Saturday, July 20, 2019

Mesa City Manager Chris Brady's Big-League Schemes: Trick Mesa Taxpayer's To Finance A Ball Park For The Billionaire-Ricketts Family

Sloan Park at Riverview was named after a plumber for some reason after that Chicago chewing-gum original Wrigley Field just wasn't juicy enough here in Mesa.
Here are former mayor Scott Smith and current city manager Chris Brady in 2012 making a sales-pitch to get the Cubbies Spring Training Facility financed on-the-backs of Mesa taxpayers to the tune of over $200,000,000 for the Billionaire-Ricketts Family who bought the sports franchise in 2009.
From what we know now it was a shake-down [Use the search box on  this blog for more]
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Email dump: More dirt on Cubs purchase, family conflict from Joe ...
Chicago Sun-Times
The Ricketts family at Wrigley Field in October 2009:
 (from left) Joe Ricketts, Pete Ricketts, Todd Ricketts, Laura Ricketts, Marlene Ricketts and Tom ...
On Tuesday, Deadspin broke news that leaked emails revealed Cubs ownership contemplated moving the team out of Chicago due to a difficult relationship with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013. As it turns out, the suggestion was made by Todd “Fredo” Ricketts and was likely never taken seriously. Here’s a list of other Todd Ricketts’ suggestions revealed in additional leaked emails:
– “It’ll be totally fine if our family gets involved in politics. No one will ever find out about it so it won’t be controversial at all.”
– “Now that we own the McDonald’s across the street from Wrigley, I’m going on an all Quarter Pounder diet. Please don’t tear that place down Tom. I’m sure any hotel we put up there won’t do nearly as much business as the McDonald’s. Plus, where will all the rats go?”
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In some conservative Republican circles it was "a home run." Here in Mesa most city officials and real estate developers went-to-bat to get it built and financed
> Donald Trump's $14 billion Cabinet
 #2 Todd Ricketts @$5.3 Billion
Ricketts is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and CEO of Ending Spending, an organization “dedicated to educating and engaging American taxpayers about wasteful and excessive government spending,” according to its site.
 [Reference: https://www.cbsnews.com
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> Report: Cubs Co-Owner Todd Ricketts Has Been Getting Away With Not Paying
His Full Property Taxes
https://deadspin.com/report-cubs-co-owner-todd-ricketts-has-been-getting-aw-183624...
> Another report 2 days ago:
Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts faces big property tax hike, even bigger bill for
back taxes after newspaper review spurs new look at his designer Wilmette house
by Hal Dardick The Daily Southtown
"Ricketts is a member of a billionaire family that secured an $8.5 million county historic renovation property tax break for its rehab of Wrigley Field.
That project also is in line to receive more than $100 million in federal tax credits.
Ricketts is one of four siblings on the Cubs board of directors.
His brother, Tom Ricketts, is board chairman
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". . . The Ricketts tax saga began after Todd Ricketts and wife Sylvie Légère, an anti-tax and free market advocate, bought two houses along a leafy Wilmette street within walking distance of Lake Michigan in 2006 and 2007. The couple tore down both homes to make way for their new dwelling
Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts' designer Wilmette home is worth more than twice as much as previously thought -- and that could more than double his property tax bill next year and trigger a tab of at least $60,000 in back taxes and interest.
That bottom line emerged Tuesday as the Cook County assessor's office completed its reassessment of Ricketts' property following a Tribune story that revealed the Republican National Committee finance chairman had been paying taxes as if the older, smaller house he'd torn down more than a decade ago was still there.
The error lingered for so long because the assessor's office said it never received notice the new home had been built . . .
Reference: Journal Gazette & Times Courier
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Cubs co-owner takes over President Donald Trump's re-election fundraising
by Jack Baer
Yahoo Sports Contributor
"Todd Ricketts has been very active in the world of conservative politics over the last few years.
The Republican National Committee announced Friday that Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts will oversee the fundraising for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign in the 2020 presidential election.
Ricketts’ official title will be finance chairman of the Trump Victor Committee, a joint venture between the RNC and Trump’s campaign.
“I am honored to continue to support President Trump and the Republican Party through the Trump Victory Committee,” Ricketts said in a statement per the Chicago Sun-Times.
“As we head toward 2020, I will work to ensure President Trump and his campaign have the resources they need to fight for the American people.”
Ricketts is the son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and a member of a billionaire family that has wielded much influence in the Midwest, particularly with Ricketts’ brother Pete serving as the current governor of Nebraska.
The family purchased a majority stake in the Cubs in 2009.
> Ricketts has served as the RNC as its finance chair since Jan. 2018, though he has also made his own contributions to political causes, including an ad praising Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s strong moral character.
> He received the RNC position after withdrawing his name from consideration for the position of deputy commerce secretary in the Trump administration due to an inability to divest from his financial holdings.
It’s quite a turnaround that Ricketts is now running Trump’s fundraising given that his family fought Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination in the 2016 primary.
The family, excluding Todd’s sister Laura, initially supported then-Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, they also made smaller donations to Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham.
> They also helped fund an anti-Trump super PAC called "Our Principles."
That activity drew the ire of Trump, who called out the Ricketts by (misspelled) name and threatened to expose some skeletons in the closet

Of course, that hatchet has since been buried. That started with a $1 million contribution to Trump’s campaign once he won the Republican nomination.

 
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Breitbart News: Mesa "Angel Mom" Suspended by Twitter For Hate Speech

When going too far-to-the-extreme into hate about crimes committed by illegal aliens and the impact of sanctuary city policies on American citizens . . .
Twitter Suspends Angel Mom for Posting About Illegal Immigrationby John Binder Breitbart                         
"Angel Mom Mary Ann Mendoza, who heads the Angel Families organization, has been suspended from Twitter after posting about illegal immigration and raising awareness about the harms of sanctuary city policies.
Angel Mom Mendoza’s son, 32-year-old police officer Brandon Mendoza, was killed in May 2014 by a drunk illegal alien who was driving the wrong way down a highway in Mesa, Arizona.
This week, Mendoza was suspended from her Twitter account and told she would not be able to sign back in unless she deletes a series of posts about crimes committed by illegal aliens and the impact of sanctuary city policies on American citizens.
Mendoza told Breitbart News that Twitter sent her a message claiming that some of her posts “go against” Twitter’s “standards on hate speech.”
In order to sign back into her account, Mendoza said, Twitter has mandated that she delete the posts — something she said she will not do.
Mendoza’s posts called out 2020 Democrat presidential primary candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for her support for illegal aliens and sanctuary city policies, as well as raising awareness about illegal immigration’s impact on Americans:
 [4 screenshots taken by Mary Ann Mendoza that can be viewed on the Breitbart link above]
“I’m disgusted and disappointed that Twitter is trying to silence me,” Mendoza told Breitbart News. “I had my world ripped out from under me the day my son was killed by a repeat illegal alien criminal. I am the ‘other’ side of this crisis and the end result of open borders and the careless release of illegal aliens at our borders because of time restraints.”
Mendoza said despite the Twitter suspension, her voice will not be silenced. . .
A Twitter spokesperson did not explain why Mendoza was suspended but only that they were requiring her to delete her posts.
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John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News.
Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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Mesa PD In The Spoptlight Again: Hostile Work Environment & Sexual Harassment

Mesa police officers file claim with city over sergeant's sexual harassment
Posted: 3:38 PM, Jul 18, 2019 Updated: 7:54 PM, Jul 18, 2019
MESA, AZ — Seven Mesa police officers have filed a claim with the city over how it handled the discipline of a sergeant found to have sent sexually harassing messages to six female officers and the spouse of one male officer.
The claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, says the city failed to appropriately discipline Sgt. Jeffery Neese after he was found to have repeatedly violated the city's policy against workplace harassment.
According to human resources investigations of complaints by the officers, Neese sent sexually harassing texts and Facebook messages to officers Amanda Cook, Ashley Elliff, Elisha Gibbs, Elsie Keim, Cindy Martinez, and Christen Rope, along with the wife of officer Brandon Hamilton. The harassment stretches back to at least 2014, according to the claim and the city's internal investigations.
"It was clear to us that his behavior went unchecked for years," Elliff said. "This was multiple incidents over a span of time. He was well aware of that what he was doing was wrong". . .
"In his rebuttal to investigators, Sgt. Neese blamed the victims," Cook said. "He accused them of failing to stop him. He accused them of dressing or dancing provocatively in their free time, and that’s why it was okay for him to send these messages."
As a result of the findings, Neese was removed from the department's SWAT unit and demoted to patrol officer. The victims claim the city's discipline was not enough.
"Officer Neese has unequivocally demonstrated that he is unable or unwilling to control his sexual harassment of his fellow female police officers or even the general public," according to the notice of claim. "[B]y keeping officer Neese on the streets and in uniform, the City of Mesa has created and is perpetuating a hostile work environment."
By keeping him employed, the officers say they suffer "anxiety, concern, apprehension, trepidation, dread, and even fear" about working with or encountering Neese on the job or at professional functions.
. . . When reached for comment, the Mesa Police Department declined to comment, citing the potential for litigation.
read more > ABC15 News
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Miscarriage of Justice Here In Mesa Gets More National Attention: The Case of Philip Brailsford

Image credit: TomTingle
 Arizona Republic via AP
Daniel Shaver Killing: Cop Applied for a Pension and got it.
The opening image for this post - with the cop looking back over his shoulder - is taken from the first of a number of articles used in this report.
He Killed an Unarmed Man, Then Claimed Disability
The latest twist in the police shooting of Daniel Shaver
by Conor Friedersdorf
Staff writer at The Atlantic  Jul 18, 2019
BLOGGER NOTE: Please see earlier post on this blog starting with the word OUTRAGEOUS
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Here's what The Atlantic Staff writer Conor Friedersdorf had to say in an extract:
City leaders in Mesa, Arizona, operate a municipality where the interests of police officers are valued more highly than ordinary citizens, including those the police have wronged.
The people of Mesa could recall the city officials who enabled this miscarriage of justice. . .
LINK > https://www.theatlantic.com 18 July 2019
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From this blog site on July 11, 2019
11 July 2019
OUTRAGEOUS: Just "Another Deal" from City Manager Chris Brady

Time to Wake-Up Mesa! Evidence is piling-up big timeAfter murder acquittal, Mesa ex-cop Philip Brailsford made a pension deal
Posted: 6:39 PM, Jul 10, 2019
"Two years after he shot an unarmed man and was fired, former police officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford was rehired by the City of Mesa in order to obtain a special pension. Now, Brailsford is considered medically retired, not fired, according to a Mesa city spokesman. . .
< The Spokesman: City Manager Chris Brady
 
READ and see video from another local news source > https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2019/07
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"Two years ago, I wrote about Daniel Shaver, an unarmed 26-year-old who in 2016 was shot to death in a hotel hallway while begging for his life.
> The killer, Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford, was put on trial for murder.
> Jurors were not allowed to know that he had scratched “You’re fucked” into his service weapon.
BLOGGER NOTE: There are more details in related content farther down in this post
He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter, despite video of as chilling and egregious a police killing as I’ve ever seen. . . "
Conor Friedersdorf is a California-based staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs. He is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction
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Philip Brailsford:
How the Police State
Made a Mormon Missionary a Cold-Blooded Killer
Philip Brailsford went from spreading love in the Mormon church to gunning down an unarmed innocent father of two for no reason.
What happened?
 
The Free Thought Project has been given photos and background on Philip Brailsford—the cop acquitted for murdering an unarmed innocent father of two—which paint a much different picture than a cold-blooded killer. . .
Before Brailsford embarked on a career that would come to an end after he shot Daniel Shaver five times with his AR-15—enscribed with the words, “You’re Fucked”—he would devote years of his life to helping others.
In 2010, Brailsford, like many of the Mormon missionaries before him, would travel to Ecuador to help people and to spread his faith
BLOGGER NOTE: Missions usually last for two years.
Brailsford became a rookie cop in 2013
. . . While TFTP will not pretend to have psychoanalyzed Philip Brailsford, this is not necessary to grasp the alarming trend among police that has been increasing over time.
Policing in the United States metamorphosed drastically over the last few decades after the NDAA in 1990 allowed departments to obtain surplus military equipment free of charge. With the weapons and gear of war likewise came the warrior ethos. Though unprepared to handle accouterments of the battlefield, hapless American police waged war on the very communities in their charge — an epidemic level of violence by law enforcement has since erupted.
And the military-industrial complex is still making a killing (literally and figuratively) at taxpayer expense from the transformation of small-town police forces—“kitted out with Marine-issue camouflage and military-grade body armor, toting short-barreled assault rifles, and rolling around in armored vehicles”—into extensions of the military.
Plain and simple, police are being trained to see the people they serve as the enemy >  
This mindset, coupled with the fact that officer safety is paramount above all other things—including innocent children—has produced countless Philip Brailsfords.
> There are hundreds if not thousands of cops in departments across the country who are just like Philip Brailsford.
> They are taught, through rigorous training and years of propaganda that a cop can do no wrong.
Sadly, this is the main problem and it is evident in Brailsford’s acquittal and the countless other killer cops who are never held accountable for their murderous actions. . .
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Mesa officers rarely disciplined in excessive-force investigations, police data show

, Arizona Republic Published 6:00 a.m. MT Nov. 13, 2018
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As TFTP has previously reported, the Salt Lake City PD saw this violent tendency and sought out to change it. They are now proud of their new de-escalation program, even offering officers incentives and awards for deescalating encounters with citizens / / /
As TFTP previously noted, the state of Utah had an epidemic of officer-involved shootings —“deadly force by police surpassed even violence between spouses and dating partners.”
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BLOGGER INSERT:
> Arizona and Phoenix police shootings at record levels
https://www.azcentral.com/.../arizona.../arizona...police-shootings-officers.../3029860...
 

> Maricopa County finishes off record-breaking year of police shootings
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/.../maricopa...police-shootings/2444677002/
Jan 1, 2019 - There were 110 shootings involving law enforcement in Arizona in 2018, ... Police work the scene of an officer-involved shooting that left the ...
 
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That was then.
This is now.
After their training in de-escalation, the department went from being one of the deadliest departments in the county to going on a record string without killing anyone.
 
 
 
Until we realize that Philip Brailsford is not the exception but, instead, the rule—we will continue to see things get worse. If we really want police to stop killing people, we need to stop teaching police to be killers.
The Free Thought Project 16 Dec 2017
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PLEASE TAKE THE TIME SEE TO THIS VIDEO - Be warned it is shocking to see.
Full video of Daniel Shaver shooting
Published on Dec 15, 2017
Views: 20,171
Comments: 116
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Brailsford was at least fired from his job as a police officer. But that isn’t how the story ends. . .
----
A former Mesa, Arizona, police officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the January 2016 shooting death of an unarmed man.
Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, 25, was charged with murder on March 4 in the shooting death of Daniel Shaver, a 26-year-old husband and father of two from Texas, KNXV-TV reports.
Shaver was fatally shot on January 18 at about 9 p.m. at the La Quinta Inn.
Officers had been called to the hotel after a report that a man was pointing a gun out of a window. Two pellet guns were found in Shaver’s room, and police said they were related to his pest control job. Shaver had been drinking with a woman and a man on the night of the shooting, police said.
Prosecutors have said Shaver tried to comply and didn’t do anything wrong.
Brailsford, who had previously been accused of using inappropriate force during an arrest just weeks before the shooting, was fired by the Mesa Police Department after he was charged.
He made his first court appearance on March 15 and pleaded not guilty. He was released without bail.
Here’s what you need to know:
 
1. Shaver Begged ‘Please Don’t Shoot Me’ Before He Was Killed, a Witness Says


2. Brailsford Was One of the Department’s First Officers to Wear a Body Camera – But the Footage From the Shooting Hasn’t Been Released
Brailsford was one of the first Mesa Police officers to be given a body camera, which he received as a rookie in 2013.

3.’You’re F*cked’ Was Inscribed Onto the Gun Brailsford Used in the Shooting, Which Was a Violation of Policy
Brailsford shot Shaver with a personal AR-15 rifle, which he was allowed to use, according to police reports.
The gun was inscribed with the phrase “you’re f*cked,” Tucson News Now reports.
The inscription on the gun was a violation of department policy, which was one of the reasons Brailsford was fired.
 
4. His Father Was a Lieutenant in the Mesa PD’s Internal Affairs Unit
Brailsford’s father, also named Philip Brailsford, left the Mesa Police Department last year to join a local law firm.
He was a lieutenant and had worked in the department’s Internal Affairs Unit.
According to a press release from the law firm where he now works, Fennemore Craig, the elder Brailsford was a police officer for 19 years, and also served in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Army.
He graduated from Arizona State’s law school.
 
5. He Is Married & Pursued an Acting Career Before Becoming a Cop

Brailsford previously sought acting jobs before he became a police officer, according to a profile on Casting360.com.
He listed his interests as “motorcycle riding, football, hunting, target shooting,” said he is a guitar player with experience in a band, and is an Eagle Scout.. .
“He is not a danger to the community,” his attorney, Craig Mehrens, told reporters after his first court appearance. “He has honorably served the community as a Mesa police officer and he was honorably serving the day he received the call [to the shooting scene].”
Mehrens previously said Brailsford was “in shock” after he was charged with murder and believes he did nothing wrong, according to the Arizona Republic.
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We want to hear what you think about this article.
Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

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Friday, July 19, 2019

Palantir: It's More Than "Souped-Up" Surveillance Software >

Sooner or later, thanks to two reports years apart, we now know that Peter Thiel's Palantier (from the same dude that created 'Pay Pal) helped the National Security Agency spy on the entire world, is also used Law Enforcement Agencies and The Department of Homeland Security.
No doubt about it Now
Whatever data can be collected is collected.
Public Records Request Nets User's Manual For Palantir's Souped-Up Surveillance Software
Fri, Jul 19th 2019 10:44am— Tim Cushing
Techdirt.                       

"Palantir is the 800-pound gorilla of data analytics.
It has created a massive surveillance apparatus that pulls info from multiple sources to give law enforcement convenient places to dip into the data stream. Law enforcement databases may focus on criminals, but Palantir's efforts focus on everyone.
Whatever can be collected is collected.
________________________________________________________________ 
Palantir provides both the data and the front end, making it easy for government agencies to not only track criminal suspects, but everyone they've ever associated with.
Palantir is big. But being the biggest player in the market doesn't exactly encourage quality work or accountability.
Multiple problems have already been noticed by the company's numerous law enforcement customers -- including the company's apparent inability to responsibly handle data -- but complaints from agencies tied into multi-year contracts are pretty easy to ignore. Palantir says it provides "actionable data." Sounds pretty cool, but in practice this means things like cops firing guns at innocent people because the software spat out faulty suspect/vehicle descriptions.
Agencies must see the value in Palantir's products because few seem willing to ditch these data analytics packages. The company does a fairly good job dropping a usable interface on top of its data haystacks. It sells well. And it's proprietary, which means Palantir can get into the policing business without actually having to engage in the accountability and openness expected of government agencies.
Fortunately for the public, government agencies still have to respond to public records requests -- even if the documents sought detail private vendors' offerings. Vice has obtained part of a user's manual for Palantir Gotham, which is used by a number of state and federal agencies.
This software appears to be used by "fusion centers," the DHS-created abominations that do serious damage to civil liberties but produce very little usable intelligence . . .
READ MORE > https://www.techdirt.com 
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
From The Intercept:
How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Helped the NSA Spy
on the Whole World
 February 22 2017 4:06 a.m.
"Donald Trump has inherited the most powerful machine for spying ever devised. How this petty, vengeful man might wield and expand the sprawling American spy apparatus, already vulnerable to abuse, is disturbing enough on its own. But the outlook is even worse considering Trump’s vast preference for private sector expertise and new strategic friendship with Silicon Valley billionaire investor Peter Thiel, whose controversial (and opaque) company Palantir has long sought to sell governments an unmatched power to sift and exploit information of any kind. Thiel represents a perfect nexus of government clout with the kind of corporate swagger Trump loves.
The Intercept can now reveal that Palantir has worked for years to boost the global dragnet of the NSA and its international partners, and was in fact co-created with American spies. 
Peter Thiel became one of the American political mainstream’s most notorious figures in 2016 (when it emerged he was bankrolling a lawsuit against Gawker Media, my former employer) even before he won a direct line to the White House. Now he brings to his role as presidential adviser decades of experience as kingly investor and token nonliberal on Facebook’s board of directors, a Rolodex of software luminaries, and a decidedly Trumpian devotion to controversy and contrarianism.
But perhaps the most appealing asset Thiel can offer our bewildered new president will be
Palantir Technologies,
which Thiel founded with Alex Karp and Joe Lonsdale in 2004.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Palantir has never masked its ambitions, in particular the desire to sell its services to the U.S. government — the CIA itself was an early investor in the startup through In-Q-Tel, the agency’s venture capital branch. But Palantir refuses to discuss or even name its government clientele, despite landing “at least $1.2 billion” in federal contracts since 2009, according to an August 2016 report in Politico.
The company was last valued at $20 billion and is expected to pursue an IPO in the near future. In a 2012 interview with TechCrunch, while boasting of ties to the intelligence community, Karp said nondisclosure contracts prevent him from speaking about Palantir’s government work.
“Palantir” is generally used interchangeably to refer to both Thiel and Karp’s company and the software that company creates. Its two main products are Palantir Gotham and Palantir Metropolis, more geeky winks from a company whose Tolkien namesake is a type of magical sphere used by the evil lord Sauron to surveil, trick, and threaten his enemies across Middle Earth. While Palantir Metropolis is pegged to quantitative analysis for Wall Street banks and hedge funds, Gotham (formerly Palantir Government) is designed for the needs of intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security customers. Gotham works by importing large reams of “structured” data (like spreadsheets) and “unstructured” data (like images) into one centralized database, where all of the information can be visualized and analyzed in one workspace. For example, a 2010 demo showed how Palantir Government could be used to chart the flow of weapons throughout the Middle East by importing disparate data sources like equipment lot numbers, manufacturer data, and the locations of Hezbollah training camps. Palantir’s chief appeal is that it’s not designed to do any single thing in particular, but is flexible and powerful enough to accommodate the requirements of any organization that needs to process large amounts of both personal and abstract data. . .
READ MORE > https://theintercept.com/2017/02/22/

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The next species of human | Juan Enriquez

YAY for TEDTalk!
Published on Feb 17, 2009
http://www.ted.com Even as mega-banks topple, Juan Enriquez says the big reboot is yet to come. But don't look for it on your ballot -- or in the stock exchange. It'll come from science labs, and it promises keener bodies and minds. Our kids are going to be ... different.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10
Category     Science & Technology
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