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1-ON-1 WITH DAVID SANGER: IT’S BEEN QUITE A WEEK, LET’S HAVE A DRINK…OK, LET’S HAVE A FEW…

Remember way back when we were concerned with how the White House was planning on pulling out of yet another international agreement, this one among the very few real nuclear arms control agreements that exist?  That was Monday.  Since then we have had news the president has had his cellphone hacked because he can’t be bothered with security, one of the most extraordinary bombing campaigns in America history, the president dismissing it by calling it “this ‘bomb’ stuff” and then a couple hours later taking credit for the arrest of the rabid Trump supporter who was apparently the bomber.  How do you make sense of all that?  Do what we do and sit down with original Deep Stater, our own David Sanger, for a great 1-on-1.  Just the perfect accompaniment to a couple of cocktails and then maybe, a couple more cocktails. Listen here

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Stories We’re Watching

MAGABomber: Suspect in Florida Arrested, Hundreds of Journalists Condemn President Trump’s Media Attacks

US authorities have arrested a man in Florida in connection with the suspicious packages. The suspect has a criminal history and has a history of frequently posting far-right conspiracy theories about Trump’s opponents on Twitter and Facebook. Earlier today, 2 more packages were found addressed to US Senator Cory Booker and the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. So far, US authorities have intercepted at least 12 potential explosive devices that were shipped through the US Postal System.

• The Daily Beast: Cesar Sayoc Jr., Alleged Mail Bomber, Threatened Democrats on Twitter

• Al Jazeera: Hundreds of journalists condemn Trump’s ‘sustained’ media attacks

• Haaretz: Investigation of Pipe Bombs Sent to Trump Critics Leads FBI to Florida

US Carrier Enters Arctic Circle as NATO Hunts for Russian Subs in the Arctic

NATO began the largest Article 5 exercise since the cold war on Thursday. The Trident Juncture 18 exercise is meant to test NATO allies’ readiness to restore member state sovereignty in the event of outside aggression. For the first time in almost 30 years, a US aircraft carrier will be operating north of the Arctic Circle. Part of the Trident Juncture 18 exercise includes the hunting of Russian submarines, given Russia’s increased submarine presence in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe, Adm. James G. Foggo III, says: “They’re operating in much greater numbers and in places they have not operated before.”

• CNN: NATO back on the hunt for Russian submarines in the Arctic

• Naval Technology: UK launches Defence Arctic Strategy to address emerging threats

• The Local Norway: Norway set to host biggest Nato exercises since Cold War

• The Drive: US Carrier Enters Arctic Circle For the First Time in 28 Years As New Cold War Heats Up

Tim Cook Calls For New Law to Mitigate the Intrusion of the Data-Industrial Complex

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, warns that AI systems could be profoundly dangerous and calls on the US government to step up privacy laws. Cook said in a speech at a privacy conference in Brussels on Wednesday that “for artificial intelligence to be truly smart, it must respect human values, including privacy. If we get this wrong, the dangers are profound.” Cook has called out tech companies which harvest people’s personal profiles in order to enhance AI platforms. Facebook and Google are both known to use these methods and have come under fire in Europe for doing so. In China, the Shenzhen government has taken control of Tsinghua Unigroup, the 3rd-largest smartphone chip maker in the world.

• South China Morning Post: Shenzhen government takes control of China’s leading chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup

• Buzzfeed: Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Calling For Bloomberg To Retract Its Chinese Spy Chip Story

• Bloomberg: The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies

• The Wall Street Journal: Apple CEO Condemns ‘Data-Industrial Complex’

Khashoggi fallout continues: KSA Declares Murder Premeditated, CIA Director Returns from Istanbul

Yesterday, a Saudi public prosecutor said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, reversing previous explanations on Saudi’s official state TV. And the UN special rapporteur said that those who orchestrated Khashoggi’s murder ‘represent the Saudi state’. US CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has briefed President Trump on her visit to Turkey earlier this week. Director Haspel is said to have listened to the recording of Khashoggi’s murder. President Trump has said he plans to work with Congress to craft a bipartisan US response to the state-sanctioned murder of Khashoggi. US lawmakers are expected to focus on sanctions, US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and the ongoing Saudi-led conflict in Yemen.

• Al Jazeera: UN official: Khashoggi was victim of an extrajudicial execution

• Reuters: CIA Director Reportedly Heard Recording of Khashoggi Killing During Turkey Visit and Factbox: Options for U.S. congressional action against Saudis over Khashoggi

• The Atlantic: Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Hurt American Interests, Not Just American Values

• NPR: Killing Of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Stirs Up Rivalries In The Middle

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe: Relations with China Are at ‘Historic Turning Point’

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Beijing on an official state visit earlier today. Shinzo Abe’s three-day visit is the first official Japanese visit to China in seven years. PM Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss cooperation between their economies (which are Asia’s two largest) and security in the South China Sea. Japan and China officially restored diplomatic relations in 1972. The meeting comes in the wake of President Trump’s shifting trade and security policies in the region. PM Abe is also expected to formally withdraw Japanese development assistance to China, which would amount to a de facto acknowledgement of China’s economic dominance.

• The Wall Street Journal: China, Japan Push for Free Trade as Both Grapple With Trump Demands

• The Diplomat: Amid US-China Tensions, Xi and Abe to Meet in Beijing

• South ChIna Morning Post: China, Japan moving from competition to cooperation, leaders say

• Reuters: Japan’s Abe: relations with China at ‘historic turning point’

From Deep State Radio

This week we’re launching DeepTech, our weekly round up of emerging tech developments that sound like sci-fi plots but aren’t. We’ll have a new edition of DeepTech each Friday. Read our first one here.

DEEPTECH: Forget Big Brother, Uncle Xi is Watching You

The State Council of China is fine tuning their Social Credit System, a comprehensive program that monitors online and offline behavior and uses state-run algorithms to assign ‘users’ a score. This score determines whether or not a user can: leave comments on an online post, ride the high-speed train, get a loan, buy property, or book a ticket out of the country. The system  evaluates data from several, undisclosed sources such as street cameras, browsing histories, and private messaging conversations. For Chinese citizens, there is no opting out of this program; everyone has a ‘profile’. Already, China monitors the gaits, faces, and browsing histories of all citizens. Read more here

FP INTERRUPTED: Khashoggi, the Caravan, Brazil’s Elections: The How Will It End? Edition

The Jamal Khashoggi saga has gripped our attention, much to Muhammad bin Salman’s (MBS) surprise – and chagrin. After cutting off relations with Qatar, kidnapping the Lebanese prime minister, and killing civilians in Yemen, why would the current American president, who has called the press the “enemy of the people,” care about a single journalist — a columnist at the Washington Post of all places? Here’s the thing, MBS: Journalists protect their own. Continue reading