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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 4h

Bari Weiss launched her own path to stardom with the argument "it is oppression to dislike me for being bad" and now we will get to see what an entire media ecosystem built with that philosophy looks like

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 5h

"disliking me is persecution" describes so incredibly many people's entire outlook these days defector.com/free-press-r...

Free Press Reporter Discovers That Being An Amoral Dickhead Can Cost You Friends | Defector

It can be hard to maintain friendships as an adult. People move to new cities, start families, and experience all sorts of other life events that make it difficult to keep in touch. Sometimes, you end...

defector.com

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 1d

www.theamargi.com/posts/the-en...

The Endless Political Persecution of Sherwan Sherwani

Just before sunset on 7th October 2020, Kurdish journalist Sherwan Sherwani was arrested by military personnel in his house on the outskirts of Erbil. “From their uniforms, I could tell they were a s...

www.theamargi.com

Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 2d

Good morning

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 2d

War crimes apologist writes racist story spelling candidate's names wrong, hooray CBS

@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 2d

CBS News would never put a thinly sourced 'story' by a rookie blogger like this on it's air. Until now. The Free Press isn't a journalism outlet, it's bloggers aren't reporters. This piece is more NYPost than Tiffany Network but I guess that's the goal.

www.cbsnews.com/video/some-n...

Some NYPD officers worry about Mandani becoming the NYC mayor, The Free Press reports

The Free Press spoke to several New York City Police Department officers who are worried about Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor. Olivia Reingold joins CBS News with more.

www.cbsnews.com

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Maia @maiamindel.bsky.social · 2d

Again, if the military of a Latin American country acted the way American cops act everyone would think what they were about to do ranged from "a mutiny" to "a coup d'etat"

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 2d

the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.

Mark Misoshnik 🏴 @misoshnik.bsky.social · 3d

Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 3d

Bari Weiss as Elon Musk bites into the still beating heart of a critic that he had renditioned for making fun of his hentai addiction:

“The woke left is blood libeling Elon for making advances in health technology”

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 3d

Bari Weiss is a corrupt idiot whose unique talent is playing Soviet style ideological enforcer for sex creep billionaires who want to inject themselves with the blood of children

Sally Jenkins @sallyjenx.bsky.social · 3d

This is really smart. Amazed at the hysteria over the ascendance of a woman entrepreneur who clearly knows how to cover and sell news and who's not afraid to take on a mob. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Don’t Bet Against Bari Weiss

The new editor in chief of CBS News triumphs over her critics.

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 3d

In the 1980s, Masoud Barzani led Kurdish fighters against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government.

Now the Barzanis are at the top of the region’s elite — and leaked documents raise questions of possible conflicts of interest regarding their connections to a conglomerate.

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Mansions, Horses, and Designer Bags: How the Ruling Family of Iraqi Kurdistan Splurged in the U.S.

The five sons of Iraqi Kurdistan’s founding president acquired real estate across the United States and went on luxury shopping sprees. At least some of the money came from major Kurdish…

www.occrp.org

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 3d

I think this nails something really important that I don’t know if I had seen anyone else put in words

Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 4d

He would prefer some roadkill

Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 5d

In Iraqi Kurdistan, the Golden Eagle Global conglomerate trades in construction and ads, also working with local security forces and the U.S. military.

Leaked docs suggest the company is controlled by Mustafa Barzani, brother of the region’s prime minister.

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Mansions, Horses, and Designer Bags: How the Ruling Family of Iraqi Kurdistan Splurged in the U.S.

The five sons of Iraqi Kurdistan’s founding president acquired real estate across the United States and went on luxury shopping sprees. At least some of the money came from major Kurdish…

www.occrp.org

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 5d

Oh man

Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 5d

Do alarm bells go off in the heads of imaginary friends?

Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 5d

Meet the Barzanis

therealdeal.com/national/202...

Iron gates & pirate names: How Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling family built a $100 million portfolio of US real estate

Leaked documents expose how Iraqi Kurdistan's ruling Barzani family concealed ownership of over $100 million in US real estate through offshore companies and pirate-named LLCs.

therealdeal.com

Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 5d

Giving Elon Musk send me your code to review vibes

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 5d

Here's the full memo.

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 5d

The Hague should send special forces to raid CBS and rendition all these war criminals

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 5d

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

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Zack Kopplin @zackkopplin.bsky.social · 6d

This story took about two years of work for a team of reporters at the Government Accountability Project and OCCRP. It shows a serious issue with the American corporate system that allows people like the Barzani family to hide money in the United States using American companies

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

In 2007, an employee of Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling Barzani family wrote to a U.S. lawyer with a problem.

Two Barzani brothers had bought properties in the U.S. — but they were concerned that this information was public.

So the lawyer looked to the Pirates of the Caribbean.

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

Dive into the Barzanis’ luxury lifestyles — and the sources of their spending — in our investigation with @govacctproj.bsky.social

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Mansions, Horses, and Designer Bags: How the Ruling Family of Iraqi Kurdistan Splurged in the U.S.

The five sons of Iraqi Kurdistan’s founding president acquired real estate across the United States and went on luxury shopping sprees. At least some of the money came from major Kurdish…

www.occrp.org

3 5

Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

OCCRP repeatedly requested comment from the other four Barzani brothers, both directly and through various lawyers, as well as from Golden Eagle Global and the Kurdish government. None replied.

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

The lawyers also said that there is “nothing unlawful about the ownership of property in other jurisdictions”, and that it is “neither uncommon nor unreasonable for wealthy, high profile individuals to protect their privacy and security.”

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

Lawyers for Masrour Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan’s prime minister, said he “vehemently rejects” any wrongdoing. They didn’t respond to questions about potential conflicts of interest.

The lawyers added that Barzani’s “fervent commitment” to anti-corruption and anti-terrorism is a “matter of record”.

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

The Barzanis have positioned themselves as close U.S. allies and are well-connected in Washington D.C.

Our findings raise questions about possible conflicts of interest over their ties to Golden Eagle Global.

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

Kurdish conglomerate Golden Eagle Global, working in sectors from construction to U.S. military contracts, has no public ownership ties to the Barzanis.

But leaked emails and docs suggest it was controlled by Mustafa Barzani, bankrolling millions of dollars of personal spending.

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

Leaked docs reveal that, between 2005 and 2019, four sons of Iraqi Kurdistan’s founding president Masoud Barzani bought over $100m in U.S. properties.

At least some of the money came from Kurdish firms controlled by two brothers, leaked records suggest.

www.occrp.org/en/investiga...

Mansions, Horses, and Designer Bags: How the Ruling Family of Iraqi Kurdistan Splurged in the U.S.

The five sons of Iraqi Kurdistan’s founding president acquired real estate across the United States and went on luxury shopping sprees. At least some of the money came from major Kurdish…

www.occrp.org

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Reposted by Zack Kopplin

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @occrp.org · 7d

The law firm had a plan to keep the Barzanis’ names “off of the public records.”

Each of the five brothers would own an offshore firm named after a pirate from the movie series.

These companies would then anonymously own U.S. companies that held the property deeds.

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