Pinback
Pinback's JournalRichard Dworsky: "Exultation"
Never forget.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/05/gop-senators-mocked-for-spending-july-4-in-russia/
Seven senators — John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — and one House member, Kay Granger (R-TX), are all in Moscow over the Fourth of July holiday this week for talks with Russian lawmakers and officials, according to reporting from the Washington Post, NPR, and investigative reporter Julia Davis.
This news is shocking for a number of reasons.
First of all ... it was the Fourth of July, for crying out loud. On a day where America celebrates its independence from tyranny and the establishment of its democracy, Republicans broke with precedent to meet with a tyrannical regime that tried to undermine American democracy by meddling in the 2016 elections.
Secondly, this week marks the first time in four years that a U.S. congressional delegation has gone to Moscow, and the first time since Russia annexed Crimea, which set off a firestorm of international criticism and led the U.S. to impose sanctions on Russia. Recently, however, Trump has suggested that Russia should not be punished for its illegal annexation.
Third, you might think it makes sense to send U.S. lawmakers to Russia in order to pave the way for Trump's scheduled summit with Putin on July 16. But as NPR reports, this trip was actually planned before the summit was announced.
- American Independent, July 5, 2018:
https://americanindependent.com/republicans-congress-celebrated-fourth-of-july-russia/
Joey Alexander Trio: 'Tis Our Prayer
The virus will continue to thrive and evolve, aided by the millions of Americans
who can’t be bothered to take even the simplest precautions for the greater good. Reminds me of Trump’s statement on January 6th: “Let the virus in! It’s not here to kill me.”
Those of us whose age or other factors place us at significant risk from infection (not to mention Long COVID), have to look out for ourselves and each other. The “Fuck You, Me First” mindset that guides a huge portion of American society will continue keeping us masked and/or isolated for a while longer.
Watch: ACLU Emergency Town Hall -- Our Fight for Abortion Access
Today's video webcast is available for streaming:
Note for hearing-impaired DUers: ASL interpreters were present for the entire program.
During this emergency town hall, an expert panel of ACLU attorneys and advocates discuss the devastating impact this decision will have on reproductive rights across the country, the ACLU’s short- and long-term response, and the path forward. The speakers include Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project Deputy Director; David Cole, ACLU Legal Director; J.J. Straight, ACLU Liberty Division Deputy Director; and Rebecca Lowell Edwards, ACLU Chief Communications Officer.
Important links from the webcast:
- Sign up for ACLU People Power's Activist Series: https://www.aclu.org/abortionactivist
- Provide support for 80+ local abortion funds across the country: https://www.nnaf.org/aclu
- Support ACLU with a monthly donation: https://www.aclu.org/monthly
Georgia Tech hotel hosting conference by election deniers
Georgia Tech hotel hosting conference by election deniersBy Chris Joyner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 29, 2022
The Nations in Action “Solutions and Strategy Summit” is scheduled to be held in the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, a midtown hotel run by the Georgia Tech Foundation, the university’s non-profit fundraising arm. Nations in Action, an organization founded by former Georgia lobbyist and Republican activist Maria Zack, bills the conference as an opportunity “to learn strategies and tactics to win America back.”
“Gain the latest intel on election fraud, the shadow government, globalist control, and how COVID has been weaponized against us from the whistleblowers and insiders who know,” the group said on its website. “Receive training and brainstorm on strategies to restore government and stop bad actors (politicians, parties, media, and government officials).”
The speakers are fringe figures, some of whom have espoused antisemitic conspiracies about Jewish control of government and the media or debunked claims about alleged health impacts of 5G cellular technology, among other beliefs.
More at link: https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-tech-hotel-hosting-conference-by-election-deniers/TII3F5KBDNFQFNPIKQPFOJDR6I/
This Maria Zack loon, by the way, was the founder of a PAC supporting Ted Cruz in 2016 but has since become a full-bore MAGAt and one of the most ardent pushers of the bizarro Italy-hacked-the-voting-machines conspiracy theory. More on that from Wonkette:
https://www.wonkette.com/remember-italygate-turns-out-the-people-behind-it-are-as-authentic-as-pasta-with-ketchup
Help push DU's support for Sen. Warnock over the $500 mark!
Hey, fellow DUers!
As you no doubt already know, this year's U.S. Senate race for Raphael Warnock's seat in Georgia is at the top of the GOP's hit list. This is projected to be the most expensive Senate race ever, with millions in Republican dark money already blanketing the state with ads supporting Herschel Walker and attacking Sen. Warnock. So the Warnock campaign needs all the help we can give them.
Please consider joining me to make a donation today. Raphael Warnock is a great senator and key to our goal of maintaining a Dem majority in November.
As I write this, we've raised $465.22 for Sen. Warnock. Let's send some more DU love his way to get this total over $500 today!
Rev. Sen. Warnock's page: https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Official Democratic Underground for Rev. Senator Warnock: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforwarnock
Many thanks to DUer Omaha Steve for setting up DU's donation effort!
Cross-posted to the Georgia Group.
Help push DU's support for Sen. Warnock over the $500 mark!
Hey, fellow DUers!
As you no doubt already know, this year's U.S. Senate race for Raphael Warnock's seat in Georgia is at the top of the GOP's hit list. This is projected to be the most expensive Senate race ever, with millions in Republican dark money already blanketing the state with ads supporting Herschel Walker and attacking Sen. Warnock. So the Warnock campaign needs all the help we can give them.
Please consider joining me to make a donation today. Raphael Warnock is a great senator and key to our goal of maintaining a Dem majority in November.
As I write this, we've raised $465.22 for Sen. Warnock. Let's send some more DU love his way to get this total over $500 today!
Rev. Sen. Warnock's page: https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Official Democratic Underground for Rev. Senator Warnock: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforwarnock
Many thanks to DUer Omaha Steve for setting up DU's donation effort!
Cross-posted to General Discussion.
Email provider reviews, focused on privacy
FYI - Today I came across this site with with useful reviews of email providers: https://digdeeper.neocities.org/ghost/email.html
The author is pretty knowledgeable but nonetheless manages to present the information in a way that's comprehensible to non-techies. (At least, as a "semi-techie," that's my impression.)
Warning: The site is quite utilitarian, relying on web design from around 1997 (but at least no flashing text!). Look past that and you'll find a lot of (imho) helpful information. So if you're considering switching email providers or just want to know how yours stacks up in this guy's opinion, check it out.
Airbnb Cracked Down on Ukraine Listings. Some Donors Wish It Hadn't
Source: Wired
TWO WEEKS AFTER Russia invaded Ukraine, Gregory Offner was looking for ways to help from his home in Philadelphia. He scrolled through Twitter and saw people posting receipts of Airbnbs they had booked in Ukraine, to get money directly into Ukrainian bank accounts. Offner was inspired. He chose an apartment in Kharkiv, a city in the northeast that has been hit particularly hard, and booked four nights, for a total of $214. He left a note explaining that he wouldn’t actually be coming to stay—this was humanitarian aid.
The host replied the next day. “Thank you very much for your kind support, it means a lot to us now,” he wrote, adding that he would donate the money to the Ukrainian army. But Offner’s payment never arrived. The next day, Airbnb canceled and refunded the booking. “I got an email saying the person hosting or using the Airbnb account in Ukraine was ‘no longer able to receive money’ from Airbnb,” Offner says. “Like, what does that even mean?”
It meant—though the platform never communicated this to Offner directly—that Airbnb suspected the host wasn’t legitimate. “We identified a handful of hosts who did not support this effort in the spirit intended,” says Ben Breit, the global trust communications lead at Airbnb. After donation bookings started coming in, some hosts created “ghost listings” for apartments in Ukraine that didn’t exist. In some cases, they may not live in Ukraine at all. That runs afoul of Airbnb’s policy on fake listings, even if those listings were meant to fundraise. After Offner booked his stay, his Airbnb host directed him to several such listings in Kyiv that he said could use some help from benefactors like Offner. The listings were all created this month.
By now, people have booked more than 434,000 nights in cities like Kyiv, Odessa, and Lviv to show solidarity with Ukranians. These bookings have amassed more than $15 million in aid, according to Airbnb. (The company, which normally takes about 20 percent of each booking, waived its fees in Ukraine.) But in the rush to get money to Ukrainians from abroad, some “guests” have had their bookings canceled without much explanation, leaving them confused and uneasy about using Airbnb for such contributions.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/airbnb-ukraine-listings-donations/
Some of the listings have been posted fraudulently, so it pays to be cautious when taking this route to supporting Ukrainians.
Farther down, the article notes that Airbnb.org is "providing free, short-term housing for 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine." So that's another option for those who want to help.
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