Tonight during the Franklin Center webinar Lee Stranahan mentioned how important it is for those of us who are engaged by these nefarious Twitter Sock Puppets to take screenshots. Lee correctly stated that many times when these guys start attacking you on Twitter they will immediately delete the messages. I believe the main reason these guys delete their messages is because they know what they are doing is wrong and they don’t want to be held accountable for their actions. So when they hit the delete button they feel like they accomplished their goal: they attacked you and make you look crazy to others who may look at your Twitter stream hours later talking to someone who has never mentioned you before.
The process of taking screenshots might seem daunting for some, but it’s actually pretty simple. In this article I will discuss the several methods that I use to create screenshots. I will also share my secret method (which isn’t really that secret!) on how I amass a file of Tweets from certain users that I am following for research purposes.
I am Windows PC user so most of what I discuss in this article comes from that perspective. For those who do have Macs, first of SCREW YOU because I want a Mac, and secondly you can view the list of links I have at the bottom of this article that might be better suited for your far superior computing device.
All of these methods are FREE, you don’t need to buy any special software.
Windows PC
Print Screen button. Somewhere on your keyboard should be a button that says “prt sc” or something very similar. By pressing this button your entire screen will be frozen in time on your clipboard. To access the screenshot you need to open your Microsoft Paint program, click to open a new file, then under the edit menu choose “paste”. Your screenshot should then appear in the Paint window. (Pro tip: You can also use the Paint tools to redact personal or embarrassing information from your screenshot)
The Snipping Tool. For users who have Windows 7 Home Premium there is an nifty add-on called the Snipping Tool by Microsoft. When you open the tool it freezes your screen, then you can use your mouse to select an area of your screen to capture that area to a file. Learn more about The Snipping Tool HERE.
Google Chrome Plugin
Increasingly more and more people are using Google Chrome as their official browser and for good reasons, not only is the browser pretty fast there is a wide variety of plugins and extensions available that you can use within the browser.
My favorite Google Chrome Plugin for gathering screenshots is unsurprisingly called Screen Capture. The reason I love this plugin is because not only can you take screenshots of certain regions of your browser, you can take a snapshot of a full webpage.
Once you install the plugin the Screen Capture icon will appear in the app draw on the upper right hand part of your browser. When you click on the icon numerous self-explanatory options will popup. I use this plugin DAILY!
Firefox Add-on
For those who are still using FireFox there is an add-on that has similar functionality as the Screen Capture, it’s called Screenshot. Once you have the add-on installed the icon will appear on the upper right hand corner of your browser. When you click on that icon a file-menu of options will appear. Choose the type of screenshot you want to take and save the file.
Conservative blogger Aaron Walker has become the forth victim in the past year to an horrendous act called SWATting. SWATting is a practice that involves pranking emergency services into believe a violent crime was committed at the victim’s house.
All victims of the SWATting calls have either blogged about Brett Kimberlin or Weinergate.
Now Aaron Worthing gets swatted. The pattern remains. Mention Voldem…errr…. Kimberlin and the swat team appears.
Brett Kimberlin ally makes blind threat on his website (SAFE LINK):
“And speaking of fun… I’m told that we have something coming up in the future ourselves that will be killer diller! Hot stuff. Hubba hubba! And I ain’t kidding. I haven’t even been told who it is yet, and already I’m looking forward to it. “
No joke. It happened around 6 p.m. Eastern. I briefly talked with one of the police officers at the scene, who confirmed that someone had called saying he had shot his wife, and sent officers to Aaron’s address.
I just got off the phone with Aaron and he and his wife are a little shaken up but OK. The officers had machine guns but did not point them at Aaron. They were quickly able to determine it was a hoax.
Readers will excuse the intensity of my reaction, but I simply cannot imagine that any criminal would be so stupidly overconfident to attempt such a thing, at a time when there is so much public attention on the subject. It boggles the mind.
Breitbart News contacted the Prince William County, Virginia police department to confirm the swatting. A dispatcher affirmed that police were called to the home of Mr. Walker based on a fraudulent 911 call. The individual did not take the call and could not disclose any details of the call’s content but immediately confirmed that Mr. Walker had been swatted.
The 1st Amendment rights of conservative blogger Aaron Walker were restored today as a Maryland judge partially stays a peace order that was issued earlier this month that forbade Walker from talking about convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin.
“I am free once again to do something very simple,” Walker wrote on his blog, “I am allowed to say the name Brett Kimberlin again.”
In part the judge ordered, “[Aaron Walker] may communicate about [Brett Kimberlin] on the internet or any other medium to a general audience, including on [Walker’s] website or [Walker’s] Twitter account so long as [Walker] does not threaten [Kimberlin] or advocate the use of force or other violation of law against [Kimberlin], or otherwise incite imminent lawless action against [Kimberlin], consistent with the Supreme Court’s holding in Brandenburg v Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 447 (1969)”
Walker promised more updates on what happened today in court, including Kimberlin’s reaction to the ruling.
The Brett Kimberlin troll account OccupyRebellion is once again focusing her ‘anonymous’ hate speech against @Liberty_Chick. Doesn’t this troll have anything else to do on a Sunday morning?
On June 22, 2012, the Twitter account @LiberalGrouch was suspended from the service for an unspecified reason by the Powers That Be. A day later the person behind the account took to his website to make several false claims regarding the closure of his account.
Under the title (SAFE LINK) “More Light Thrust On My Suspension” LiberalGrouch explained his suspension:
I had a couple old Twitter Accounts that I have not used since 2010. In fact, I hadforgotten all about them. Before today, if you asked me what they were, I would notremember their names or their passwords.
One of them was a Twitter account I used to promote books I’ve written. The site was@BooksOBilly.
The other was for an ancient version of my current blog, that I called @TeabagTribune.
Apparently, someone hacked into those and used them to threaten @Ali Akbar.
Again, they were my accounts. But I don’t believe I’ve used them since 2010
Most of the above statements are factually incorrect. While it is true the two alternate accounts @BooksOBilly and @TeabagTribune were for the most part dormant, Liberal Grouch had full control of both accounts on June 11th and used them to make contact with Ali Akbar after his main account was blocked.
@liberalgrouch: How odd. Twitter accounts I’ve forgotten about, unused since 2010, @ali has them blocked. And they get mentioned on the “anonymous” mail.
@liberalgrouch: Told him to unblock me and he and I could have a little DM tete a tete. Unless he has something to hide. And we already know about Grindr.
The above tweets from Liberal Grouch show he had access to the alternate Twitter accounts, logged into them, and acknowledged that he published the messages left on the accounts that circumvented Ali Akbar’s action to block his cruel and vile attempts of harassment and defamation, a clear violation of Twitter’s TOS.
On June 25, MSNBC will launch a new show at 3 p.m. featuring a rotating group of hosts from the network’s pool of contributors, sources at the network have confirmed.
Steve Kornacki, Salon’s political writer, and S.E. Cupp, the conservative columnist, are among those who will co-host the new show, which will replace Martin Bashir’s program when it moves to the 4 p.m slot on June 25.
One source said the rotatation format was a temporary plan, though that could not be confirmed with others.
Touré, the cultural critic-turned-liberal commentator, has also been cited by many sources as a likely co-host of the new show.
At least two sources also named former congressional candidate-turned-commentator Krystal Ball and the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein as possible co-hosts.
There is nothing in the emails I sent to you that I find newsworthy, except for you trying to fish for information 5 months after I had already left the story. I gave you all the information I knew about the topic we discussed.
And honestly, looking over the emails again - they do more to tarnish your image than mine. So really, you want them out there?
Oh, have the mighty have fallen. You have gone from being exalted by leftists for being an investigative reporter at one of the most successful progressive news sites to threatening to publish emails about me, a nobody, an insignificant private citizen who lives in one of those fly-over States. All in the span of two years. What happened, BUDDY?
For the record: I never called you an anti-Semitic. Or claimed that you liked Hitler. I just republished a message you published on Twitter claiming you may still owned Hitler’s Mein Kampf. There was no commentary on my part, at all. Anything you read into my message are ‘facts’ created within your head.
(Note: In the headline I called Ron Brynaert a ‘co-worker’ because he claimed that we “worked together on a story” through this email conversation he now wants to leak which happened in November. No story exists, I never worked with Ron Brynaert and I was never paid.)
Claim: The SWATtings never happened. Or, Only Mike Stack was SWATted
Truth: The SWATting calls actually happened. Each conservative blogger has witnesses who can testify police appeared on their doorsteps with guns drawn expecting to find a murder crime-scene. Not to mention they each have copies of the police reports and the audio files of the SWAT calls. It happened, three times.
Claim: Team Breitbart created SWATting story to make money.
Truth: The phrase “SWATting” or mentions of the practice didn’t appear on any of the Breitbart.com website until May 25, 2012 which was “Everybody blog about Brett Kimberlin day.” This was nearly a year after the SWATter made his first call. The only caveat, Andrew Breitbart spoke of the SWATtings on a radio program the night he died. The audio was subsequently published to Breitbart.tv on March 1st, 2012.
If Andrew Breitbart or anyone with Team Breitbart wanted to profit from the SWATting story and they had knowledge that the calls were made by someone on the inside then they would have jumped on the story much sooner. The reason I’m led to believe the story took so long to come out is because LIVES WERE AT RISK.
Claim: There have been no arrests made in related to the SWATtings therefore the story must be false.
Truth:Not yet.
Claim: The media has examined the facts, Brandon Darby is the voice of the SWATter.
Truth: None of the mainstream media outlets have published the names of any suspects. Furthermore, several have actually incorrectly claimed Brett Kimberlin was the voice behind the calls, which is something most everyone who is following this story disagrees with. Left-wing bloggers and Anonymous Twitter accounts have been the only members of the ‘media’ to use Brandon Darby’s name.
Conservative blogger Patrick Frey, one of the victims of the SWATings, believes the person who SWATted him was Ron Brynaert.
I find it absolutely ridiculous Leftist bloggers and Anonymous Twitter conspiracy theorists are even floating this theory. It should be noted these are the same people who still believe Andrew Breitbart hacked Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account and posted those naughty photos. Like that bogus theory there is no actual evidence to this one either.
The ‘smoking gun’ these nutjobs claim proves their whacked-out theory is a video clip with spliced-in audio of the SWATter’s voice with Brandon Darby’s. Does the SWATter’s voice sound sort of like Brandon Darby? Sure, if you ignore Darby’s southern cajun accent then the voice is spot on.
Was it Brett Kimberlin?
No. The voice sounds nothing like Brett Kimberlin.
Was it Brett Warren?
I was stunned Brooks Bayne floated this one without seeking out the audio of Warren’s voice. He sounds nothing like the SWATter.
Was it Ron Brynaert?
I am not equipped to 100% definitively say the SWATter was Ron Brynaert, as that accusation can only be made by a law enforcement agency and a federal prosecutor.
What I can say is there are many things which make me suspicious of Brynaert, including his numerous claims of having his phones hacked the weeks after the initial two SWATting incidents. Also, his repeated refusal to appear on any radio program to give his side of the SWATting story. I also believe someone could make a strong argument the SWATter’s voice is similar to Ron Brynaert’s.
But like I said, I cannot 100% definitively say the SWATter was Ron Brynaert, as that job is for others to determine.
Was it one of Neal Rauhauser’s Beandogs?
Absolutely there is the possibility an unknown person is behind the SWATting calls.
Neal Rauhauser was deeply involved in the disinformation campaign of the Anthony Weiner Twitter scandal right out of the gate and he is directly connected to Brett Kimberlin. The conservative bloggers who received SWAT calls were either blogging (or microblogging) about Anthony Weiner or Brett Kimberlin.
There stands the possibility one of Neal Rauhauser’s followers may have made the calls, but there is no public evidence of it actually occurring.
Regardless who made the SWAT phone calls I believe the matter should be fully investigated by law enforcement and federal prosecutors. The SWATter needs to be caught and justice needs to be brought.
