Re: Inside the World of Cambridge Analytica
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 1:12 pm
Whistleblower Christopher Wylie is working to testify to Mueller's investigation and to Congress.
Carole Cadwalladr
Wow. Some interesting details in this. Yes, Cambridge Analytica may have your private messages. And, yes, this is definitely a problem for Britain (& everywhere else too).Peter Jukes
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Thanks @facebook - looks like my 'likes' (a profound indication of psychometric disposition) was harvested by #CambridgeAnalytica and presumably shared with #Brexit campaigns and (according to SCL boast) other shady UK elections.
To find out more search
https://www.facebook.com/help/
https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/9 ... 8826295296
Mexico data protection body to investigate possible links to Cambridge Analytica
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s data protection body said on Monday it had opened an investigation into whether companies possibly linked to political consultancy Cambridge Analytica broke the country’s data protection laws.
INAI, the transparency and data protection regulator, said it was looking at Mexican companies that worked with cellphone app Pig.gi, which gives users free top-ups in exchange for receiving ads and completing surveys.
The app cut ties with Cambridge Analytica in Mexico after the British company was accused by a whistleblower of improperly accessing data to target U.S. and British voters in recent elections.
Pig.gi, which has 1 million downloads in Mexico and Colombia combined, said it had shared results of two election polls of Mexican users with the consultancy and other partners.
Cambridge Analytica has denied Facebook data was used to help to build profiles on American voters and build support for Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Reporting by Christine Murray and Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Michael Perry
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexi ... SKBN1HH0BV
Cambridge Analytica boss Alexander Nix dined with two of Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign advisers in 2015
Nix and his companies have come under fire for using data harvested from Facebook, which recently revealed that some 1.2 million Filipinos on Facebook were affected by the data breach
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 08 April, 2018, 9:00pm
Raissa Robles
Could Cambridge Analytica boss be probed for Philippine meddling?
8 Apr 2018
When Alexander Nix, the recently suspended boss of Cambridge Analytica, went to Manila in May 2015, he did more than deliver a talk on his new method of managing elections.
Nix dined with Jose Gabriel “Pompee” La Viña and Peter Tiu Laviña, cousins who later played key roles in Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential campaign, notable for its use of social media. At the time, Nix identified himself as a board director of Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL).
Peter snapped photographs of Nix’s talk at the National Press Club (NPC) in Manila and his meal at the club’s dining room, and posted them on his Facebook page. Also present on that occasion were NPC president Joel Sy Egco – now Undersecretary at the Presidential Communications Operations Office or PCOO – and Taipan Millan, a lawyer and family friend of Duterte.
Six months after that meal with Nix, both cousins were among those who convinced Duterte to run for president. Duterte appointed “Pompee” La Viña as his social media director – a first in Philippine election history – and Peter Laviña as his campaign spokesman.
Sources who worked on the campaigns of Duterte’s two rival candidates told the South China Morning Post they had never met nor heard of Nix or SCL.
The source who worked on the presidential campaign of Senator Grace Poe said he was not aware of any contact from Nix or SCL. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to comment, added: “We used our own social media strategy.”
Ibarra Gutierrez, the spokesman for Mar Roxas, the ruling party contender, said the same.
How Cambridge Analytica’s parent company helped ‘man of action’ Rodrigo Duterte win the 2016 Philippines election
“[The campaign had] no organised effort to the extent others were utilising social media,” he said. “The focus of the campaign was traditional organising of local political allies at the grass roots level.”
He laughed off recent accusations from Duterte supporters that it was Roxas and not Duterte who was the unidentified client of SCL in the Philippines. SCL had previously posted on its website it had managed elections for a male politician in the Philippines, who it recommended be rebranded into a tough crimebuster. This post has since been removed but archived copies remain.
I’m not sure who [Alexander Nix] is. I attended one forum at the NPC where a foreigner was resource speaker. Can’t recall if it was this guy you are mentioningPETER TIU LAVIÑA
Gutierrez said they had neglected to use social media because “we simply underestimated its impact on the elections”. He explained they based their strategy on a survey that indicated Filipinos got 70 per cent of their news from television.
Duterte won the election, although without a majority of votes. Roxas was a distant second, closely followed by Poe.
Basking in post-election glory, Pompee La Viña credited “Duterte social media warriors” for the win. He could not be reached for comment for this story.
However, his cousin, Peter, denied – via Facebook Messenger – the Duterte camp had contracted Nix or SCL for the election.
“We never had any foreign help during the campaign,” Peter Tiu Laviña said.
Asked how many times he met Nix, he replied: “I’m not sure who he is. I attended one forum at the NPC where a foreigner was resource speaker. Can’t recall if it was this guy you are mentioning.”
He did not reply whether this was the only time he had met this foreigner.
The “intervention” of foreigners and foreign entities in Philippine elections is a criminal offence. But to be punishable, such meddling has to occur during the campaign period, according the Commission on Elections (Comelec) regulations.
Christian Monsod, a former Comelec chairman, said the Post’s reporting of the activities of Nix and SCL in Manila provided “sufficient grounds” for a preliminary investigation. Such an investigation could consider “the accountability of any candidate or political party as principal, accomplice or accessory to the crime”.
Nix and his companies have come under fire for using data harvested from Facebook, which recently revealed that some 1.2 million Filipinos on Facebook were affected by the data breach.
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast ... wo-rodrigo
Polly Sigh
A month after Russian oligarch Deripaska was offered “private briefings” by his stooge, then-Trump campaign mgr Paul Manafort, he secretly met w/Russian deputy PM Prikhodko to "solve the issue w/America" [and party w/prostitutes, obv].
via @navalny #Maddow http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02 ... g_share_tw …
"We had our doubts at first when the US media claimed that Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska tried to rig the US elections. But after this investigation, everything falls into place." -@navalny
Video with English subtitles
Paul Manafort offers Oleg Deripaska private briefing. Deripaska goes on three-day sailing holiday off Norway with Russian dep PM Prikhodko, briefs him on "US issue" - fascinating investigation by @Navalny, also featuring call-girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQZr2Ng ... e=youtu.be … [Russian] #Trump
One of the call-girl's 2016 videos shows Deripaska [Manafort money-man] talking to her about relations w/America, RU deputy PM Prihodko & "Prihodko's friend," then-US State Dept official Victoria Nuland, who's phone was hacked by Russia in 2014.
#Maddow http://politi.co/2BXB1En
Deripaska: We've got bad relations w/ America bc of the "friend" of Sergey Prihodko [Russia's Dep PM], Nuland.
FYI: When then-asst Sec of State Victoria Nuland met Prikhodko, he scornfully called her "girlfriend." They're not friends.
HT
Prikhodko has been deputy PM since Yeltsin. Recall: Yeltsin stepped down so he & cronies might escape corruption charges [they were part of Russian mafia boss Mogilevich's Bank of NY laundering scheme] & hand-picked Putin as successor to that end.
Deripaska's father in law, Yumashev, was Yeltsin's CoS & is married Yeltsin's daughter. Yumashev & Deripaska BFF Abramovich are part of the small group of Yeltsin oligarchs who put Putin in power. Putin ousted them all to avoid appearance of corruption. Prikhodko is their proxy.
One of Putin's first moves was to pardon Yeltsin, giving him "immunity from criminal or administrative investigations." He also cut a deal w/Yeltsin oligarchs: he'd stay of their business if they stayed out of politics. Prikhodko -> oligarch proxy.
8. Putin was a mid-level KGB agent until mastermind Voloshin made him president & Yeltsin's inner circle filthy rich.
ICYMI: Thread connecting Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska →Russin mafia boss Semyon Mogilevich & his top leutinient Birshtein [father in-law of Trump business partners Schnaider] and to Manafort, plus a dash of Dmitry Firtash.
wash, rinse, repeat
^ So we have:
Deripaska → Birshtein & Mogilevich → Schnaider → Trump → Manafort…
Russian oligarch Deripaska: “I warn the media against dissemination of these mendacious accusations [which @navalny backed up by pics & audio]. I will severely suppress any attempts...defend my honor & dignity in court-"
@washingtonpost: *Yawn*
#Maddow http://wapo.st/2BjsmQ6?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.fd4d5b59ece9 …
Russia threatens to block access to YouTube & Instagram if they don't remove @navalny's video & a call girl's pics that show a Sr Kremlin official sailing on a yacht w/ oligarch Deripaska, who has links to former Trump campaign manager Manafort.
Russian oligarch & Manafort/Gates patron Oleg Deripaska to step down as president of EN+ energy company & aluminium producer Rusal. via @ASLuhn
ICYMI: Rick Gates cut a plea deal with Mueller & will testify against his longtime boss, Paul Manafort.
#Maddow http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02 ... g_share_tw …
Nastya Rybka & Alex Leslie, who can potentially prove Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska bribed RU Deputy PM Prikhodko & of their involvement in 2016 US Election interference [@navalny video], have been jailed in Thailand. via @zenxv
HT @MollyJongFast #Maddow http://bit.ly/2ouCcre
Nastya Rybka appealed to the US to help get out of Thai jail, promising to provide 'missing puzzles in US election meddling'...Russia's AF1 Plane has landed Thailand where Rybka & Leslie were to be released on bail yesterday. via @christogrozev
She is potentially the woman who can prove billionaire Oleg Deripaska bribed Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko & of their involvement interfering with the 2016 US Election. Now, Russia's Air Force One has landed in Thailand and it's suspected they will extradite her & Alex.
A self-described sex expert from @navalny video says she'll spill info on Trump & Russia to get out of a Thai jail: “I'm the only witness & missing link btwn Russia & US election—in the long chain of Oleg Deripaska, Prikhodko, Manafort, & Trump.”
#Maddow http://wapo.st/2BUeTOU?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.b039a622798d …
Oleg Deripaska's professional escort who's jailed in Thai prison says audio recordings show Russian meddling in US Election: “If America gives me protection, I'll tell everything I know. I am afraid to go back to Russia. Strange things can happen.”
#Maddow https://nyti.ms/2FWQmso
Oleg Deripaska's professional escort who claims to have audio recordings which show Russian meddling in US Election: “If America gives me protection, I'll tell everything I know. I am afraid to go back to Russia. Strange things can happen--” Yup.
Assassination Attempt? Former Russian army colonel & intelligence officer who sold out Kremlin’s spies, collapses in UK street as a result of suspected exposure to an unknown substance.
…
seemslikeadream » Thu Apr 05, 2018 7:24 am wrote:Olga_Lautman NYC ..
Sam Patten and Russian Intel Agent Kilimnik opened a company in DC in Feb 2015 tied to Cambridge Analytica.
Sam Patten was also very involved in the Ukrainian elections and was Kilimnik’s boss in 2001. Considering Kilimnik freely spoke of his Intel work Patten should have known
10:37 PM - 4 Apr 2018
https://www.washingtonpost.com
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washin ... story.html …
This is getting really ridiculous why so many criminals are freely walking around and that they should have been monitored for decades. Wtf
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thedai ... perative-3 …
Screenshots are from this article and the Wapo articleAccused Russian Intel Asset Teamed Up With GOP Operative
Konstantin Kilimnik found himself a partner in Sam Patten, a lobbyist and political hand who just happens to have worked previously for Cambridge Analytica.
As 2016 campaign season neared, a Russian national who special counsel Robert Mueller now believes was working with the country’s intelligence services founded a consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Begemot Ventures International was incorporated in February 2015, occupying an office on Constitution Avenue. Like other firms in the nation’s capital it offered services catering to the politically inclined. But unlike those other shops, Begemot had executives tied not just to an alleged Russian influence campaign, but also a controversial data firm that would later help elect President Donald Trump.
The space that the firm continues to occupy also houses the offices of Sam Patten, a Republican lobbyist and foreign policy consultant who had previously worked to hone the firm Cambridge Analytica’s microtargeting operation during the 2014 midterm election cycle. They don’t just share a location either. Patten is listed as one of two Begemot executives in D.C. incorporation records.
The other is Konstantin Kilimnik, who is currently front-and-center in the federal investigation into Russian government meddling in the 2016 presidential election. A recent court filing by Mueller alleged that “Person A”—believed to be Kilimnik—“has ties to Russian intelligence service and had such ties in 2016.”
Kilimnik has a years-long professional relationship with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whom Mueller has accused of illegally advancing the interests of foreign clients in the U.S. Kilimnik was a frequent intermediary between Manafort and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, to whom Manafort offered private briefings on the 2016 presidential race. Kilimnik has long been suspected of having worked with or for Russian intelligence services in the past. But Mueller’s allegations are so explosive because they allege such ties continued through the presidential election—ties that would, by virtue of Kilimnik’s association with Manafort, represent the Trump campaign’s closest known link to Kremlin operatives.
But those close to Kilimnik say the allegations are at a minimum overblown, and at most an outright fabrication. Patten too rejected allegations of Kilimnik’s Russian intelligence ties in an interview this week.
Patten acknowledged his collaboration with Kilimnik on Begemot, which he said operates entirely abroad despite its D.C. address. Patten also confirmed his work with Cambridge Analytica, saying he assisted the firm’s U.S. operations in 2014, and also worked with the company on “several overseas campaigns.” He declined to go into further detail, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but stressed that his work for Begemot and Cambridge Analytica were entirely separate.
Cambridge Analytica did not respond to a request for additional information.
There is little public information about Begemot, whose name literally translates (from Russian) to hippopotamus but also may be a reference to a character in the Russian novel The Master and Margarita. Its emergence on the political scene—and the principles involved in its creation—underscore the smallness of the universe of Republican operatives and foreign policy hands who have done business with those at the center of the Russia investigation.
Begemot’s website says it “helps its clients win elections, strengthen political parties, build the right arguments before domestic and international audiences, and achieve better results.” But it doesn’t disclose any of those clients, or even the countries in which they operate. Patten declined to go into any detail about its work.
Patten’s relationship with Kilimnik goes back nearly two decades, when they worked together at the International Republican Institute, a GOP-aligned foreign policy group. In 2007 and 2008, Patten was an undersecretary of state for Democracy and Global Affairs in the Bush administration. He has also lobbied for political parties in Iraq and Georgia, and currently represents a group called the Committee to Destroy ISIS, a campaign funded in part, records show, by a Jordanian construction company.
“I operate in a small niche,” Patten said of his work.
Patten’s association with Cambridge Analytica began in 2014. His personal website says he worked with the firm “to introduce new technologies and methodologies to U.S. campaigns during the 2014 congressional cycle.” The “beta run” of Cambridge Analytica’s microtargeting efforts, the website says, was “adopted by at least one major U.S. presidential candidate.” At the time the website was written, Patten said, Cambridge Analytica was working on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), though Patten never worked on behalf of the Cruz campaign. Cambridge Analytica would later work to elect Trump.
The data firm is at the center of controversy over the use of social media data in political micro-targeting efforts. A Cambridge Analytica whistleblower claims the company pilfered data from Facebook for use on behalf of its political clients. The company denies any wrongdoing. And Trump campaign officials have tried to downplay the efficacy of the firms work, even though the campaign spent nearly $6 million for its services.
Mueller’s team is examining the role that Cambridge Analytica played in Trump’s election victory, but there is no indication that Patten’s work for the firm is problematic or of any interest to the special counsel’s investigation. Patten himself played down the connection, saying his work for the firm was “wholly unconnected” to Begemot and Kilimnik.
Begemot, Patten said, “is a privately-held, small consulting company that has provided public relations and political strategy advice for clients outside the United States, and [is] not related to the ongoing circus here.”
Patten expressed skepticism about Mueller’s recent allegations about his colleague. “A lot of people in our country wish Mueller well. If this is his ace in the hole, I am profoundly depressed,” he said.
“I have no reason to suspect him of being a Russian agent,” Patten added. “For people to continuously repeat the ‘in contact with/working with Russian intel’ epithet about anyone who lives or works in a country ruled by an ex KGB officer is rather absurd.” Such a description, he said, could include “anyone who rides the Moscow metro.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/accused-r ... perative-3
Funny how people conveniently forgetCarole Cadwalladr
But Sam Patten played a central role on the Nigeria campaign. And we knew he was a long time associate of both Manafort and Kilimnik, now a star of a Mueller filing.
We took Sam Patten out of the piece because the article was already too preposterous. (But true) Chucking in the man with with the known connection to a Russian spy just seemed like a step too far...
seemslikeadream » Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:49 pm wrote:THE RUSSIA WEB
Accused Russian Intel Asset Teamed Up With GOP Operative
Konstantin Kilimnik found himself a partner in Sam Patten, a lobbyist and political hand who just happens to have worked previously for Cambridge Analytica
LACHLAN MARKAY
04.04.18 2:43 PM ET
As 2016 campaign season neared, a Russian national who Special Counsel Robert Mueller now believes was working with the country’s intelligence services founded a consulting firm in Washington D.C.
Begemot Ventures International was incorporated in February 2015, occupying an office on Constitution Avenue. Like other firms in the nation’s capital it offered services catering to the politically inclined. But unlike those other shops, Begemot had executives tied not just to an alleged Russian influence campaign, but also a controversial data firm that would later help elect President Donald Trump.
The space that the firm continues to occupy also houses the offices of Sam Patten, a Republican lobbyist and foreign policy consultant who had previously worked to hone the firm Cambridge Analytica’s microtargeting operation during the 2014 midterm election cycle. They don’t just share a location either. Patten is listed as one of two Begemot executives in Washington D.C. incorporation records.
The other is Konstantin Kilimnik, who is currently front-and-center in the federal investigation into Russian government meddling in the 2016 presidential election. A recent court filing by Mueller alleged that “Person A”—believed to be Kilimnik—“has ties to Russian intelligence service and had such ties in 2016.”
Kilimnik has a years-long professional relationship with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whom Mueller has accused of illegally advancing the interests of foreign clients in the U.S. Kilimnik was a frequent intermediary between Manafort and Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, to whom Manafort offered private briefings on the 2016 presidential race. Kilimnik has long been suspected of having worked with or for Russian intelligence services in the past. But Mueller’s allegations are so explosive because they allege such ties continued through the presidential election—ties that would, by virtue of Kilimnik’s association with Manafort, represent the Trump campaign’s closest known link to Kremlin operatives.
But those close to Kilimnik say the allegations are at a minimum overblown, and at most an outright fabrication. Patten too rejected allegations of Kilimnik’s Russian intelligence ties in an interview this week.
Patten acknowledged his collaboration with Kilimnik on Begemot, which he said operates entirely abroad despite its D.C. address. Patten also confirmed his work with Cambridge Analytica, saying he assisted the firm’s U.S. operations in 2014, and also worked with the company on “several overseas campaigns.” He declined to go into further detail, citing a non-disclosure agreement, but stressed that his work for Begemot and Cambridge Analytica were entirely separate.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Robert Mercer and Rebekah Mercer attend the 2017 TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Rebekah Mercer Stands by Cambridge Analytica
It’s Not Just Facebook & Trump—The Whole Web Is Stalking You
Cambridge Analytica did not respond to a request for additional information.
There is little public information about Begemot, whose name literally translates (from Russian) to hippopotamus but also may be a reference to a character in the Russian novel “The Master and Margarita.” Its emergence on the political scene—and the principles involved in its creation—underscore the smallness of the universe of Republican operatives and foreign policy hands who have done business with those at the center of the Russia investigation.
Begemot’s website says it “helps its clients win elections, strengthen political parties, build the right arguments before domestic and international audiences, and achieve better results.” But it doesn't disclose any of those clients, or even the countries in which they operate. Patten declined to go into any detail about its work.
Patten’s relationship with Kilimnik goes back nearly two decades, when they worked together at the International Republican Institute, a GOP-aligned foreign policy group. In 2007 and 2008, Patten was an Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs in the Bush administration. He has also lobbied for political parties in Iraq and Georgia, and currently represents a group called the Committee to Destroy ISIS, a campaign funded in part, records show, by a Jordanian construction company.
“I operate in a small niche,” Patten said of his work.
Patten’s association with Cambridge Analytica began in 2014. His personal website says he worked with the firm “to introduce new technologies and methodologies to U.S. campaigns during the 2014 congressional cycle.” The “beta run” of Cambridge Analytica’s microtargeting efforts, the website says, was “adopted by at least one major U.S. presidential candidate.” At the time the website was written, Patten said, Cambridge Analytica was working on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), though Patten never worked on behalf of the Cruz campaign. Cambridge Analytica would later work to elect Trump.
The data firm is at the center of controversy over the use of social media data in political micro-targeting efforts. A Cambridge Analytica whistleblower claims the company pilfered data from Facebook for use on behalf of its political clients. The company denies any wrongdoing. And Trump campaign officials have tried to downplay the efficacy of the firms work, even though the campaign spent nearly $6 million for its services.
Mueller’s team is examining the role that Cambridge Analytica played in Trump’s election victory, but there is no indication that Patten’s work for the firm is problematic or of any interest to the special counsel’s investigation. Patten himself played down the connection, saying his work for the firm was “wholly unconnected” to Begemot and Kilimnik.
Begemot, Patten said, “is a privately-held, small consulting company that has provided public relations and political strategy advice for clients outside the United States, and [is] not related to the ongoing circus here.”
Patten expressed skepticism about Mueller’s recent allegations about his colleague. “A lot of people in our country wish Mueller well. If this is his ace in the hole, I am profoundly depressed,” he said.
“I have no reason to suspect him of being a Russian agent,” Patten added. “For people to continuously repeat the ‘in contact with/working with Russian intel’ epithet about anyone who lives or works in a country ruled by an ex KGB officer is rather absurd.” Such a description, he said, could include “anyone who rides the Moscow metro.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/accused-r ... 3?ref=home
Polly Sigh
How Putin's proxies helped funnel millions into GOP campaigns – @UofDallas researcher Ruth May is an expert in all things corporate in Russia and has mapped the money trail from Russian oligarchs to the @GOP and Trump.
Buried in the campaign finance reports available to the public are troubling connections between a group of Kremlin-linked wealthy donors and their political contributions to Trump and a number of top @GOP leaders.
An example is Kremlin-linked Len Blavatnik [Access Industries/AI-Altep], who in 2015-2016 pumped $6.35M into @GOP PACs, w/ millions going to top GOP leaders including McConnell, Rubio & Graham and in 2017 poured $1M into to McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund.
^ The extent of Russian infiltration in many state election systems remains unclear. Obama's DHS Sec wanted to declare the systems as national critical infrastructure in Aug 2016 [giving fed gov’t broader powers to intervene] but @GOP balked.