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WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Scientists Want to Build a Super-Fast, Self-Replicating Computer That “Grows as It Computes.”

THANKS, OBAMA! Iran Tests Russian S-300 Anti-Aircraft Missile System.

It said the test targeted various flying objects including missiles. With a range of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) the S-300 is capable of simultaneously tracking and striking multiple targets.

State TV aired footage of the missiles launching from the back of trucks. It said the test was carried out in Iran’s central desert.

Russia delivered the S-300 system to Iran in 2016, nearly 10 years after the initial contract had been signed. Iran signed the $800 million contract to buy the S-300 missile system in 2007, but Russia suspended their delivery three years later because of strong objections from the United States and Israel.

You can buy a lot of Russian missiles after pallets of cash are delivered right to your door.

FLASHBACK: DID THE OBAMA WHITE HOUSE USE THE NSA TO SPY ON CONGRESS ABOUT THE IRAN DEAL?

TRANSPARENCY: State Supreme Court Says California Officials Can No Longer Hide Documents In Personal Email Accounts And Devices. It’s not like they’re the Obama Administration or something.

COST-SAVINGS: Ohio Hospital Pharmacist Accused of Shorting Doses of Antibiotics.

THE STREETWISE PROFESSOR: Obama v. Trump: Strictly Correct & Misleading v. Not Strictly Correct But Fundamentally True.

I won’t comment in detail on the substance of today’s latest outbreak of our fevered politics: Trump’s accusation that Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower and the Trump campaign. I will just mention one fact that strongly supports the veracity of Trump’s allegation: namely, the very narrow–and lawyerly–“denials” emanating from the Obama camp.

Obama and his surrogates – notably the slug (or is he a cockroach?) Ben Rhodes – harrumph that Obama could not unilaterally order electronic surveillance. Well, yes, it is the case that Obama did not personally issue the order: the FISA court did so. But even if that is literally correct, it is also true that the FISA court would not unilaterally issue such an order: it would only do so in response to a request from the executive branch. Thus, Obama is clearly implicated even if he did not issue the order. He could have ordered his subordinates to make the request to the court, or could have approved a subordinate’s request to seek an order. Maybe he merely hinted, a la Henry II – “will no one rid me of this turbulent candidate?” (And “turbulent” is a good adjective to apply to Trump.) But regardless, there is no way that such a request to the court in such a fraught and weighty matter would have proceeded without Obama’s acquiescence.

I therefore consider that the substance of Trump’s charge–that he was surveilled at behest of Obama has been admitted by the principals.

Read the whole thing.

WELL, THIS HAS ESCALATED: Tony Shaffer: ObamaGate Wiretapping ‘Soviet-Level Wrongdoing.’

ANDREW KLAVAN: Can Trump Bring Andrew Breitbart’s Dream to Life?

Read the whole thing.

JOE THE PLUMBER: Be Patient, ‘Lot of Things to Unscrew’ from Obamacare.

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN BARACK OBAMA SAID WE COULDN’T DRILL OUR WAY OUT OF OUR ENERGY PROBLEMS: American Shale Ready to Take On Petrostates.

The U.S. shale boom is back and better than ever. After weathering a collapse in crude prices that saw the value of a barrel of oil drop from more than $110 in June 2014 down below $30 in January 2016, American fracking firms (the ones that survived, that is) are looking fit once again. As Bloomberg reports, these companies are already taking advantage of a petrostate production cut that ceded valuable market share and pushed oil prices back above $50 per barrel. . . .

So now, nearly three years after a global glut sent oil prices into a tailspin and American oil producers to their nearest lenders, U.S. oil production is once again floating above 9 million bpd. And as positive as this is for both the American economy and our country’s energy security, it’s a major threat to oil-soaked states both inside and out of OPEC. Those petrostates banded together late last year to finally agree on a production cut, and they managed to induce a price rebound of roughly $10 per barrel as a result. Now, however, their worst fears are being realized: U.S. shale producers are seizing the opportunity and bringing rigs out of retirement.

I’m beginning to wonder if that Obama fellow knew what he was talking about.

SPY VS SPY: Uber has secret ‘Greyball’ tool to evade law enforcement and other opponents.

A new report from the New York Times reveals Uber’s use of its Greyball tool, which operates under the company’s “violation of terms of service” (VTOS) program. This program aims to address legitimate concerns such riders who may intend to harm drivers and competing services looking to interfere with Uber rides, but it also blocks law enforcement in an effort to avoid getting ticketed or apprehended for violating taxi regulations or operating illegally.

A statement from Uber to the NY Times said the following:

“This program denies ride requests to users who are violating our terms of service — whether that’s people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who collude with officials on secret ‘stings’ meant to entrap drivers.”

The report details how Uber put Greyball to use by collecting data from its own mobile app and behavior patterns of users. When the company wanted to operate in cities where it wasn’t yet approved, or was meeting resistance, it would identify the offices of law enforcement and other regulators and monitor users who frequently opened and closed the Uber app — a sign they were keeping tabs on the company and possibly planning a sting.

These users would then be flagged and “greyballed,” with their version of the app either being populated with fake “ghost” cars, or with no cars at all, in turn preventing them from hailing a ride and catching Uber in the act of breaking the law.

Does Uber have a responsibility to cooperate with sting operations favoring crony-capitalist competitors?

THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE: STOP GIVING MONEY TO YALE. Yale Students Demand ‘Schwarzman’ Center be Renamed Due to Billionaire Donor’s Ties to Trump.

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PUERTO RICO’S DEBT CRISIS HASN’T GONE AWAY: It just disappeared from the headlines because it’s such an inconvenient topic.

This article takes a lefty point of view. See, it’s the “colonial” U.S. government. No, not quite. It’s the Detroit and Illinois problem — governments that spend money they don’t have. But the article does recognize the debt threat.

The commonwealth’s debt position is clearly unsustainable, and its economy will be able to recover only if it gets a fresh start. But, unlike US municipalities, Puerto Rico is not protected by the US bankruptcy code. It is well known that decentralized bargaining processes for debt restructuring often lead to disastrous outcomes, with the relief obtained being insufficient to restore debt sustainability.

SURE, BEATING AND PEPPER-SPRAYING OLD PEOPLE IS A GREAT WAY TO BOOST THE “RESISTANCE.” ‘Firecrackers, blood, smoke’: Anti-fascists chuckle as elderly man sprayed at Berkeley pro-Trump rally. I’m beginning to wonder if these people are actually anti-fascism at all.

FAKE NEWS: Snopes Caught Playing Defense For Democrats Who Sat During Navy SEAL Tribute.

Snopes can’t be trusted, alas.

SO WHEN MEXICANS COME TO THE UNITED STATES, THE NARRATIVE IS THAT THEY MAKE EVERYBODY HERE RICHER. But when Mexicans get sent home:

More returnees means lower wages for everybody in blue-collar industries such as construction and automobile manufacturing, where competition for jobs is likely to increase, economists say.

Good thing that doesn’t happen here, where Mexican immigration is a lot greater than the three planeloads a week (up from two under Obama) of Mexicans sent home from the US.

TO BE FAIR, THE WAPO’S MISSION STATEMENT IS NOW “DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS:” Becket Adams: The Washington Post’s originality on display with Trump/Hitler comparison.

President Trump announced this week that he plans to create an office to highlight crimes committed by illegal aliens, meaning he’s pretty much the next Adolf Hitler.

This is an actual thing suggested this week in an article filed under the Washington Post’s foreign news blog.

Trump touted his plans for the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office Tuesday evening during his joint address to Congress.

“I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American victims,” he said, outlining his plans for the new organization. “We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media and silenced by special interests.”

For the Post’s Worldviews blog, this is basically Hitler 2.0. Because, as the story’s headline stated, Hitler also “published a list of crimes committed by groups he didn’t like.”

Godwin’s Law has been getting a real workout lately, hasn’t it?

Hmm. Well, the SPLC publishes a list of crimes by groups it doesn’t like, so maybe the Post has a point.

UPDATE: And, inevitably, the Yglesias weigh-in:

Of course, with Matt, a Hitler comparison isn’t necessarily a criticism:

A TIMELINE of Obama Administration spying. “In summary: the Obama administration sought, and eventually obtained, authorization to eavesdrop on the Trump campaign; continued monitoring the Trump team even when no evidence of wrongdoing was found; then relaxed the NSA rules to allow evidence to be shared widely within the government, virtually ensuring that the information, including the conversations of private citizens, would be leaked to the media.”

I love the Thomas Couture painting. The un-photoshopped version was the cover for the first album I ever produced.

MESSAGING:

HMM: Expiration of Debt Limit Suspension Nears in Mid-March: Lawmakers are only beginning to focus on raising the borrowing ceiling. Quick, time for lots of people to switch positions.

THE LEFT IS CERTAINLY EAGER TO SUPPRESS FREE SPEECH: Trump Supporters and Anti-Trump Agitators Clash at #March4Trump Rallies Across America.

Related: Berkeley Riot Explodes: Trump Supporters Beaten to Ground as Rally Turns Into Bloody Nightmare.

THE HILL: Trump expected to sign new travel order Monday: reports.

Trump is expected to sign the new order at the Department of Homeland Security, according to Politico, which reported that DHS employees were instructed to work from home that morning.

Details of the new order have not been released, and it is unclear whether it includes significant changes from the original order signed in late January.

The new order will follow the hectic roll out of the first controversial executive action, which imposed a 90-day ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the U.S.

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that the forthcoming order no longer includes Iraq among the affected nations, but that Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Sudan would remain on the list.

The initial order also called for a 120-day ban on admitting refugees and an indefinite suspension on resettling Syrian refugees.

How’s it polling?