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This true story exposes questionable US espionage in the US-China technological cold war. John Iadarola and Mara Hvistendahl break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.amazon.com/Scientist-Spy-Story-Industrial-Espionage-ebook/dp/B07S2N5G27 “In September 2011, sheriff’s deputies in Iowa encountered three ethnic Chinese men near a field where a farmer was growing corn seed under contract with Monsanto. What began as a simple trespassing inquiry mushroomed into a two-year FBI operation in which investigators bugged the men’s rental cars, used a warrant intended for foreign terrorists and spies, and flew surveillance planes over corn country—all in the name of protecting trade secrets of corporate giants Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer. In The Scientist and the Spy, Hvistendahl gives a gripping account of this unusually far-reaching investigation, which pitted a veteran FBI special agent against Florida resident Robert Mo, who after his academic career foundered took a questionable job with the Chinese agricultural company DBN—and became a pawn in a global rivalry. Industrial espionage by Chinese companies lies beneath the United States’ recent trade war with China, and it is one of the top counterintelligence targets of the FBI. But a decade of efforts to stem the problem have been largely ineffective. Through previously unreleased FBI files and her reporting from across the United States and China, Hvistendahl describes a long history of shoddy counterintelligence on China, much of it tinged with racism, and questions the role that corporate influence plays in trade secrets theft cases brought by the U.S. government. The Scientist and the Spy is both an important exploration of the issues at stake and a compelling, involving read.” #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksFebruary 7

CGI influencers are taking over the Internet. John Iadarola, Jayar Jackson, and Jesselyn Cook break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/virtual-instagram-influencers-sponcon_n_5e31cbefc5b6328af2ef97fd "In a weeklong #SponCon blitz, an Instagram influencer raved to his followers about the “ice-cold, refreshing” taste of Dr Pepper, how “there’s no better way to sleep” than on a Casper mattress, the way Old Spice makes him “look good and feel good,” and how TurboTax helped him secure a $3,194 federal tax refund last spring. In each post he dons a signature cream suit and coiffed silver hair, and dutifully discloses that a brand sponsored his endorsement. But he has never tasted soda, or taken a nap, or filed taxes. He’s not a real person — and his posts appear to break the law. “Sexy Colonel Sanders,” as he has come to be known, is a computer-generated marketing gimmick operated by KFC to promote its fried chicken (though he has scored outside brand deals, too). Lifelike in appearance, he’s among a growing number of so-called “CGI influencers” who shill everything from apparel to cupcakes to exotic birds. Some are run by ad agencies and are not tied to any one brand, while others are run by brands themselves. Balmain even created its own “virtual army” to model its clothing. Like their real-world counterparts, CGI influencers post selfies and memes, use slang and divulge “personal” information to connect with their audiences. Their humanlike behavior is part of an effort to make their sponsored endorsements seem more genuine, and they appeal to brands in part because they’re less prone to scandal than actual people. As these automated figures gain hordes of followers and claim their turf in the world of influencer marketing — which is projected to hit $15 billion in two years — advertising watchdogs worry this kind of marketing misleads consumers and is against the law.” #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksFebruary 5

Mike Bloomberg has an awkward encounter with a dog. John Iadarola and Jayar Jackson break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a30694214/michael-bloomberg-dog-shake/ "Hello, police?! While on the campaign trail recently Michael Bloomberg met a dog and it was ruff. Please send help. Okay, I'm just going to relay the facts as they present themselves in the video. Michael Bloomberg was in Vermont, shaking hands with Vermonters, wiping maple syrup on his pants leg, shaking more hands, et cetera. A dog was also there. Bloomberg then decided that the right thing to do would be to grip the dogs snout and shake it, handshake-style, and, unfortunately, I believe that we need to lock the man in Arkham Asylum immediately. I'm not even being political but this is disqualifying. What is the thought process? This is like that brain teaser that asks if horses wore pants whether they're wear them on the back legs or all the legs. That's a subject for the Supreme Court, of course, but the question of which part of a dog you shake is not up for debate! Can you imagine closing a big business deal and instead of gripping Logan Roy's hand, you stuck your entire hand in his mouth and wiggled the top of his head up and down? That's what's happening here. You know who will not get a kiss from daddy? Michael Bloomberg." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 29

The soaring Dow means absolutely nothing to just about everyone. John Iadarola breaks it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-soars-past-29-000-first-time-brushing-weak-jobs-n1113481?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma "The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high Friday, crossing past 29,000 for the first time. The blue-chip index passed the 28,000 mark just 37 days ago. “11,000 points gained in the Dow in the 3 years since the Election of President Trump," President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday morning ahead of the milestone. "Today it may hit 29,000. That has NEVER happened before in that time frame. That has added 12.8 Trillion Dollars to the VALUE of American Business.” @Varneyco @FoxNews The best is yet to come!” The new milestone for the 30-member index came after a disappointing monthly government labor report, with just 145,000 jobs gained for the month of December, sluggish gains in annual wage growth, and downward revisions for November and October job totals. The Dow hit 28,000 on Nov. 15 and needed just 48 points Friday to breach the 29,000 mark, having flirted with the number all day Thursday after a de-escalation in the conflict with Iran soothed investor fears, energy prices settled, and Apple posted record gains on higher-than-expected sales in China. Gains in Apple, Goldman Sachs, and healthcare stocks helped push the index upwards." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 16

Trump sells American Troops to foreign countries. John Iadarola breaks it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1216054398138376192 "He sells troops. “We have a very good relationship with Saudi Arabia—I said, listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops? I’m going to send them to you, but you’ve got to pay us. They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1B in the bank.”" #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 13

People power has taken the US by storm as the fight for democracy heightens. John Iadarola and Hedrick Smith break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: http://reclaimtheamericandream.org/pbs-airdates/ "This is THE DEMOCRACY REBELLION: A Reporter’s Notebook with Hedrick Smith – a veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with on-location reporting in half a dozen states across the country. You’ll see compelling narratives of citizen movements and graphic portraits of local heroes launching local, bipartisan campaigns to restore democracy through clean elections, exposing dark money, voter protections, and gerrymander reform. For too many years, Americans have been calling for reforms to fix our broken democracy. But Washington failed them, and so they did it themselves. What’s surprising and encouraging is that grassroots citizen activism still works in today’s America. The populist momentum has gotten so strong that 2018 was the biggest, boldest year for changing election laws, making voting easier, adopting public funding of campaigns and other reforms in the past half-century." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 9

Ricky Gervais roasts corporate Hollywood in his opening monologue for the 2020 Golden Globes. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/5/21051063/golden-globes-2020-ricky-gervais-monologue-best-jokes "True to form, five-time Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais kicked off the 77th annual ceremony with a round of roasts and skewers. After stating his intent never to host again, he gestured to the celebrity-filled audience in the room with him and kicked things off with, “Let’s go out with a bang — let’s have a laugh at your expense, shall we?” ] Gervais was as good as his word. Wielding a defensive stance at the outset, he burned the room full of celebrities on a range of issues both personal and political, targeting everything from director Martin Scorsese’s height to actress Felicity Huffman’s jail sentence. Several actors were visibly uncomfortable, including Tom Hanks, who looked on in bafflement for much of the monologue, and Jonathan Pryce, one half of The Two Popes, who was grim and unsmiling when Gervais turned his film into the punchline of a pedophilia joke. “No, shush,” he silenced the crowd at several points when audience members audibly protested, feigning exhausted scorn. “I don’t care anymore!”" #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 6

Donald Trump was caught teasing attack on Iran to wealthy Mar-a-Lago pals. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-told-mar-a-lago-pals-to-expect-big-iran-action-days-before-soleimanis-death "In the five days prior to launching a strike that killed Iran’s most important military leader, Donald Trump roamed the halls of Mar-a-Lago, his private resort in Florida, and started dropping hints to close associates and club-goers that something huge was coming. According to three people who’ve been at the president’s Palm Beach club over the past several days, Trump began telling friends and allies hanging at his perennial vacation getaway that he was working on a “big” response to the Iranian regime that they would be hearing or reading about very “soon.” His comments went beyond the New Year’s Eve tweet he sent out warning of the “big price” Iran would pay for damage to U.S. facilities. Two of these sources tell The Daily Beast that the president specifically mentioned he’d been in close contact with his top national security and military advisers on gaming out options for an aggressive action that could quickly materialize. “He kept saying, ‘You’ll see,’” one of the sources recalled, describing a conversation with Trump days before Thursday’s strike." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJanuary 6

Amy Klobuchar doesn’t want to embrace her own politics. September 9

Republicans are taking a page out of the DNC’s playbook.September 6

Blaze host Graham Allen says Jesus was a huge capitalist.August 30

Activism works! Protesters pressured a few big banks to divest from private prison companies. July 16

As wealth inequality reaches historic proportions, the popularity of socialism continues to rise. John Iadarola and Brett Erlich break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.axios.com/exclusive-poll-young-americans-embracing-socialism-b051907a-87a8-4f61-9e6e-0db75f7edc4a.html "Generation Z has a more positive view of the word "socialism" than previous generations, and — along with millennials — are more likely to embrace socialistic policies and principles than past generations, according to a new Harris Poll given exclusively to Axios. Why it matters: The word "socialism" does not carry the same stigma it did in the past, now that it has been resurrected by celebrity politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Young people's political views often change as they grow older, but their support for socialistic policies is a sign that the old rules of politics are changing fast. Gen Z and millennials are projected to make up 37% of the electorate in 2020, and what they're looking for in a presidential candidate is shifting. The top three voting issues for Gen Z, according to the Harris poll, are mass shootings, racial equality, and immigration policy and treatment of immigrants. Millennials' top issues are access to health care, global warming/climate change and mass shootings. Gen X's top issues are: access to health care, terrorism/national security and the national debt — the same top issues for boomers and older." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJune 14

Bernie Sanders says Trump loves socialism…corporate socialism. June 13

Sanders Proposes New Bill Of RightsJune 13

A new poll reveals how many Americans currently support socialism. John Iadarola and Brett Erlich break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.newsweek.com/socialism-america-gallup-poll-1431266?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true "More than four in 10 Americans believe that socialism would be good for the country, while more than half disagree, according to a poll. The Gallup survey of a 1,024 adults found that 43 percent of Americans believed that some sort of socialism would be good for the country compared, while 51 percent who said it would by bad. The results revealed an 18 percent rise in the number of people warming to socialism compared with a 1942 Roper/Fortune poll, described by Gallup as "one of the oldest trend questions measuring attitudes on socialism in the U.S." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 24

Late-stage capitalism is going after millennials. May 21

Tucker Carlson doesn't seem to know how capitalism works. John Iadarola breaks it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkMarch 21

Does America need a billionaire savior? John Iadarola and NYU Professor Anand Giridharadas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/14/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas-review "Davos is no place for fighting. It is where chief executives fly to in private jets to discuss the dire consequences of climate change, where hot-money speculators deliver homilies on responsible investing, and the world’s media receive every falling cliche with unctuous warmth. Yet last month it was here in Switzerland, amid the sharp shooters and roadblocks, that a very revealing skirmish broke out. At a panel devoted to “making digital globalization inclusive” (for Davos is mainly a hollow-eyed human re-enactment of the drabbest Economist editorials), computer tycoon Michael Dell was asked what he thought about a 70% tax on earnings of more than $10m a year. The very idea provoked speakers and audience to peals of laughter. What a joke, to take money away from these deserving multimillionaires! Dell, the 39th richest person in the world, replied that he and his wife already give to charity: “I feel much more comfortable with our ability … to allocate those funds than I do giving them to the government.” Who needs the imprecise squall of democracy when a man worth $33bn can decide what the masses need? He went on: “I don’t think it will help the growth of the US economy. Name a country where that’s worked – ever.” Fervent agreement followed until economist Erik Brynjolfsson butted in, citing one country that had had such high tax rates: “The United States … from about the 1930s to the 1960s … and those were pretty good years for growth.” Brynjolfsson is not known for his socialism and his intervention was far milder than that made two days later by historian Rutger Bregman (“Taxes, taxes, taxes … all the rest is bullshit”), but still, the aromatic consensus had been broken." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkFebruary 26

Do the same red-baiting tactics still work to demonize socialists in America? John Iadarola and The Michael Brooks show's Michael Brooks break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkFebruary 7

Fox just got owned by their own polls. John Iadarola and Jayar Jackson break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.gq.com/story/fox-news-tax-poll-fairness "The idea of raising taxes on anyone, even the obscenely wealthy who can most afford it, has been politically taboo for years, thanks to the dominance of junk ideas like "trickle-down economics." But apparently, outside of the world of pundits, politicians, and the super-rich, it's not that appalling a notion. Ever since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reminded people that the top tax bracket in this country used to be as high as 70 percent for decades—a period during which there was still economic growth and rich people—more and more polls are showing that Americans across the political spectrum are in favor of returning to that norm. It turns out that even Fox News can't find a way to hijack those numbers. The network's own polls, conducted at the end of January, found a staggering 70 percent of respondents supported raising taxes on annual income over $10 million. In fact, 65 percent were down for raising taxes on those making over $1 million per year. On Tuesday, a pair of baffled anchors referred to this trend as a movement "against capitalism." It is a dubious assertion, because by that definition the U.S. has only been a capitalist country since the 1980s, when Reagan knocked the top tax rate even lower and conservatives convinced enough legislators that "a rising tide lifts all boats" was a substitute for economic policy. But in their efforts to find an explanation for why so many people are turned off by unfettered, unregulated, and unaccountable capitalism, they turn to Charles Payne of Fox Business. His explanation: Schools have brainwashed kids with lessons about "fairness." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkFebruary 6

How many Republicans have a favorable view of socialism? John Iadarola and Jayar Jackson break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkJanuary 30

Hasan Piker OWNS Charlie Kirk in debate over capitalismOctober 22

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