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Rust: Cinematographer down...
On October 21st, 2021, actor Alec Baldwin while on set for filming of the movie RUST discharges a gun used as a prop. The gun wasn't loaded with a blank, instead it had a real bullet that struck director of photography, Halyna Hutchins and film's director, Joel Souza who was behind Halyna. Hutchins dies and Souza survives.
Opinions of 180 degrees start flying. Some blame Baldwin for not checking the gun. Some say it's handled by specialized film crew, actor's aren't required to check props. On and on we go.
Investigations start coming through and the finger of blame gets rotated a few times a day.
Currently, we are up a few new stories daily (and several re-hashed) about the events leading up to this tragedy.
Search warrants, investigations, lack of safety protocols, previous misfiring incidents, gun practice, empty shells.Filming has ceased, the crew has gone home.
Opinions of 180 degrees start flying. Some blame Baldwin for not checking the gun. Some say it's handled by specialized film crew, actor's aren't required to check props. On and on we go.
Investigations start coming through and the finger of blame gets rotated a few times a day.
Currently, we are up a few new stories daily (and several re-hashed) about the events leading up to this tragedy.
Search warrants, investigations, lack of safety protocols, previous misfiring incidents, gun practice, empty shells.Filming has ceased, the crew has gone home.
Dr. Birx testifies before Congress, that over 130,000 lives could have been saved
Today from Business Insider;
In response to:
Trump's White House ignored advice on COVID-19 that could've saved over 130,000 lives, Birx said
John Haltiwanger
Tue, October 26, 2021, 4:20 PM
Trump's COVID-19 response led to many preventable deaths, Deborah Birx told House lawmakers.
Over 130,000 lives could've been saved if Trump's White House followed the science, she said.
Birx also testified that the 2020 election distracted Trump from the pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the former White House COVID-19 response coordinator, in testimony to the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis said that former President Donald Trump's approach to the pandemic led to a massive number of preventable deaths.
"No," Birx said when asked if Trump did everything in his power to curb the spread and save lives, per excerpts of her testimony released by the committee on Tuesday.
"And I've said that to the White House in general, and I believe I was very clear to the president in specifics of what I needed him to do," she added.
Birx, who testified before the committee in mid-October, said that over 130,000 lives could've been saved in the early stages of the pandemic had Trump's White House adhered to the science and pushed for measures advocated by experts.
"I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30% less to 40% less range," Birx said.
She also suggested that the 2020 election distracted Trump and took attention away from the nation's pandemic response.
"The governors and mayors and others that were campaigning, as well as the White House that was campaigning, just took people's time away from and distracted them away from the pandemic in my personal opinion," Birx said. "They were actively campaigning and not as present in the White House as previously."
Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
From the earliest days of the pandemic, Trump downplayed the threat of COVID-19 and repeatedly spread misinformation on the virus. He routinely pushed against public health recommendations, including wearing a mask or face covering. Trump during an interview with veteran journalist Bob Woodward admitted that he deliberately sought to downplay the dangers of the virus in an effort to avoid inducing "panic."
Top public health experts have excoriated Trump over his pandemic response, saying that his approach led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
By the time Trump left office, there had been over 400,000 reported COVID-19 deaths in the US.
Trump's White House ignored advice on COVID-19 that could've saved over 130,000 lives, Birx said
John Haltiwanger
Tue, October 26, 2021, 4:20 PM
Trump's COVID-19 response led to many preventable deaths, Deborah Birx told House lawmakers.
Over 130,000 lives could've been saved if Trump's White House followed the science, she said.
Birx also testified that the 2020 election distracted Trump from the pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the former White House COVID-19 response coordinator, in testimony to the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis said that former President Donald Trump's approach to the pandemic led to a massive number of preventable deaths.
"No," Birx said when asked if Trump did everything in his power to curb the spread and save lives, per excerpts of her testimony released by the committee on Tuesday.
"And I've said that to the White House in general, and I believe I was very clear to the president in specifics of what I needed him to do," she added.
Birx, who testified before the committee in mid-October, said that over 130,000 lives could've been saved in the early stages of the pandemic had Trump's White House adhered to the science and pushed for measures advocated by experts.
"I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30% less to 40% less range," Birx said.
She also suggested that the 2020 election distracted Trump and took attention away from the nation's pandemic response.
"The governors and mayors and others that were campaigning, as well as the White House that was campaigning, just took people's time away from and distracted them away from the pandemic in my personal opinion," Birx said. "They were actively campaigning and not as present in the White House as previously."
Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
From the earliest days of the pandemic, Trump downplayed the threat of COVID-19 and repeatedly spread misinformation on the virus. He routinely pushed against public health recommendations, including wearing a mask or face covering. Trump during an interview with veteran journalist Bob Woodward admitted that he deliberately sought to downplay the dangers of the virus in an effort to avoid inducing "panic."
Top public health experts have excoriated Trump over his pandemic response, saying that his approach led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
By the time Trump left office, there had been over 400,000 reported COVID-19 deaths in the US.
Mom rips ‘despicable’ Biden for laughing at blame claim for sons’ fentanyl deaths’
A Michigan mom whose two sons died of fentanyl overdoses has slammed President Biden as “despicable” after he laughed off the false claim that his administration was to blame for their deaths.
Rebecca Kiessling, whose sons Caleb, 20, and Kyler, 18, died in July 2020 after taking fentanyl-laced Percocet pills, took aim at Biden on Wednesday night after he used her family’s story to knock GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s suggestion he was responsible for the fatalities.
“This is how you speak about the death of my sons? Because a congresswoman misspoke? You mock the loss of my sons?” Kiessling said in a scathing video posted on Facebook.
Kiessling had testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday about the loss of her sons, telling Congress that more should be done to stop fentanyl imports.
Greene (R-Ga.) quickly seized on Kiessling’s testimony, suggesting that the brothers might still be alive if the Biden administration had secured the border and stopped the flow of drugs into the US.
Biden, 80, poked fun at Greene on Wednesday night, chuckling as he told a gathering of House Democrats in Baltimore that the boys died under the Trump administration.
“I’ve read she was very specific recently saying that a mom, a poor mother who lost two kids to fentanyl, that I killed her sons. Well, the interesting thing: That fentanyl they took came during the last administration,” the president said, adding a “heh-heh” as one or two audience members murmured in disapproval of Greene.
A furious Kiessling said she was “shocked” at Biden’s reaction and demanded an apology from the commander-in-chief.
“How dare you. What is the matter with you? Almost every Democrat on the committee offered condolences, they at least had the decency to do that,” she said in the video. “You can’t even do that? You have to mock my pain?”
While Kiessling acknowledged that her sons died six months before Biden was elected, she slammed the government’s handling of the fentanyl crisis ever since.
Read more:
Rebecca Kiessling, whose sons Caleb, 20, and Kyler, 18, died in July 2020 after taking fentanyl-laced Percocet pills, took aim at Biden on Wednesday night after he used her family’s story to knock GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s suggestion he was responsible for the fatalities.
“This is how you speak about the death of my sons? Because a congresswoman misspoke? You mock the loss of my sons?” Kiessling said in a scathing video posted on Facebook.
Kiessling had testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday about the loss of her sons, telling Congress that more should be done to stop fentanyl imports.
Greene (R-Ga.) quickly seized on Kiessling’s testimony, suggesting that the brothers might still be alive if the Biden administration had secured the border and stopped the flow of drugs into the US.
Biden, 80, poked fun at Greene on Wednesday night, chuckling as he told a gathering of House Democrats in Baltimore that the boys died under the Trump administration.
“I’ve read she was very specific recently saying that a mom, a poor mother who lost two kids to fentanyl, that I killed her sons. Well, the interesting thing: That fentanyl they took came during the last administration,” the president said, adding a “heh-heh” as one or two audience members murmured in disapproval of Greene.
A furious Kiessling said she was “shocked” at Biden’s reaction and demanded an apology from the commander-in-chief.
“How dare you. What is the matter with you? Almost every Democrat on the committee offered condolences, they at least had the decency to do that,” she said in the video. “You can’t even do that? You have to mock my pain?”
While Kiessling acknowledged that her sons died six months before Biden was elected, she slammed the government’s handling of the fentanyl crisis ever since.
Read more:
online today!
Trump Told Australian Billionaire Nuclear Sub Secrets
"Former President Donald Trump reportedly shared details about America’s nuclear submarine program with an Australian billionaire, who then went on to tell journalists, foreign officials and others about the sensitive information, according to multiple reports."
Another Trump Russian connection Convicted !
This afternoon from The Associated Press;
In response to: Giuliani associate convicted of campaign finance crimes
TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER
Fri, October 22, 2021, 3:15 PM
NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida businessman who helped Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine was convicted Friday of campaign finance crimes, including funneling a Russian entrepreneur's money to U.S. politicians.
Lev Parnas was on trial for more than two weeks as prosecutors accused him of using other people’s money to pose as a powerful political broker and cozy up to some of the nation’s star Republicans.
One part of the case alleged that Parnas and an associate made illegal donations through a corporate entity in 2018 as they tried to jump-start a new energy company, including a $325,000 donation to America First Action, a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump.
Another part said he used the wealth of a Russian financier, Andrey Muraviev, to donate to Republicans in Nevada, Florida and other states, ostensibly in support of an effort to launch a legal, recreational marijuana business.
Parnas, 49, was convicted on all six counts after about five hours of jury deliberations.
A co-defendant, Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin, was convicted of being part of the effort to use Muraviev’s money for political contributions.
The case had drawn interest because of the deep involvement of Parnas and a former co-defendant, Igor Fruman, in Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden’s son during Biden’s campaign for president.
Giuliani remains under criminal investigation as authorities decide whether his interactions with Ukraine officials required him to register as a foreign agent, but he wasn’t alleged to have been involved in illegal campaign contributions and wasn’t part of the New York trial.
The case did, though, give an up-close look at how Parnas entered Republican circles in 2018 with a pattern of campaign donations big enough to get him meetings with the party’s stars.
"In order to gain influence with American politicians and candidates, they illegally funneled foreign money into the 2018 midterm elections with an eye toward making huge profits in the cannabis business," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following the verdict. “Campaign finance laws are designed to protect the integrity of our free and fair elections – unencumbered by foreign interests or influence – and safeguarding those laws is essential to preserving the freedoms that Americans hold sacred.”
In addition to the $325,000 donation to America First Action, prosecutors said Parnas and Fruman orchestrated donations to U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, of Texas, and to other committees supporting House Republicans.
Giuliani and Trump were sparsely mentioned during the trial, although a photograph featuring Parnas with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, was one of the first exhibits shown to jurors during closing arguments.
DeSantis was among those who received campaign contributions that prosecutors said were traced to $1 million that Parnas and Fruman received from Muraviev, who has been involved in several U.S. cannabis ventures.
About $100,000 of Muraviev’s money went toward campaign contributions in what Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten called a conspiracy to secretly bring his “wealth and corruption into American politics” in violation of laws barring foreign donations to U.S. political candidates.
“The voters would never know whose money was pouring into our elections,” Scotten said.
Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, testified during the trial that a blustering Parnas suggested he could raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for him in 2018.
TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER
Fri, October 22, 2021, 3:15 PM
NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida businessman who helped Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine was convicted Friday of campaign finance crimes, including funneling a Russian entrepreneur's money to U.S. politicians.
Lev Parnas was on trial for more than two weeks as prosecutors accused him of using other people’s money to pose as a powerful political broker and cozy up to some of the nation’s star Republicans.
One part of the case alleged that Parnas and an associate made illegal donations through a corporate entity in 2018 as they tried to jump-start a new energy company, including a $325,000 donation to America First Action, a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump.
Another part said he used the wealth of a Russian financier, Andrey Muraviev, to donate to Republicans in Nevada, Florida and other states, ostensibly in support of an effort to launch a legal, recreational marijuana business.
Parnas, 49, was convicted on all six counts after about five hours of jury deliberations.
A co-defendant, Ukraine-born investor Andrey Kukushkin, was convicted of being part of the effort to use Muraviev’s money for political contributions.
The case had drawn interest because of the deep involvement of Parnas and a former co-defendant, Igor Fruman, in Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden’s son during Biden’s campaign for president.
Giuliani remains under criminal investigation as authorities decide whether his interactions with Ukraine officials required him to register as a foreign agent, but he wasn’t alleged to have been involved in illegal campaign contributions and wasn’t part of the New York trial.
The case did, though, give an up-close look at how Parnas entered Republican circles in 2018 with a pattern of campaign donations big enough to get him meetings with the party’s stars.
"In order to gain influence with American politicians and candidates, they illegally funneled foreign money into the 2018 midterm elections with an eye toward making huge profits in the cannabis business," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following the verdict. “Campaign finance laws are designed to protect the integrity of our free and fair elections – unencumbered by foreign interests or influence – and safeguarding those laws is essential to preserving the freedoms that Americans hold sacred.”
In addition to the $325,000 donation to America First Action, prosecutors said Parnas and Fruman orchestrated donations to U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, of Texas, and to other committees supporting House Republicans.
Giuliani and Trump were sparsely mentioned during the trial, although a photograph featuring Parnas with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, was one of the first exhibits shown to jurors during closing arguments.
DeSantis was among those who received campaign contributions that prosecutors said were traced to $1 million that Parnas and Fruman received from Muraviev, who has been involved in several U.S. cannabis ventures.
About $100,000 of Muraviev’s money went toward campaign contributions in what Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten called a conspiracy to secretly bring his “wealth and corruption into American politics” in violation of laws barring foreign donations to U.S. political candidates.
“The voters would never know whose money was pouring into our elections,” Scotten said.
Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, testified during the trial that a blustering Parnas suggested he could raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for him in 2018.
Walt Nauta's legal issues...
40-year-old military veteran, Waltine “Walt” Nauta, was Donald J. Trump's valet at the white house and became his executive assistant/personal valet after Trump left the presidency.
Once Trump launched his 2024 presidential bid, his campaign operation also began paying Nauta's salary estimated at $135,000 per year.
He appeared in court last month with Trump in the connection of the classified documents case. Unable to find a lawyer registered in Florida, his arraignment was delayed a month. Speculation is Trump (indirectly) is paying his legal fees.
Although being charged himself, he is a key witness in the case against Trump. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Nauta took boxes of materials from the white house that went to Mar-a-Lago. During the time the government tried to recover the boxes of classified documents, it's stated Nauta had moved boxes several times.
How did they know?
They were able to obtain security video from Mar-a-Lago including some witnessed by Trump's lawyer when the boxes were moved. What's worse, is he lied to Federal investigators who questioned him about the documents he claimed to know nothing about. They have him on video.
Reports are he stands a good chance of prison time if convicted. Reports also say he was offered a plea deal that he declined. Loyalty to Trump is costly.
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen was interviewed by saying either way, Nauta is looking at serious legal issues and should reconsider 'Flipping on Trump' in exchange for a lesser sentence.
The prediction is Trump will postpone his court date and this may drag out past the election. Walt, could see his court date before the end of the year.
The question then... if Nauta does time for his connection with Trump... what happens to Trump?
Once Trump launched his 2024 presidential bid, his campaign operation also began paying Nauta's salary estimated at $135,000 per year.
He appeared in court last month with Trump in the connection of the classified documents case. Unable to find a lawyer registered in Florida, his arraignment was delayed a month. Speculation is Trump (indirectly) is paying his legal fees.
Although being charged himself, he is a key witness in the case against Trump. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Nauta took boxes of materials from the white house that went to Mar-a-Lago. During the time the government tried to recover the boxes of classified documents, it's stated Nauta had moved boxes several times.
How did they know?
They were able to obtain security video from Mar-a-Lago including some witnessed by Trump's lawyer when the boxes were moved. What's worse, is he lied to Federal investigators who questioned him about the documents he claimed to know nothing about. They have him on video.
Reports are he stands a good chance of prison time if convicted. Reports also say he was offered a plea deal that he declined. Loyalty to Trump is costly.
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen was interviewed by saying either way, Nauta is looking at serious legal issues and should reconsider 'Flipping on Trump' in exchange for a lesser sentence.
The prediction is Trump will postpone his court date and this may drag out past the election. Walt, could see his court date before the end of the year.
The question then... if Nauta does time for his connection with Trump... what happens to Trump?
Frivolous lawsuits...
I'm reading the latest news on Kari Lake's Maricopa County election lawsuit. Weeks ago I planned to blog about the election and other things captured my attention. It was a close race, but Kari lost, refused to concede and claims we don't have honest elections, yet her attorney was unable to provide evidence to back up her suit in court.
It doesn't matter what she Tweets or says to reporters. While she believes she won the election, she and her attorney(s) were unable to convince the court.
Always I go to the comments about the articles I've read to get the readers opinions.
For example, lawyers who knowingly bring up frivolous lawsuits with no evidence or substantiating facts as well as their clients should make restitution to the state, county or township where the tax dollars (and court dates) were wasted.
I'm okay with that concept. It would be a viable means to reduce frivolous lawsuits.
link:
A comment from another news story said Kari Lake would be perfect for Trump's running mate in 2024.
It doesn't matter what she Tweets or says to reporters. While she believes she won the election, she and her attorney(s) were unable to convince the court.
Always I go to the comments about the articles I've read to get the readers opinions.
For example, lawyers who knowingly bring up frivolous lawsuits with no evidence or substantiating facts as well as their clients should make restitution to the state, county or township where the tax dollars (and court dates) were wasted.
I'm okay with that concept. It would be a viable means to reduce frivolous lawsuits.
link:
A comment from another news story said Kari Lake would be perfect for Trump's running mate in 2024.
Another bit of Inspiration...
A baker in the English town of Guisborough, pop. 17k or thereabouts, is reviving an ancient tradition to help his neighbors endure high energy costs.
Thousands of years ago, societies built one oven in town where everyone went to bake their bread, and now Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt from Brickyard Bakery is offering to bake Christmas cakes for anyone worried about the energy costs of turning on the oven for several hours.
“At this time of year, there can be no greater expression of love than baking the family Christmas cake, but that is being lost because of the prohibitive energy costs in running an oven for a few hours,” said Baker Ed. “At Brickyard, we want to help by reviving a tradition lost to our community for centuries, the community oven.” Anyone who has already prepared a cake can bring it to Brickyard Bakery on a Friday, and retrieve it baked and decorated the following Monday.
This is not Hamilton-Trewhitt’s first foray into good-deeding, as earlier in September, he realized the excess heat from his ovens could be used to create a community “warm lounge” for people without the means to heat their home continuously throughout the day.
This small act of kindness brought the village baker international acclaim, as he reported on his Facebook. He has also been offering pay-what-you-want cooking classes, which he described as “a tremendous success with lots of folk enjoying learning how to cook some cost effective tasty meals,” and some free hot tea or coffee to boot.
Local Sharon Bulmer remembered the tradition which Ed is trying to revive, commenting: “After the Baker had made his bread he allowed locals to bring their dishes to be cooked in the oven. Probably why we have so many casseroles etc.” “What an amazing thing to do, it used to be a way of live for families struggling when the cotton Mills and factories and coal mines were at their height. What an amazing thing to do, to give back to your customers and community. May your kindness be rewarded.”
Yummy-looking cake, Heartwarming story!
Thousands of years ago, societies built one oven in town where everyone went to bake their bread, and now Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt from Brickyard Bakery is offering to bake Christmas cakes for anyone worried about the energy costs of turning on the oven for several hours.
“At this time of year, there can be no greater expression of love than baking the family Christmas cake, but that is being lost because of the prohibitive energy costs in running an oven for a few hours,” said Baker Ed. “At Brickyard, we want to help by reviving a tradition lost to our community for centuries, the community oven.” Anyone who has already prepared a cake can bring it to Brickyard Bakery on a Friday, and retrieve it baked and decorated the following Monday.
This is not Hamilton-Trewhitt’s first foray into good-deeding, as earlier in September, he realized the excess heat from his ovens could be used to create a community “warm lounge” for people without the means to heat their home continuously throughout the day.
This small act of kindness brought the village baker international acclaim, as he reported on his Facebook. He has also been offering pay-what-you-want cooking classes, which he described as “a tremendous success with lots of folk enjoying learning how to cook some cost effective tasty meals,” and some free hot tea or coffee to boot.
Local Sharon Bulmer remembered the tradition which Ed is trying to revive, commenting: “After the Baker had made his bread he allowed locals to bring their dishes to be cooked in the oven. Probably why we have so many casseroles etc.” “What an amazing thing to do, it used to be a way of live for families struggling when the cotton Mills and factories and coal mines were at their height. What an amazing thing to do, to give back to your customers and community. May your kindness be rewarded.”
Yummy-looking cake, Heartwarming story!
Finally, the proof Twitter invented a reason to help Joe Biden win in 2020
“We’re erring on the side of including a warning and preventing this content from being amplified,” Twitter’s safety chief Yoel Roth said of why The Post’s coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020 was censored. He attached a “generic unsafe message” to the Tweet — “not ideal,” he wrote, “but it’s the only thing we have.”
In other words — we have to stop this, reasons be damned.
Roth’s message is part of a shocking collection of inside correspondence released by new Twitter owner Elon Musk through journalist Matt Taibbi. The messages reveal a small group of busybodies — a group that didn’t even include CEO Jack Dorsey — making their own decisions on what to delete or block based on their own liberal biases.
“They just freelanced it,” an employee says. “Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it.”
The Post’s reporting wasn’t just blocked, it was suppressed. “They even blocked its transmission via direct message, a tool hitherto reserved for extreme cases, e.g. child pornography,” Taibbi writes.
Even internally, the logic was seen as weak. “Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?” Brandon Borrman, vice president of global communications, asked.
As the backlash grew, not just from Republicans but Democrat lawmakers worried about the implication of such censorship, “everyone knew this was f–ked,” says an employee. But it was taking a long time to “unf–k” it.
Twitter was directly involved in tilting an election. Everyone could see it, but because they were desperate for Donald Trump to lose and Joe Biden to win, that the media barely made a peep. Even after Hunter Biden’s former business partner gave a public press conference backing up exactly what The Post had reported.
After it became untenable to say the laptop wasn’t real, Twitter told us we could have our account back — we just had to delete the original Tweet. We could even put up a new Tweet linking to the Hunter Biden story, one that wouldn’t be censored, but we had to delete the original one.
The logic behind this blackmail escaped us. The Post refused. It would be 17 days before Twitter finally backed down and unfroze our account.
The bias was clear. After all, no one flagged The Times reporting on Trump’s private tax documents as “hacked materials.” The knee-jerk censorship only happened in one direction.
And, by the way, nothing really changed afterward. Twitter went right back to censoring those who didn’t toe the line on COVID and any other number of topics. As Taibbi also outlines, The Democratic National Committee and the Biden administration were in direct email contact with the Twitter content team, pointing them exactly to the Tweets they wanted destroyed.
It took a very expensive change of ownership for these details to come to light, and for the promise of less censorship in the future. That’s why the left is losing their minds.
In other words — we have to stop this, reasons be damned.
Roth’s message is part of a shocking collection of inside correspondence released by new Twitter owner Elon Musk through journalist Matt Taibbi. The messages reveal a small group of busybodies — a group that didn’t even include CEO Jack Dorsey — making their own decisions on what to delete or block based on their own liberal biases.
“They just freelanced it,” an employee says. “Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it.”
The Post’s reporting wasn’t just blocked, it was suppressed. “They even blocked its transmission via direct message, a tool hitherto reserved for extreme cases, e.g. child pornography,” Taibbi writes.
Even internally, the logic was seen as weak. “Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?” Brandon Borrman, vice president of global communications, asked.
As the backlash grew, not just from Republicans but Democrat lawmakers worried about the implication of such censorship, “everyone knew this was f–ked,” says an employee. But it was taking a long time to “unf–k” it.
Twitter was directly involved in tilting an election. Everyone could see it, but because they were desperate for Donald Trump to lose and Joe Biden to win, that the media barely made a peep. Even after Hunter Biden’s former business partner gave a public press conference backing up exactly what The Post had reported.
After it became untenable to say the laptop wasn’t real, Twitter told us we could have our account back — we just had to delete the original Tweet. We could even put up a new Tweet linking to the Hunter Biden story, one that wouldn’t be censored, but we had to delete the original one.
The logic behind this blackmail escaped us. The Post refused. It would be 17 days before Twitter finally backed down and unfroze our account.
The bias was clear. After all, no one flagged The Times reporting on Trump’s private tax documents as “hacked materials.” The knee-jerk censorship only happened in one direction.
And, by the way, nothing really changed afterward. Twitter went right back to censoring those who didn’t toe the line on COVID and any other number of topics. As Taibbi also outlines, The Democratic National Committee and the Biden administration were in direct email contact with the Twitter content team, pointing them exactly to the Tweets they wanted destroyed.
It took a very expensive change of ownership for these details to come to light, and for the promise of less censorship in the future. That’s why the left is losing their minds.
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