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Pinback's Journal
July 26, 2024
Republicans from Davenport, Iowa to Chesterfield, Mo.
are already so fucking tired of the Sofa King.
July 22, 2024
“Ella’s Song - We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest”
Bernice Johnson Reagon has died.
Bernice Johnson Reagon, whose powerful voice helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, has died
BY TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press, July 22, 2024 - https://apnews.com/
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bernice Johnson Reagon, a musician and scholar who used her rich, powerful contralto voice in the service of the American Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles around the world, died on July 16, according to her daughter’s social media post. She was 81.
Reagon was probably best known as the founder of the internationally renowned African American female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, which she led from 1973 until her retirement in 2004. The Grammy-nominated group’s mission has been to educate and empower as well as entertain. They perform songs from a wide range of genres that include spirituals, children’s songs, blues and jazz. Some of their original compositions honor American civil rights leaders and international freedom movements like the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
“She was incredible,” said Tammy Kernodle, a distinguished professor of music at Miami University who specializes in African American music. She described Reagon as someone “whose divine energy and intellect and talent all intersect in such a way to initiate change in the atmosphere.”
- more at link: https://apnews.com/article/bernice-johnson-reagon-sweet-honey-obituary-d2efc8ee8492d4979873f6b740b0d193
BY TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press, July 22, 2024 - https://apnews.com/
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bernice Johnson Reagon, a musician and scholar who used her rich, powerful contralto voice in the service of the American Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles around the world, died on July 16, according to her daughter’s social media post. She was 81.
Reagon was probably best known as the founder of the internationally renowned African American female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, which she led from 1973 until her retirement in 2004. The Grammy-nominated group’s mission has been to educate and empower as well as entertain. They perform songs from a wide range of genres that include spirituals, children’s songs, blues and jazz. Some of their original compositions honor American civil rights leaders and international freedom movements like the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
“She was incredible,” said Tammy Kernodle, a distinguished professor of music at Miami University who specializes in African American music. She described Reagon as someone “whose divine energy and intellect and talent all intersect in such a way to initiate change in the atmosphere.”
- more at link: https://apnews.com/article/bernice-johnson-reagon-sweet-honey-obituary-d2efc8ee8492d4979873f6b740b0d193
“Ella’s Song - We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest”
July 20, 2024
Do you need to be uplifted today?
Yeah, me too. Let me recommend this moving rendition of a beautiful song (cross-posted from the Music Appreciation forum):
July 20, 2024
Jacob Collier with Laufey, dodie + friends: "Wild Mountain Thyme"
?si=EKZwS2EAlA6yXfwI
July 19, 2024
From Wired, Sept. 25, 2019:
From Crowdstrike’s blog, June 5, 2020:
Tweet by Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz, July 19, 2024:
In case you're wondering where you've heard the name "Crowdstrike" before...
they’re the cybersecurity firm the DNC hired to investigate the Russian hack of the DNC’s servers, a hack that ultimately led to the WikiLeaks release of “her emails.” And later, Trump, the self-proclaimed MIT genius with a “very big brain,” obviously a Ninja-level expert on all things relating to computer security 
, pressured Volodymyr Zelenskyy about Crowdstrike in the infamous “perfect phone call.”
I post this information not to suggest any relation between that episode and the recent IT outage (which Crowdstrike says is not due to a cyberattack) or to fan the flames of conspiracy theory, but just as a backgrounder for those like me who have only medium-sized brains 
and may have thought, “Where have I heard of them before?”
From Politifact, Sept. 27, 2019 - "Trump mentioned the ‘Crowdstrike’ conspiracy during his call with Ukraine. Here’s what that means":
Crowdstrike is an American cybersecurity firm that aims to safeguard its clients from cyberattacks. In May 2016, the Democratic National Committee hired Crowdstrike after it began to suspect that its servers had been breached.
The firm found that two groups of Russian hackers had infiltrated DNC servers for about a year, giving them access to emails and opposition research about Trump. Crowdstrike then kicked the hackers off the servers.
Then, a Romanian hacker named Guccifer 2.0 claimed credit for the cyberattack and leaked DNC emails to the American press. WikiLeaks also claimed it had emails from Clinton, with Guccifer being its source.
- more: https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/sep/27/trump-mentioned-crowdstrike-conspiracy-during-his-/
The firm found that two groups of Russian hackers had infiltrated DNC servers for about a year, giving them access to emails and opposition research about Trump. Crowdstrike then kicked the hackers off the servers.
Then, a Romanian hacker named Guccifer 2.0 claimed credit for the cyberattack and leaked DNC emails to the American press. WikiLeaks also claimed it had emails from Clinton, with Guccifer being its source.
- more: https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/sep/27/trump-mentioned-crowdstrike-conspiracy-during-his-/
From Wired, Sept. 25, 2019:
How Trump’s Ukraine Mess Entangled CrowdStrike
ON WEDNESDAY, THE White House declassified a recap of President Donald Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation apparently at the heart of a whistleblower complaint and a broader impeachment inquiry. In the five-page summary, Trump urges Zelensky to contact US attorney general William Barr and Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, about possible investigations relating to Joe and Hunter Biden. But the notes also contain an unexpected reference to CrowdStrike, a prominent cybersecurity company that most Americans have never heard of.
It's still not entirely clear what Trump meant, or thought he meant, by bringing CrowdStrike into the conversation, which you can read in full below. But it starts to make a little more sense if you're willing to look back a few years, and assume some major confusion about digital forensics.
Here's what Trump said on the call, with all ellipses and punctuation are as they appear in the release, relating to CrowdStrike: "I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike ... I guess you have one of your wealthy people ... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you're surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like to get to the bottom of it."
- more: https://www.wired.com/story/trump-ukraine-call-crowdstrike-dnc-russia/
ON WEDNESDAY, THE White House declassified a recap of President Donald Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation apparently at the heart of a whistleblower complaint and a broader impeachment inquiry. In the five-page summary, Trump urges Zelensky to contact US attorney general William Barr and Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, about possible investigations relating to Joe and Hunter Biden. But the notes also contain an unexpected reference to CrowdStrike, a prominent cybersecurity company that most Americans have never heard of.
It's still not entirely clear what Trump meant, or thought he meant, by bringing CrowdStrike into the conversation, which you can read in full below. But it starts to make a little more sense if you're willing to look back a few years, and assume some major confusion about digital forensics.
Here's what Trump said on the call, with all ellipses and punctuation are as they appear in the release, relating to CrowdStrike: "I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike ... I guess you have one of your wealthy people ... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you're surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like to get to the bottom of it."
- more: https://www.wired.com/story/trump-ukraine-call-crowdstrike-dnc-russia/
From ABC News, July 19, 2024:
Here's what we know about CrowdStrike, the company potentially to blame for a global tech outage
What's next for the company?
Developer websites have already begun posting workarounds for the issue, and CrowdStrike the company offered a solution on its members-only platform until the incident resolves.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz released a statement on X on Friday evening, saying the outage was caused by a "defect" in a content update for Microsoft users.
He stressed it was not caused by a cyber attack.
- more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/what-is-crowdstrike-outage-explained/104120260
Here's what we know about CrowdStrike, the company potentially to blame for a global tech outage
What's next for the company?
Developer websites have already begun posting workarounds for the issue, and CrowdStrike the company offered a solution on its members-only platform until the incident resolves.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz released a statement on X on Friday evening, saying the outage was caused by a "defect" in a content update for Microsoft users.
He stressed it was not caused by a cyber attack.
- more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/what-is-crowdstrike-outage-explained/104120260
From Crowdstrike’s blog, June 5, 2020:
CrowdStrike’s work with the Democratic National Committee: Setting the record straight
Blog update following the release of the testimony by Shawn Henry, CSO and President of CrowdStrike Services, before the House Intelligence Committee that was recently declassified.
What was CrowdStrike’s role in investigating the hack of the DNC?
CrowdStrike was contacted on April 30, 2016 to respond to a suspected breach. We began our work with the DNC on May 1, 2016, collecting intelligence and analyzing the breach. After conducting this analysis and identifying the adversaries on the network, on June 10, 2016 we initiated a coordinated remediation event to ensure the intruders were removed and could not regain access. That remediation process lasted approximately 2-3 days and was completed on June 13, 2016.
Why did the DNC contact CrowdStrike?
The DNC contacted CrowdStrike to respond to a suspected cyber attack impacting its network. The DNC was first alerted to the hack by the FBI in September 2015. According to testimony by DNC IT contractor Yared Tamene Wolde-Yohannes, the FBI attributed the breach to the Russian Government in September 2015 (page 7).
Why did the DNC hire CrowdStrike instead of just working with the FBI to investigate the hack?
The FBI doesn’t perform incident response or network remediation services when organizations need to get back to business after a breach.
CrowdStrike is a leader in protecting customers around the world from cyber threats. It is common for organizations to hire third-party industry experts, like CrowdStrike, to investigate and remediate cyber attacks when they suspect a breach even if they are collaborating with law enforcement. As John Carlin, former Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at The Department of Justice, testified before the House Intelligence Committee (cited from page 21 of his testimony):
“A lot of — outside of any political organization, companies, most corporations, they often would use these third party contractors, who they hired through their own counsel, and maximize the control from the point of view of the victim.”
Did CrowdStrike have proof that Russia hacked the DNC?
Yes, and this is also supported by the U.S. Intelligence community and independent Congressional reports.
- more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/bears-midst-intrusion-democratic-national-committee/
Blog update following the release of the testimony by Shawn Henry, CSO and President of CrowdStrike Services, before the House Intelligence Committee that was recently declassified.
What was CrowdStrike’s role in investigating the hack of the DNC?
CrowdStrike was contacted on April 30, 2016 to respond to a suspected breach. We began our work with the DNC on May 1, 2016, collecting intelligence and analyzing the breach. After conducting this analysis and identifying the adversaries on the network, on June 10, 2016 we initiated a coordinated remediation event to ensure the intruders were removed and could not regain access. That remediation process lasted approximately 2-3 days and was completed on June 13, 2016.
Why did the DNC contact CrowdStrike?
The DNC contacted CrowdStrike to respond to a suspected cyber attack impacting its network. The DNC was first alerted to the hack by the FBI in September 2015. According to testimony by DNC IT contractor Yared Tamene Wolde-Yohannes, the FBI attributed the breach to the Russian Government in September 2015 (page 7).
Why did the DNC hire CrowdStrike instead of just working with the FBI to investigate the hack?
The FBI doesn’t perform incident response or network remediation services when organizations need to get back to business after a breach.
CrowdStrike is a leader in protecting customers around the world from cyber threats. It is common for organizations to hire third-party industry experts, like CrowdStrike, to investigate and remediate cyber attacks when they suspect a breach even if they are collaborating with law enforcement. As John Carlin, former Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at The Department of Justice, testified before the House Intelligence Committee (cited from page 21 of his testimony):
“A lot of — outside of any political organization, companies, most corporations, they often would use these third party contractors, who they hired through their own counsel, and maximize the control from the point of view of the victim.”
Did CrowdStrike have proof that Russia hacked the DNC?
Yes, and this is also supported by the U.S. Intelligence community and independent Congressional reports.
- more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/bears-midst-intrusion-democratic-national-committee/
Tweet by Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz, July 19, 2024:
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.
- link to Tweet: https://x.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317
- link to Tweet: https://x.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317
July 17, 2024
Charlie Hunter Quartet - Teabaggin'
July 12, 2024
McLaurin, who's a Democratic state senator from Sandy Springs (swing district in the affluent north Atlanta suburbs) was a guest on the Politically Georgia radio show / podcast today ("Black faith leaders in Georgia stand strongly with Biden" ) --
https://megaphone.link/CMGA2034917936
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7y2F5E0RgtJPj0f52B0qgY
McLaurin's description of his old Yale Law School roommate J.D. Vance makes Vance sound like a more well educated version of the prototypical "white grievance" Trump supporter -- someone bitter about the supposed condescension of "liberal elites" toward salt-of-the-earth white working class people like himself. And, obviously, also a craven political opportunist whose excuse for a moral compass can be recalibrated on a moment's notice.
McLaurin talked about knowing not only Vance but also Yale Law School classmate Vivek Ramaswamy, who he said was always focused more on his entrepreneurial activities than on his studies. Imagine having two toxic creeps like that in your circle!
See also:
J.D. Vance said Trump might be 'America's Hitler' in 2016 text message (The Week, April 18, 2022) - https://theweek.com/2022-election/1012706/jd-vance-said-trump-might-be-americas-hitler-in-2016-text-message
Georgia Democrat shares unlikely tie with potential Trump VP pick
- from Politically Georgia, AJC, July 11, 2024:
https://www.ajc.com/politics/politically-georgia/pg-am-georgia-democrat-shares-unlikely-tie-with-potential-trump-vp-pick/CJWHKBQS5ZCGVEWS73H4WJYCNA/
Georgia Democrat shares unlikely tie with potential Trump VP pick
By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer
As former President Donald Trump narrows his choices for a vice presidential running mate, skeletons from their closets are quietly emerging. And none has greater Georgia resonance than the unlikely ties between U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance and a local liberal.
The Ohio Republican — long seen as one of Trump’s most likely picks — was roommates with Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs in their first year at Yale Law School.
But there’s more. McLaurin, as we’ve reported previously, has produced texts from Vance in which he wrote that the GOP has “only itself to blame” for Trump’s rise to power.
“We are, whether we like it or not, the party of lower-income, lower-education white people, and I have been saying for a long time that we need to offer those people SOMETHING (and hell, maybe even expand our appeal to working class black people in the process) or a demagogue would,” Vance wrote in the text. “We are now at the point.”
The text continues: “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical (expletive) like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler. How’s that for discouraging?”
Back when McLaurin first shared screenshots of the texts in 2022, they went viral — and “America’s Hitler” briefly trended. Vance’s aides haven’t disputed the texts but said his criticism of Trump and other GOP leaders was old news.
Trump is expected to decide between Vance, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and other contenders by the start of the Republican National Convention next week.
By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Van Brimmer
As former President Donald Trump narrows his choices for a vice presidential running mate, skeletons from their closets are quietly emerging. And none has greater Georgia resonance than the unlikely ties between U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance and a local liberal.
The Ohio Republican — long seen as one of Trump’s most likely picks — was roommates with Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs in their first year at Yale Law School.
But there’s more. McLaurin, as we’ve reported previously, has produced texts from Vance in which he wrote that the GOP has “only itself to blame” for Trump’s rise to power.
“We are, whether we like it or not, the party of lower-income, lower-education white people, and I have been saying for a long time that we need to offer those people SOMETHING (and hell, maybe even expand our appeal to working class black people in the process) or a demagogue would,” Vance wrote in the text. “We are now at the point.”
The text continues: “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical (expletive) like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler. How’s that for discouraging?”
Back when McLaurin first shared screenshots of the texts in 2022, they went viral — and “America’s Hitler” briefly trended. Vance’s aides haven’t disputed the texts but said his criticism of Trump and other GOP leaders was old news.
Trump is expected to decide between Vance, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and other contenders by the start of the Republican National Convention next week.
McLaurin, who's a Democratic state senator from Sandy Springs (swing district in the affluent north Atlanta suburbs) was a guest on the Politically Georgia radio show / podcast today ("Black faith leaders in Georgia stand strongly with Biden" ) --
https://megaphone.link/CMGA2034917936
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7y2F5E0RgtJPj0f52B0qgY
McLaurin's description of his old Yale Law School roommate J.D. Vance makes Vance sound like a more well educated version of the prototypical "white grievance" Trump supporter -- someone bitter about the supposed condescension of "liberal elites" toward salt-of-the-earth white working class people like himself. And, obviously, also a craven political opportunist whose excuse for a moral compass can be recalibrated on a moment's notice.
McLaurin talked about knowing not only Vance but also Yale Law School classmate Vivek Ramaswamy, who he said was always focused more on his entrepreneurial activities than on his studies. Imagine having two toxic creeps like that in your circle!
See also:
J.D. Vance said Trump might be 'America's Hitler' in 2016 text message (The Week, April 18, 2022) - https://theweek.com/2022-election/1012706/jd-vance-said-trump-might-be-americas-hitler-in-2016-text-message
July 12, 2024
Lula Collins - Help Me
July 12, 2024
This is from a couple of weeks ago, so not breaking news, but it might be of interest to DU investors holding index funds and ETFs. Obviously, one of the challenges of investing in broadly diversified mutual funds of any sort is making sure your investments are aligned with your values. This piece highlights one such challenge…
- more at link:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/business/trump-media-stock-truth-social-russell
You may now own a piece of Trump Media - and not even know it
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/business/trump-media-stock-truth-social-russellThis is from a couple of weeks ago, so not breaking news, but it might be of interest to DU investors holding index funds and ETFs. Obviously, one of the challenges of investing in broadly diversified mutual funds of any sort is making sure your investments are aligned with your values. This piece highlights one such challenge…
You may now own a piece of Trump Media – and not even know it
- Matt Egan, CNN, 7/2/2024
New York (CNN) — If you’ve got money in the market, you might own a little piece of Trump Media — without even knowing it.
Trump Media & Technology is now part of two broad indexes of US stocks: the Russell 1000 Index of large-cap stocks and the Russell 3000 Index. And several popular passive funds — namely index and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — automatically buy whatever shares are part of those Russell indexes.
Trump Media (DJT), the owner of conservative social media platform Truth Social, announced its addition to the Russell family on Monday. The company, majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, doesn’t make money and generates very little revenue.
As a result, countless retail investors will now own a piece of Trump Media.
- Matt Egan, CNN, 7/2/2024
New York (CNN) — If you’ve got money in the market, you might own a little piece of Trump Media — without even knowing it.
Trump Media & Technology is now part of two broad indexes of US stocks: the Russell 1000 Index of large-cap stocks and the Russell 3000 Index. And several popular passive funds — namely index and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — automatically buy whatever shares are part of those Russell indexes.
Trump Media (DJT), the owner of conservative social media platform Truth Social, announced its addition to the Russell family on Monday. The company, majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, doesn’t make money and generates very little revenue.
As a result, countless retail investors will now own a piece of Trump Media.
- more at link:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/business/trump-media-stock-truth-social-russell
July 12, 2024
Janelle Monae - Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)
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