US Government's Criminal Indictment & Arrest of Julian Assange (video)

Julian Assange arrested: What now for the Wikileaks founder?

Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, is in custody in the United Kingdom (UK) after being arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. His seven-year self-imposed exile in London's Ecuadorean embassy ended dramatically April 11, 2019, after his asylum was revoked. Mr Assange also faces extradition to the United States (see below). His supporters are calling it a 'dark day for journalism.' Channel 4 News (UK) video above published Apr 11, 2019.

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Virginia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 11, 2019
WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Julian P. Assange, 47, the founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested today in the United Kingdom pursuant to the U.S./UK Extradition Treaty, in connection with a federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer.

According to court documents unsealed today, the charge relates to Assange’s alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.

The indictment alleges that in March 2010, Assange engaged in a conspiracy with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a U.S. government network used for classified documents and communications. Manning, who had access to the computers in connection with her duties as an intelligence analyst, was using the computers to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures.

During the conspiracy, Manning and Assange engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission of classified records to Assange. The discussions also reflect Assange actively encouraging Manning to provide more information. During an exchange, Manning told Assange that “after this upload, that’s all I really have got left.” To which Assange replied, “curious eyes never run dry in my experience.”

Assange is charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the charges were unsealed. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen S. Dwyer, Thomas W. Traxler and Gordon D. Kromberg, and Trial Attorneys Matthew R. Walczewski and Nicholas O. Hunter of the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case.

The extradition will be handled by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-111.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. [emphasis added]

DOJ's Indictment of Assange (pdf) embed below:

Reactions:

This shocking video from Iraq, revealed by WikiLeaks, showing the killing of civilians and Reuters journalists provides some context to today’s moves towards extraditing Julian Assange to the USA. pic.twitter.com/GQwg0Spbz6

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) April 11, 2019

The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.--Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party

** STATEMENT: Chelsea's legal team responds to today's unsealed indictment. This is further evidence that the government's continued imprisonment of Chelsea for her principled stance against grand jury secrecy is punitive, cruel and unnecessary https://t.co/WZiDuVWHPa

— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) April 11, 2019

Here's our article: the U.S. Government's indictment of Julian Assange poses grave threats to press freedoms https://t.co/IVWBI7YuH9

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 12, 2019

For people who have spent 3 years claiming that (1) WikiLeaks is an arm of Russian intelligence and (2) Putin controls Trump, how do you reconcile those conspiracy beliefs with the fact that it was the Trump administration that devoted itself with such vigor to indicting Assange? pic.twitter.com/IcDiXOCHhZ

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 12, 2019

The continued imprisonment of @xychelsea is an utter disgrace. The arrest of Julian Assange represents an extremely dangerous crossing of the rubicon. This is an assault on journalism and a free press. All journalists should stand in fierce opposition.

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) April 11, 2019

Arrest of Wikileaks' Assange in UK takes him a step closer to poss extradition to US, and potential "serious human rights violations", warn @UNHumanRights experts.https://t.co/g5rzBX8YnZ

— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) April 11, 2019

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Tech Review | Russia, Tech, & Elections: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is

Tech Review (TR 2017-11-04)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Elections, Tech, & Russia: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is, 2) Google Has a New Plan for China, 3) Investing: a. The Week, b. Amazon Doesn't Care About Profits, c. What You Need To Know About Alibaba $BABA d. Cryptocurrency Speculators, e. 80/20 Rule? 4) ICYMI Tech News.

1) Russia, Tech, & Elections: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is: 

Hillary Clinton’s Secret Takeover of the DNC | POLITICO.com: "When I was asked to run the Democratic Party after the Russians hacked our emails, I stumbled onto a shocking truth about the Clinton campaign ..."--by Donna Brazile, November 02, 2017.  See also:

• Twitter Admits It Buried "Podesta Email" Tweets Ahead Of The Presidential Election | ZeroHedge.com: "... A question emerges: did Jack Dorsey [CEO of Twitter], with his arbitrary decision to censor specific content damaging to Democrats, interfere with the election, and a funnier question: if Hillary lost with Twitter censoring anti-Hillary content, what would the outcome have been if Twitter actually respected the First Amendment? 
• Facebook $FB says Trump and Clinton spent $81,000,000 total, Russian agency $46,000--TechCrunch.com, and Elizabeth Warren: "Yes," Democratic Primary Was Rigged For Hillary.
• Thousands attended anti-Trump protest organized by Russian-linked group on Facebook--TheHill.com, and "A U.S. political party [DNC] applied to a hostile power [Russia] for lurid stories about a domestic opponent."--The Trump Dossier Dam Is Breaking | WSJ.com.
• DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Shunned FBI, Hid Security Breach From DNC Officials--ZeroHedge.com.
• Mainstream Media Now Claiming That It Is 'A Crime' To Investigate Hillary Clinton's Ties To Russia--ZeroHedge.com.

2)  Google $GOOGL $GOOG Has a New Plan for China: Artificial intelligence, not search--Google actively promoting TensorFlow in China, Alphabet putting scouts on ground from Google and CapitalG units to look at Chinese companies for potential AI investments--Bloomberg.com. See also: Google Cannot Be Stopped | TheAtlantic.com: "The company's global ad business is now larger than that of Facebook, Alibaba, Baidu, Twitter, Amazon and Snap, combined."

3) Investing

a. The Week: As expected, the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at 1.00%--1.25% and President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to be the next Chair of the Federal Reserve when Janet Yellen's term expires in February, 2018. Markets: U.S. stocks finished the week by breaking another set of records on Friday, as all three major benchmarks closed at highs due to strong Apple earnings and ISM nonmanufacturing data for October. Apple $AAPL shares soared to $900 billion in market cap after reporting earnings and iPhone X guidance.

b. Amazon $AMZN doesn't care about profits: "The aim is not to make money on any particular service; Amazon likely lost $7.2 billion on shipping last year and is selling hardware supporting its virtual assistant Alexa around or below cost. It’s adding to the value of the system itself. Entire industries are loss leaders for Amazon. For companies that must make money on what they sell, it’s a terrifying prospect."--QZ.com See also: Amazon: “Our view is that just because Amazon can disrupt somebody else’s profit stream, it doesn’t mean that Amazon earns that profit stream. For the moment, the market doesn’t agree. Perhaps, simply being disruptive is enough.”--Einhorn Vents his Frustrations about the Crazy Markets | WolfStreet.com.

c. What You Need to Know About Alibaba Group Holding Ltd $BABA: "BABA stock is pricey, trading at a jaw-dropping 17x sales. Even Amazon, which is rarely called a cheap stock, sells at just 3x its sales. Is a dollar of Alibaba revenues worth almost five times as much as a dollar of Amazon’s sales? ... The company’s [Alibaba] accounting system is complex, to say the least. And it seems that JD.com is catching up to them on their home turf, particularly in terms of delivery technology. Alibaba’s frenetic rush for growth may leave them exposed on their home turf. In any case, with the stock up more than 100% year-to-date, this probably isn’t the best time to be buying shares."--InvestorPlace.com

d. Cryptocurrency speculators are chasing profits in a world where all risks appear to have been removed by years of central bank liquidity that is trying to find a place to go.--Big Bitcoin Investor Believes Bitcoin Might Still Go to “Zero,” Just Riding the Momentum | WolfStreet.com: “My view on bitcoin is that it is a technological experiment that may or may not prove to have any long lasting value. Bitcoin has a market capitalization greater than 90% of the companies in the S&P 500, but it still might fail. I don’t know and neither does anyone else, no matter how certain they are of their opinion.”  See also Coinbase Adds A Record 100,000 Bitcoin Traders In One Day | ZeroHedge.com,

e. 80/20 Rule? 78% Of US Workers Are Living 'Paycheck-To-Paycheck' & 71% Of Them Are In Debt | ZeroHedge.com.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

• Qualcomm accuses Apple of sharing proprietary information with Intel--TheHill.com. 
• Reuters.com: App developer access to iPhone X face data spooks some privacy experts.
• Effectively Handing U.S. Government Purchasing Power Over to Amazon--theintercept.com.
• The Nokia 2 is a very cheap Android phone with a huge battery: "99 Euros for a smartphone that promises two days of use"--engadget.com.
• Honor the Flag & Cut the Cord? ESPN Lost lost 480,000 paying subscribers last month and Fox Sports One lost 584,000 households--ZeroHedge.com.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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President Trump Fires FBI Director Comey, Markets Rally, Media Shocked!

Photo of the Charging Bull in New York City's Financial District by Sam valadi (CC BY 2.0)

UPDATE  May 15, 2017:  Trump's Bulls Charge, Bears Trapped!  The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed at records Monday and the Dow industrials snapped a four-session losing streak to finish higher, the TRUMP Rally continues:

See  also Trump agenda getting delayed would be biggest risk to the market | CNBC.com.

Original post:

S&P 500 (5 day chart as of May 10, 2017)

Opinion and Analysis

Let’s look at the way US equity markets responded on Wednesday [May 10] to the Tuesday [May 9] news of President Trump firing FBI Director James Comey:

On Wednesday, the next day, the S&P 500 rallied 0.11% (see above chart), the NASDAQ was up 0.14%, and the CBOE VIX Index barely moved back over 10, to close at 10.2. In the words of one seasoned Wall Street analyst: "If you hadn’t read the headlines for 24 hours, you wouldn’t have known anything unusual had happened in Washington or anywhere else."

Conclusion: The media's 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'  so prevalent within the reality distortion field known as "Washington, D.C.," hasn't infected Wall Street (nor Main Street). Most Americans, thankfully, are immune and are either ignoring or laughing at the mainstream media circus which has now reached unprecedented proportions.

Bottomline: Comey should have been fired by Obama last year after the stunt Comey pulled in connection with the Clinton email investigation. The last thing the U.S. needs is another rogue FBI director like J. Edgar Hoover. Trump did the right thing in following the advice and recommendation (pdf) of the Deputy Attorney General and the Attorney General of the United States, respectively.

To the disbelief and dismay of the liberal media, the Dems and elitists, Trump owns this market and the Trump Bull Rally is still running on Wall Street:

The TRUMP Rally

Photo courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov

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MacroView: Ignore the Noise, Stay the Course, Full Speed Ahead

Domain Mondo's weekly review of  macro economic and investing news:

MacroView Feature • Much to the chagrin of certain establishment elites, their biased liberal media, Democratic Party cohorts and comrades who believe in denying free speech, particularly on college campuses, U.S. markets and investors are moving ahead despite MSM's attempts to generate a toxic atmosphere using "journalists" who have no interest in accurately or ethically reporting the "news," just their "noise." See Errors From The Press Are Piling Up In Trump's First Days | DailyCaller.com and Fake news rises on left | Axios.com: "Fake news is rising on the "disempowered" left ... The Atlantic's Robinson Meyer discovered that progressives now face their "own kinds of hoaxes and fables"..." and The 1st Annual Fake News Award Winners | LifeZette.com: "The mainstream media had some big ones — here are seven of the 'best'."

The Trump Rally has regained its footing on Wall Street:

CNN learns a hard lesson from Donald Trump | WashingtonTimes.com: Donald Trump, a new kind of politician, shows no fear of the press "... He’s not afraid of the press ... This stuns some of the journalists, who are not accustomed to being called for their own mistakes." See also Bret Easton Ellis: Trump is President, get over it | IrishExaminer.com: "Speaking as he launched his art exhibition in central London alongside multimedia artist Alex Israel, Bret said: “I didn’t vote Trump, I’m just saying the hysteria is bothering me a lot more than the reality of what he’s doing."

NEC's Gary Cohn on U.S. Jobs Report, Regulations:

President Trump's National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn discusses the Trump administration's focus on growing U.S. jobs and wages and their approach to banking regulations and trade. He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas" on Friday, February 3, 2017.

•  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday, February 3, 2017, shows 54% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance.

•  Australian Media Has a Very Different Understanding of What Just Happened with President Trump | ijr.com: “Malcolm Turnbull thought he could outsmart Donald Trump and trap him into taking 1,250 of our boat people,” Andrew Bolt wrote in the Herald Sun of Melbourne. “Huge mistake, and now he's been humiliated.” Bolt's fellow columnist at the Herald Sun, Rita Panahi, wrote that “you have to admire Donald Trump's powers of perception. It took months for most of the media and much of the public to figure out the P.M. is a dud — Trump did it in just 25 minutes.”

•  Trump Effect: Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, plans to propose a widespread economic U.S.--Japan cooperation package to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S., when he meets with Trump next week--"A $150 billion investment in U.S. infrastructure, funded by Japan's government and other private sources, over 10 years. The focus points, per Japanese media, would be high-speed trains, liquefied natural gas facilities in Asia to help expand exports of U.S. natural gas, and expanding nuclear energy-related sales. If implemented, the plan is expected to generate $450 billion in new business."--Axios.com

•  Mad Dog an "instant hit" in Asia | Axios.com: "That's how the Associated Press describes the welcome given to Trump's Secretary of Defense [retired U.S. Marine Corps General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis] in Japan and South Korea ... " Why it matters: China has been making illegitimate territorial claims and actively working to dominate and initmidate its Asian neighbors.

•  U.S. crude oil exports will surpass production in four OPEC nations in 2017, due to a resurgence in shale oil and gas, which Trump is counting on to create jobs and rebuild roads, schools and bridges, and may grow even more according to Bloomberg.com.

•  Extreme obstruction tactics by Senate Democrats are backfiring. A boycott of the Senate Finance Committee by Democrats in an attempt to thwart Trump's Cabinet nominees was cheered by liberal activists but "infuriated" Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who called the tactic "pathetic" and Democrats "idiots." Committee rules require at least one member from each party to be present for a meeting, but when Democrats boycotted the Committee, the Committee's Republicans simply changed the rules Wednesday to allow confirmation votes to proceed: “We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues," Hatch said. The longer the unprecedented Democratic obstruction and grandstanding goes on, the more skilled Republicans in Washington will become at changing rules and procedures, which will leave Democrats with even less power than they otherwise have now. (Not a smart strategy if you're a Dem.)

•  Trump Cabinet status report on three of the most important positions for investors:

• Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, confirmed and sworn-in February 1, 2017;
• Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross, approved by committee January 24th, awaiting Senate confirmation
• Treasury Secretary: Steven Mnuchin, approved by committee February 1, 2017, awaiting Senate confirmation

Rex Tillerson is one of Trump's best picks, it has been a long, long time since the U.S. has had a Secretary of State of his caliber:

Video above: Newly-confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to State Department employees for the first time on Thursday, February 2, 2017.

Just think, we don't have to worry anymore about having a politician Secretary of State maintaining a homebrew email server with classified material, blaming Benghazi and Mideast violence on a YouTube video, exclaiming "what difference does it make" when American lives are lost, disclaiming responsibility for incidents like Benghazi, making a mess of Syria and Libya, or 'leveraging' her position as Secretary of State in various "pay to play" schemes.

•  Get Over It! "The worst-kept secret inside Democratic circles is how bitter Hillary Clinton's team is at President Obama over her election loss. We have heard from numerous, anguished people in Clinton-land blaming Obama -- more than Putin, FBI Director James Comey or, um, Hillary herself -- for the defeat."--Axios.com

•  President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, will be confirmed:

1. He is eminently qualified and has wide support, e.g., Special report on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch | rcfp.org:  Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press finds Judge Gorsuch's decisions in libel and invasion of privacy cases reflect solid First Amendment principles.
2. Chuck Todd said on NBC's live coverage of Trump's announcement that Gorsuch is so impressive that his confirmation "should be a layup -- he meets all of the criteria ... made an incredible first impression." Chuck said that in this environment, confirmation will still be "noisy" because of the pressure on Dems from their base. Nevertheless, "I think it's going to be much harder for them to unify and be against and force a filibuster after he spends one-on-one time with them."--Axios AM | axios.com
3. Ultimately, the Democrats cannot stop confirmation--115th Congress (2017-2019): Senate Majority Party: Republican (52 seats); Minority Party: Democrat (46 seats) + 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. Total Seats in the U.S. Senate: 100, and Vice President Mike Pence can vote to break any ties. Currently a successful filibuster threat requires a supermajority of 60 needed in favor of cloture, in order to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. Republicans have the option to invoke the nuclear option which would change the rules to allow Supreme Court nominees to be confirmed by simple majority without threat of filibuster. President Trump has already indicated that if necessary, Senate Republicans should invoke the nuclear option in order to confirm Gorsuch. Rejections of Supreme Court nominees are relatively uncommon, the Senate has explicitly rejected only twelve Supreme Court nominees in its history. The most recent rejection of a nominee by vote of the full Senate occurred thirty years ago when the Senate refused to confirm Robert Bork in 1987.

•  Brexit is on!
UK Lawmakers Approve Brexit Measure In Key Vote:

Video above published Feb 1, 2017: CNBC.com's Wilfred Frost reports that the first measure put to the U.K. Parliament on Brexit has passed 498 votes in favor to only 114 opposing.

•  Italy Increasingly Likely to Abandon the Euro | MishTalk.com: "The only missing ingredient is an early election. And early elections are now the odds-on favorite."

•  Trump Looms Over EU Summit: "U.S. President Donald Trump loomed over a Mediterranean gathering of European leaders ... annoyed by the new U.S. President’s biting remarks about the viability of the EU project ..."--Bloomberg.com. See also How France has become the number one target for extremists in Europe and has been repeatedly brutalised in terrifying new war against terror | thesun.co.uk and French soldier shoots, wounds machete-wielding attacker at Paris Louvre | Reuters.com: Paris, Fri Feb 3, 2017: The man shouted Allahu Akbar and rushed at police and soldiers before being shot.

•   Is Germany a Currency Manipulator? China? Arguably Yes, Under Bill Obama Signed: Full Blown Currency War on Deck | MishTalk.com: "Germany and China each meet at least 3 of the 4 criteria. China may meet all four. Trump may decide 3 out of 4 is enough; and US manufacturers and steel producers will be egging him on to do just that. A bill that Obama likely never meant to use, is now a huge sword in Trump’s hand."

One More Thing: The Central Banks Pull Back: Now It's Up to Fiscal Policy to "Save the World" | charleshughsmith.blogspot.com: Remember when the financial media was in a tizzy of excitement, speculating on what new central bank expansion would send the global markets higher in paroxysms of risk-on joy? Those days are gone ...


-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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US Intel Community's 'Nazi-like' Tactics, Media Hysteria & Trump (video)

US intelligence community's 'Nazi-like' tactics:

In the video above published January 12, 2017, MSNBC.com's Morning Joe program hosts Joe and Mika, and guests, discuss the loss of trust and credibility in the U.S. intelligence community, and the apparent 'corrosive' relationship with President-elect Trump due to the politicization of the CIA and other intelligence agencies, and inappropriate (if not illegal) leaks, all of which have been used by media to whip up hysteria over Russia and Vladimir Putin, including stories published by Buzzfeed and CNN about a "dossier" which was compiled, and paid for, apparently, by supporter(s) of Hillary Clinton and anti-Trump Republican(s). Unfortunately, for some unexplained reason, the said "dossier" or "summary" was also reportedly appended to a briefing given to Obama and Trump and select members of Congress by the U.S. intelligence community even though none of its allegations have been proven, and in fact, some have already been proven false.

Below is the statement issued by James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence (highlighting and emphasis added):

The Deep State goes to war with President-elect, using unverified claims, as Democrats cheer https://t.co/NPWXMS5gPx by @ggreenwald #Trump

— Under My Palm (@UnderMyPalm) January 14, 2017

'Garbage Document' @realBobWoodward says US Intel Should Apologize re: #TrumpDossier https://t.co/EwS8xP3hWU @CIA #CIA @ODNIgov @ODNI_NIC

— Under My Palm (@UnderMyPalm) January 16, 2017

The Fake News "Dossier" backstory according to reports in the New York Times and Mike Allen in Axios.com:

The former MI6 British spy behind the Trump smear, Christopher Steele, was hired by FusionGPS.com, a Washington firm headed by former WSJ reporter Glenn Simpson, according to a NYTimes.com front-page story. The story began in September 2015, when an unknown wealthy Republican donor who strongly opposed Mr. Trump put up the money to hire Fusion GPS to compile a "dossier" about Trump's past scandals and weaknesses. For months, Fusion GPS purportedly gathered documents and put together files from Mr. Trump's past in business and entertainment. After Mr. Trump emerged as the presumptive nominee in the spring, the Republican interest in financing the effort ended, but Democratic supporters of Hillary Clinton were very interested, and Fusion GPS kept doing the same deep dives on behalf of their new clients. Also noted, Neil King, a journalist at the WSJ and husband of Shailagh Murray, a senior Obama adviser, just took a job with Fusion GPS.

UPDATE 16 Jan 2017: Christopher Steele, Ex-Spy Who Compiled Trump Dossier, Goes to Ground | NYTimes.com: "An investigator for a business research firm in London similar to Orbis [domain: orbisbi.com], who knows the work of the company but who has met Mr. Steele only briefly, said he was not impressed by the dossier. “I have a lot of experience in this world,” he said. “If I were the client, I would throw it back and say, ‘Where’s the evidence guys? I can’t use this.’ "

The effects of the U.S. intel community's tactics, leaks, smears and/or mishandling of the so-called "dossier" have now had a negative impact on markets, with major U.S. indexes closing down on Thursday, January 12, 2017:

DJIA  12 Jan 2017 (source: google.com)

This story appears to have "legs" and may have continuing negative effects on markets. Other news media have now published in-depth stories about the "dossier" including the Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) and Bloomberg (bloomberg.com). Below are a mix of videos from other news sources:

Trump dossier: US Intelligence distances itself from document:

Video above published on Jan 12, 2017, by Sky News (news.sky.com): The US Director of National Intelligence says he does not "believe" that a "dossier" containing claims about Donald Trump was leaked from within the intelligence community.

Fmr. Rep. Hoekstra: Intel community has become very politicized

Video above published Jan 13, 2017: Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) on the Russian hack briefing and the U.S. intelligence community.

Kellyanne Conway: It's an internet report, not an intel report:

Video above published on Jan 12, 2017 by Fox Business News (foxbusiness.com): Kellyanne Conway, Senior Advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, on the controversy over the leaked report on President-elect Donald Trump published on BuzzFeed.

The distrust between Trump and U.S. Intel Community

Video above published Jan 12, 2017, by FoxBusiness.com: Former CIA Officer Buck Sexton on the growing divide between President-elect Donald Trump and the intelligence community.

Due to the toxic atmosphere in the U.S., particularly since the November 8th election, engendered by the Washington D.C. establishment, including the U.S. intelligence community led by Obama's Democratic political appointees, as well as the post-election hysteria whipped up by the liberal-biased mainstream media, one can not rule out the possibility that Trump's life may be in danger. Any attempt to take the life of the President-elect could have negative effects on markets. Caveat Emptor.

See also:

• Trump Calls Out @BuzzFeed and @CNN for #FakeNews (video) | DomainMondo.com
• LIVE Video Stream: Donald Trump's First Press Conference Since Election | DomainMondo.com
• Newly leaked dossier on Trump circulated in DC for months | ap.org
• Justice Department Watchdog Launches Internal Probe Into Handling of Clinton Email Case | WSJ.com
• Extraordinary details of how ordinary 'citizen' John McCain actually dispatched a trusted aide across the Atlantic to get dirty dossier from ex-spy  | dailymail.co.uk

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LIVE Video Stream: Donald Trump's First Press Conference Since Election

LIVE Stream Replay: Donald Trump Press Conference Jan 11, 2017:

Video above scheduled for:  Wednesday, Jan 11, 2017, 11:00am EST. President-elect Donald J. Trump 's News Conference, his first since winning the 2016 election. 

Fortunately ABC's Cecilia Vega asked my question about whether any Trump associates contacted Russians. Trump said no.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 11, 2017

Also on Wednesday, Secretary State Nominee, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Video above: Rex Tillerson confirmation hearing Wednesday, Jan 11, 9:15am EST.

Why is Trump's Press Conference important?

1. Dow Jones (DJIA) Futures Reverse Gains Ahead of Trump News Conference | EconomicCalendar.com: "Dow industrials reversed course to finish lower on Tuesday [Jan 10], as jittery investors awaited a press conference from President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled down 31.85 points, or 0.2%, at 19,855.53, its lowest since December 30. The benchmark drifted between gains and losses, and at one point looked poised to make another attempt at the 20,000 milestone."
2. Nasdaq closes at 4th straight record—marks best such streak since 1999 | MarketWatch.com: "The Nasdaq Composite notched its fourth record close in a row Tuesday [Jan 10], representing the longest stretch of record closes for the tech-heavy index since 1999. Fresh all-time highs for the Nasdaq came as the Dow industrials failed to reach the psychologically significant level of 20,000 again, amid otherwise tepid enthusiasm for equities ahead of a news conference from President-elect Donald Trump set for Wednesday—his first since being elected on Nov. 8."

“If Donald Trump succeeds to cheer up investors at this week’s conference, we could see a fresh rally in the U.S. stocks and the U.S. dollar. Therefore, the upside risks prevail in the U.S. markets”--Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst, London Capital Group, note to investors.

DJIA January 10, 2017 (source: google.com)

Trump's Cabinet picks appear to be much stronger than Clinton's would have been, even Sarah Jones of the liberal New Republic seems to agree:

Hillary Clinton's cabinet would have sucked and no one should be surprised https://t.co/9zBjqP7X1i

— Sarah Jones (@onesarahjones) January 10, 2017

"Clinton had a team in waiting. By Election Day, her roster was so refined that most jobs just had one name. Here's her prospective Cabinet and West Wing staff, based on interviews with numerous Clinton insiders."--Mike Allen, Axios.com. See also: Consortiumnews.com: "... the think tank run by Michele Flournoy, the former Defense Department official considered to be most likely to be Clinton’s choice to be Secretary of Defense, explicitly called for “limited military strikes” against the Assad regime." Here's a partial listing of what Hillary's Cabinet would have looked like:

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MacroView: UK Economy Defies Economists' Dire Brexit Predictions (video)

Domain Mondo's weekly review of  macro economic and investing news:
 
MacroView Feature •  UK has the world’s top economy, defying the dire Brexit predictions of economists: "Britain [UK] ended last year as the strongest of the world’s advanced economies with growth accelerating in the six months after the Brexit vote, it was revealed yesterday (Jan. 5). Business activity hit a 17-month high last month, meaning that the economy grew by 2.2 per cent last year — more than the six other leading nations, including the US, Germany and Japan. Far from slowing after the referendum in June, as predicted by the Treasury and Bank of England, growth appeared to have improved ..."--theTimes.co.uk (emphasis added).

#brexit has now caused the FTSE to crash to an all time high.

— tim wookey (@timothywookey) January 4, 2017

UK's London Stock Exchange benchmark index, the FTSE 100:

Since the Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016, the FTSE 100 has advanced 13.76%, closing Friday (Jan 6) at another new record high close of 7,210.05 (see chart above). See also: FTSE 100 recovers to reach another record close | BBC.com 6 Jan 2017: "The FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2%, or 14.74 points, to 7,210.05, a seventh consecutive record close ... Neil Wilson from ETX Capital pointed out that Friday's close means the index has risen for five consecutive weeks - the best performance since the Brexit vote in June."

UK economy defies Brexit predictions:

Video above published Jan 5, 2017, by the Financial Times (ft.com): A series of positive UK economic data has defied economists' predictions of a sharp downturn immediately after the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016. The FT.com's Martin Sandbu and Chris Giles unpick why consumer spending has been so strong and discuss the outlook for 2017. See also What Have the "Experts" Gotten Right? In the Real Economy, They're 0 for 5 | washingtonsblog.com and SeekingAlpha.com Jan. 3, 2017: "The Brexit bashing continues [even] after British manufacturing growth soared to a two-and-a-half-year high last month, fueled by new orders from both home and abroad. Markit's U.K. Manufacturing PMI rose to 56.1, from 53.6 in November, faring much better than many economists predicted in the aftermath of the vote to leave the EU. The FTSE 100 hit a new record high on the news, rising 0.5% to 7173.50" and China sends first freight train on 8,000-mile journey to London | CNN.com: "This cargo train service highlights important trade partnership between the UK and China post-Brexit," said Oscar Lin, manager of the UK-based Onetwothree Logistics, which is handling customs clearance and distribution for goods on the train, according to state-run China Daily."

Other Macro Economic and Investing News:

•   Obama's Legacy: For years, Obama insisted that Syria wasn't of great strategic importance to the United States. His miscalculation had massive repercussions, including upon Europe. Europe has struggled for years to assimilate Muslim arrivals from the Middle East and Africa, many of whom do not adhere to European cultural values. The waves of Syrian refugees unleashed by Obama's failure to contain the Syrian civil war created a crisis of unparalleled magnitude in Europe, throwing countries from Turkey and Hungary to Germany and France into turmoil--BusinessInsider.com. See also: The rest of the story: What Obama won’t tell you about his legacy | MarketWatch.com.

•   China, Inc.: "China's strategy is defined and directed by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is, in other words, a State initiative, conceived to accomplish State strategic purposes. It is most of all a political initiative designed to enhance and project Chinese power. It is not in any way a product of conventional business strategic thinking ... conventional measures of business success or failure like return on capital or profitability have little or no significance."--SeekingAlpha.com. See also Time for constructive confrontation with China | TheHill.com: "... there is a yawning gap between China's WTO commitments and its actual practices — and it continues to grow. For example, China promised to stop requiring transfers of technology as a condition of market access, but it hasn't. It promised to shrink its state-owned industries as a share of its total economy, but it hasn't. And it promised to significantly reduce intellectual property theft, but it hasn't. There is a long list of these kinds of broken promises, revealing the WTO's enforcement practice for what it is: a paper tiger ..."

•   Election 2016 Redux: Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated U.S. President on Jan. 20th. Until then, we have sideshows in the media, courtesy of the Obama administration and other politicos:

Who do you believe America?

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 6, 2017

John Harwood is an American journalist who is the chief Washington Correspondent for CNBC.com. He is also a contributor for The New York Times.

Mediagazer.com: "US intelligence report: Russia Today [a/k/a RT.com] played a key role in the Putin-ordered campaign to undermine the US election, collaborating with WikiLeaks." RT.com? Most Americans have never even heard of, much less watched or read RT.com, until now, so I went to the website and there is some interesting content there, particularly with the free "publicity" generated by the Obama administration and the U.S. government's "national 'intelligence' community." I recommend you read the following:

• All the ways RT ‘influenced’ American politics ‒ it’s not what the ODNI thinks
• ‘Clinton quite effective at discrediting herself, doesn’t need Putin’s help’ - ex CIA analyst
• On Washington's hacking hysteria – what would Freud say? — RT Op-Edge
• ‘RT frustrates Washington by providing Americans with facts to make informed decisions’ – VA senator — RT Op-Edge

We all know mainstream media in the U.S. (NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, et al ), were trying to help Hillary Clinton win the White House ("the downfall of the mainstream media in the presidential election, it was a self-satisfied echo chamber"--Lefsetz.com). The mainstream media narrative has changed from "Hillary will win the election, Trump has no path to 270 electoral votes" to Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House | WashingtonPost.com. If you believe the Obama administration, and its "national 'intelligence' community," then you know who to thank for exposing the corruption and collusion of the Clintons, the Clinton campaign, DNC, and media: WikiLeaks and Russia. Apparently, if not for WikiLeaks.org and Russian hackers, we would have never known of the efforts of the Clinton campaign and DNC to "rig" the primary elections against Bernie Sanders, nor would we have known of the extent of corruption and collusion involving Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, DNC, media, and others, including foreign governments and other 'special interests' who paid the Clintons $200,000 to $800,000 per speech, and also funded the Clinton Foundation while Hillary was Secretary of State, as well as Hillary Clinton running her U.S. Secretary of State communications through a private "home brew" email server from which she destroyed 30,000+ emails so the public would never know the true extent of her nefarious activities, including the full extent of the Clintons' pay-to-play schemes.

Also remember, the "mainstream media," including the Washington Post and New York Times, published articles detailing the disclosures provided by and through WikiLeaks.org, and the authenticity of the hacked emails and other documents provided by WikiLeaks has also been supported in the course of the U.S. government investigation into the hacks. All governments, including the U.S. government, hack other governments, including political parties and politicians--see NSA tapped German Chancellery for decades | TheGuardian.com--there is nothing unusual here, except the exposure of corruption and collusion of the Clintons, Clinton campaign, DNC, and establishment elites, including "mainstream media." Had Clinton won the campaign, as the media and elites expected, we would be not be hearing about "Russian hacking."

A reset in the U.S.-Russia relationship could be a "win-win" for everyone, including Europe. Putin and Russia appear to be willing, and Trump and his nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, are not "carrying the baggage" of Obama and Hillary Clinton, nor beholden to the "inside the beltway" Cold War anti-Russia establishment. #DrainTheSwamp. Read Trump Aims to Cut the Neocon Deep State Off at the Knees.

•  One more thing: "Television, newspapers and other media industries are struggling with slow-to-declining advertising revenue."--Bloomberg.com. Perhaps that explains the media's post-election hysteria? Read WashPost Is Richly Rewarded for False News About Russia Threat While Public Is Deceived | theIntercept.com.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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TechReview: Facebook's Anti-Trump Fake News, Was It Effective?

Domain Mondo's weekly review of technology news:

Feature •  Facebook anti-Trump fake-news writer: "There’s nothing you can’t write about now that [some] people won’t believe. I can write the craziest thing about Trump, and [some anti-Trump] people will believe it. I wrote a lot of crazy anti-Muslim stuff — like about Trump wanting to put badges on Muslims, or not allowing them in the airport, or making them stand in their own line — and [some] people went along with [believed] it!"--WashingtonPost.com

In other words, if you were a Hillary supporter you were more likely to believe anything derogatory about Trump you saw published online (and the reverse was likewise true for Trump supporters). Is anyone surprised by this? You shouldn't be--followers applaud fake news that agrees with their own pre-existing opinions, and people who disagree are more likely to be the fact checkers.

But does fake news change opinions? The answer is: No. Why? Confirmation bias--"people aggressively avoid ideas that challenge their basic philosophy and opinions. Social media has become an echo chamber, an exercise in preaching to the choir and other members of your own tribe. I’ll end this by posing just one request: If anyone switched their vote because of a Facebook post or a 140-character squib on Twitter, please let me know. I’ll be waiting."--Barry Ritholtz, Facebook Didn't Tilt the Election | Bloomberg.com.

The real problem isn't "fake news," instead it is the "misinformation crisis" in mainstream media (MSM)--According to Snopes, Fake News Is Not the Problem | backchannel.com: "... The misinformation crisis, according to Binkowski, stems from something more pernicious. In the past, the sources of accurate information were recognizable enough that phony news was relatively easy for a discerning reader to identify and discredit. The problem, Binkowski believes, is that the public has lost faith in the media broadly — therefore no media outlet is considered credible any longer ..." And for good reason.

That's why purging what someone arbitrarily or subjectively judges to be "fake news" is nothing less than censorship, the repression of free speech and free market competition in favor of  MSM channels that have lost credibility and trust. Facebook, Twitter, whatever:

@wikileaks all fair points. We are working to get here

— 🚶🏽jack (@jack) July 21, 2016

Here's where it starts to get scary:

Photo of Google/Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt wearing Clinton campaign "staff" badge pic.twitter.com/uZANaEwOPD

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 17, 2016

Will the Censorship "Fake News" Purge work? Doubtful. Inside Gab: The New Twitter Alternative Championed By The Alt-Right | FastCompany.com: "The purge is happening. At least according to the universe of alt-right users on social media: Many of them claim that in recent days their Twitter accounts have been suspended and that their posts on Facebook are not being promoted or shared like they used to. It’s all part of a crackdown on "fake news" in the wake of reports that misleading reports shared on Facebook and Twitter helped influence the election. To many, these efforts are an overdue attempt to maintain online civility. But to others it’s blatant censorship."

"Careful studies of media bias in the US show that most newspapers and radio or TV stations don’t try to persuade their readers and viewers; instead, they pander to the biases of their audience. It is hard to combat naive realism because the illusion that we see the world objectively is such a powerful one. At least I’ve not had to worry about it too much myself. Fortunately, my own perspective is based on a careful analysis of the facts, and my political views reflect a cool assessment of reality rather than self-interest, groupthink or cultural bias. Of course, there are people to the left of my position. They’re idiots. And the people on my right? Maniacs."--Tim Harford, Delusions of objectivity

Final Post-Election Memo: What Does The Election Mean For Us?: "President Obama never sold a subscription for us or wrote a line of code for us and neither will Donald Trump. Who the President is will not make us successful (or not successful). That is on us. Ignore the noise."--CBinsights.com

Other Tech News:

•  Google commits to massive new London HQ: A new 10-story building that will be as long as London's Shard is tall, Google's new headquarters in London will have 650,000 square feet of floorspace (60,400m2), and will lie alongside King’s Cross station. Google will also continue to occupy its current building in the development, a 380,000 square feet office at 6 Pancras Square which accommodates 2,500 employees. Construction on a second building that Google will occupy but not own began earlier this year, with Google slated to be moving in in 2018. In contrast, the new headquarters will be designed and owned by Google, a first outside the United States.--more at TheGuardian.com

•  SpaceX seeks U.S. approval for internet-via-satellite network: an orbiting digital communications array that would eventually consist of 4,425 satellites--Reuters.com

•  Tencent Holding's (TCEHY) CEO Pony Ma on Q3 2016 Results | Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha.com: "So, I think in terms of the mobile game business performance versus our expectations in the industry, we disclosed our mobile game revenue grew over 80% year-on-year. So you can assume that we're very happy with 80 something percent year-on-year revenue growth."

•  The Void Within Apple | SeekingAlpha.com: No one seems to be in overall charge of the product.

•  How Casino Technology Enables Gambling Addiction: "Modern slot machines develop an unbreakable hold on many players—some of whom wind up losing their jobs, their families, and even, as in the case of Scott Stevens, their lives."--TheAtlantic.com. Electronic gaming machines, which now number almost 1 million nationwide, are the prevalent mode of gambling today in the U.S., with variations on slots and video poker. This technology has accelerated gambling addiction and reaped huge profits for casino operators, with a significant amount of revenue coming from just a small percentage of customers playing machines designed to lull them into a trancelike state that the industry refers to as ‘continuous gaming productivity.’

•  Canada and U.S. (FCC) agree to work together against robocalling (pdf)

•  Goodbye & Good Riddance: US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, known for combating Edward Snowden and lying under oath to Congress, resigns ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump--TheGuardian.com. See HasJamesClapperBeenIndictedYet.com.

Farewell, James Clapper https://t.co/GbLrt3kaoM

— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 17, 2016

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on hacks and Russia. #SpecialReport pic.twitter.com/V1FvzH8FG8

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 16, 2016

AP: James Clapper has resigned stating: intelligence agencies don't have good insight on when or how Wikileaks obtained the hacked emails.

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 17, 2016

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