June 17, 2019

We still have questions about whether Russia meddled in N.C. That's a bad sign. - WaPo Editorial

A Post investigation detailed how North Carolina officials have desperately sought information and help from the Department of Homeland Security following a possible Election Day 2016 breach, in which Durham County’s electronic poll books, which provide information on eligible voters, improperly rejected people at their polling places. Election officials resorted to using paper-based poll books, creating massive delays. If a malicious foreign actor wanted to promote havoc on Election Day or call election results into question, this is one way it might happen.

State officials initially thought human error caused the problems, but they could not be sure. They got more concerned after a report that the Kremlin had targeted an election vendor — that is, a third-party company that provides election hardware or software to state and local governments — involved in polling book software. The company from which Durham County got its polling book software, VR Systems, claims that it did not hear from DHS until September 2017, months after a news report revealed that the Russians had targeted an election services firm matching its description, and that, when it did hear, word came in the form of a strange 2 a.m. phone call.

Last year, North Carolina’s attorney general formally requested clarification from DHS on the state’s past and present vulnerabilities. His office reports that he did not receive a substantive answer. By many accounts, the trickle of information flowing from federal to state authorities has increased substantially since Russia’s presidential election hacking, as more state officials have obtained security clearances and as the scope of the threat has become clearer. North Carolina officials also insist that DHS has generally stepped up its game on election security, cooperating intensively with the state to evaluate the integrity of its voting systems.

But it is absurd that there is still any question about whether Durham County’s 2016 polling book problems were tied to the Kremlin. The Trump administration must do better. Federal officials must regulate election vendors as well as state systems. Congress should demand it — and provide whatever funds are needed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-still-have-questions-about-whether-russia-meddled-in-nc-thats-a-bad-sign/2019/06/16/266069b6-8c73-11e9-8f69-a2795fca3343_story.html?utm_term=.aa082fec936e




VR Systems, claims that it did not hear from DHS until September 2017, months after a news report revealed that the Russians had targeted an election services firm matching its description, and that, when it did hear, word came in the form of a strange 2 a.m. phone call.

I mean, wtf?

June 16, 2019

The Guardian's preview of Britain's Next PM debate is art.

https://twitter.com/Tweet_Dec/status/1139901609272664064

June 14, 2019

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/1139554430326472704




God@TheTweetOfGod
Happy birthday to President Trump, who is a fucking piece of shit.

June 4, 2019

Nigel Farage has arrived at the US ambassador's residence

https://twitter.com/ReutersLobby/status/1135929453668917248

BREXIT PARTY LEADER FARAGE ARRIVES AT U.S. AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE IN LONDON - REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER






I guess so they can talk about Brexit and dismantling the NHS. Is he still living in France?

June 4, 2019

Ex-Business Partner Alleges Trump Organization Evaded Taxes in Panama By Matt Stieb

Panama is a small, Central American isthmus where two million tourists visit annually; where an outsized number of merchant ships call home to avoid more stringent marine and labor regulations; where the global elite go to burrow away their money; and where the United States might invade if the president doesn’t like the military dictatorship in power. And according to a new legal filing in Manhattan federal court, Panama is another country where President Trump has tax problems In the filing, a former business partner, Orestes Fintiklis, alleges that the Trump Organization evaded taxes on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Panama City.

The filing alleges that the Trump Organization “used its control over the hotel bank accounts to make payments to itself and affiliates without withholding the 12.5 percent tax on its management fees, thus intentionally evading taxes.” According to ProPublica:

The Trump entities were allegedly supposed to withhold those [management] fees in advance and pay them to the government regardless of whether the property was profitable or not. Instead, the Trump companies simply kept the money, the suit claims, “thus intentionally evading taxes.” That and other financial irregularities exposed Fintiklis and the companies he represents “to millions of dollars in liability,” according to the suit, which also claims Trump companies sought to cover up their actions. The filing does not say whether a tax penalty has been levied by Panamanian authorities.

The president’s financial disclosure statements show that the Trump Organization received hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in management fees related to the property. In addition to the allegation, Fintiklis is seeking around $35 million in damages. Though the Trump Organization called Fintiklis’s claims “completely false,” the legal filings do bring unwanted attention to the president’s taxes, as congressional and state lawmakers pursue multiple avenues to obtain Trump’s IRS filings from the past six years.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/ex-business-partner-alleges-trumps-evaded-taxes-in-panama.html?utm_source=tw&utm_campaign=di&utm_medium=s1

June 4, 2019

Children of the Corn. The whole family looked dreadful for the banquet.

:large

June 3, 2019

The Friends of Jeffrey Epstein reunion at Westminster

Trump and Prince Andrew at Westminster

June 3, 2019

Another billboard in London

put up by Led By Donkeys


https://twitter.com/ByDonkeys/status/1135650744152014850


Hey @realDonaldTrump, we've put up billboards across London to let you know what people in your own party REALLY think of you. People like @MarcoRubio #TrumpUKvisit

:large



https://twitter.com/ByDonkeys/status/1132226451653242881



This is a great idea for the RNC in Charlotte. Cover the city with quotes by Republicans on Trump.

June 3, 2019

Spot the difference

https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/1135639148705042432

June 3, 2019

From the State Banquet attendee list. US/UK taxpayers treating Trump's friends and relatives

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1135631677517180928



From the state banquet attendee list, via pool - the president's four adult children, Mulvaney, Mnuchin, his wife Louise Linton, Chris Ruddy



Isn't Chris Ruddy the Newsmax guy? Trump's treating all his friends, relatives and administration to a vacation on the public dime.