Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Kid Berwyn
Kid Berwyn's Journal
Kid Berwyn's Journal
June 11, 2022
That way, "Marshall Law"
Dimdonnie the Demented Moron figured:
Crowd was huuuuge. Cops were feeeew.
To maintain order during the certification of electors, the few cops will have to fire into the crowd, which likely would cause the kind of riot that would lead to martial law. Mike Flynn and his uniformed brothers could use the time to collect ballot boxes and voting machines from PA, WI, NV, GA, AZ, NM, MI and anywhere else the numbers came up wrong. Thankfully, Raffensperger. Otherwise today we’d all be speaking German.
June 9, 2022
Jan. 6 Video Suggests 'Russia Insider' Entered Capitol
By Michael Edison Hayden
SPLC, September 23, 2021
Russia Insider founder Charles Bausman breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, according to research conducted by a Europe-based open-source intelligence (OSINT) group into video captured during the insurrection.
The findings by the OSINT group build on Hatewatch reporting showing that Bausman traveled to Washington, D.C., on the day of the insurrection, then disappeared from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and reemerged in Moscow. In the months since, he has served as a talking head on Russian television, commenting on American affairs with a reactionary point of view. Hatewatch previously noted that Bausman claimed on a Russian Orthodox Christian-themed television station to have stopped short at the Capitol’s balustrades without entering the building. Footage obtained by the OSINT group, in which a man bearing a strong resemblance to Bausman is visible inside the Capitol, appears to contradict his account.
The OSINT group, whose members choose to remain anonymous, goes by the name “Blue Hatz.” A person who operates a Twitter account associated with the group described them to Hatewatch as “an independent international team of 15 ‘OSINTers’ and investigators from Europe, Russia, Ukraine and US” who have been using found footage to identify those who breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6. In the Russian television interviews, Bausman claims to be a journalist covering the events of Jan. 6, rather than a pro-Trump demonstrator. But the man the OSINT group believes to be Bausman – shown in side-by-side images in a tweet they published – can be seen wearing a red, Trump-branded hat, blending in with other supporters of the 45th president inside a hallway. The video shows the man strolling and taking video with his cell phone as rioters move through the Capitol building.
Continues…
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/09/23/jan-6-video-suggests-russia-insider-entered-capitol
Russia was in the Capitol January 6.
The open-source intelligence group Blue Hatz posted this side-by-side image comparison that they say proves Charles Bausman was inside the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 insurrection.Jan. 6 Video Suggests 'Russia Insider' Entered Capitol
By Michael Edison Hayden
SPLC, September 23, 2021
Russia Insider founder Charles Bausman breached the walls of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, according to research conducted by a Europe-based open-source intelligence (OSINT) group into video captured during the insurrection.
The findings by the OSINT group build on Hatewatch reporting showing that Bausman traveled to Washington, D.C., on the day of the insurrection, then disappeared from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and reemerged in Moscow. In the months since, he has served as a talking head on Russian television, commenting on American affairs with a reactionary point of view. Hatewatch previously noted that Bausman claimed on a Russian Orthodox Christian-themed television station to have stopped short at the Capitol’s balustrades without entering the building. Footage obtained by the OSINT group, in which a man bearing a strong resemblance to Bausman is visible inside the Capitol, appears to contradict his account.
The OSINT group, whose members choose to remain anonymous, goes by the name “Blue Hatz.” A person who operates a Twitter account associated with the group described them to Hatewatch as “an independent international team of 15 ‘OSINTers’ and investigators from Europe, Russia, Ukraine and US” who have been using found footage to identify those who breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6. In the Russian television interviews, Bausman claims to be a journalist covering the events of Jan. 6, rather than a pro-Trump demonstrator. But the man the OSINT group believes to be Bausman – shown in side-by-side images in a tweet they published – can be seen wearing a red, Trump-branded hat, blending in with other supporters of the 45th president inside a hallway. The video shows the man strolling and taking video with his cell phone as rioters move through the Capitol building.
Continues…
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/09/23/jan-6-video-suggests-russia-insider-entered-capitol
June 9, 2022
10 Crimes of the Nixon Administration
Larry Holzwarth - March 27, 2018
Excerpt…
Nixon Colluded with Milk Producers to Increase the Price of Milk
The Associated Milk Producers Inc, was a consortium of milk producers who wanted an increase in milk subsidies, artificially increasing the cost of milk to the consumer. In 1971 Nixon met with the AMPI and negotiated a deal through which the milk subsidies would be increased by $100 million dollars, in return for a $2 million dollar campaign contribution, broken up and routed to the campaign coffers through the creation of several political action committees or individual donors. Nixon met with officials of the AMPI personally, and the agreement was negotiated for the most part by John Ehrlichman.
Former Nixon aide Murray Chotiner left the White House in 1971 to return to the practice of law. He was retained by the AMPI to improve the group’s access to the White House, since Chotiner had an over twenty-year association with the President. Before the donations for subsidies the AMPI twice delivered cash to Herbert Kalmbach, the President’s longtime friend and private attorney, as contributions to Operation Townhouse. The lobbying through the use of illegal donations and personal relationships got the AMPI access to the President in March, 1971.
During the meeting in the White House the President warned the AMPI representatives not to discuss donations while he was in the room. Nixon tried to make small talk with the AMPI representatives, suggesting that they market milk as a mild sedative, a safe alternative to a sleeping pill. When the AMPI representatives tried to return to the subject of the money Nixon responded, “Don’t say that while I’m sitting here. Matter of fact, the room’s not tapped. Forgot to do that.” When the meeting was over Nixon’s aides, led by Ehrlichman, finalized the deal. Ehrlichman suggested they celebrate with a glass of milk, while it was still relatively cheap.
After the meeting, Harold Nelson, president of the AMPI, and Chotiner transferred the $2 million to Kalmbach. When the deal was exposed Nelson was convicted and went to jail, as did another AMPI official, David Parr. Nixon was not prosecuted for his involvement in the affair as the pardon he received from his successor, Gerald Ford, covered all of his high crimes and misdemeanors. The $100 million to the AMPI was absorbed by milk consumers and the taxpayers. AMPI as a corporate entity was found guilty of violating campaign donation laws and fined $35,000, equivalent to about $145,000 in 2018.
Source: https://historycollection.com/10-crimes-of-the-nixon-administration/6/
You don’t suppose the GOP would do something like that with another industry, say, over the years?
Nixon conspired with milk industry to raise prices.
10 Crimes of the Nixon Administration
Larry Holzwarth - March 27, 2018
Excerpt…
Nixon Colluded with Milk Producers to Increase the Price of Milk
The Associated Milk Producers Inc, was a consortium of milk producers who wanted an increase in milk subsidies, artificially increasing the cost of milk to the consumer. In 1971 Nixon met with the AMPI and negotiated a deal through which the milk subsidies would be increased by $100 million dollars, in return for a $2 million dollar campaign contribution, broken up and routed to the campaign coffers through the creation of several political action committees or individual donors. Nixon met with officials of the AMPI personally, and the agreement was negotiated for the most part by John Ehrlichman.
Former Nixon aide Murray Chotiner left the White House in 1971 to return to the practice of law. He was retained by the AMPI to improve the group’s access to the White House, since Chotiner had an over twenty-year association with the President. Before the donations for subsidies the AMPI twice delivered cash to Herbert Kalmbach, the President’s longtime friend and private attorney, as contributions to Operation Townhouse. The lobbying through the use of illegal donations and personal relationships got the AMPI access to the President in March, 1971.
During the meeting in the White House the President warned the AMPI representatives not to discuss donations while he was in the room. Nixon tried to make small talk with the AMPI representatives, suggesting that they market milk as a mild sedative, a safe alternative to a sleeping pill. When the AMPI representatives tried to return to the subject of the money Nixon responded, “Don’t say that while I’m sitting here. Matter of fact, the room’s not tapped. Forgot to do that.” When the meeting was over Nixon’s aides, led by Ehrlichman, finalized the deal. Ehrlichman suggested they celebrate with a glass of milk, while it was still relatively cheap.
After the meeting, Harold Nelson, president of the AMPI, and Chotiner transferred the $2 million to Kalmbach. When the deal was exposed Nelson was convicted and went to jail, as did another AMPI official, David Parr. Nixon was not prosecuted for his involvement in the affair as the pardon he received from his successor, Gerald Ford, covered all of his high crimes and misdemeanors. The $100 million to the AMPI was absorbed by milk consumers and the taxpayers. AMPI as a corporate entity was found guilty of violating campaign donation laws and fined $35,000, equivalent to about $145,000 in 2018.
Source: https://historycollection.com/10-crimes-of-the-nixon-administration/6/
You don’t suppose the GOP would do something like that with another industry, say, over the years?
June 7, 2022
Scavino was subpoenaed by the committee in September. His failure to cooperate with the probe earned him a criminal contempt of congress referral from the committee in March and by April, the full House of Representatives voted in favor of sending the referral to the DOJ. The DOJ declined to prosecute in June. Scavino’s attorney maintained that that the former Trump administration official worked with the committee in good faith.
Scavino’s relationship stretches back nearly a decade with the former president and he is among Trump’s chief allies. Scavino served him at various points over the years including as a digital strategy director and overseer of Trump’s presence on social media platforms like Twitter.
The committee sought materials from Scavino relevant to Trump’s “videotaping and tweeting message on Jan. 6.” They argue he was intimately familiar with what occurred during meetings where the president and other administration officials hashed out ways to stop the certification of the election.
White House call logs obtained by the probe show that Trump tried to call Scavino the night of the attack. Scavino reportedly kept at least two phones during his time at the White House. The National Archives confirmed in February that Trump destroyed numerous presidential records while in office, often leaving it to staff to tape some of the records back together.
Scavino, as Trump’s aide and with an office just near the Oval, was often a reported workaround for Trump to avoid using official White House telephones, relying instead on Scavino’s mobile among others.
He sued Verizon on Jan. 5, 2022 to stop a transfer of phone records to the committee. He did this under some subterfuge initially filing the request as an anonymous plaintiff. While it was his right to do so, such shrouding can only be done with a judge’s approval. The judge denied the request and unmasked Scavino weeks later, ordering him to file his request to block the committee from his phone records publicly.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/22/2067807/-A-field-guide-to-the-figures-at-the-center-of-the-Jan-6-probe?_=2022-06-06T18:46:09.000-07:00
Great resource! Thank you!
This guy.
Scavino was subpoenaed by the committee in September. His failure to cooperate with the probe earned him a criminal contempt of congress referral from the committee in March and by April, the full House of Representatives voted in favor of sending the referral to the DOJ. The DOJ declined to prosecute in June. Scavino’s attorney maintained that that the former Trump administration official worked with the committee in good faith.
Scavino’s relationship stretches back nearly a decade with the former president and he is among Trump’s chief allies. Scavino served him at various points over the years including as a digital strategy director and overseer of Trump’s presence on social media platforms like Twitter.
The committee sought materials from Scavino relevant to Trump’s “videotaping and tweeting message on Jan. 6.” They argue he was intimately familiar with what occurred during meetings where the president and other administration officials hashed out ways to stop the certification of the election.
White House call logs obtained by the probe show that Trump tried to call Scavino the night of the attack. Scavino reportedly kept at least two phones during his time at the White House. The National Archives confirmed in February that Trump destroyed numerous presidential records while in office, often leaving it to staff to tape some of the records back together.
Scavino, as Trump’s aide and with an office just near the Oval, was often a reported workaround for Trump to avoid using official White House telephones, relying instead on Scavino’s mobile among others.
He sued Verizon on Jan. 5, 2022 to stop a transfer of phone records to the committee. He did this under some subterfuge initially filing the request as an anonymous plaintiff. While it was his right to do so, such shrouding can only be done with a judge’s approval. The judge denied the request and unmasked Scavino weeks later, ordering him to file his request to block the committee from his phone records publicly.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/22/2067807/-A-field-guide-to-the-figures-at-the-center-of-the-Jan-6-probe?_=2022-06-06T18:46:09.000-07:00
Great resource! Thank you!
June 7, 2022
Who would believe that in 2022, on the 78th anniversary of D-Day, the Republican Party would abide with a NAZI to represent them in Congress?
NAZIs in the open.
Who would believe that in 2022, on the 78th anniversary of D-Day, the Republican Party would abide with a NAZI to represent them in Congress?
June 6, 2022
President Kennedy explained the situation.
I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country’s policies during the Batista regime. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will even go further: to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries. That is perfectly clear.
President John F. Kennedy, 24 October 1963.
—————————————————
Fulgencio Batista murdered 20,000 Cubans in seven years… and he turned Democratic Cuba into a complete police state – destroying every individual liberty. Yet our aid to his regime, and the ineptness of our policies, enabled Batista to invoke the name of the United States in support of his reign of terror. Administration spokesmen publicly praised Batista – hailed him as a staunch ally and a good friend – at a time when Batista was murdering thousands, destroying the last vestiges of freedom, and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the Cuban people, and we failed to press for free elections.
Senator John F. Kennedy, 6 October 1960
June 6, 2022
DU Tried
From 2006:
Know your BFEE: The Fellowship ‘Preys’ for America
https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2591203
June 6, 2022
The Batista-Lansky Alliance
How the mafia and a Cuban dictator built Havana's casinos
| By Matthew Reiss | From The Cuba Issue, May/Jun 01 Cigar Aficionado
It was December 31, 1958. Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista raised a New Year's Eve toast to his cabinet members and senior military officers and wished them hasta la vista. After seven years of building Havana's tourism industry by inviting gangsters such as Meyer Lansky to construct casinos, helping to fund their enterprises and taking a large chunk of the proceeds for himself, Batista knew his presidency was over. His plundering had weakened Cuba's treasury and demoralized the army. He filled three cargo planes with all he could carry and was on his way to the Dominican Republic before the sun came up on 1959.
Nine days later, Fidel Castro's guerrillas took the capital and installed what would become the longest-lasting communist government in the Western Hemisphere. But while Castro could close the casinos, arrest the gangsters and deport or imprison Batista's henchmen, he could not bury the skyscrapers that had drained the wealth of the island. Castro inherited from Batista a Havana of overt poverty and ostentatious wealth, where the haves of the world's richest nations had come to exploit the have-nots; where statues of Lenin and Marx would be dwarfed by glass and stone monuments to the Mob; where the nation's architectural landmarks would be a constant reminder of the days when criminals were in charge and the Mafia roamed free.
But until that last day of 1958, the only revolution that mattered to Mafia financier Lansky involved a roulette wheel. During the Batista years, Cuba was a place where a crooked man could make an honest living. After a half century on the wrong side of the law in the United States, the celebrated gangster was legit. America's high rollers and celebrities were living large in the casino of Lansky's luxury hotel, the Riviera, and the drinks were on the house.
As a kid in Manhattan's Lower East Side ghetto in the early part of the century, Meyer Lansky learned how to cheat, bribe and split fees with other cheats. He ran into Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, as legend has it, in a street fight, and Lansky's tenacity convinced the Sicilian Luciano that this Jewish kid had possibilities. Together with another local Italian, Frank Costello, and a young tough named Benny "Bugsy" Siegel, they created a powerful network of numbers runners and bookies throughout the city. With Luciano at the helm and Lansky at the register, the combination soon expanded nationwide.
When Prohibition took effect in 1919, Lansky's and Luciano's gambling alliances helped provide contacts with illicit liquor distributors across the country. The pair soon controlled a healthy share of the import and transportation of bootleg liquor.
After 14 years of windfall profits, many bootleggers were put out of business by the market forces of competition when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Lansky's financial success had already made him a target of law enforcement. When New York started getting too hot, Lansky looked for other places to take his gambling operations.
In the mid-1930s, a Cuban army sergeant named Fulgencio Batista took advantage of political chaos in the former Spanish colony and formed his own government. At the time, the island republic was foundering, as was its gambling industry. Years before, Havana's nightlife had attracted wealthy entertainers from the United States, such as Sarah Bernhardt and Enrico Caruso. But Cuba's gaming industry had become mired in cheating and corruption by the 1930s. So, in 1939, Batista recruited a New England racetrack owner named Lou Smith to revive Havana's Oriental Park track and Meyer Lansky to clean up the casinos.
Continues…
https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/the-batista-lansky-alliance-7197
The Batista-Lansky Alliance
The Batista-Lansky Alliance
How the mafia and a Cuban dictator built Havana's casinos
| By Matthew Reiss | From The Cuba Issue, May/Jun 01 Cigar Aficionado
It was December 31, 1958. Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista raised a New Year's Eve toast to his cabinet members and senior military officers and wished them hasta la vista. After seven years of building Havana's tourism industry by inviting gangsters such as Meyer Lansky to construct casinos, helping to fund their enterprises and taking a large chunk of the proceeds for himself, Batista knew his presidency was over. His plundering had weakened Cuba's treasury and demoralized the army. He filled three cargo planes with all he could carry and was on his way to the Dominican Republic before the sun came up on 1959.
Nine days later, Fidel Castro's guerrillas took the capital and installed what would become the longest-lasting communist government in the Western Hemisphere. But while Castro could close the casinos, arrest the gangsters and deport or imprison Batista's henchmen, he could not bury the skyscrapers that had drained the wealth of the island. Castro inherited from Batista a Havana of overt poverty and ostentatious wealth, where the haves of the world's richest nations had come to exploit the have-nots; where statues of Lenin and Marx would be dwarfed by glass and stone monuments to the Mob; where the nation's architectural landmarks would be a constant reminder of the days when criminals were in charge and the Mafia roamed free.
But until that last day of 1958, the only revolution that mattered to Mafia financier Lansky involved a roulette wheel. During the Batista years, Cuba was a place where a crooked man could make an honest living. After a half century on the wrong side of the law in the United States, the celebrated gangster was legit. America's high rollers and celebrities were living large in the casino of Lansky's luxury hotel, the Riviera, and the drinks were on the house.
As a kid in Manhattan's Lower East Side ghetto in the early part of the century, Meyer Lansky learned how to cheat, bribe and split fees with other cheats. He ran into Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, as legend has it, in a street fight, and Lansky's tenacity convinced the Sicilian Luciano that this Jewish kid had possibilities. Together with another local Italian, Frank Costello, and a young tough named Benny "Bugsy" Siegel, they created a powerful network of numbers runners and bookies throughout the city. With Luciano at the helm and Lansky at the register, the combination soon expanded nationwide.
When Prohibition took effect in 1919, Lansky's and Luciano's gambling alliances helped provide contacts with illicit liquor distributors across the country. The pair soon controlled a healthy share of the import and transportation of bootleg liquor.
After 14 years of windfall profits, many bootleggers were put out of business by the market forces of competition when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Lansky's financial success had already made him a target of law enforcement. When New York started getting too hot, Lansky looked for other places to take his gambling operations.
In the mid-1930s, a Cuban army sergeant named Fulgencio Batista took advantage of political chaos in the former Spanish colony and formed his own government. At the time, the island republic was foundering, as was its gambling industry. Years before, Havana's nightlife had attracted wealthy entertainers from the United States, such as Sarah Bernhardt and Enrico Caruso. But Cuba's gaming industry had become mired in cheating and corruption by the 1930s. So, in 1939, Batista recruited a New England racetrack owner named Lou Smith to revive Havana's Oriental Park track and Meyer Lansky to clean up the casinos.
Continues…
https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/the-batista-lansky-alliance-7197
June 4, 2022
How tech's richest plan to save themselves after the apocalypse
“‘The Event’ was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, virus, or hack that takes everything down.”
Illustration: Matt Huynh
Silicon Valley’s elite are hatching plans to escape disaster – and when it comes, they’ll leave the rest of us behind
Douglas Rushkoff for Medium via The Guardian
Tue 24 Jul 2018
Last year, I got invited to a super-deluxe private resort to deliver a keynote speech to what I assumed would be a hundred or so investment bankers. It was by far the largest fee I had ever been offered for a talk – about half my annual professor’s salary – all to deliver some insight on the subject of “the future of technology”.
I’ve never liked talking about the future. The Q&A sessions always end up more like parlor games, where I’m asked to opine on the latest technology buzzwords as if they were ticker symbols for potential investments: blockchain, 3D printing, Crispr. The audiences are rarely interested in learning about these technologies or their potential impacts beyond the binary choice of whether or not to invest in them. But money talks, so I took the gig.
Snip…
Which region will be less affected by the coming climate crisis: New Zealand or Alaska? Is Google really building Ray Kurzweil a home for his brain, and will his consciousness live through the transition, or will it die and be reborn as a whole new one? Finally, the CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system and asked: “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the Event?”
The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, unstoppable virus, or Mr Robot hack that takes everything down.
Continues…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/23/tech-industry-wealth-futurism-transhumanism-singularity
“Mr. Kyle, your Agonizer, please!”
They certainly ask the right question.
“How do I maintain authority over my security force after the Event?”How tech's richest plan to save themselves after the apocalypse
“‘The Event’ was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, virus, or hack that takes everything down.”
Illustration: Matt Huynh
Silicon Valley’s elite are hatching plans to escape disaster – and when it comes, they’ll leave the rest of us behind
Douglas Rushkoff for Medium via The Guardian
Tue 24 Jul 2018
Last year, I got invited to a super-deluxe private resort to deliver a keynote speech to what I assumed would be a hundred or so investment bankers. It was by far the largest fee I had ever been offered for a talk – about half my annual professor’s salary – all to deliver some insight on the subject of “the future of technology”.
I’ve never liked talking about the future. The Q&A sessions always end up more like parlor games, where I’m asked to opine on the latest technology buzzwords as if they were ticker symbols for potential investments: blockchain, 3D printing, Crispr. The audiences are rarely interested in learning about these technologies or their potential impacts beyond the binary choice of whether or not to invest in them. But money talks, so I took the gig.
Snip…
Which region will be less affected by the coming climate crisis: New Zealand or Alaska? Is Google really building Ray Kurzweil a home for his brain, and will his consciousness live through the transition, or will it die and be reborn as a whole new one? Finally, the CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system and asked: “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the Event?”
The Event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, unstoppable virus, or Mr Robot hack that takes everything down.
Continues…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/23/tech-industry-wealth-futurism-transhumanism-singularity
“Mr. Kyle, your Agonizer, please!”
Profile Information
Member since: Mon May 6, 2019, 08:01 PMNumber of posts: 14,904
