blm
blm's Journal*Public Service Announcement* Friendly reminder that DU is still a public page.
And, it is even considered a target by some forces (election night 2016).
I like that we can have fun and bond (hello kitten pics) but, every now and then remember that lurkers may not have the same good intentions of friendship as our fellow members.
Have fun, and still be careful.
Peace out. ✌🏽
https://www.helpmepcs.com/blog/why-its-dangerous-to-answer-fun-questions-on-social-media
Facebook has these questions that are supposed to be fun for everyone to get to know each other. One thing that can lead to it though is getting information within the answers to be able to answer security questions. Answering about your first dog, where you were born, or anything with personal information will lead to figuring out security questions for bank accounts, credit card information, and even billing information! They seem to be fun when you first answer them, but when the wrong person gets their hands on that kind of information, it can lead to more severe accounts that can be compromised and information being stolen.
The posts that ask what was your first grade teacher, who was your childhood best friend, your first car, the place you [were] born, your favorite place, your first pet, where did you go on your first flight … Those are the same questions asked when setting up accounts as security questions. You are giving out the answers to your security questions without realizing it! Hackers can use these questions to build a profile and hack into your accounts or open lines of credit causing a breach!
https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/16992-bbb-scam-alert-bored-think-before-taking-that-facebook-quiz
Social media is used as a fun distraction for some people, and taking a Facebook quiz may seem like a harmless way to pass the time. But are you giving away more information than you think?
How the scam works:
A fun quiz pops up on your Facebook feed or another social media platform. A few questions are answered to prove how well you know a friend. Or a short personality test is offered to match with a character from a favorite TV show.
These quizzes appear to be meaningless, but the intent behind them is to collect information. For example, questions like: "What was the first car you owned?" “What is your mother's maiden name?” or “What is the name of the street you grew up on?” These are common security questions for insurance, banking and credit card accounts. Sharing this information can lead to accounts being hacked, and personal and financial information being stolen.
Not all social media quizzes are data collection scams; however, BBB cautions users to be careful about what they share online and to check the privacy settings on the account. Social media data and quiz answers can be used to steal identity or enable a scammer to impersonate you to your friends and family.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/04/dont-give-away-historic-details-about-yourself/
Consider, for example, the following quiz posted to Facebook by San Benito Tire Pros, a tire and auto repair shop in California. It asks Facebook users, “What car did you learn to drive stick shift on?”
I hope this is painfully obvious, but for many people the answer will be the same as to the question, “What was the make and model of your first car?”, which is one of several “secret questions” most commonly used by banks and other companies to let customers reset their passwords or gain access to the account without knowing the password.
The inappropriateness of the Dalai Lama looked typical of dementia to me.
Often times a person with dementia acts with no inhibitions and will show completely inappropriate behavior, even childish.
I’ve seen it a few times from older men who were also complete straight arrows in their lifetimes. Never flirted their entire lives, even as young men. Also saw it once with an elderly woman.
The Dalai Lama is 87. I think if this was a pattern of behavior in his life we’d have learned of it by now.
My gut tells me this is an 87 yo with dementia.
Tricia Cotham switch to R. Heard she's sleeping with GOP House Speaker Tim Moore.
Have heard from several reliable Charlotte sources.
Apparently, it’s been going on for awhile now.
Also….Heard he’s trying to set her up with Dan Bishop’s congressional district IF he runs for Lt. Gov.
Hope the press uncovers this. This is truly disgusting.
PoliticsNC: Jackson is probably best communicator in all of Congress
https://www.politicsnc.com/the-explainer/Jackson has the unique ability to break down seemingly complicated political issues into very easily digestible language. He is an explainer. As Pearce noted, he does a better job of explaining the news than all the cable outlets in our 24-hour news cycle.
I realized we were seeing something unique when I read his email on Ukraine. He explained what is happening in the country, how we are responding, and why. I learned a lot from his straightforward email and I’m reading a lot of other sources.
…….
Gary Pearce' Talking About Politics: Jeff Jackson is best political communicator in NC
https://talkingaboutpolitics.com/jeff-jacksons-bank-shot/Congressman Jeff Jackson is the best political communicator in North Carolina.
His social media posts yesterday on the banking situation are a master class in explaining volatile, complex issues in simple, plain-spoken terms.
Last night, I saw that his video had been viewed over one million times. I’m a print guy, so I read his email. I learned more from his 670-some words than from thousands of words in news reports.
And he added some nice color about Sunday night’s emergency Zoom call with several hundred members of Congress:
“It was literally on regular Zoom. I was emailed a link. I clicked it, and suddenly I was in a very normal-looking Zoom room, only this one had most of Congress in there. (It wasn’t even presentation mode – just a wide-open Zoom room where people had to be reminded to mute themselves when they weren’t speaking. It was wild.)”
His key points:
“After recapping the situation, the Treasury Department informed us that all the depositors at the Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole. Same with the bank in New York.
“We were told that we’re going to pay for that with a fund that banks already pay into – not taxpayer money.
“We were also told that only the depositors were being made whole – shareholders and bondholders in the two failed banks will be wiped out’.”
………..
Rep. Jeff Jackson updates constituents on next phase expectations in Ukraine. Good read.
As a new member of the Armed Services Committee, I’ve spent the last few weeks learning as much as I can about the war in Ukraine.
I’ve spoken with generals, Pentagon officials, and some folks close to the ground.
Now that I’m reasonably well-informed, it’s time to report back on what’s about to happen in Ukraine.
(And yes, everything I’m about to tell you is unclassified).
Both Ukraine and Russia are about to launch major spring offensives.
Russia has already begun theirs to some extent - it’s been focused on the city of Bakhmut, which is now surrounded on three sides by Russia’s mercenary army, the Wagner group. Bakhmut has been under siege for months and, whether or not Russia succeeds in taking it, the price it has paid has been severe.
Ukraine’s spring offensive is waiting for thousands of its troops to finish getting the upgraded equipment and training which they’re receiving at NATO bases across Europe as we speak.
Most people I’ve spoken to believe this will be the decisive phase of the war. Both sides are going to try to deliver a knock-out punch over the next 6-8 months.
Neither side starts in a dominant position. Russia will have the advantage of more troops, but Ukraine will have basically every other advantage: Training, equipment, morale, allies.
Most importantly, Russia still does not have air superiority. Their planes can’t fly over Ukrainian forces because they’ll be shot down - not by the Ukrainian Air Force, but by its air defense artillery which has played a crucial role in allowing Ukrainian forces to have freedom of movement on the ground.
This device is how Ukraine keeps Russia’s Air Force stuck in Russia.This device is how Ukraine keeps Russia’s Air Force stuck in Russia.
That’s why air defense artillery is still the number one piece of equipment Ukraine is asking for, followed by regular artillery and then armored vehicles.
According to Ukraine, after those priorities, it’s fighter jets. They’ve requested F-16s but the concern is that the quickest we could get the planes, spare parts, maintenance teams, and trained pilots in place would probably be next year and placing that order would drain billions that need to be used for more immediate priorities, forcing a trade-off that would hurt the spring offensive.
Ukraine’s best offensive hope right now is the influx of new tanks and armored vehicles from the allies. Namely, Leopards, Challengers, Abrams, Bradleys, and Strykers.
BUT - using these vehicles to their full potential means learning a completely new way to fight. It takes a much higher level of coordination to synchronize the use of artillery, armor, and ground forces.
It’s called combined arms warfare and it’s the crux of how Western forces fight. It requires a completely different level of communication among your troops and commanders, and a lot of software goes with it.
Ukrainians are getting a crash course in that training right now and then they’re going to have to turn around and put it to use in combat immediately.
That’s not an ideal timeline, but, they’ll be going up against Russian civilians that just got drafted and thrown into the war against their will with very little training and older equipment.
Russian civilians that just got drafted and thrown into the war against their will with very little training and older equipment.Not looking thrilled to be there.
Russia’s shortages are significant. It’s taking tanks out of reserve storage from the Cold War. They’re so short on tank commanders that there are reports of medics operating tanks.
Russia is also running low on artillery shells and is turning to China for more. We have intelligence that indicates China is considering supplying Russia. If they do, it will be a huge international problem for China - which China very well knows, which is why it hasn’t happened yet.
Russia is also using its own prisoners as cannon fodder by sending them to the front and treating them as intentional targets by letting them be fired upon by Ukrainians in order to reveal the Ukrainian firing positions, then counter-attacking those positions with artillery.
(Those of you familiar with Russian history will see echoes of its past in this kind of approach to warfare. A move like that is straight out of Russia’s long history of treating its soldiers as maximally expendable cogs in their rumbling war machine. What strikes us as horrifying is, for them, simply revisiting some of their classic techniques.)
It has also become clear that Russia has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children and is paying Russian families to adopt them and even change their names so they can’t be found after the war is over. This came up several times in our last committee hearing, as did the fact that this is the latest entry in the long list of Russian war crimes so far.
Many of my constituents have asked how much we’ve spent helping Ukraine. It’s about $113 billion, which is about 2% of everything the federal government spends in a year. However, that’s not all in the form of a cash payment to Ukraine. A big piece is us putting a price tag on the military equipment we’re sending them and crediting that against the amount we’ve said we would spend.
A major focus of our first hearing was on oversight for the assistance we’re giving them. We had the Inspector General for the Department of Defense come in and answer questions - some quite hostile - about any evidence of equipment or funds being diverted. As it turns out, there’s a lot of oversight built into the system. We’ve given them handheld scanners to help us see where equipment is, we’ve had members of Congress personally visit to see the stockpiles, and - frankly - Ukraine has an enormous incentive to maintain a strong relationship of trust with us, particularly when it comes to how they’re using what we’re sending. For his part, the Inspector General told us that there is no evidence that weapons are being diverted.
One big question that many are asking: How does this end?
The most succinct answer I’ve heard is from a senior official at the State Department, who said this in a hearing:
“We want to put [Ukraine] in the best possible position so that whether this war ends on the battlefield, whether it ends with the diplomacy or some combination, that they are sitting on a map that is far more advantageous for their long-term future and that Putin feels the strategic failure.”
That sounds about right to me.
That’s the latest. I’ll keep you posted.
Rep. Jeff Jackson
New RW media lie is spreading. Biden IRS going after waitress' tips.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bidens-irs-plans-crack-down-waiters-tipsBiden's IRS plans to crack down on waiters' tips
'They're coming after waitresses' tips now,' tax expert Mike Palicz says
Those 87,000 new IRS agents that you were promised would only target the rich," tweeted Mike Palicz, federal affairs manager at Americans for Tax Reform. "They're coming after waitresses' tips now."
When you rebut this propaganda at other sites it’s good to know that the ‘expert’ quoted is Mike Palicz - one of Grover Norquist’s ATR goons.
If you search the story you can see it spreading quickly on all the RW news sites, Reddit forums, and wherever tipped employees of all services congregate.
If you’re an activist DUer you know this type of propaganda needs quick countering before it takes hold.
Dept. of Who Knew? Neil Young recording in 1978 with DEVO.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a must read, especially today.
https://kareem.substack.com/p/manuel-teran-and-tyre-nichols-whatToday there was only enough room to deal with two major issues: the police killings of two men that have caused anguished protests—and a series of Ron DeSantis decisions that need to cause anguished protest.
I tried to do a deep dive into the police shootings so I could do more than express anger and frustration. I wanted to look at the causes.
DeSantis is like a grenade thrown in the middle of American culture, shredding our beliefs and values, all for his personal ambition. Where Trump was a bumbling idiot, DeSantis charges forth with robotic disregard for the Constitution and human compassion. Every choice he makes reduces health, safety, and individual freedom. He is Voldemort with a fancy haircut.
…
BTW, who knew he was a fan of Janis Ian?
In reference to McGonigal and question: Why now?
Joohn Choe:
["Thanks _____, I read the Snyder thread yesterday. What is coming out on McGonigal and Deripaska is what we were relatively certain was there, (even though his role with Deripaska was not known specifically to us) and the fact that it is coming out now is what I was hoping for when I wrote about the need for a counterintelligence investigation of the Freedom Caucus and MAGA leadership after the election.
Its happening because a faction of the national security establishment is terrified of these types being on these Committees and having top security clearance, and their stated intent to blind US intelligence. So they are blowing it up now, escalating. Plus these guys are threatening to cut off the aid to Ukraine, openly repeating Kremlin talking points about Ukraine's government, calling for "peace" by pushing partition. So, the combo of the McGonigal scandal, and the NY Times thing on Durham/Trump is all being brought out now. It's funny how everyone is describing these revelations as "suspicious." It's intelligence warfare and the things coming out now have been sitting in the icebox all along waiting for the right moment to be taken out. Where there's ice, there was water."]
I might add that the media has not helped with their crappy coverage. They have misrepresented the removal of Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee as GOP revenge demanded by Trump loyalists for the Impeachments in which he played a lead role. The big picture which is not addressed is that Schiff got his start as a Federal prosecutor who investigated the Russian Mafia, money laundering and is as knowledgeable about Putin's intelligence warfare operations as anyone alive. His removal is part of the Russian operation to blind and misdirect US intelligence on their behalf, to further their full array of asymmetric warfare. It's not a petty "revenge tour" performance to make Trump happy. It's designed to protect Trump and the GOP MAGA leadership who participated in January 6th, and further Putin's geo-strategic goals.
Aside from the obvious, why remove Schiff and try to defund the FBI, and why put Trump's eyes and ears, MTG on the Homeland Security Committee? Because they are planning new and more dangerous January 6 type events, in DC and elsewhere. Historically, white supremacists infiltrate law enforcement for the explicit purpose of getting early warning and sounding alarms if the Feds or others are headed their way. They are continuing an old tactic with their Committee appointments, in this case picking white supremacists who also happen to be on Putin's team.
Why do you think GOP/Trump favorite Cory Mills from Florida brought in and distributed in Congress defused grenades yesterday? For the same reason their first actions after the swearing in were to remove the magnetometers from the entrance. It was a probe, a dry run meant to test the Capitol's security readiness/response. Anyone honest and qualified with a background in security will tell you it should be treated as just that, not a stunt.
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