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Greetings from Muskau: Russian Propaganda Surges as Musk, Trump Jr. and AfD Align leavex.eu/posts/greetings-fromâŚ
*There are currently masses of Russian propaganda videos in circulation, ostensibly from the news media. Many are attacking the USAID. Elon Musk, Trump Junior and the AfD are happy to help. The closing of ranks is complete.*
Excellent article by @chrisstoecker. Share it.
#Russia #Musk #afd #USA #USPol #Europe #EU #disinformation #FakeNews #trump #USAID
Greetings from Muskau
Author: Christian StĂścker, translated from the original in German at Spiegel There are currently masses of Russian propaganda videos in circulation, ostensibly from news media. Many are attacking USAID.Leave X - Protect Democracy
for reach.#politics #USPol #resist #infosec
#Vance in Munich: "To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, [European regulation of speech] looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind Soviet-era words like âmisinformationâ and âdisinformationâ who simply donât like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion."
thehill.com/homenews/administrâŚ
#Trump in Washington: Taking down web sites and scientific research that use banned words.
washingtonpost.com/science/202âŚ
#Censorship #DefendResearch #FirstAmendment #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics
Seriously, I appreciate my governor so much...
Gov. Pritzker Says Lake Michigan Is Now Called Lake Illinois
Pritzker jokingly announced on Friday, February 7, that the name of Lake Michigan had been changed to Lake Illinois.Read more: https://abc7chicago.com/post/g...YouTube
The crypto industry has in the past claimed to have obtained firm proof of âOCP 2.0â via FOIA-ed FDIC documents, but as I wrote then, those documents did not support their bold claims.
hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/11380âŚ
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Molly White (@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io)
Attached: 1 image Having failed to obtain proof of "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" with their FOIA requests, Coinbase is going with the second best option: loudly proclaiming that they have such proof, and hoping no one will bother to dig through the ratâŚHachyderm.io
They have been making similar claims about a new, nearly 800-page dump of FDIC communications with banks, which I analyze in detail.
Once again, the industry conflates supposed crypto debanking with regulators scrutinizing banks planning to themselves offer crypto products.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![Once again, the crypto industry is claiming that this lengthy trove of documents contains a smoking gun proving that the FDIC was forcing banks not to serve the crypto industry. Once again, the reality of the documents does not support such a claim.
As with the last release, many of these documents are communications between the FDIC and banks that were not to do with banks denying depository accounts to clients in or associated with the crypto industry (which could be categorized as debanking), but rather with banks trying to offer crypto services themselves, including by adding bitcoin purchases to their mobile banking apps or installing bitcoin ATM kiosks in their lobbies. Questions around these activities seem well within banking regulatorsâ remit, and it seems deeply misleading to me for crypto companies complaining that their industry is being debanked to, when asked for supporting evidence, point to documents describing banks being questioned about or asked to pause programs to sell customers bitcoin in their online banking portals. Itâs also entirely understandable to me that the FDIC seems particularly concerned in multiple communications about various banks potentially implying that their crypto offerings are subject to FDIC insurance, given that victims of several companies that collapsed in 2022 had been under this false impression [I1, 41, several W3IGG entries].](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113582 "Once again, the crypto industry is claiming that this lengthy trove of documents contains a smoking gun proving that the FDIC was forcing banks not to serve the crypto industry. Once again, the reality of the documents does not support such a claim.
As with the last release, many of these documents are communications between the FDIC and banks that were not to do with banks denying depository accounts to clients in or associated with the crypto industry (which could be categorized as debanking), but rather with banks trying to offer crypto services themselves, including by adding bitcoin purchases to their mobile banking apps or installing bitcoin ATM kiosks in their lobbies. Questions around these activities seem well within banking regulatorsâ remit, and it seems deeply misleading to me for crypto companies complaining that their industry is being debanked to, when asked for supporting evidence, point to documents describing banks being questioned about or asked to pause programs to sell customers bitcoin in their online banking portals. Itâs also entirely understandable to me that the FDIC seems particularly concerned in multiple communications about various banks potentially implying that their crypto offerings are subject to FDIC insurance, given that victims of several companies that collapsed in 2022 had been under this false impression [I1, 41, several W3IGG entries].")
Some witnesses, including Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, have slammed the FDIC for asking questions of banks and crypto companies pertaining to their crypto activities.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
However, there is no shortage of extremely concerning replies from banks to these questions about the banksâ own planned crypto offerings and partnerships with crypto companies, suggesting the FDIC was more than justified in making these inquiries. Just a few highlights:
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![The form's responses to principal ownership, length of time in business, and regulatory oversight of the company do not accurately reflect the entity that the bank is contracting with, the entity's organizational structure, or affiliate services. [begin highlight] The form states that [redacted] has been operating since [redacted]; however, [redacted], the entity that the bank contracts with did not exist in [redacted]. [end highlight] The form also states that the regulators](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113574 "The form's responses to principal ownership, length of time in business, and regulatory oversight of the company do not accurately reflect the entity that the bank is contracting with, the entity's organizational structure, or affiliate services. [begin highlight] The form states that [redacted] has been operating since [redacted]; however, [redacted], the entity that the bank contracts with did not exist in [redacted]. [end highlight] The form also states that the regulators")
![these customer expectations were generated from [redacted] and included little to no support. [begin highlight] Furthermore, those projections were likely generated when bitcoin prices were rapidly appreciating in comparison to the US Dollar and did not consider any type of range or pullback in the market. [end highlight] Management should revisit the report and consider a range of results that incorporate different levels of adoption and transaction volume.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113576 "these customer expectations were generated from [redacted] and included little to no support. [begin highlight] Furthermore, those projections were likely generated when bitcoin prices were rapidly appreciating in comparison to the US Dollar and did not consider any type of range or pullback in the market. [end highlight] Management should revisit the report and consider a range of results that incorporate different levels of adoption and transaction volume.")
![The risk assessment is not commensurate with the potential risk exposure posed. Management approved a Bitcoin Program risk assessment prepared by [redacted] with minimal edits, which lacked independence, lacked a discussion of controls in key areas, or outlined controls/mitigants that did not exist or were inaccurate.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113578 "The risk assessment is not commensurate with the potential risk exposure posed. Management approved a Bitcoin Program risk assessment prepared by [redacted] with minimal edits, which lacked independence, lacked a discussion of controls in key areas, or outlined controls/mitigants that did not exist or were inaccurate.")
There were some conversations with banks about offering depository accounts to crypto companies, which I focused on in particular as this is the root of the industryâs claims.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![Some other documents contained discussions between banks and the FDIC about banksâ crypto-related depository customers, but seemed fairly run-of-the-mill. In one FDIC memo, representatives from the bank and the regulator discussed crypto customers with high cash activity, and the need to apply more diligence to understand those cash transactions since they were high risk. The FDIC representative in that case was explicit that âwe are not asking the bank to exit these relationshipsâ, and a bank representative expressed that they believed âmost of the recommendations [pertaining to digital asset customers] were really goodâ.12 A very similar conversation occurred between the FDIC and a bank that was providing banking services to a Bitcoin ATM operator, where a bank representative expressed concern that the FDIC âhas made a determination that banking these [redacted] customers is not okâ, and an FDIC representative âreiterated that we are not requiring the bank to exit the business, but to conduct more due diligence, look at the potential red flags, and provide the bankâs board with the results. The decision whether or not to continue to bank these customers should be a business decision made by the board after review of the additional information.â13 In a few cases there were broad questions from the FDIC to banks they already knew had crypto-related depository and loan customers, for example a few days after the FTX collapse, when an FDIC case manager asked about âany trends](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113568 "Some other documents contained discussions between banks and the FDIC about banksâ crypto-related depository customers, but seemed fairly run-of-the-mill. In one FDIC memo, representatives from the bank and the regulator discussed crypto customers with high cash activity, and the need to apply more diligence to understand those cash transactions since they were high risk. The FDIC representative in that case was explicit that âwe are not asking the bank to exit these relationshipsâ, and a bank representative expressed that they believed âmost of the recommendations [pertaining to digital asset customers] were really goodâ.12 A very similar conversation occurred between the FDIC and a bank that was providing banking services to a Bitcoin ATM operator, where a bank representative expressed concern that the FDIC âhas made a determination that banking these [redacted] customers is not okâ, and an FDIC representative âreiterated that we are not requiring the bank to exit the business, but to conduct more due diligence, look at the potential red flags, and provide the bankâs board with the results. The decision whether or not to continue to bank these customers should be a business decision made by the board after review of the additional information.â13 In a few cases there were broad questions from the FDIC to banks they already knew had crypto-related depository and loan customers, for example a few days after the FTX collapse, when an FDIC case manager asked about âany trends")
Broadly: despite bipartisan agreement that discriminatory debanking happens to some groups and individuals, there is no agreement about who those people are, or what to do about it.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![And some even seem to disagree with themselves, taking inconsistent stances based on the victim of the debanking. For example, in September 2023, Senator Ricketts (R-NE) led opposition to the SAFER Banking Act, highlighting money laundering risk and suggesting that limiting banking access to marijuana businesses would help him further his opposition to the marijuana industry (he alleged marijuana causes âsignificant mental health damage to youthâ and âis associated with psychosis, motor vehicle accidents, respiratory problems, and low birth weightâ).20 Now, however, he brushes aside money laundering concerns when crypto is involved, and argues that âIt undermines the rule of law in our country if regulators start pushing an agenda of what they want to see, what kind of businesses you do business with versus what youâre allowed to do. ... A legal business should not lose access to the banking system just because they deal in firearms or crypto or something like that because a regulator doesnât like that. Thatâs just simply wrong. But thatâs what weâve seen of course out of the last two administrations: it was mentioned earlier about Operation Choke Point 1.0 under the Obama administration and firearms dealers for example that were disfavored, were prejudiced against and [regulators] tried to force out of the financial system.â21](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113562 "And some even seem to disagree with themselves, taking inconsistent stances based on the victim of the debanking. For example, in September 2023, Senator Ricketts (R-NE) led opposition to the SAFER Banking Act, highlighting money laundering risk and suggesting that limiting banking access to marijuana businesses would help him further his opposition to the marijuana industry (he alleged marijuana causes âsignificant mental health damage to youthâ and âis associated with psychosis, motor vehicle accidents, respiratory problems, and low birth weightâ).20 Now, however, he brushes aside money laundering concerns when crypto is involved, and argues that âIt undermines the rule of law in our country if regulators start pushing an agenda of what they want to see, what kind of businesses you do business with versus what youâre allowed to do. ... A legal business should not lose access to the banking system just because they deal in firearms or crypto or something like that because a regulator doesnât like that. Thatâs just simply wrong. But thatâs what weâve seen of course out of the last two administrations: it was mentioned earlier about Operation Choke Point 1.0 under the Obama administration and firearms dealers for example that were disfavored, were prejudiced against and [regulators] tried to force out of the financial system.â21")
Meanwhile, the agency most involved in handling debanking is being dismantled, to cheers from the crypto industry. âDebankingâ is a crypto rallying cry only so far as it supports their deregulatory agenda, dropped the second it might result in actual consumer protections.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![The crypto industryâs co-opting of legitimate debanking concerns represents a particularly cynical form of regulatory theater. Companies like Coinbase claim to be champions fighting discriminatory banking practices while simultaneously celebrating the shutdown of the CFPB â the very agency most equipped to tackle systemic debanking. When Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to celebrate Muskâs attempt to shutdown the CFPB as â100% the right callâ, describing the Bureau as âunconstitutionalâ (it isnât24) and âan activist organization that has done enormous harm to this countryâ, he revealed the industryâs true priorities.25 Debanking is suddenly less of concern when the same group that is most equipped to tackle it has proposed consumer protections for crypto customers [I73] that could cause Coinbase to have to reimburse some of the $300 million or so stolen from its customers over the past year alone [I74]. âDebankingâ is a crypto rallying cry only to the extent that it supports their deregulatory agenda, to be dropped the second that addressing debanking might result in consumer protection requirements forcing companies like his to treat customers properly.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113554 "The crypto industryâs co-opting of legitimate debanking concerns represents a particularly cynical form of regulatory theater. Companies like Coinbase claim to be champions fighting discriminatory banking practices while simultaneously celebrating the shutdown of the CFPB â the very agency most equipped to tackle systemic debanking. When Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to celebrate Muskâs attempt to shutdown the CFPB as â100% the right callâ, describing the Bureau as âunconstitutionalâ (it isnât24) and âan activist organization that has done enormous harm to this countryâ, he revealed the industryâs true priorities.25 Debanking is suddenly less of concern when the same group that is most equipped to tackle it has proposed consumer protections for crypto customers [I73] that could cause Coinbase to have to reimburse some of the $300 million or so stolen from its customers over the past year alone [I74]. âDebankingâ is a crypto rallying cry only to the extent that it supports their deregulatory agenda, to be dropped the second that addressing debanking might result in consumer protection requirements forcing companies like his to treat customers properly.")
Sadly, the Congressional majority appears far more eager to spend its political capital making bold statements about debanking only when it applies to crypto billionaires, while dismantling the very agencies best positioned to help debanking victims.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
We are in a situation where reasonable people can look at the same set of documents and some will conclude that the regulators are simply doing their jobs, while others conclude that regulators are improperly pressuring banks to not provide services to those customers at all.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
But the industryâs bold claims that âOperation Choke Point 2.0 is realâ are hyperbole intended to mislead. Perhaps they need more time to acquire the proof they claim exists. Perhaps they will just continue to claim it exists, and hope no one notices they havenât produced it.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![This pattern of selective interpretation and opportunistic outrage is not limited to their treatment of Hill's comments, however. Their attacks on those who have not claimed that crypto companies have been denied bank accounts, and who have not claimed that itâs impossible that there was government pressure to debank crypto companies, but who have simply pointed out that the supposedly firm evidence of a governmental anti-crypto debanking campaign is anything but, demonstrate that their goal is not to uncover the truth about debanking, but to advance their dubious narratives in service of their policy agendas [I74].
Itâs also worth noting that the crypto industry's claims of a government-led debanking campaign are essentially unfalsifiable, given the lack of public access to private government documents and correspondence. Yet, despite now having a Republican-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency, with pro-crypto appointees installed throughout regulatory agencies and Elon Musk and his team of interns rooting around in every government database they can get their hands on, and a new FDIC chair apparently willing to order the release of considerably more documents than his predecessor, the industry has still failed to produce any strong evidence to support its claims. This lack of proof, even with the deck stacked in their favor, is telling. Perhaps they will say they just need more time, but if the evidence of a coordinated debanking campaign were as clear-cut as the](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113544 "This pattern of selective interpretation and opportunistic outrage is not limited to their treatment of Hill's comments, however. Their attacks on those who have not claimed that crypto companies have been denied bank accounts, and who have not claimed that itâs impossible that there was government pressure to debank crypto companies, but who have simply pointed out that the supposedly firm evidence of a governmental anti-crypto debanking campaign is anything but, demonstrate that their goal is not to uncover the truth about debanking, but to advance their dubious narratives in service of their policy agendas [I74].
Itâs also worth noting that the crypto industry's claims of a government-led debanking campaign are essentially unfalsifiable, given the lack of public access to private government documents and correspondence. Yet, despite now having a Republican-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency, with pro-crypto appointees installed throughout regulatory agencies and Elon Musk and his team of interns rooting around in every government database they can get their hands on, and a new FDIC chair apparently willing to order the release of considerably more documents than his predecessor, the industry has still failed to produce any strong evidence to support its claims. This lack of proof, even with the deck stacked in their favor, is telling. Perhaps they will say they just need more time, but if the evidence of a coordinated debanking campaign were as clear-cut as the")
$130 million in Congressional spending by the crypto industry helped put their claims of systemic debanking by the Biden administration and financial regulators at the top of the to-do lists for both the House and the Senate, who held hearings last week on the topic.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
![As Iâve discussed before [I71, 73, 74, 76], powerful figures in and outside of the crypto industry have been broadly claiming that the FDIC and other financial regulators have been engaged in a nefarious pressure campaign to force banks not to offer services to crypto companies or people associated with crypto. Aided by over $130 million in crypto industry spending on Congressional races this cycle, these claims have made their way to the top of some Congresspeopleâs lists of concerns. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on February 5 titled âInvestigating the Real Impacts of Debanking in Americaâ, and the House Financial Services Committee held one the following day, rather more pointedly dubbed âOperation Choke Point 2.0: The Biden Administrationâs Efforts to Put Crypto in the Crosshairsâ. On the morning of the Senate hearing, the FDIC also released a nearly 800-page document containing 175 records of correspondence between the FDIC and banks and other financial institutions pertaining to crypto.](https://inne.city/photo/preview/640/113536 "As Iâve discussed before [I71, 73, 74, 76], powerful figures in and outside of the crypto industry have been broadly claiming that the FDIC and other financial regulators have been engaged in a nefarious pressure campaign to force banks not to offer services to crypto companies or people associated with crypto. Aided by over $130 million in crypto industry spending on Congressional races this cycle, these claims have made their way to the top of some Congresspeopleâs lists of concerns. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on February 5 titled âInvestigating the Real Impacts of Debanking in Americaâ, and the House Financial Services Committee held one the following day, rather more pointedly dubbed âOperation Choke Point 2.0: The Biden Administrationâs Efforts to Put Crypto in the Crosshairsâ. On the morning of the Senate hearing, the FDIC also released a nearly 800-page document containing 175 records of correspondence between the FDIC and banks and other financial institutions pertaining to crypto.")
On the face of it, there seemed to be bipartisan agreement that debanking is a real issue that needs to be addressed. But scratch the surface, and the two sides were discussing radically different issues.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
When it comes to claims of âOperation Choke Point 2.0â, a supposed government campaign to improperly pressure banks to not provide services to the cryptocurrency industry wholesale, little has emerged in the way of proof of such a campaign (despite the industryâs claims).
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Even Republicans and their invited witnesses â to Senator Kennedyâs apparent surprise â disagree as to whether denial of banking services is some sort of nefarious government campaign or just banks making their own decisions.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
Newsletter: Dubbing it âOperation Choke Point 2.0â, cryptocurrency companies have co-opted legitimate concerns about banking discrimination to fight regulation â and Congress is buying it.
citationneeded.news/crypto-indâŚ
#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpolitics #USpol
The crypto industryâs debanking smokescreen
Cryptocurrency companies have co-opted legitimate concerns about banking discrimination to fight regulation â and Congress is buying itMolly White (Citation Needed)
âYouâre not the President, you need to go away.â And Howdy Doody, the puppet president sitting behind the Resolute Desk, the first to âhold the officeâ but with someone else speaking in and for âhisâ office to the press, just sat there as a four year old broke down who he is in 9 words.
The moment he was schooled by someone 74 years his junior, almost three quarters of a century younger:
US aid freeze claims first victims as oxygen supplies cut off
Seventy-one-year-old woman dies after being sent home from #USAID funded hospital. Others die after hospitals close in refugee camps
telegraph.co.uk/global-health/âŚ
#news #politics #uspol #uspolitics #GOPCult #trump #corruption
US aid freeze claims first victims as oxygen supplies cut off
Seventy-one-year-old woman dies after being sent home from USAID funded hospital. Others die after hospitals close in refugee campsSarah Newey (The Telegraph)