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?

THERE HE GOES AGAIN: Florida Man Arrested for Stealing Neighbor’s Underwear.

VIDEO: Little Girl to Nigel Farage: ‘My Mummy Says You Hate Foreigners’

NEWS YOU CAN USE: 7 Safety Tips to Survive a Riot or Flash Mob.

My preferred method — move out to a little town where everyone is polite and most everyone is armed — isn’t practicable for everyone.

THE LAST DAYS OF DSLR: 2016 Lowest Sales Ever on DSLR and Mirrorless.

This report indicates that prices for SLR will go up, not down, as cameramakers like Canon and Nikon concentrate on the professional market, and stop making products for the shrinking number of consumer and prosumer buyers.

There might not be a better time to buy than this year or next.

“LIKE THE MESSIAH”: American Israelis Are Joyful Over Trump.

It’s probably due to all the anti-Semitism and pro-Russia stuff we keep hearing about.

TALK OF THE TOWN: How Trump is overshadowing China’s biggest political gathering — even though he’s half a world away.

About 5,000 government officials, party bigwigs and company executives are gathering in the Chinese capital to discuss government policy for the year ahead.

Though the meetings are strictly stage managed and most of the discussions and decisions take place behind closed doors, the annual meetings, better known as the “two sessions” in China, give a glimpse into Beijing’s political priorities and economic expectations.

They will be in special focus this year as Beijing adjusts to rising uncertainty from the Trump administration and its policies.

On the sidelines of the first day of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on Friday, delegates said China was putting some decisions on hold because of the question marks over Trump’s direction.

One area of concern is currency reform.

Yu Yongding, a former member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee and a senior researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said various US issues, including Sino-US ties and Trump were having a big impact on plans to overhaul the China’s foreign exchange rate system. “We must not give Trump an excuse to accuse China of currency manipulation,” Yu said.

It’s widely believed that China keeps their currency weak in order to stimulate exports. But China has spent the last year or two — and untold billions of their foreign reserve dollars — propping up the value of the yuan, in order to avoid a balance-of-payments crisis.

That might be the kind of currency manipulation we can live with.

SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK: Truck loses control, showers Nevada trooper with beer.

It’s a good thing this one made the news, or his wife would never believe why he came home smelling like that.

IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT: Dem Congressman Makes Misogynistic Joke, Feminists Silent.

WHITTLE, OTT, GREEN: ObamaCare at Death’s Door.

Full disclosure: I’m Green.

LET’S GO: Look Inside the SpaceX Capsule That Will Take Two Beyond the Moon.

The inside of the capsule could be Pan-Am from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but if it works, the execution will be pure D.D. Harriman.

GOOD LORD: Illegal Immigrant Gang Members Charged with ‘Satanic’ Murder in Texas.

THE INTERNET OF… THINGS: High-Tech Condom Ring Coming Out To Measure Boink Performance.

The i.Con bills itself as the “World’s First Smart Condom.” (“Welcome to the future of wearable technology in the bedroom,” notes manufacturer British Condoms.)

In fact, the device is a ring that men can wear with a condom during sex to track a number of pertinent facts. It’s not actually available yet, but the company is taking “early bird” registrations around the world for the product, which will sell for about $75 once it’s released sometime in 2017.

The i.Con tracks speed, “average thrust velocity,” duration, skin temperature, girth, calories burned (no joke) and frequency of sessions. Most importantly for many, no doubt, will be how a wearer stacks up to the average and “best” performers — though a sexual partner will likely have an insight or two about that. Statistics are tracked via an i.Con app.

The i.Con is also supposed to be able to sense sexually transmitted diseases.

Clearly we’re going to need an entirely new class of social media filters.

IT IS DECIDEDLY SO: Did the Obama Administration Try Stacking the Deck Against Trump at the Justice Department?

Amid Thursday’s over-hyped brouhaha about Jeff Sessions meeting with the Russian ambassador, a curious detail emerged. In Sessions’s recusal memo, it was explained who at the Justice Department would be handling any investigations into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. “Consistent with the succession order for the Department of Justice, Acting Deputy Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Dana Boente shall act as and perform the functions of the Attorney General with respect to any matters from which I have recused myself to the extent they exist,” reads Sessions’s official statement on the matter.

Except that if the Obama administration had its way, Dana Boente wasn’t supposed be the U.S. attorney to handle these matters in the event that Sessions recused himself. On February 10, USA Today reported the following:

Seven days before he left office, President Obama changed the order of succession without explanation to remove Boente from the list. Obama’s order had listed U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia, the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California.

That seems like awfully suspicious behavior.

Indeed.

Read the whole thing.

IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT (FLASHBACK EDITION): U.S. Senator Colludes With Russians to Influence Presidential Election.

Ted Kennedy didn’t merely collude with the Russians, who are our geopolitical competitors; he colluded with the Soviets, who were ideologically committed to the destruction of the United States and the West.

I DEMAND A RECOUNT: Isaac Newton Says You Can’t Have a Flying Car.

MICHAEL LEDEEN: Obama/Iran Nuke Deal Secrets Are NOT Classified, Just Kept From You.

Faster, please.

HMM: Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is Washington’s most dangerous diplomat. “Putin’s envoy is at the heart of a scandal that’s taken down one Trump adviser and put another in the hot seat.”

Is this supposed to make it seem as though Trump and Putin are in bed together?

WAPO’S MARGARET SULLIVAN: Term ‘Fake News’ Has ‘Lost Its True Meaning’

If I’m reading this correctly, it isn’t fake when they do it.

THAT WOULD BE NICE: Trade commission should act to stop Chinese from spying on American consumers.

THIS RUNS CONTRARY TO THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Democratic Party is facing a demographic crisis.

For instance, there is a common misconception that Trump was ushered into power by old, white, economically disenfranchised men. However, according to the exit polls, Trump actually did worse than Romney among whites and seniors, but outperformed him among blacks, Asians, Hispanics and young people.

While the Democrats lost a lot of support among low-income Americans, I think it would be a mistake to interpret these as Trump’s base. He won a plurality of every income bracket above US$50,000 as well. He also won more non-Christian and nonreligious voters than any Republican since the 2000 election.

However the biggest surprise of 2016 probably relates to gender. The first major party female candidate for president, running against a notorious misogynist, captured the Democrats’ lowest share of female voters since 2004. And although Trump also got a lower share of female voters than his last three Republican predecessors, he nonetheless won over a majority of white women.

Granted, Trump’s candidacy and campaign were exceptional. However, it would be a mistake to think of these outcomes as aberrations rather than the culmination of a long-running trend. Contrary to the emerging Democratic majority thesis, there does not seem to be any demographic category with which Democrats are progressively improving.

“Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and young people” for the most part did horribly under eight years of Obama, and last year enough of them — if I may borrow the trendy word for this — “woke” and helped put Trump in the White House.

STILL NOT TIRED OF ALL THE WINNING: Under Trump, an Already Depleted I.R.S. Could Face Deep Cuts.

Another round of cuts, tax experts say, could put one of the few federal departments that pay for themselves on life support.

“This is an agency that has had every last drop squeezed out of it,” said Dennis J. Ventry Jr., a member of the I.R.S. advisory council and a law professor at the University of California, Davis. “I don’t know how it’s going to sustain itself.”

The White House budget office has proposed a 14.1 percent cut to the I.R.S. for the fiscal year that begins in October, reducing the agency’s budget to $9.65 billion; six years ago, it stood at $12.1 billion ($13.6 billion when adjusted for inflation).

If approved, the cuts would happen when the number of audits is down and customer service complaints are up as a result of the drop in funding.

If we can’t fire or impeach wrongdoers at I.R.S., the least we can do is starve them out of harassing conservative groups.

I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE WHAT’S IN IT BEFORE THEY PASS IT: G.O.P. Accused of Playing ‘Hide-and-Seek’ With Obamacare Replacement Bill.

While Republicans discussed details of the health care bill, Democrats went from office to office, hunting for a copy. Lawmakers were told that Republican members of the Energy and Commerce Committee could inspect the bill on Thursday in the basement of a House office building. When Democrats arrived, they were directed to a room on the first floor of the Capitol.

The House Democratic whip, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, and Representative Paul Tonko, Democrat of New York, went to that room, but could not find the bill there.

Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has criticized the repeal bill, also tried and failed to see it.

“I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view,” Mr. Paul said on Twitter as he set off in search of the document, carrying a portable copy machine and trailed by television cameras and a pack of journalists.

Mr. Paul supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, but said the measure described publicly by House Republican leaders included “Democratic ideas dressed up in Republican clothing.”

You want to lose your majority? Because this is how you lose your majority.

ObamaCare slaughtered Congressional Democrats just months after it was passed, but this simple fact seems to be beyond much of the current GOP caucus.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: There Is No Such Thing as an Independent Counsel.

SCHER-LY YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS: Bill Scher’s Serious Case for Oprah 2020.