DOJ: Google Paid Mobile Carriers $1 Billion Last Year to Dominate Smartphone Searches

The recent landmark antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department claims that Google paid mobile carriers $1 billion last year to continue its monopolistic dominance of searches completed on America’s smartphones.

Bloomberg reports that a landmark antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department claims that tech giant Google paid out over $1 billion last year to mobile carriers in the United States to distribute its search engine, ensuring its massive market share of mobile searches remains steady. The DOJ suit filed on Tuesday outlines multiple methods google sues to make its search engine the default service on browsers, smartphones, and other tech platforms.

This includes deals with Apple and Android manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics. Google also made a number of revenue sharing agreements with major mobile carriers to block competing search engines and browsers, the Justice Department stated. Carriers reportedly received a portion of search advertising revenue for making Google Search the default search engine on their devices.

“If a carrier or manufacturer does not renew its revenue sharing agreement with Google, the distributor loses out on revenue share not only for new mobile devices but also for the phones and tablets previously sold and in the hands of consumers,” the Justice Department said in the suit. “This provision is punitive to the carrier or manufacturer and helps to ensure that carriers and manufacturers will not stray from Google.”

Google reportedly paid major U.S. carriers more than $1 billion, the Department of Justice noted. A Google document from 2014 in the lawsuit showed that the company paid $460 million for the deals which typically run for two or three years. The providers involved in the deals were not named but the largest U.S. providers are Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc., and T-Mobile U.S. Inc.

Google’s head of global affairs, Kent Walker, commented on the situation stating: “Our agreements with Apple and other device makers and carriers are no different from the agreements that many other companies have traditionally used to distribute software.”

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/21/doj-google-paid-mobile-carriers-1-billion-last-year-to-dominate-smartphone-searches/

"Piles Of Stolen Mail On The Side Of The Road": Ballot Thefts Reported In Two Portland-Metro Suburbs

New reports of stolen mail, including election ballots, are surfacing in the Portland-metro area.

Resident Stephanie Prendergast told KGW8 that when she returned to her home on Sunday her mail and her ballot were both gone. Other neighbors who had checked their mail on Saturday found their ballots, but those who waited until Sunday couldn't find theirs.

“I noticed upon pulling up to our house that our mailbox was open. There was some junk mail, but no ballot,” she said.

Prendergast continued: “I think we've kind of entrusted that our mail is fine and our vote is fine. I would just really encourage people to not be lazy— go get your mail. We might be looking into a locked mailbox in the future.”

Not too far away, in Camas, there were similar incidents.

Police said that neighbors reported finding "piles of stolen mail on the side of the road", including 9 election ballots. Two residents had police deliver their ballots to their door after they were recovered.

A Camas resident who wanted to stay anonymous said: “I just said, ‘What? My ballots were stolen?! I was upset but I was very thankful that [the officer] brought them back to us.”

Local police said that over the weekend, someone in Camas broke into four community mailboxes. One neighbor's camera caught a possible suspect, who was driving a white four door sedan.

Camas Police Sgt. Scot Boyles said: “We're trying to really let the neighborhoods know to be vigilant about their community mailboxes. Know who your neighbors are, know who's supposed to be around, and if you see someone who looks suspicious call 911.”

Boyles said police have investigated ten reports of mail theft this year, most centered around community mailboxes. He said the reports are common and that he didn't think the latest case was politically motivated.

“This fits the same pattern of our other mail thefts. If this was politically motivated, I think that the suspects would have damaged the ballots or made them unusable. In this case they left them sealed and threw them on the side of the road,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Prendergast awaits a replacement ballot. She concluded: “It just feels like this shouldn't have been complicated, and now it's complicated.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/piles-stolen-mail-side-road-ballot-thefts-reported-two-portland-metro-suburbs

Fallout Begins: One Of Apollo's Biggest Investors Halts New Commitments Over Leon Black's Epstein Ties

Less than 24 hours after it was reported that Apollo co-founder Leon Black's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein would be reviewed by a group of Apollo's independent board members after it emerged that Black had paid Epstein $50 million for various "services" after his conviction for soliciting sex with a minor, the first domino has fallen: according to the FT, one of the biggest US public pension funds - The Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System - has frozen new investments with Apollo Global Management, amid "growing concerns about founder Leon Black’s relationship with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein take a toll on the $414bn private equity group."

"After that phone conversation, PSERS’ Investment team informed Apollo that it will not consider any new investments at this time," PSERS told the Financial Times.

According to PitchBook, PSERS is among the biggest backers of private equity funds in the world and contributed $225 million to the New York firm’s latest buyout vehicle; at this moment, PSERS has less than $1 billion invested with the private equity group.

As we warned yesterday, it is only a matter of time before investors shun the massive PE fund, and the PSERS move underscores this point, demonstrating how the reputational crisis surrounding Black’s relationship with Epstein "is becoming a financial risk for Apollo, which manages $414 billion for investors that include many of the world’s largest pensions and sovereign wealth funds."

In a statement, Apollo said it was "firmly committed to transparency" adding that "Leon has communicated directly with our investors on this issue and we remain in open dialogue." And while it is true that Black sent out a letter to investors last week seeking to explain his relationship with Epstein, clearly questions remained. This is what we said yesterday:

One week ago, we asked a simple question in response to a NYT report that billionaire Leon Black, one of the brightest financial minds of this generation who is surrounded 24/7 by experts and specialists - and more importantly, his own paid employees - in absolutely every area of finance, paid "suicided" child molester and longtime pal Jeffrey Epstein $50 million after the deceased financier got out of prison for pedophilia.

Why?

Because the provided answer was ridiculous: according to Bloomberg, "For decades billionaire Leon Black turned to Jeffrey Epstein for financial advice." But why would a billionaire financier need Epstein, who was through and through clueless about any sophisticated areas of finance, need to pay Epstein tens of millions for advice?

Neither did the answer given by Black's spokeswoman make any sense: Black received “personal trusts and estates planning advice as well as family office philanthropy and investment services” from Epstein between 2012 and 2017. Wait… Black couldn't get all of that for free from the the world's biggest private equity company which just so happens he co-founded? Instead, he just had to pay Jeffrey $50 million.

"It is true that I paid Mr Epstein millions of dollars annually for his work," said Black in a letter responding to the Times report. "It also is worth noting that all of Mr Epstein’s advice was vetted by leading auditors, law firms and other professional advisors" Black added in the process throwing virtually everyone under the bus, and adding that he had 'once' picnicked on Epstein's private island with his family, and that he visited the dead pedophile 'from time to time' at his Manhattan townhouse.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fallout-begins-one-apollos-biggest-investors-halts-new-commitments-over-leon-blacks-epstein

LEON BLACK diggs can be found here: https://qresear.ch/

Viral 'nodding lady' from Trump town hall says her employees are getting hate mail because she supports the president

'What they're doing is calling my employees so they quit'

The woman who went viral for sitting behind President Donald Trump and vigorously nodding in agreement during a nationally televised town hall last week says her employees have been receiving hateful messages since the Oct. 15 event.

Mayra Joli, a Miami immigration lawyer and former independent candidate for Congress, became known on social media as the "nodding lady" after clips of her enthusiastic support for President Trump during an NBC News town hall last Thursday were widely shared.

In an interview with Fox News, Joli, herself an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, described how she and her employees at her law firm have been receiving hateful messages because of her support for Trump.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/pro-trump-nodding-lady-hate-mail

Sen. Lindsey Graham Wants an Investigation Into ActBlue's Sources of Cash

If the Democrats take the Senate this year, it will be due in no small part to the fundraising legerdemain of the left-wing money group ActBlue.

ActBlue raised an astonishing $1.5 billion for Democratic candidates and causes in the third quarter. In the two weeks following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, they raised $500 million.

Where is the cash coming from? ActBlue says it accounts for every dollar with the FEC, but all that means is that they report the donations. Ostensibly, the addresses of all contributors are in the U.S. but how easy would it be to funnel millions of overseas dollars through domestic banks?

That’s what Senator Lindsey Graham wants to know. He and other GOP incumbents are being buried by small-dollar donations, most of them from ActBlue.

The Hill:

“Some of these shadowy figures out there running ads, is there any foreign influence afoot?” Graham asked

“Where is all this money coming from? You don’t have to report it if it’s below $200,” he added, referring to campaign finance rules that don’t require public reporting of individuals who give less than $200. “When this election is over with, I hope there will be a sitting down and finding out, ‘OK, how do we control this?’ It just seems to be an endless spiral.”

Is this sour grapes from a Republican getting badly outspent by a Democratic challenger? Or is it really a problem?

In 2008, Barack Obama pioneered the practice of raising money from micro-donations. He used those thousands of small donations to vanquish Hillary Clinton and then bury John McCain in the general election.

It was even more prevalent in the 2012 campaign. But the FEC finally took a close look at where some of those donations were coming from and determined that a significant amount of cash came from foreign sources. Obama returned the cash but it was never determined whether his fundraising apparatus encouraged foreign donations or not.

ActBlue is a private entity, not affiliated with any specific campaign. But they are governed by the same laws that campaigns must follow. As the cash continues to pour in, some Republicans claim that the left has tapped into sources of money that might not be legal.

An ActBlue spokesperson said the group reports even its smallest donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which oversees fundraising for federal campaigns.

An ActBlue spokesperson said the claim that ActBlue does not report contributions under $200 is false.

The spokesperson said ActBlue reports every contribution, including those under $200, and that every federal donation made on ActBlue, including donations of only $1, can be verified on the FEC’s website.

Again, just because it’s reported doesn’t make it legal. ActBlue knows that no one — certainly not the FEC — is going to pore over tens of thousands of donations to make sure they’re all legal.

Many conservatives believe that there should be no limits on individual donations to campaigns. As long as they’re reported, the voter can make their own determination on whether a candidate is beholden to certain interests.

That’s not going to happen. And neither is verifying the source of most of ActBlue’s donations.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/10/21/sen-lindsey-graham-wants-an-investigation-into-actblues-sources-of-cash-n1075067

Colorado Court Rules Limits on Church Attendance Unconstitutional

A U.S. District Court judge has found some of Colorado’s public health orders that limit attendance at churches to be unconstitutional.

Judge Daniel Domenico found that two state rules governing church-going are more severe for religious institutions than for secular ones and violate congregants’ Constitutional rights to freedom of religion.

Two churches filed a lawsuit against both state and federal authorities in August, alleging public health orders aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus violated their religious rights. Domenico dismissed most of their claims in a ruling last week but on Thursday determined that the services can go ahead as long as social distancing is observed and other public health rules are followed.

“The Constitution does not allow the State to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurant’s or spa’s,” Domenico wrote in the 44-page order.

The ruling breaks from stances other judges in Colorado have taken on religious freedom challenges to Gov. Jared Polis’s public health orders. The courts have consistently ruled the orders do not violate the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court also took up the issue this year and rejected efforts by a California church to stop that state’s order to shut down religious services.

Why do some courts see the issue as a religious freedom matter and others see it as a public health issue? It depends on the individual judges in some cases, but it appears that plaintiffs who target specific public health orders have a better chance of success. Claiming a mask interferes with the practice of religion and arguing that limits on church attendance, when there are no limits elsewhere, looks to be a winning strategy. But arguing that this is a public health “emergency” gives some more liberal judges a reason to stifle religious freedom.

Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment appealed the decision Monday, and asked that the judge’s order be reversed while the appeal is pending, saying that allowing services to go forward without precautions could result in outbreaks of COVID-19.

The motion says Domenico took scientific evidence out of context in his ruling and says that the public health orders are not unconstitutional because they do not single out religious activities.

When the state has specific rules governing church attendance, that would appear to “single out religious activities.”

“Absent some sort of bad faith, a law that is otherwise neutral and generally applicable does not suddenly become unconstitutional simply because it contains limited exceptions for certain secular activities but not religious activities,” the motion reads. “…Nothing in the state defendant’s public health orders reveals discrimination or bigotry targeted at religion.”

The issue isn’t “discrimination” or “bigotry.” The issue is that the exceptions carved out for some secular businesses clearly single out churches by limiting the ability to worship.

There’s a good chance this ruling will be overturned by another court. The word “emergency” carries a lot of weight in some legal venues. But even if the state government wins somewhere else, the issue of religious freedom versus public health will end up in the Supreme Court.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/10/21/colorado-court-rules-limits-on-church-attendance-unconstitutional-n1075528

Biden denies family profited from his name, says 'no basis' to Hunter Biden story

'This is the same garbage [from] Rudy Giuliani, Trump's henchman,' Biden told local Wisconsin outlet WISN

Biden denies family profited from his name, says 'no basis' to Hunter Biden story

'This is the same garbage [from] Rudy Giuliani, Trump's henchman,' Biden told local Wisconsin outlet WISN

"This is the same garbage [from] Rudy Giuliani, Trump's henchman," Biden told local Wisconsin outlet WISN. "It's the last-ditch effort in this desperate campaign to smear me and my family. Even the man who served with him on that committee, the former nominee for the Republican Party, said there's no basis to this."

"The vast majority of the intelligence people have come out and said there's no basis at all," Biden continued. "Ron should be ashamed of himself."

The Democratic presidential nominee was referring to comments Johnson made Monday during an interview on "Hannity."

“Hunter Biden, together with other Biden family members, profited off the Biden name," Johnson said. "That’s what’s happening here. What we revealed in our 87-page report is a vast web of connections with Chinese nationals, with people all over the world. Again, trading on the Biden name."

In a 2019 ABC News interview with Amy Robach, Hunter Biden was asked, "If your last name wasn't Biden … do you think you would've been asked to be on the board of [Ukrainian company] Burisma?"

"I don't know. I don't know. Probably not, in retrospect," he said. "But that's you know I don't think that there's a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn't Biden."

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Johnson chair, is investigating newly released emails that allegedly reveal that Hunter Biden introduced his father to a top executive at Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings in 2015 at Hunter Biden's request.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/joe-biden-hunter-laptop-emails-ny-post

Pelosi: Trump bank account in China a 'national security issue'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday hammered President Trump over a new report that he has an undisclosed bank account in China, calling it a serious “national security issue” since the government in Beijing is heavily involved in the country's financial industry.

“Again, we mentioned the state involvement of banks in China. They can watch the flow of money there and perhaps have some, shall we say, sway over the person who's taking money or putting money into that account. So it is a national security issue,” Pelosi said during an appearance on MSNBC.

“Shame on the president that he has a bank account in China," she added.

The Speaker said she is sure more information will trickle out about Trump’s Chinese bank account before the election. And she said the public would have known about it sooner if Trump had disclosed his tax returns.

“But the fact is … what is the source of those funds, and what is the obligation of them? And that's a national security matter,” she said

The report in The New York Times late Tuesday revealed that Trump has bank accounts in three foreign countries: China, Britain and Ireland. None were listed on his public financial disclosures. The Chinese account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management LLC, which tax records obtained by the Times showed paid $188,561 in taxes in China from 2013 to 2015.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization told the Times that the company had opened the account to pay local taxes related to efforts to do business in China.

“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” lawyer Alan Garten told the newspaper. “Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/522078-pelosi-trump-bank-account-in-china-a-national-security-issue

>>11194862

This is a war zone 70% operatives 30% Anon's

>>11194891

Fucking awesome

>>11194921

Fuck off shill.

Explain why he was indicted on BS charges after he called out the central bankers the city of London, davos crowd and so on…..

Dutton warns of 'catastrophic' damage from cyberattacks

Australia must brace for devastating cyberattacks on its vital infrastructure, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will warn today.

Speaking at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age National Security Summit, he will say major industries should prepare for disruption from cyberattacks.

Mr Dutton wants Australia to bolster its networks against these threats.

The Federal Government has pushed for owners of critical infrastructure to allow security agencies to plug into networks during cyber attacks under new emergency powers.

According to a draft of his speech, Mr Dutton will say Australia's critical infrastructure is a major target for foreign interference and other hackers.

"We are continuing to see an increase in attacks targeting infrastructure and systems that are essential to our way of life," Mr Dutton will say.

"The potential consequences of a successful attack could be catastrophic. A prolonged and widespread failure in the energy sector, for example, could cause knock-on disruptions to other essential systems including medical, transport, traffic management systems, banking services or even the supply of food and groceries."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-breaking-news-live-coronavirus-updates-headlines-october-22-bathurst-1000-alert-melbourne-schools-close-covid19-cases/469defd3-5ac9-4094-91ac-e59dee2efe59

Corrupt Aust. Gov preparing for something???

WA family's plea for change after allegedly abused child takes own life

A Western Australian grieving family is demanding answers after their 11-year-old girl took her own life after her alleged abuser was released on bail.

The young girl had recently been living in close proximity to her 66-year-old alleged attacker in Boddington, south-east of Perth.

The man has been charged with six counts of indecent dealing with a child under 13 years and another five charges of sexual penetration.

The alleged offences are claimed to have taken place since the girl was five years old.

"Devastating, ripped my heart out, I can't bring my girl back," the alleged victim's mother said.

The alleged abuser was bailed by police and a magistrate renewed his freedom.

"Like a slap on the wrist – you walk free while my girl sat back worrying all the time," the 11-year-old's mother told 9News.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/child-abuse-girl-death-after-man-freed-on-bail-western-australia/eca533cc-e9d9-4f26-96da-ef8cac2c084b