Coming soon to an administration near you…
Tag: corruption
Regarding conspiracy theorists…
THE BBC-TO-NATO PIPELINE: HOW THE BRITISH STATE BROADCASTER SERVES THE POWERFUL
The death of Queen Elizabeth II, where the BBC dropped programming to run endless, wall-to-wall coverage, has underlined the fact to many Britons that the network is far from impartial, but the voice of the state.
The BBC website draped itself in black, printing stories such as “Death of Queen Elizabeth II: The moment history stops,” while BBC News presenter Clive Myrie explicitly dismissed the cost of living and energy crisis wracking the country as “insignificant” compared to the news.
But even before the monarch’s death, the BBC’s reputation was in crisis. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of Britons saying they trusted its coverage dropped from 75% to just 55%. Yet it still remains a giant in media; more than three-quarters of the U.K. public rely on the network as a news source.
However, this investigation will reveal that the BBC has always been consciously used as an arm of the state, with the broadcaster openly collaborating with the U.K. military, the intelligence services and with NATO, all in an effort to shape British and world public opinion.
Secret Service says Biden Delaware visitor logs don’t exist, report says
The U.S. Secret Service says it cannot find records identifying any visitors to President Joe Biden’s Delaware homes, according to a Freedom of Information Act appeal from the New York Post. Biden has spent approximately one quarter of his presidency at his Delaware residences.
In a letter dated Sept. 27, Secret Service deputy director Faron Paramore said that “the agency conducted an additional search of relevant program offices for potentially responsive records.”
“This search also produced no responsive records,” Paramore claimed. “Accordingly, your appeal is denied.”
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) slammed the Secret Service’s claims and the Biden administration’s ongoing lack of transparency.
“The claim that there are no visitor logs for President Biden’s Delaware residence is a bunch of malarkey,” Comer told The Post. “Americans deserve to know who President Biden is meeting with, especially since we know that he routinely met with [first son] Hunter’s business associates during his time as vice president.”
When a ‘conspiracy theory’ turns out to be…not a theory
WHEN A ‘CONSPIRACY THEORY’ TURNS OUT TO BE…NOT A THEORY. On Monday, the New York Times published a story about Konnech, a small election software company that has just 27 employees, 21 based in Michigan and six in Australia. The paper reported that Konnech has been the target of “election deniers” who have made it the focus of “a new conspiracy theory about the 2020 presidential election.”
“Using threadbare evidence, or none at all,” the New York Times’s Stuart A. Thompson reported, the “election deniers” said Konnech “had secret ties to the Chinese Communist Party and had given the Chinese government backdoor access to personal data about two million poll workers in the United States.”
In the last two years, the New York Times added, “conspiracy theorists have subjected election officials and private companies that play a major role in elections to a barrage of outlandish voter fraud claims.” But now, “the attacks on Konnech demonstrate how far-right election deniers are also giving more attention to new and more secondary companies and groups.”
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Konnech officials assured the New York Times that “none of the accusations were true.” Thompson reported that employees “feared for their safety” from right-wing violence and that “Konnech’s founder and chief executive, Eugene Yu, an American citizen who immigrated from China in 1986, went into hiding with his family after receiving threatening messages.”
Any reasonable reader would come away with the conclusion that Konnech, an innocent company that makes products to deal with “basic election logistics, such as scheduling poll workers,” has been the target of crazy, and possibly dangerous, conspiracy theories. To press the point, the New York Times used the phrase “conspiracy theory” or “conspiracy theorists” nine times in the article, once in the headline — “How a Tiny Elections Company Became a Conspiracy Theory Target” — seven times in the body of the story, and once in a photo caption. Got it?
Fast forward one day. Twenty-four hours. The New York Times published another story about Konnech, this one headlined, “Election Software Executive Arrested on Suspicion of Theft.” Thompson reported that Yu had been “arrested by Los Angeles County officials in connection with an investigation into the possible theft of personal information about poll workers.”
From the New York Times: “The company has been accused by groups challenging the validity of the 2020 presidential election with storing information about poll workers on servers in China. The company has repeatedly denied keeping data outside the United States, including in recent statements to The New York Times.” And then: The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office “said its investigators had found data stored in China.” And this is from the New York Times on the core of the matter:
Konnech came under scrutiny this year by several election deniers, including a founder of True the Vote, a nonprofit that says it is devoted to uncovering election fraud. True the Vote said its team had downloaded personal information on 1.8 million American poll workers from a server owned by Konnech and hosted in China. It said it obtained the data by using the server’s default password, which it said was ‘password.’ … The group provided no evidence that it had downloaded the data, saying that it had given the information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Election Software CEO Arrested Over Data Theft, Storing Data on Servers in China
The head of Konnech Corporation, a Michigan-based software company, was arrested on Oct. 4 for allegedly stealing and storing personal data of Los Angeles County election workers on servers in China.
Konnech’s CEO Eugene Yu, 51, was arrested on charges of stealing “the personal identifying information” of LA County election workers, according to the LA County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators also seized computer hard drives and other digital data relevant to the case. The office said that it would seek Yu’s extradition to Los Angeles.
According to the office, Konnech won a five-year, $2.9 million contract with LA County in 2020 for an election worker management system—named PollChief software—that was used by the county in the last California election.
The software was designed to assist with poll worker assignments, communications, and payroll, LA County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement.
Under the contract, Konnech was supposed to securely maintain the data and only provide access to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. But investigators found that it stored the data on servers in China.
“In this case, the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results,” Gascon said. “But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process.”
Current, Former IRS Employees Took Thousands In Fraudulent COVID Relief, Spent It On Gucci, A Mercedes, And Trips To Vegas
Five current or former employees of the IRS have been charged with scheming to defraud hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID relief.
The Department of Justice announced in a press release Tuesday that the five individuals had each been charged with separate counts of wire fraud after they defrauded the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which provided economic relief to small business owners and individuals affected by the COVID pandemic. The fraudulent loans ranged from as little as $11,000 to more than $170,000.
“These individuals – acting out of pure greed – abused their positions by taking government funds meant for citizens and businesses who desperately needed it,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, Kevin G. Ritz, said in a statement. “I thank our law enforcement partners for rooting out this fraud. Our office will not hesitate to pursue and charge individuals who steal from our nation’s taxpayers.”
The first suspect was employed by the IRS as a Program Evaluation and Risk Analyst in the Human Capital Office. According to the criminal indictment, the suspect filed four fraudulent EIDL applications, seeking more than $500,000 in funds; he received a total of $171,400 in funds. The suspect allegedly spent the relief money on a Mercedes-Benz and placed the rest of his funds into a personal investment account. He is charged with two counts of wire fraud and an additional two counts of money laundering.
The second suspect worked for the IRS as a contact representative in the Wage and Investment Service Centers Department. According to the indictment, she allegedly sought at least $32,500 in loans from multiple PPP and EIDL applications; she received $11,500 in funds. She spent the funds on manicures, massages, and luxury clothing. She also obtained more than $16,050 in fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits from the Tennessee Department of Labor. She is charged with three counts of wire fraud.
The third suspect worked as a Management and Program Assistant in Information Technology. According to the DOJ, she allegedly submitted EIDL applications for a fashion business, seeking more than $300,000 in loans and obtaining $28,900. She allegedly spent the loan funds on Gucci apparel and a vacation in Las Vegas. She plead guilty to one count of wire fraud Tuesday.
The fourth suspect worked as a Contact Representative in the Wage and Investment Service Centers Department. He allegedly applied for four PPP and EIDL loans, seeking more than $113,000; he received $66,666 in funds. He allegedly spent the money on a Gucci satchel and other personal items. He plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud in August.
The fifth suspect worked as a Lead Management and Program Assistant in the Human Capital Office. She allegedly applied for four PPP and EIDL loans, seeking more than $133,000 in loans; she received more than $123,000. She then allegedly spent the funds on jewelry and trips to Las Vegas. She also plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in July.
Each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The first suspect could also face up to 10 years in prison for each money laundering charge.
EPA Refuses to Regulate Pesticide-Coated Seeds That Harm Pollinators
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a legal petition by Center for Food Safety (CFS), Pesticide Action Network of North America and others, demanding that the agency fix its failure to regulate pesticide-coated seeds, which are known to be widely harming bees and other pollinators.
These crop seeds are coated with systemic insecticides known as neonicotinoids, the most widely used insecticides, and have devastating environmental effects.
CFS filed the rulemaking petition in 2017 that would close the loophole, but was forced to take take the agency to court when EPA failed to answer the petition as of late 2021.
Last week’s response is issued pursuant to a court-set deadline.
“We gave EPA a golden chance and a blueprint to fix a problem that has caused significant harm to people, bees, birds, and the environment — and it stubbornly refused,” said Amy van Saun, senior attorney with the Center for Food Safety. “It’s extremely disappointing and we’ll be exploring all possible next steps to protect communities and the environment from the hazard of pesticide-coated seeds, including a lawsuit challenging this decision.”
Crops grown from pesticide-coated seeds, such as corn, soybean and sunflower seeds cover over 150 million acres of U.S. farmland each year.
Neonicotinoids are taken up into the plant’s circulatory system as the plant grows, permeating leaf, pollen, nectar and other plant tissues. Neonicotinoids affect the central nervous system of insects, causing paralysis and death.
Sublethal impacts include impaired navigation and learning. As a result, beneficial insects, valuable pollinators and birds — including threatened and endangered species protected under the Endangered Species Act — are killed or injured.
For songbirds, ingesting just one neonic-coated seed can cause serious harm or death.
Additionally, more than 80% of the pesticide coating can leave the seed, contaminating the air, soil and waterways of surrounding environments. Most notably, clouds of neonicotinoid-laced dust released during planting operations have caused mass die-offs of honeybees and wild native bees.
US Postal workers arrested in $1.3 million fraud and identity theft scheme, authorities say
Three US Postal employees are among four people arrested in connection with a $1.3 million fraud and identity theft scheme allegedly carried out in New York and New Jersey since 2018, according to the Department of Justice.
A further five people facing changes in connection with the case remain at large, it said.
The individuals are accused of stealing credit cards from the mail and using them to buy merchandise at a variety of stores, including high-end retailers in New York and New Jersey, authorities said.
They are then said to have sold some of the merchandise on the website LuxurySnob.com, according to a statement from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
US postal workers Nathanael Foucault, Johnathan Persaud, Fabiola Mompoint, and civilian Devon Richards were arrested on Thursday, according to the statement.
Officials said five other people face charges, including Conspiracy to Commit Access Device Fraud, Access Device Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft charges, and each face lengthy prison sentences if found guilty.
“The defendants took advantage of the public trust we place in US Postal Service employees for their own financial gain,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Thanks to the diligence of USPIS (the Postal Inspection Service), the NYPD, and USPS-OIG (the Office of the Inspector General), the defendants will now be held accountable for their brazen criminal conduct.”
Dem Mayor Who Blew $30K on First-Class Flights Found Living in Luxury Taxpayer-Funded Apartment
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, admitted to living in a $3000-a-month luxury apartment rent-free just weeks after being caught blowing $30,000 on first-class fights, all funded by the taxpayer.
Last month, Cantrell was caught spending city funds on first class air travel, saying economy class was ‘unsafe’ for black women.
Cantrell’s opulent apartment is located in the city’s Upper Pontalba building on Jackson Square in the famous district.
The apartment, which has a market rate of $2,991 per month, is owned by the city and managed by the French Market Corp.
A spokesperson for Cantrell said the Mayor had done nothing wrong, arguing that everything is legal according to the city’s terms with French Market Corp.
But despite Cantrell’s spokesperson’s claims, the city’s Metropolitan Crime Commission sent a report asking for an investigation into the Mayor’s use of the apartment.
Hellbound and Down 
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