Empire at war forces of corruption mod

Henk Rogers is always looking for the next big thing, no matter the cost. That's why he risked his home and his freedom for "Tetris." He knew the game, created in the Soviet Union, would break barriers and become a hit. So he wanted to arrange to bring "Tetris" to the rest of the world, by getting it included on a yet-to-be-revealed device from Nintendo called the Game Boy. The young video game publisher flew to the Soviet Union from his Tokyo home in 1988 under the false pretext of a tourist visa, illegally entered government buildings and was monitored by KGB spies, all while the country's Communist Party fell apart around him like tumbling blocks. Rogers and a bureaucrat had to meet in parks to break down their deal. "It was dangerous - cars and rooms were all assumed to be bugged," Rogers said in a recent interview from his home in New York City. His journey and the complicated legal battle is the subject of a new film released last week in theaters and appearing on … [Read more...] about The dramatic tale of how ‘Tetris’ became a phenomenon

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 12 DALLAS (AP) — The story was a blockbuster: A former Texas voting official was on the record detailing how nearly three decades earlier, votes were falsified to give then-congressman Lyndon B. Johnson a win that propelled the future president into the U.S. Senate. The audio recordings from Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's interviews for the 1977 story were posted this week on the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum's archival website, Discover LBJ. After Mangan's death in 2015 at the age of 87, his family found the labeled cassette tapes at his San Antonio home and donated them last summer to the library on the campus of the University at Texas at Austin. Luis Salas, the former South Texas election judge, told Mangan for the story: “Johnson did not win that election; It was stolen for him. And I know exactly how … [Read more...] about ‘Window into history’: Tapes detail LBJ’s stolen election

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 ALICE, Texas (AP) — In 1977, Associated Press reporter James W. Mangan's exclusive interview with a South Texas election judge who detailed certifying false votes for Lyndon B. Johnson nearly three decades earlier made headlines across the country. With the win by an 87-vote margin in the 1948 Democratic primary runoff, Johnson, then a congressman, easily defeated his Republican opponent to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, and he eventually ascended to the presidency. Mangan spent three years pursuing the story, which pulled back the curtain on the victory that had drawn suspicions ever since election officials in rural Jim Wells County announced the discovery of uncounted votes in ballot box known as Box 13. Headlines across the U.S. that accompanied the story included: “Polling Official: Phony Votes Stole ’48 Runoff for LBJ”; “LBJ’s election to Senate ‘stolen’”; … [Read more...] about AP WAS THERE: Uncovering Lyndon B Johnson’s stolen election

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilized countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12 to 18 months, the head of the Nobel prize-winning U.N. World Food Program warned Friday. David Beasley praised increased funding from the United States and Germany last year, and urged China, Gulf nations, billionaires and other countries “to step up big time.” In an interview before he hands the reins of the world’s largest humanitarian organization to U.S. ambassador Cindy McCain next week, the former South Carolina governor said he’s “extremely worried” that WFP won’t raise about $23 billion it needs this year to help millions of needy people “Right at this stage, I’ll be surprised if we get 40% of it, quite frankly,” he said. Last year, Beasley raised $14.2 billion for WFP, more … [Read more...] about UN food chief: Billions needed to avert unrest, starvation