Episode 276: Save Syria Now

Unfilter

War in Syria seems just hours away, with Trump calling out Putin and Assad, the warships moving into position, and the hawks circling.

Plus the fallout from Trump’s lawyer getting raided by the FBI, Zuckerberg going to Washington and we share the highlights, an overtime packed with follow up stories, and much more!

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Links:

• State Dept Accuses Russia And Syria Of Gassing Civilians Before Any Investigation
• The race to replace Paul Ryan is on - POLITICO — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise have started courting Republicans in case the speaker retires.
• McCain blames Syrian chemical attack on 'American inaction'; implores Trump to take decisive action against Assad — “President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria," McCain wrote in a statement. "Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children."
• Israel blamed for missile strike in Syria; 14 reported dead — The timing of the strike on the air base in the central Homs province, hours after President Donald Trump said there would be “a big price to pay” for the chemical weapons attack, raised questions about whether Israel was acting alone or as a proxy for the United States. Israel typically does not comment on its airstrikes in Syria.
• Trump on Potentially Firing Mueller: We’ll See What Happens, ‘Many People Have Said’ I Should | Mediaite — “I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens, but I think it’s really a sad situation when you look at what happens. And many people have said you should fire him. Again, they found nothing. And in finding nothing, that’s a big statement. If you know the person who’s in charge of the investigation, you know all about that––Deputy Rosenstein, Rod Rosenstein, he wrote the letter, very critical, of Comey…”
• Trump blasts FBI raid on Michael Cohen as "disgraceful situation" - Axios — After a briefing from Senior Military Leadership Monday night, President Trump blasted the FBI's raid of his personal lawyer's office, calling it a "disgraceful situation" and an "attack on our country in a true sense ... an attack on what we all stand for."
• FBI raids Trump's attorney's office and seizes Stormy Daniels records | Daily Mail Online
• Fox News host slams incorrect reports saying graphic showed network is least trusted
• F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen; Trump Calls It ‘Disgraceful’ - The New York Times
• Federal Budget Deficit Projected to Soar to Over $1 Trillion in 2020 - The New York Times
• Judge again denies bail for Manafort
• Did NBC Cover Up Role of U.S.-Backed Free Syrian Army in 2012 Kidnapping of Richard Engel? | Democracy Now!
• The 5 biggest takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance before the Senate - The Verge
• Mark Zuckerberg: 'Optimistic' AI tools to flag, remove hate speech on Facebook will be developed in 5-10 years — “That’s a success in terms of rolling out AI tools that can proactively police and enforce safety across the community,” Zuckerberg said. “Hate speech, I am optimistic that over a five to 10 year period we'll have AI tools that can get into some of the nuances, the linguistic nuances of different types of content to be more accurate in flagging things for our systems, but today is just not there on that.”
• Islamists in E. Ghouta plan to stage false flag chemical attack – Damascus — RT World News — “We have received information that militants plan to stage an attack between the districts of Mesraba and Beit Sawa. Tahrir al-Sham terrorists plan to sacrifice several women for this purpose and launch a disinformation campaign. The performance is thought to be scheduled for March 11,” Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, told journalists in Damascus.
• Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to testify before House and Senate panels that got Facebook money — Members of the committee, whose jurisdiction gives it regulatory power over Internet companies, received nearly $381,000 in contributions tied to Facebook since 2007, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
• Photo of Zuck's notes by AP's @andyharnik
• DOJ Releases List of 24,500 Sealed Indictments - Squawker — An unprecedented list of 24,500 Sealed Indictments has been released. This updated indictment list has grown by nearly 7,000 new sealed indictments in every US District.
• Babies and Bombshells | Unfilter 232 — Trump has lost perspective and is being manipulated by the military, we cover the US’s strike against the Shayrat air base in Syria. Plus the latest Cyber threats & we end it all on a high note.
• Transcript of Zuckerberg’s appearance before House committee - The Washington Post
• John Boehner, former speaker of the House, joins cannabis advocacy consortium - The Washington Post — “I have concluded descheduling the drug is needed so that we can do research and allow [the Department of Veterans Affairs] to offer it as a treatment option in the fight against the opioid epidemic that is ravaging our communities,” he said.
• AI will solve Facebook’s most vexing problems, Mark Zuckerberg says. Just don’t ask when or how. - The Washington Post — Over the next five to 10 years, he said, artificial intelligence would prove a champion for the world’s largest social network in resolving its most pressing crises on a global scale — while also helping the company dodge pesky questions about censorship, fairness and human moderation.
• This journalist called bullshit on the Syrian gas attack 3 days before it happened — If, after this announcement, we end up with headlines announcing proclaiming another gas attack by Assad against his own people, do not believe it. He may be a tyrant, but he’s not an idiot. The US leaving his country is good for him, and a gas attack prevents the US exit.
• WikiLeaks on Twitter: "Russia, three weeks before alleged Syrian gas attack: Syrian rebels are planning to stage a chemical attack
• Russia Will Bomb U.S. Missile Launch Sites If Trump Attacks Syria, Ambassador Warns
• ABC: Comey compares Trump to mob boss - Axios — In an ABC promo, Stephanopoulos says Comey compared Trump to a mob boss.
• Robert Mueller’s Nuclear Option | The New Republic — If Trump fires him, the special counsel should reveal everything he's discovered in the Russia investigation.
• Oil hits more than 3-year high on Saudi strikes, US-Russia tension — Oil prices hit their highest level since early December 2014 after President Donald Trump warned Russia to prepare for a strike on its ally, Syria.
• Police cuts ‘likely contributed’ to rise in violent crime, leaked report reveals | UK news | The Guardian — Leaked Home Office documents undermine Amber Rudd’s claim that police cuts were not to blame for increase in violent offending