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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

jjjj2 from Arrakis Since: Jul, 2015
#334626: Oct 22nd 2020 at 8:41:35 AM

[up][up][up] You know it's sad that given the state of politics in the US, I don't know if that's a joke or not.

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
SatoshiBakura (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#334627: Oct 22nd 2020 at 8:44:19 AM

I think Trump will try to find a way to interrupt Biden anyway even with the muted microphone. Whether or not it works is another story.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#334628: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:05:10 AM

I vaguely recall a story from a couple of days ago saying that Trump's team thinks actually letting Biden talk would be better since their hope is that he'll start meandering and sound senile.

Biden does meander, anyone who watched his speeches and townhalls can tell you that. But they're fooling themselves if that's going to convince anyone who isn't full MAGA that it makes him senile.

Also, this advice is only as useful as Trump thinks changing his debate strategy is warranted. His circle of bootlickers no doubt tried to cushion it in praise of how wonderful his first debate went, so he probably doesn't think he needs to change anyway.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#334629: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:09:12 AM

Mc Connell, hard as it may be to accept, acts on principle. He really believes that some people are just better and more deserving than others of positions of responsibility, and a proportional degree of compensation. He believes in what he thinks of as "meritocracy", and that for the most part, people rise (or fall) to the level they deserve. He's what we would call an "authoritarian."

You confuse hate for principle. Mitch does believe people deserve more. Mitch believes a lot of people deserve nothing but to die due to them not making the rich richer.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:09:30 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#334630: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:14:53 AM

Biden is not particularly elocuent but the worst he does when rambling is the occasional gaffe. Which sometimes work in his favor.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#334631: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:15:20 AM

Meanwhile on the foreign policy front.

CNN: Trump administration notifies Congress of $1.8B in proposed weapons sales to Taiwan

You know, for a crony capitalist racist con man with business investments in China, Trump still manages to support Taiwan more than a "morally upstanding" Obama who refused to sell us new fighter jets and meddled in our 2011 elections AGAINST our current President who has overseen one of the best responses to Covid in the world.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#334632: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:20:09 AM

I'd like to think that the Democratic Party's stance on the CCP has evolved since 2011. But we'll see.

I'll admit that the GOP's consistent "fuck the CCP" stance is the one thing I wish the Democratic Party would take from them.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#334633: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:20:42 AM

You can guarantee that anything productive that came out of the administration actually had nothing to do with Trump.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#334634: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:21:18 AM

It presumably came from the Pentagon.

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#334635: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:22:31 AM

While I hesitate to say selling weapons is a good thing, I would suggest two things:

  • Check to see if you get them because this is Trump.
  • Beware as Trump is wholly compromised by China even as he talks a big game.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#334636: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:26:17 AM

Wasn't there something about Trump pushing a pentagon sale earlier, as he and several republicans had a bid on the company that'd win it?

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#334637: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:27:15 AM

[up][up] Trump is also not a reliable ally - he'll throw you aside the moment he thinks it'll get him whatever the heck he wants this week.

Just ask the Kurds.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Oct 22nd 2020 at 6:27:22 PM

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#334638: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:27:19 AM

[up][up]That's the 5G thing, not the Taiwan weapons sales thing. And the Pentagon itself is very concerned about it.

[up]He's not a reliable ally for Taiwan at all. But beggars and choosers and all that.

Edited by M84 on Oct 23rd 2020 at 12:28:02 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#334639: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:27:43 AM

Trump's treatment of Taiwan is also in contrast to his treatment of America's other democratic allies.

Also what [up][up]said.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Oct 22nd 2020 at 1:28:20 PM

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#334640: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:32:58 AM

One of the Dutch hackers that gained access to Trump's Twitter back in 2016, managed to guess his new password and gain access to Trump's account again since someone on Trump's team disabled two-factor authentication.

    Article 
Four years ago, three Dutch hackers gained access to Donald Trump’s Twitter account, just a few weeks prior to the US elections. As absurd as it may sound, this week one of them managed to gain access to the account – yet again. Dutch ethical hacker Victor Gevers desperately reached out to Donald Trump to warn him, which turned out to be an impossible task.

On October 16, 2020 a mysterious message is posted on Donald Trump’s Twitter timeline.

Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread Of Negative Biden News https://babylonbee.com/news/twitter-shuts-down-entire-network-to-slow-spread-of-negative-biden-news via @The Babylon Bee

Wow, this has never been done in history. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T

In the tweet, Trump references the Babylon Bee website, online information similar to The Onion (or De Speld in the Netherlands) but aimed at Trump supporters. ‘The world’s best satire site,’ as the Babylon Bee refers to itself.

Did Trump make a mistake? Is it a joke? Or neither of the above?

Victor is one of the three Dutch ‘grumpy old hackers’ who gained access to Trump’s Twitter account four years ago. The password was: yourefired.

I earlier wrote this piece on the matter. online version of batman

On October 16, 2020, Victor Gevers decides to check in on Trump’s account. Just to see if it is still safe. “I always run random checks. Whenever someone is in the news, I monitor. I ran a check on the Biden, Pence and Harris accounts. Anyone receiving media attention is a potential target and deserves protection. Regardless of who they are.” Gevers still abides by the old hacker manifesto. He does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, class or political beliefs.

Within the international hacker community, Gevers (44) is considered an authority. At nearly 6.5 ft tall, his physical appearance matches this description. You can compare him to an online version of Batman. During the day, he works for the Dutch government. At night, he keeps the internet safe. He leads the GDI.foundation, an organization with a network of 38 volunteers that tirelessly address data breaches, weak passwords and other vulnerabilities on the internet. For every data breach that has made headlines, the GDI.foundation has prevented one hundred others. Most of them will never see the light of day. Tracking down digital glitches comes as a second nature to Gevers.

On Friday 16 October, 2020 Gevers runs a check on the Hunter Biden (US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son) story, whose laptop has supposedly turned up at a computer repair shop. He also searches for Hunter Biden’s previously leaked passwords and then checks if these work on his Twitter account. They don’t. Just to make sure, he also checks Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and runs the password that was in use 4 years ago: yourefired

Much to his surprise, the Two-Factor-Authentication for the account is disabled. For so called ‘verified Twitter accounts’, it is compulsory nowadays to submit an additional code (which is for example sent to your mobile phone) after logging in with your regular password. Gevers had a key role in this feature becoming mandatory on Twitter. ‘Not again!’

It is very odd to find Trump’s Two-Factor-Authentication disabled. However, Gevers suspects Trump’s account has its own special security. This would also explain why Trump’s account was left untouched during the Twitter hack in July 2020. During this hack, posts appeared on the accounts of Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Joe Biden, requesting Bitcoin transfers. Not on Trump’s account.

Gevers tries a few other passwords:

I Will America Great Again!

Make America Great Again Make America Great Again! Maga 2020 Maga 2020! maga2020!

Plong! At the last try, he gets kicked off the site. Or at least, that is what it seems like – for a split second. Because he then realizes, he’s back in Donald Trump’s Twitter account, just like he was 4 years ago.

He sends a message to the Grumpy Old Hackers Signal group.

“maga2020!”

“NOOOOO! Not again!”, is the reaction

Gevers is able to change the password. And the profile picture. And worse: if he wants to he can download all of Trump’s Twitter history as a data file. A document containing all of his DM’s. And all of the messages Trump has previously deleted. Hasn’t anyone learned anything?

Via Signal – the safer option to Whats App – Gevers tells me: “Getting access to someone’s Twitter account comes with much more risks than before, you can do more than just recommend bitcoins and rearrange an account. All of the account interactions are logged and saved.” Digital evidence

Gevers did learn from the incident 4 years ago. Together with his ‘grumpy hacker’-friends Mattijs and Edwin, he pursued an official ‘responsible disclosure’ path at the time. A discreet report to the president that ‘he had his digital fly open’. They covered up all their tracks. As a result, nobody in the US felt the need to thank them for their efforts afterwards. Another result was that several people expressed their doubts about the validity of the earlier article published on the Dutch hackers, which tells the story of how they accessed Donald Trump’s Twitter account in 2016. Even a Bellingcat member questioned the piece. What if the profile screenshots of Trump’s Twitter account had been photoshopped?

“The Bellingcat comments kept circling my mind.” This, in combination with the fact that an official thank you note from the US never arrived, made Gevers decide to leave behind more digital evidence this time. “At the same time, a sense of moral duty kicked in. There’s this unwritten code in Responsible Disclosure. Each person deserves the right to a decent report. Including Donald Trump.”

Gevers comes up with a plan to make sure that this time the White House responds. He refuses to say what he did exactly, but in a tweet that has now been removed, he alludes to the fact that he was the one to post the Babylon Bee tweet in Trump’s name. Shortly after, he posted a tweet in his own name, tagging Trump and Team Trump, saying the Babylon Bee-tweet could now be removed, as it had served its purpose.

“I am not saying I did it. But what if I was the one to post the tweet? Then Trump will need to either admit to never having read the Babylon Bee article and posting this bullshit tweet, OR he will need to acknowledge that someone else posted the tweet.”

Breaking into a Twitter account to prove it is poorly secured is one thing, posting a tweet is another. “I took things further this time because our previous report obviously didn’t have any effect”, says Gevers. “I hope that everything will now be resolved soon, and that mister Trump sends us a message. ‘Thank you for your work/report.’ That should suffice and will round up things for both cases.” ‘Thank you for your message’

Whether the tweet is real or fake, fact is – the Babylon Bee post has not been removed. It is still there as I am writing this piece. Whether the tweet is real or fake, fact is – the Babylon Bee post has not been removed. In fact Trump ‘acknowledges’ the tweet, by reacting to it. It is unclear why, but this is something that happens more often. Sometimes his tweets even appear when he is on stage somewhere. Gevers: “It seems as if he tweets random things at times, followed by a tweet to elaborate. Team Trump, maybe?”

The media start publishing scornful stories on how Trump has put his foot in once again. The New York Times, USA Today, Politico, The Independent and Daily Mail all write about how Trump has mistaken obvious satire for reality. Meanwhile, Gevers has only been briefly in touch via DM with Team Trump. A very short reply:

‘Thank you, we forwarded your message.’

Gevers succeeds at further interaction with Team Trump via Parler, an alternative to Twitter now gaining in popularity at high speed, as Twitter increasingly moderates and removes conspiracy theories and fake news. Gevers learns that because of this, their 2016 report – which was sent to Homeland security via the Dutch CERT – never reached Donald Trump.

On Saturday evening 17 October, 2020 Gevers writes: “Team Trump reports that Donald Trump never received our emails in 2016. Nobody informed him back then either. He was never informed of the fact that three people from the Netherlands tried to inform him in a timely matter. This is now surfacing because I am actively pursuing the information myself. Twitter is not responding. It is obvious that everybody hates Trump. Which I can relate to, but purposely keeping intel away from him is unethical.”

“Any news?”, I ask in the morning. “Yes, that none of the emails sent to Trump ever arrived.” After which I think I receive some sort of secret code: ‘309780p349874[‘ 0-92`1367yb’R_(T Ygr13e4p9igb R!@#$’ “What does this mean?”, I ask. “This is me losing my shit. FUCK GMAIL”, Gevers says.

Gevers feels discouraged. All of the emails have bounced back. There seems to be no way to get a message delivered to Trump. He desperately wants to reach Trump or the people surrounding him. Which. Seems. Impossible.

“I have tried email, Twitter, Parler, contacts, D Ms to contacts who know people at the White house, the Team Trump web form, the White House web form. His son. The CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency), Twitter security – via their chatbot. I also tried calling Team Trump.”

The password seems to have changed, Two-Factor-Authentication has been reinstated. Other than this, nothing is happening – just like in 2016. Zero. Nothing. Nada. Not a single bleep. From anyone.” message in a bottle

Gevers is at his wits’ end. He comes up with the idea of making a video to disperse via social media, in the hope that it reaches Trump, like a digital message in a bottle. He shares his draft script with me.

Then, the editor in chief of The Babylon Bee retweets a Newsweek story, which suggests that Trump has a sense of humor and that he has purposely posted the Babylon Bee tweet.

“They are now going to frame it all as a joke”, Gevers says. It has come to the point where he thinks anything could happen. He has taken a file with evidence containing important information to safety, in case something unexpected ends up happening to him. “The US secret service is only six minutes away from me”, Gevers says. During the previous reporting procedure four years ago, he had already learned that in case of an escalation, the Dutch government would not be extending any assistance.

During the night of Monday the 19th to Tuesday the 20th of October, 2020, Gevers spots the following video online:

Donald Trump is on a stage somewhere in Prescott, Arizona, discussing hackers. “I have never known anyone who says they have been hacked or who has been hacked. Nobody gets hacked. To be hacked you need someone with an IQ of a 197, and he needs to know 15% of your password. Doesn’t happen”.

Gevers gives up on trying to reach Trump to warn him. He gives me permission to write this story. As a plea to everyone to use Two-Factor-Authentication.

The absence of Two-Factor-Authentication on the Twitter account of the President of The United States of America is absurd and raises many questions. The Two-Factor-Authentication on his account was probably disabled when he was taken to hospital a few weeks ago, in order to be able to issue tweets without him personally having to log in.

This means that the most important communication channel of the President of the United States of America – a man who is driven around in an armored vehicle, who is flanked by an army of security staff – can be cracked with an easy-to-guess password.

Donald Trump really isn’t the only world leader or politician using terrible passwords. However, Twitter should – in this case – be making it impossible for the account to be accessed so easily. This is a metaphor for the digital society, which seems to have become much too dependent on a handful of large companies, that are more interested in power and making money, than in stability and safety.

Gevers: “All I care about is more awareness of the fact that Two-Factor-Authentication should be mandatory for everyone. Passwords are the Achilles heel of the internet. This needs to be resolved – fast – because even the President of the United States of America is no longer safe.”

On Tuesday evening 20 October, 2020, the US government finally contacts Victor. He tweets: “Thank you, dear infosec community, for helping to get ‘first contact’ – Responsible disclosure #5780 will be handled by the experts now.”

Via Signal he adds: “The cause is more important than the person. 2FA for all online users (…) A safer internet for EVERYONE. And fuck Big T for opposing this. I share Trump’s opinion in this regard. Big T’s power is something that should be addressed.”

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#334641: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:40:17 AM

One potential problem with obligatory 2FA is the obvious extra requirement to be involved, but also making it extremely hard for anyone to gain access to services from a country with an unfriendly regime.

Doesn't mean Trump's not stupid, but the conclusion at the end is far too simplistic.

Scarecrow4774 from In Wonderland Since: Mar, 2017 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#334643: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:46:30 AM

I voted today. All Democrats.

Glad I got that out of the way.

“We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” - Lewis Carroll
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#334644: Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:49:17 AM

You confuse hate for principle. Mitch does believe people deserve more. Mitch believes a lot of people deserve nothing but to die due to them not making the rich richer.

That's a distinction without a difference. Mitch has terrible, hateful principles. And he will do whatever it takes to see them to fruition. He's a True Believer in ideas like "The poor are parasites who should receive nothing but contempt" and "Women should be punished for pursuing abortions" and "The wealthy are fundamentally smarter, better people who deserve their wealth because they, alone, know what to do with it."

These are just some of the Republican principles, and just as much as most other Republicans, Mitch embodies those values. And he will break any rule, manipulate any system, and violate any norm or standard in order to see those principles become the law of the land. He only cares about the parts of democracy, the Constitution, or the law that he can use to pass the agenda.

Republicans, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do not believe in democracy. Or laws. Or the basic idea that a system has merit just from being a good system. They are capitalists through and through, and they tolerate democracy only as much as they have to in order to save face with voters. They can't achieve their agenda, after all, if they don't win elections, and that is why they go out of their way to subvert elections. Whatever it takes to pass the agenda.

To a Republican, the ends justify the means. Always. If you get what you want, then what you did was correct. And Mitch has spent a great many years in Congress getting what he wants. He is a bad guy, but he's still not the bad guy. There is no the bad guy. At the end of the day, what makes him so dangerous is that he has become so good at being a Republican.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 22nd 2020 at 9:56:45 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#334645: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:07:08 AM

Trump and the MAGA media have been attacking the debate moderator as well. So expect them to whine about everything being rigged and claim victory anyway.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#334646: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:08:14 AM

Oh right, I finally managed to get my election materials and mailed my ballot. Now I'm just hoping nothing goes wrong in transit and it gets counted.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#334647: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:20:23 AM

Are you implying the Netherlands is a hostile regime? grin

If anything, Rutte is a little too friendly with Trump. That's the "we will work with anyone if we have to" attitude for you.

Edited by Redmess on Oct 22nd 2020 at 7:21:22 PM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Nerevarine Since: Mar, 2016
#334648: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:21:17 AM

And I just got confirmation my ballot was received and counted.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#334649: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:25:07 AM

You confuse hate for principle. Mitch does believe people deserve more. Mitch believes a lot of people deserve nothing but to die due to them not making the rich richer.

That is a principle. Just a shitty principle.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#334650: Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:25:29 AM

Are you implying the Netherlands is a hostile regime?

The Netherlands punch so low, they are below sea level.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes

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