I mentioned in comments recently that I had added a privacy policy to this site. One of the reasons for doing so is a requirement from Google that sites using their Analytics offering provide a privacy policy disclosing that Analytics is being used.
I dropped by Birther Report just now to see if they have a privacy policy policy, and they do. Here’s what it says under the section “What do we use your information for?”:
Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:
; To personalize your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
; To improve our website (we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
In a later section, they talk about disclosure to third parties:
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
With that background, consider this published item at BR (image courtesy of The Fogbow):
What you’re looking at is an IP address and an email address (both comprise personal identification) of a commenter at Birther Report, AlabasterDoll, a sock puppet of Bill Bryan (aka Foggy) that had been posting at BR for several weeks. Birther Report provided this information to the commenter Falcon, who then published it. That appears to be a clear violation of their privacy policy.
Falcon’s own remark is odd: “By the way – I think I accidentally vacuumed up all the emails in this address. So sorry. I’d hate for those to get out.” Of course, there is no way to accidentally access someone’s emails.
Foggy then said that he had reported Falcon to the FBI for hacking his emails (read the exchange at The Fogbow), but then Falcon denied that he had gotten Foggy’s emails. Looks like Falcon was playing chicken and flinched first.
I trust that this violation of its privacy policy by Birther Report is a one-time aberration that that they will begin to adhere to their policy or change it.
Read more:
Guffaw! https://twitter.com/_Foggy/status/460094084745818114
I’ve been following this story, first at Birther Report and then at Fogbow. It’s amusing, but I don’t think Foggy’s embarrassment of Falcon will shake him from the rebarbative perch he occupies at B.R. Birdboy’s a polarizing figure, and those birthers who hate him will continue to hate him, and those who admire him will shrug off the cravenness that Foggy exposed.
True, but he lost face in front of his worshipers(yes, worshipers). He’ll never quite live that down, knowing that someone who he attempts to mock on a regular basis, punked him something fierce. He can’t let that stand, but at the same time he has no means of gaining retribution. 🙂
Yes, when I saw the claim by Falcon that he had broken into my email account, I was almost certain immediately that he had done no such thing, for a few reasons:
1. He’s not very bright, and has demonstrated no computer skills to me in the past.
2. There were only 3 emails in that account, two registration emails from Gravatar and Intense Debate, and a change-password email that isn’t my password now. He was trying to scare me that he’d gotten some private information, but you can’t scare someone who knows there was no such thing for him to obtain.
3. I always use hyper-strong passwords, virtually uncrackable. No, I didn’t suspect for a second that Falcon had cracked it in 2 minutes.
I saw an opportunity to punk him once again, and for him to suddenly reverse course and say “you can’t really report me because I never did it in the first place” was the payoff.
He tried to scare me. It didn’t work. I tried to scare him. That worked quite well. By the end of the exchange yesterday, he had gone from “I stole all your emails and I might release them to the world” all the way to “I’m a man of lofty principles and I would never hack anyone’s email, much less threaten anyone.”
Of course, some of them are forcing themselves to believe his claim that he knew Telepathick and AlabasterDoll (don’t ask me where I get these names, they just come to me) were both me before I outed myself, which is plainly not true to anyone with a shred of brainbone remaining.
Three results –
First, It’s harder to trust anyone over there. Two fully trusted members of the herd, one male and one female, both turned out to be me in a week’s time. That’s a nightmare! Those were Foggy the whole time? I still have sockpuppets embedded in case of need. Who the hell can you trust anymore?
Second, I forcefully demonstrated to the owner that none of his security measures upon which he spends many hours each week, are working. I can post there any ol’ time I feel like it, and if that bothers him well, bless his heart.
Third, once again – and this is the most important of all – I struck a blow against the idea that we’re scared or nervous about Mike Zullo. The prank had nothing to do with Zullo, as if (which is actually true) I don’t have the slightest care what Zullo’s planning. It was just me on Falcon, mocking and insulting and punking the Angriest Birther of Them All, and laughing hugely as I took my exit. It’s really hard to read anything I wrote (or ever will write) and say “See? He’s scared, and you can tell because __________.”
I’m bored a lot, now that the movement has shrunk and withered. But I’m never scared.
“Birther Report provided this information to the commenter Falcon, who then published it. That appears to be a clear violation of their privacy policy.”
Any proof Birther Report provided Falcon with the information. Really, if Falcon wants to break into email acocunts, he should break into Reality Check’s email.
The fact that Falcon published information only known to BR proves it came from BR.
All of this is true, of course. But Falcon himself knows that two fellow birthers turned out to be me and he had no clue on either of them.. He knows that he tried to scare me and didn’t scare me for a Noo Yawk minute, and he knows how scared he was when the owner of Birther Report conveyed to him my story about turning him in to the FBI. He knows that I punk’d him most bodaciously.
Best of all, he knows that at the end of the day, he was spluttering in anger and frustration, while I couldn’t stop laughing all afternoon. To me, the measure of who won and who lost is, the angry guy lost and the happy guy won. And there was nothing he could do about it but mutter “Well I knew you were Foggy all along” which is outright contradicted by the way he treated Telepathick.
No, he knows that I burned him, and he lost, and he seems to have even disappeared for a spell, but I haven’t checked the site since this morning. Maybe his big revenge will be … he’ll tell me again that I’m going to prison REAL SOON!
How do you? Please post your proof.
I don’t see a violation of policy:
“We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety.”
Ergo, Foggy’s information be released to protect other’s rights, property or safety this appears is be a pretty broad definition.
You’re condoning a commission of a federal crime.
Foggy, it is a pleasure watching you work! And the birthers who read your bit about still having some deep cover sock puppets at BR, will have them suspecting EVERYONE! Oh, it doesn’t get any better than that! I’m sure John has already warned the troops. 🙂
Which, IMHO does lend some credence to my theory that Falcon is possibly a sock puppet of BR’s admin.
This amuses me no end; I have a few sockpuppets over there myself, one I post with almost daily, the others used very sparingly. They have never, ever suspected any of them. People suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect are the easiest to fool.
I’m starting to think there are more sockpuppets over there than real birthers.
Its been a bad week for birthers, LOL! ‘Course there’s never been an actual “good” week for Birthers.
Birfers: always wrong, but never, ever in doubt.
That’s pretty stupid….even for you, john.
Where is the post where Falcon admits he didn’t hack Foggy’s emals? I don’t see it.
I knew it! You are “furtive”!
Well, according to some ex-girlfriends…
Oh man, can you imagine the kind of damage control articles BR is gonna start running? I can hardly wait! I predict at least one declaring that the admin is “fully aware” of who is and isn’t an Obot in disguise. 😉
Since birdboy himself has praised my main sock puppet in public more than once, that would make him complicit.
Indeed! What is a birfer to do?
It speaks volume about how desperate they are. Throw the right honeyed words their way, and they’ll trust anyone.
You appear to have rattled him. Here’s birdboy’s post from three hours ago:
“I was just thinking to myself – there’s(sic) only six people out there I trust. That’s it, and it’s at an all time low. Here’s the list – Trey Gowdy, Mike Zullo, Sheriff Ararpio(sic), Birther Report, Mark Gillar, and MYSELF. We got a huge mountain to climb, but we’re almost there.”
This little revelation tells us SO much. First, he can’t spell Sheriff Joe’s last name properly. Second, he’s an incredibly poor judge of character. Third, he’s absolutely solitary, for absent from this list are people we would expect him to interact with on a daily basis. In other words, we find no spouse, parent, or loved one; no friend or colleague. It’s remarkable.
What so many have imagined about birdboy–that he’s a pitiful loner, bitter, hateful, and isolated–seems to be confirmed by this piece of accidental biography.
I saw that post, and I noticed that it lacked his trademark fire. Good stuff man, good stuff. Nothing quite like seeing BR’s mouthiest little cuss with the wind taken out of his sales.
I hadn’t been there for a while and just took a look. Lord, what a bizarre mess…..a 21st century cyber version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Oh, yes, they’re far gone. Remember when birtherism was at least partially about legal arguments? Now they’ve descended into acrimonious madness.
Yeah, they might as well rename it “Bitter Report”.
In re-reading Falcon’s comment, I think he could be referring to other email addresses associated with that IP address rather than actual emails. At least it seems to make more sense to me in that light (not that it is easy to tell what makes sense to someone who’s perceptions are as warped as FALCON’s).
Just my $0.02.
Actually Doc, this is far from the first time BR/ORYR has posted or released to be posted personally identifiable data such as IP addresses.
BT/ORYR himself posted a set of screen shots posts that never left moderation and were stuck in the blocked bundle that showed screen name, date, time, IP address etc.
It’s a consistent tactic across Birfoon and RWNJ world where the message can’t be refuted, attack and harass the poster with threats to “reveal them”
I have had the same sort of crap on some of the firearms related websites I post predominately on (non political) subjects.
I used to say this back in the WND heyday when birther articles got 500+ responses. There were just too many accounts with an almost identical choice of words.
It is rather looking like the last days of Casey Serin when he pointed to 800ish followers on Facebook. Problem was approximately 100 were friends and relatives, 100 were watchers and “Haterz” and 600 were probably Camp Idiot sockpuppets.
It is a broad definition, which does not extend to what BR did in this case.
Nice use of the passive voice, you dishonest little weasel.
The information was released by BR and birdboy in concert; the sole reason was to harass and intimidate Foggy. You haven’t articulated a single valid reason why Foggy’s email and IP needed to be made public, in violation of BR’s own privacy policies.
You really are transparently vile and dishonest, you know that? It’s so amusing to watch you squirm and try to defend their behavior.
Yeah, watching John squirm is almost as amusing as watching birdboy squirm…almost. I got more satisfaction at Falcon having a hard time of it, because he puts himself out there as a tough guy. John, on the other hand, is just a little bug who scurries out from, then quickly back, under a rock. He doesn’t present himself as anything more.
It’s not just coincidence that the gun magazines are filled with ads for “virility” cures.
Guess Ken dolls need to feel manly too. 😉
That’s self-explanatory, John. I find it hard to believe that even you are too stupid to see that.
How else could Falcon have obtained Foggy’s e-mail address and IP address? Do you believe that they came to him in a dream?
Hey! If you think about it, their “universe” has been, in a sense, “shattered”.
Its a self-derping prophecy!
Who woulda thunk that the harbinger of the birther apocalypse, was a wall-eyed grey equine, with a penchant for muffins?
Xenophobia is Magic!
Oh, Birdboy! You trust Trey Gowdy, do you? Well then, you will want to read the letter he sent to an idiot Birther constituent who wanted him to “join” Steve Stockman” in pursuing a Congressional investigation!
His response : http://tinyurl.com/n8zorm8
Thank you for contacting me about President Obama’s right to hold the office of the presidency. I appreciate hearing from you.
Like you, I believe the Constitution must be our nation’s guiding document, including its provisions specifying the requirements that must be met for an individual to hold the office of President. President Obama was qualified to run for this office by the Federal Election Commission, and courts have dismissed all lawsuits challenging his status as a natural born citizen of the United States. As such, I believe President Obama to be the legitimately elected leader of our nation.
Thank you again for contacting me, and please do not hesitate to do so in the future. It is an honor to serve you and the 4th Congressional District.
Sincerely,
(signed)Trey Gowdy
Member of Congress
This was OVER a YEAR ago, you know, the famous Birther Fail era where Gallups and Zullo convinced you idiots that the CCP’s so-called “evidence” of Obama crimes was so certain, clear, and convincing that it would be of NO USE IN COURT, and COULDN’T DARE BE REVEALED because then Obots (read that as everyone who respects the Constitution and the laws) would start “attacking” the charges, like that would doom a legitimate case against Obama if it was based on ANY solid evidence!
Your “wittle club” of Birthy Pals actually bought into the Zullo stall excuse of a “better approach” being focusing on using (another SECRET LIST of) V.I.P.’s whom you were assured by Gallups were lining up to trigger a full-blown Congressional Investigation of Obama’s ‘crimes’ (like the major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major media is Gallups NOW CLAIMS, ‘lining up’ to publicize the Cold Case Posses’ next vomitous pack of lies about President Obama!)
Of course such a pathetic plan WAS the BEST chance at getting a politically motivated sham fishing expedition investigation going, because, there simply was not a shred of real evidence of criminal behavior by Obama.
So DO trust Trey Gowdy on this point, Bird-baby! ‘Cause, he’s right, and YOU are WRONG! Just like you were when you guaranteed all those people Obama couldn’t possibly win the Presidency before he was elected, BOTH TIMES!
They’re all still laughing at you, Tweety-boy! Like we are when you tell us every year, what Obama-ruining doom is coming in the next few weeks, or days, or hours, or minutes, or seconds, or nanoseconds!
Obama is a two-term elected President of the United States of America and you are a crybaby loser having an unseemly extended tantrum, prematurely celebrating the undeserved downfall of a President which will never come, and your own inability to prophesy Obama’s continuing successes, an inability which will likely never end.
That’s brilliant! I wish there was way to rub falcon’s beak in this until he squawked like a little bird.
Poor birdboy, now he’s down to five!
You just did; don’t think for a minute he doesn’t read OCT and TFB obsessively.
And every one of them a proven liar many times over. What a waste of his “trust.”
Ewww! I don’t want that moulty chicken hawk flapping his wings around here–think of the bird lice!
Why? What harm is he going to do to the bird lice?
John is not the ‘brightest bulb’, in fact he rarely has shown evidence of independent or original thought.
John isn’t even a dim bulb. He’s a wet match in a dark cave.
It looks like maybe his “revenge” will be to pretend that he wasn’t “burned” at all. He’s now claiming that the whole prank was real, and proves “Fathertime was right – they were pissed-n-dissed”:
http://www.birtherreport.com/2014/04/sergeant-major-retired-early-due-to.html#IDComment824490463
Be careful with your popcorn: birds have been known to try to gobble it up.
Article updated to add:
Read more:
That ID stream is a big bowl of crazy.
What’s his thing with putting Ws in words that don’t have them?
I imagine a keyboard as spittle-flecked as his must be is dang slippery…
John, the things you see that aren’t there and the things you don’t see that are there lead me to believe you are in dire need of some long overdue optometry tests.
Birthers don’t think they need a valid reason to reveal personal information about Obots. The very fact that Foggy is an Obot is all that is necessary. Birthers are corrupt jerks who justify anything that hurts Obama and the Obots.
This is a result of their core belief: that President Obama is completely evil and corrupt. If they waffle on this even a little bit, their whole house of cards is in danger. As a result, anyone that is on Obama’s side—i.e. attacks any of the conclusions they have made based on their belief—is hopelessly tainted by President Obama’s boundless evil.