently included in a list of restricted assets that can't be sold to foreign buyers without state approval. Beijing has long opposed a deal, though initially it appeared that Beijing would tolerate a sale, at a premium, to be sure, so long as it's not a "smash and grab" rush job.

Trump said Thursday that "we'll either close up TikTok in this country for security reasons, or it will be sold…there will be no extension of the TikTok deadline."

Communist Party spokespeople have accused President Trump of trying to bully the company into a sale. Now, the SCMP is saying that the algorithm isn't for sale, but a western buyer could still purchase "the car, but not the engine."

With a looming US deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations, the source said: “The car can be sold, but not the engine."

“The company [ByteDance] will not hand out source code to any US buyer, but the technology team of TikTok in the US can develop a new algorithm,” the source told the South China Morning Post.

The source, who did not want to be identified, said ByteDance had notified US authorities and potential bidders of the decision.

If US President Donald Trump rejected the condition, there would be no possibility of selling TikTok and the app could turn dark for its American users after the Tuesday deadline for divestment, the source said.

[…]

The source said the “no algorithm” condition was now the bottom line for any discussions of sales or restructure of TikTok, following the introduction of new Chinese government export controls.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/beijing-says-tiktoks-algorithm-not-sale-trumps-sale-deadline-looms

Lindsay is telling us what we want to hear again, pity he's full of shit

"Fishy As Hell": Graham Slams ActBlue Over Anonymous Donations After Group Drops Nearly $200 Million On Biden Campaign

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has sounded the alarm following a Fox News report that ActBlue - a leftist nonprofit political action committee (PAC) which has donated $194 million to the Biden campaign - took in nearly half its 2019 donations from anonymous donors who listed themselves as 'unemployed.'

"Wow – this sounds fishy as hell," Graham tweeted Saturday.

I urge the @FEC and others to investigate this situation. Is money being laundered through @ActBlue from straw donors or foreign governments to Democratic candidates, or is this legit? Somebody needs to find out ASAP.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 12, 2020

A preliminary computer analysis by the Take Back Action Fund, obtained exclusively by Fox News, has found that nearly half of all 2019 donations to ActBlue were made by people claiming to be unemployed.

…

According to the findings of the Action Fund – a nonprofit that aims to "educate the public on conservative solutions for political reform" – 48.4% of ActBlue donations last year, prior to the massive loss of jobs that came with the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, came from those who did not list an employer or who claimed to be unemployed. -Fox News

"After downloading hundreds of millions of [dollars in] donations to the Take Back Action Fund servers, we were shocked to see that almost half of the donations to ActBlue in 2019 claimed to be unemployed individuals," said John Pudner, president of conservative political group, Action Fund. "The name of employers must be disclosed when making political donations, but more than 4.7 million donations came from people who claimed they did not have an employer. Those 4.7 million donations totaled $346 million ActBlue raised and sent to liberal causes."

"It is hard to believe that at a time when the U.S. unemployment rate was less than 4 percent, that unemployed people had $346 million dollars to send to ActBlue for liberal causes," Pudner continued, adding that "4.7 million donations from people without a job … raised serious concerns."

Notably, by mid-June, ActBlue had contributed $119,253,857 to Biden - a figure which remained unchanged until at least July. As of this writing, they have contributed $194 million - an increase of $75 million.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fishy-hell-graham-slams-actblue-over-anonymous-donations-after-group-drops-nearly-200

Cost Of Living Far Higher Than Official Inflation Rate, Harvard Professor Finds

One of the biggest overhauls in monetary policy in recent years was the Fed's announcement at the end of August that the US central bank would target average inflation going forward (without however giving any specifics - what is the target inflation rate? what is the lookback period for calculating the "average" - 1 year, 5 years, 50?). To many this was nothing more than a strawman designed to give the Fed leeway to not hike rates (which would hammer bond and stock prices) even if inflation runs away in the coming years (as a reminder the biggest debate in modern finance is what comes after the covid pandemic, inflation or deflation, with prominent financial gurus on either side of the debate).

Instead, as we have often written and as increasingly more mainstream commentators now agree, a far more necessary debate the Fed should hold is how inflation is measured for the simple reason that starting in the 1980s, the calculation of inflation as measured by either the CPI or PCE became political, and meant to give Congress the capacity to continue spending without a "budget constraint." For more see the following articles:

The Politics Of Inflation

The "Muzzle" On Inflation

Lessons From the 1980 "Inflation" Virus: Transmission Chain Has To Be Broken For Successive Outcome

The Fed's Policy Mistake: "Buying" More Inflation Will Lead To Financial Instability

Earth To Fed: Inflation Mandate Has Been Met

"Averaging" Inflation Does Not Eliminate The Flaws In The Fed’s Policy Approach, It Compounds Them

Now, none other than a Harvard Professor has emerged on our side of this debate, arguing that the true cost of living is far higher than the laughable official CPI print of 1.3% would have the public believe.

In an NBER paper titled "Inflation with Covid Consumption Baskets", professor Albert Cavallo calculates that the true inflation rate for Covid-connected purchases is 1.85%, more than 40% higher than the Consumer Price Index. Cavallo writes that "the Covid-19 Pandemic has led to changes in consumer expenditure patterns that can introduce significant bias in the measurement of inflation." Using data collected from credit and debit transactions in the US to update the official basket weights and estimate the impact on the Consumer Price Index, Cavallo finds that "the Covid inflation rate is higher than the official CPI in the US, for both headline and core indices. I also find similar results with Covid baskets in 10 out of 16 additional countries."

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/cost-living-far-higher-official-inflation-rate-harvard-professor-finds

EPIC! Massive Latinos For Trump Caravan Underway in Miami – More Than 400 Vehicles!

The weekends are for Trump caravans and Trump boat parades!

A massive Latinos for Trump caravan was underway in Miami, Florida on Sunday.

Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans in Miami organized a massive caravan rally supporting President Trump.

WATCH:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/epic-massive-latinos-trump-caravan-underway-miami-400-vehicles-video/

Time’s Up Backs Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Fox News

The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund is supporting asexual harassment lawsuit filed against Fox News and several of its anchors, including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.

The organization — which was founded in the wake of the #MeToo movement — is providing PR support to Cathy Areu, a former unpaid Fox News contributor who alleges she faced a “barrage of sexual harassment” at the network.

Fox News has pushed back aggressively on Areu’s claims, releasing messages that appeared to contradict her initial account and threatening to seek legal sanctions if her allegations were not withdrawn.

Areu and Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer at the network, filed suit on July 20 in federal court in New York.

Eckhart alleged that Ed Henry, the veteran correspondent and anchor at the network, had violently raped her at a hotel room in 2017. She also accused Henry of psychologically manipulating her and asking her to be his “sex slave.” The complaint included numerous graphic text messages allegedly sent by Henry.

Henry was fired on July 1, shortly after Eckhart’s attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and Michael Willemin, notified the network of her claim. Henry has denied the allegations, saying the relationship was consensual, but Fox News has not defended him.

Areu also accused Henry of sending graphic and unwanted messages, and said that Henry ended their relationship after she refused to have sex with him.

Wigdor has previously represented many former Fox News employees who have accused the network and of sexual misconduct.

The Ed Henry lawsuit also included Areu’s allegations against several other network stars.

Areu alleged that Carlson propositioned her, telling her after a show that he would be alone at his hotel room that night. After she sidestepped the advance, she alleged that her appearances on his show dwindled and then stopped altogether.

Areu lodged a similar allegation against Howard Kurtz, the host of the network’s show “Media Buzz.” She alleged that Kurtz invited her to his hotel room, and stopped inviting her on the show after she declined, saying in substance, “you’re the only woman here who won’t come to my hotel room.”

She also alleged that Hannity offered to pay $100 to any man on set who would take Areu on a date. She said she was “mortified” by Hannity’s behavior, and that after that experience she was hardly ever invited on his show.

Three days after the complaint was filed, Mediaite ran a story highlighting “inconsistencies” in Areu’s account. The story quoted from an email Areu sent to Kurtz, in which she wrote, “What’s your room number? What name are you under? What’s your cell? I’m coming over. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way.”

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/time-backs-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-223528312.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

https://twitter.com/John_F_Kennnedy/status/1305223446901723137

John F. Kennedy Jr.

How do you accomplish the above?

Release a _____?

Who benefits the most?

Q

China's 'hybrid war': Beijing’s mass surveillance of Australia and the world for secrets and scandal

A Chinese company with links to Beijing's military and intelligence networks has been amassing a vast database of detailed personal information on thousands of Australians, including prominent and influential figures.

Key points:

2.4 million names and profiles are on the database, including more than 35,000 Australians

The company which created the database has links to China's government and military

The leak raises further questions about the spread and scope of China's intelligence gathering operations

A database of 2.4 million people, including more than 35,000 Australians, has been leaked from the Shenzhen company Zhenhua Data which is believed to be used by China's intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security.

Zhenhua has the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party among its main clients.

Information collected includes dates of birth, addresses, marital status, along with photographs, political associations, relatives and social media IDs.

It collates Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and even TikTok accounts, as well as news stories, criminal records and corporate misdemeanours.

While much of the information has been "scraped" from open-source material, some profiles have information which appears to have been sourced from confidential bank records, job applications and psychological profiles.

The company is believed to have sourced some of its information from the so-called "dark web".

One intelligence analyst said the database was "Cambridge Analytica on steroids", referring to the trove of personal information sourced from Facebook profiles in the lead up to the 2016 US election campaign.

More

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-14/chinese-data-leak-linked-to-military-names-australians/12656668

>>10633724

Nice ID Q 4444

LIVE: Trump participates in 'Latinos for Trump' roundtable in Las Vegas

Is America heading for a race war? Unless Democrats stop protecting criminals, it is inevitable

Is the US really a land teeming with ‘white supremacists’, or are malicious forces working to crowbar the racial divide for their own ulterior motives? Whatever the case, America needs to get a handle on the issue, and fast.

Watching the video of George Floyd dying on the street under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, forced many people to ask themselves: is this yet another case of police brutality that has become so prevalent on the streets of America, or is it symptomatic of something even worse? Without any debate, the mainstream media had a ready-made answer for mass consumption: America is racist to the core and deserves whatever it gets. It was a simplistic, knee-jerk response at a time when America was already suffering under a lockdown due to a pandemic.

Before continuing, it is necessary to ask: does America really suffer from ‘systemic racism’, also known as institutional racism? As a white American who grew up in a multiethnic neighborhood and was later employed at several racially diverse workplaces, I would have to disagree. While the proverbial ‘melting pot’ still has some cooking to do, relations between black and white people have been stable for many years.

While the nation will never remove the scar of slavery, the creation of a welfare state, together with numerous government programs such as Affirmative Action, was designed to end the discrimination of minorities. And as every American will say, the United States is a ‘nation of immigrants’, an idea reinforced by the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, for example, which opened the door to millions of people of non-European descent. Those sorts of initiatives indicate that Americans are not the hooded pack of white supremacists that many now say they are. This does not mean, of course, that the scourge of racism has been stamped out; there is no shortage of racists and bigots in the US, but to call the problem ‘systemic’ seems overblown.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/500508-america-heading-race-war/

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER