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SteveMDFP

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3250 on: March 19, 2018, 11:52:03 AM »
Thomas,

I quoted the words of yours I was responding to.  You stated the agent wasn't Novichok, because deaths haven't happened yet, despite the potency of the agent.  I then elucidated a basic principle of toxicology--it's all about dose.  And why a reasonable person should conclude a nerve agent was used.  So how can you claim it wasn't Novichok in particular?  You haven't answered.

You said the KGB wouldn't have used an obviously identifiable agent.  I explained why they *would* use such a "calling card" method--to deter would-be informants.

I think I read your words as written.  If you think I've misunderstood, please describe what you see as a misunderstanding.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3251 on: March 19, 2018, 06:52:14 PM »
diGenova is someone that Mueller should interview (w.r.t. Comey, Erik Prince & the 2016 election), and the fact that Trump is planning on hiring diGenova is yet another example of Trump's witness tampering:

Title: "Trump to Hire Lawyer Who Has Pushed Theory That Justice Dept. Framed the President"

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/us/politics/joseph-digenova-trump-lawyer.html?smid=pl-share&referer=https://t.co/vHsyOOf5c4

Extract: "President Trump has decided to hire the longtime Washington lawyer Joseph E. diGenova, who has pushed the theory on television that Mr. Trump was framed by F.B.I. and Justice Department officials, to bolster his legal team, according to three people told of the decision."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3252 on: March 19, 2018, 11:50:30 PM »
The linked article discusses information that certainly damages CA's reputation:

Title: "Cambridge Analytica Execs Caught Discussing Extortion and Fake News"

https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-execs-caught-discussing-extortion-and-fake-news/

Extract: "In a series of undercover videos filmed over the last year, Britain's Channel 4 News caught executives at Cambridge Analytica appear to say they could extort politicians, send women to entrap them, and help proliferate propaganda to help their clients. The sting operation was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into Cambridge Analytica, a data consulting firm that worked for President Trump's 2016 campaign."
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Neven

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3253 on: March 20, 2018, 11:20:36 AM »
The linked article discusses information that certainly damages CA's reputation:

Title: "Cambridge Analytica Execs Caught Discussing Extortion and Fake News"

https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-execs-caught-discussing-extortion-and-fake-news/

Extract: "In a series of undercover videos filmed over the last year, Britain's Channel 4 News caught executives at Cambridge Analytica appear to say they could extort politicians, send women to entrap them, and help proliferate propaganda to help their clients. The sting operation was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into Cambridge Analytica, a data consulting firm that worked for President Trump's 2016 campaign."

Wow, this is really explosive, because it now forces one of those parallel discussions tied to Russiagate, that have been mostly denied so far. What kind of meddling is okay, and what isn't? Is it okay if it is US-based, but not if it is foreign? Is it okay when the left does it, but not the right? Is social media inherently flawed? These are really important questions for democracy.

It will also be interesting to see if the media is going to hold onto their narrative of 'Russia is to blame for all the world's woes'. It seems that US media is now willing to talk about Cambridge Analytica, but only if somehow Russia is involved as well (which it very well might be, just like Saudi Arabia, China, Israel, and so on and so forth).
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3254 on: March 20, 2018, 12:29:46 PM »
I'm watching the video now. It's a real bombshell. There's more evidence of meddling in just this video (never mind the stuff that The Observer and Guardian have put out) than we've had from all anonymous sources so far:



What will happen next? What will the corporate media make of this?
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3255 on: March 20, 2018, 01:20:59 PM »
I like that bit where one of the Cambridge Analytica sales people goes:

Quote
Turnbull: There are various intelligence-gathering organisations that operate very discreetly to find information like that. I know people who used to work for MI5, MI6, they now work for these...
-Private organisations?
-Private organisations. They will find all the skeletons in his closet, quietly, discreetly, and give you a report.

Narrator: And then, once the dirt has been dug, outed discreetly, he goes on to say, at the right moment. Whatever the political message, subtlety is key.

Turnbull: It has to happen without anyone thinking that's propaganda. Because the moment you think that's propaganda, the next question is: Who's put that out? So, we have to be very subtle.

It made me think of that New Yorker article by Jane Mayer on the heroic Christopher Steele.

Quote
Under the arrangement, Orbis was a subcontractor working for Fusion GPS, a private research firm in Washington. Fusion, in turn, had been contracted by a law firm, Perkins Coie, which represented both Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Several months after Steele signed the deal, he learned that, through this chain, his research was being jointly subsidized by the Clinton campaign and the D.N.C. In all, Steele was paid a hundred and sixty-eight thousand dollars for his work.

(...)

To differentiate itself, Orbis, which opened its office in Mayfair, attempted to exploit Steele’s Russian expertise. The strategy appears to have paid off. According to people with knowledge of the company, Orbis grossed approximately twenty million dollars in its first nine years. Steele now drives a Land Rover Discovery Sport, and belongs to a golf club.

There is so much money in this stuff. And we're paying for it.

Edit: Sorry, didn't mean to derail from the Cambridge Analytica bombshell stuff. There's nothing like a good hidden camera.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2018, 01:26:45 PM by Neven »
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3256 on: March 20, 2018, 02:55:38 PM »
Here is a good video clip from Rachel Maddow's show last night regarding Cambridge Analytica.  Clip is 22 minutes....and as usual, worth every minute.   As usual....she gives some "historical context" (this time with Watergate).


FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3257 on: March 20, 2018, 03:05:53 PM »
And here is a good 6 minute clip from Ari Melber's show last night..... his interview with Lawrence Tribe (Constitutional Law professor at Harvard).



I have said from the beginning that Trump needs to shut down the Mueller investigation.  I have also said that he will fire Mueller eventually (via firing Rosenstein.... and finding someone in the DOJ to do the ACTUAL firing of Mueller).

Tribe raises the possibility that Trump will.... instead of having Mueller fired... that he will take the FIRST STEP of firing Rosenstein.... and replacing Rosenstein with someone that will SIGNFICIANTLY CURTAIL the parameters that Mueller is now operating under.

This would be a "step short" of firing Mueller.... but Trump's likely hope would be to curtail the investigation so much..... in order to damage and limit its outcome.

Of course....it could also be one more step on Traitor Don's way to eventually fire Mueller as well.




FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3258 on: March 20, 2018, 03:20:53 PM »
Tribe raises the possibility that Trump will.... instead of having Mueller fired... that he will take the FIRST STEP of firing Rosenstein.... and replacing Rosenstein with someone that will SIGNFICIANTLY CURTAIL the parameters that Mueller is now operating under.

This would be a "step short" of firing Mueller.... but Trump's likely hope would be to curtail the investigation so much..... in order to damage and limit its outcome.

Of course....it could also be one more step on Traitor Don's way to eventually fire Mueller as well.

I suspect that Mueller has in his pocket a number of sealed indictments (from his various grand juries), that he would immediately unseal if Rosenstein is fired, and before Rosenstein's replacement could curtail the parameters of the Mueller investigation.
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3259 on: March 20, 2018, 03:32:38 PM »
The "key Republicans" that are at the forefront currently of obstructing justice (let's call it what it is) are as follows:

1)  Devin Nunes (California Republican in the US House)
2)  Mike Conaway (Texas Republican I the US House...head of House Intelligence Committee)
3)  Mitch McConnell (Kentucky Senator... Majority leader in the Senate)
4)  Paul Ryan (Enabler in Chief.... US House from Wisconsin.... Majority leader in the House)
5)  Jim Jordan (US House....from Ohio.... Trump mouthpiece)

All the House members are up for election this November.... and Mitch McConnell is NOT up for re-election this year in the senate.

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wili

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3260 on: March 20, 2018, 03:52:17 PM »
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/20/bernie-sanders-russia-and-stormy-daniels-distract-us-from-real-problem-of-inequality


Bernie Sanders: Russia and Stormy Daniels distract us from real problem of inequality


More than a million viewers watch online as Sanders joins likes of Michael Moore and Elizabeth Warren to talk poverty


"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3261 on: March 20, 2018, 04:12:26 PM »
Apparently, Trump is reshuffling his legal defense team in order to better engage in a scrappy, media-focused, campaign in an attempt to actively influence public opinion and the results of the mid-term elections.  Obviously, the resistance wants a blue wave to shift control of congress to the Dems and the GOP have hitched their wagons to Trump's combative campaign to attack the F.B.I and Mueller as manifestations of the 'deep-state' controlled by Washington establishment families such as the Bushes and the Clintons.  Hopefully, the F.B.I., Mueller and the Dems make the appropriate adjustments to prevent Team Trump from obstructing justice by confusing the voting public.

Title: "Trump Considers Reshuffling Legal Team as He Takes On Mueller More Aggressively"

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/us/politics/trump-lawyers-mueller-russia-investigation.html

Extract: "President Trump’s legal team was poised for a shake-up on Monday, according to two people briefed on the matter, as he openly discussed firing one of his lawyers, another considered resigning and a third — who pushed theories on television that Mr. Trump was framed by the F.B.I. — joined the roster.

Mr. Trump has weighed aloud in recent days to close associates whether to dismiss his lawyer Ty Cobb, who had pushed most strongly a strategy of cooperating fully with the special counsel investigation. The president reassured Mr. Cobb that he had no plans to fire him, according to a person who spoke with the president late Monday, in part to prevent a narrative that his team was in disarray after The New York Times began making inquiries.

Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, John Dowd, has contemplated leaving his post because he has concluded that he has no control over the behavior of the president, the two people briefed on the matter said. Ignoring his lawyers’ advice, Mr. Trump has reverted to a more aggressive strategy of publicly assailing the inquiry that he initially adopted in the weeks immediately after the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, was appointed. Now the president has begun attacking Mr. Mueller himself."

Edit: If I am not clear, congress is the ultimate court in the USA, and its composition following the mid-term election will be based on the opinions of the voting public (whether influenced by: CA spambots, Russian hackers, a new special prosecutor appointed by the AG to re-open the investigation of Hillary Clinton, or by smearing the Mueller probe).
« Last Edit: March 20, 2018, 04:31:13 PM by AbruptSLR »
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3262 on: March 20, 2018, 04:24:52 PM »
Bernie Sanders: Russia and Stormy Daniels distract us from real problem of inequality

More than a million viewers watch online as Sanders joins likes of Michael Moore and Elizabeth Warren to talk poverty

Deng Xiaoping said: "It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."

See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping_Theory

Here, by catching mice, I mean voting the GOP out of control of the congress,  Thus, I am happy to have Conor Lamb criticize Nancy Pelosi and I am happy to have Bernie say that Russiagate and Stormygate are distractions; so long as their customized messages manage to kick as many congressional GOP candidates out of office during the 2018 mid-term elections.
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3263 on: March 20, 2018, 04:27:56 PM »
: AbruptSLR « on: Today at 03:20:53 PM »
Quote
I suspect that Mueller has in his pocket a number of sealed indictments (from his various grand juries), that he would immediately unseal if Rosenstein is fired, and before Rosenstein's replacement could curtail the parameters of the Mueller investigation.

I suspect that as well.  But if I have a Harvard Constitutional Law professor worried about it... so am I.

I don't know the "in's and out's" of the legal process that would play out....and how it could be thrown off the tracks.

What I do know.... is that Donnie can NOT have the Mueller investigation remain on track.  And....as before, I suspect that he will do ANYTHING to derail it in some way.  It will be financially ruinous to him to have the Mueller investigation completed...not only to him, but to the rest of his extended family, as well as some members of Congress.





FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3264 on: March 20, 2018, 04:33:21 PM »
What I do know.... is that Donnie can NOT have the Mueller investigation remain on track.

+1
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ivica

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3265 on: March 20, 2018, 05:03:38 PM »
I'm watching the video now. It's a real bombshell. There's more evidence of meddling in just this video (never mind the stuff that The Observer and Guardian have put out) than we've had from all anonymous sources so far:



What will happen next? What will the corporate media make of this?

My guess is that warmongers will not like that video. We have it in 3 "The rest" threads now, (here, "RussiaGate And The Media: Examples of Good AND Bad Journalism" and "Democracy and Its Crisis") and the video is worth of that.

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3266 on: March 20, 2018, 08:32:52 PM »
Team Trump are now trying to distance themselves from CA; however, the facts indicate that CA ran essentially all of Trump's digital campaign:

Title: "Cambridge Analytica executives say they 'ran all the digital campaign' for Trump: report"

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/379368-cambridge-analytica-executives-claim-they-ran-all-the-digital-campaign-for

Extract: "Executives at Cambridge Analytica claim they ran all of President Trump's digital campaign, Britain's Channel 4 News reported.

Executives at the company talked about how their work contributed to Trump's win of "40,000 votes" in three states, Channel 4 News reported, according to an undercover investigation.

“We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy," said CEO Alexander Nix, regarding Cambridge Analytica's work for Trump."
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Neven

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3267 on: March 20, 2018, 10:26:22 PM »
“We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy," said CEO Alexander Nix, regarding Cambridge Analytica's work for Trump."

And none of it was transparent! It should be illegal to do these things! Has anybody even started to discuss this yet?
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3268 on: March 20, 2018, 10:32:53 PM »
In any investigation of organized crime, the investigator (Team Mueller here) only asks the 'kingpin' questions that he already knows the answers to.  Thus the fact that the article linked below indicates that Team Mueller wants to expand their topics to include: "… Attorney General Jeff Sessions' involvement in the Comey dismissal and what Trump knew about national security adviser Michael Flynn's phone calls with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in late December 2016."; includes that Team Mueller know everything that there is to know about Trump's knowledge of these two topics:

Title: "Mueller team gives Trump lawyers more details of what they want to talk to President about"

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/19/politics/robert-mueller-president-trump-russia-investigate-interview/index.html

Extract: "As President Donald Trump's reaction to special counsel Robert Mueller grows more irate by the day, attorneys on both sides sat down last week in a rare face-to-face discussion about the topics investigators could inquire of the President. It was the first in-person meeting after several weeks of informal discussions between the two sides, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

Mueller's team added granularity to the topics it originally discussed with the defense team months ago, like the firing of FBI Director James Comey, according to one of the sources. This time around, for instance, the prosecutors said they would ask about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' involvement in the Comey dismissal and what Trump knew about national security adviser Michael Flynn's phone calls with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in late December 2016."
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3269 on: March 20, 2018, 10:39:17 PM »
Here is a good video clip from Rachel Maddow's show last night regarding Cambridge Analytica.

I've watched the clip. You could've told me the Cambridge Analytica stuff comes in well into the second half. That would've spared me the first 12 minutes of smug scholar sarcasm. I've watched that second part twice now.

Did she explain how the Cambridge Analytica stuff has been a covert operation for stealth advocacy and a disinformation psy op campaign? Not, really. She doesn't explain any of that. Instead a clip is shown of the whistleblower saying that Facebook user data was used for doing bad stuff, and then he says something about a Russian oil company. Et voilà, Maddow goes off on that tangent! Blah blah Russia blah blah Russia blah blah Russia. But it's about so much more than just Russia...

Let's give it another few days and see if the media will willfully refrain from connecting the dots (again). Apparently some meddling is okay, while other meddling is not. We'll see if they try to relegate this bombshell to the shadows (again). If Russia is not at the centre of the story, media not interested?
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3270 on: March 20, 2018, 10:49:34 PM »
“We did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting, we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign and our data informed all the strategy," said CEO Alexander Nix, regarding Cambridge Analytica's work for Trump."

And none of it was transparent! It should be illegal to do these things! Has anybody even started to discuss this yet?

Here is a 2017 repost from the 'Systemic Isolation' Thread, about CA's weaponized use of AI to manipulate the 2016 election for Trump:


: AbruptSLR  February 27, 2017, 09:35:26 AM

: SteveMDFP  February 23, 2017, 12:57:27 AM

That's one of the most disturbing articles I've ever read.  I had noticed in the few days before the US election a big increase in anti-Hillary material online.  This article explains that.





The truth of the matter is that politics is largely about the manipulation of uncertainty to get what one side wants; which has been going on for a long time.  So as not to dive into ancient history, the linked 2014 article is entitled: "Karl Rove vs. Hillary Clinton: Whisper campaign explodes on Internet", and provides an example of how during the 3rd Industrial Revolution, the internet allowed Karl Rove to effectively manipulate the truth before his target could react.  While the Cambridge Analytica work accelerates this trend by adding 4th Industrial Revolution - AI to Karl Rove's more traditional 'whisper campaigns' (he originally compiled lists of conservative groups and identified the key influencers in the groups to which he fed fake information to just before a key vote, so that the fake information would spread rapidly by whispers within the group before the target could respond).   Rather than expressing 'moral outrage' it is better to use information science to attack the uncertainty associated by fake information in order to mount a rapid response.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-analysis-karl-rove-hillary-clinton-whisper-campaign-internet-20140513-story.html
. . .




I appreciate your re-posting the thread.  It's sufficiently important to merit wider dissemination.

I'd urge folks to read the article:
https://scout.ai/story/the-rise-of-the-weaponized-ai-propaganda-machine

AI applied to propaganda is a fearsome development.  There's reason to believe that this technology is really what was responsible for the momentous election outcomes that polling said were wildly unlikely to happen, the Brexit vote and the Trump win.  There was nothing wrong with the polling, absent the AI-powered last-minute push, there'd have been no surprises.

As Cambridge Analytica won't offer its services to liberal causes, we can now expect as much as a 3% last-minute shift in voting totals towards conservative/populist/fascist directions.  This means that Le Pen may well win victory in France.  Other elections in the Netherlands and Germany may well have similar right-wing upset victories.  This would likely spell the end of the EU and the Euro.  Buckle up, everyone.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3271 on: March 20, 2018, 10:59:53 PM »
I am not sure if others have already seen the linked Channel 4 video, but it is the third in their series:

Title: "Cambridge Analytica: Undercover Secrets of Trump's Data Firm"



Extract: "An investigation by Channel 4 News has revealed how Cambridge Analytica claims it ran ‘all’ of President Trump’s digital campaign - and may have broken election law. Executives were secretly filmed saying they leave ‘no paper trail’."
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3272 on: March 20, 2018, 11:00:20 PM »
As Cambridge Analytica won't offer its services to liberal causes,

Don't worry, there are plenty of corrupt consultants to go around for everyone. This is the core of this whole issue, and all of it needs to be made illegal. Who is going to explain it?

Channel Four has a whole 5 episode series dedicated to Cambridge Analytica and what it all means. The bombshell video was number 2 (1.25 million views so far!), here's number 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=cy-9iciNF1A
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SteveMDFP

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3273 on: March 20, 2018, 11:06:45 PM »
AbruptSLR, thanks for re-reposting this.  The URL for the article from scout.ai now seems to be:
https://medium.com/join-scout/the-rise-of-the-weaponized-ai-propaganda-machine-86dac61668b

The original URL seems to go to a blank page.  The article is still a good read for understanding Cambridge Analytica's malignant work.

Steve

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3274 on: March 21, 2018, 12:17:14 AM »
There has been good discussions about the poisoning of the Russian Spy and his daughter all over the internet, and I'd hate to see us diverted too far onto that subject.
That said I've a few questions that I've not seen addressed:


What has our boy been up to since he moved to Salisbury? He apparently paid cash for his home, and that BMW is fit wheels for a Bond.


How close is Skripal's home from Steels's office? And why on earth were both in such close proximity to Britain's Chemical Warfare center?


Could the recent airing of a British Spy Serial featuring Russian produced Novichok poison have anything to do with the present hysteria? The timing seems strangely coincidental.


If the scientist that wrote a book about how to cook Novichoks is living in America, and America was responsible for shutting down and removing all of the apparatus for developing and testing this type of agent, why is Russia so obviously responsible for it's use?


My nurse, who was trained for CW cleanup has a number of questions re. the hospitalization of all of those affected. She says they should have been kept in special negative pressure facilities. facilities perhaps offered at Portland Downs, but not at regional hospitals.


Last one, I promise.
Was any one else amazed to find that their final meal had been a shell fish risotto, or that our boy's demeanor became one of extreme belligerence during this meal? Are we supposed to eat shellfish in months with an "R", or is it the other way around?


Terry
BTW
Moon over Alabama is having an unusually polite (for their site) debate on the subject.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/03/governments-decree-truth-about-skripal-dissenters-will-be-punished.html



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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3275 on: March 21, 2018, 12:35:02 AM »
If the scientist that wrote a book about how to cook Novichoks is living in America, and America was responsible for shutting down and removing all of the apparatus for developing and testing this type of agent, why is Russia so obviously responsible for it's use?
Wow. What a piece of crap in one sentence.

-----------------------
P.S.: Someone might feel reminding me of forum decorum. Particularly Susan's "Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?"...
I said "crap" (truthfully) because Terry's sentence sprang into my eyes and insulted my intelligence (and that of many other readers for sure). So I found it necessary to retaliate with a shorter insult. (I will try even harder now to ignore Terry.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 12:52:39 AM by Martin Gisser »

Martin Gisser

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3276 on: March 21, 2018, 12:43:49 AM »
Here is a good video clip from Rachel Maddow's show last night regarding Cambridge Analytica.

[...]
and then he says something about a Russian oil company. Et voilà, Maddow goes off on that tangent! Blah blah Russia blah blah Russia blah blah Russia. But it's about so much more than just Russia...
If only the Russian connection would go away!
Why would a Russian oil company ask about American voter stuff?
There is more...
For those who complain that Cambridge Analytica is underreported, here is an article from 2016 on who owns SCL/CA:
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/211152/trump-data-analytics-russian-access
Quote
WILL DONALD TRUMP’S DATA-ANALYTICS COMPANY ALLOW RUSSIA TO ACCESS RESEARCH ON U.S. CITIZENS?
Tracing the suspicious-looking, and messy, ties between a Ukrainian oligarch, an elections-information firm, and the GOP candidate’s former campaign manager

By Ann Marlowe
August 22, 2016

[...]

And because CA is linked to U.K. property mogul Vincent Tchenguiz, who himself has connections to Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, a Putin protégé (and Paul Manafort business associate) it’s possible the information CA collects might be shared with people who are not friendly to American democracy—not that Donald Trump thinks there’s anything wrong with Putin, Firtash, and others like them.

For 10 years, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company’s largest shareholder was Vincent Tchenguiz, [...]

It appears CA is at the heart of Russiagate.
And this is not new, at least for those who follow less mainstream news sources. E.g. it has long been on the radar of Louise Mensch and friends. Here is her latest blog post:
https://patribotics.blog/2018/03/20/cambridge-analytica-next-their-links-to-russian-propaganda/
Quote
March 20, 2018
Cambridge Analytica: Next, Their Links to Russian Propaganda

[...] But the mainstream media’s welcome refocus on this firm has still not cracked the single most important part of this story: the coordination between the Trump Campaign’s data team and Russian intelligence, which used targeting data from Cambridge Analytica.

We believe that the next shoe to drop in mainstream reporting – we cannot, however, say when –  will be Cambridge Analytica’s ties to Russian intelligence via Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn and the FISA warrant subject servers tied to the Trump Campaign. Here’s why.
[...]
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 12:59:27 AM by Martin Gisser »

TerryM

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3277 on: March 21, 2018, 02:00:12 AM »
If the scientist that wrote a book about how to cook Novichoks is living in America, and America was responsible for shutting down and removing all of the apparatus for developing and testing this type of agent, why is Russia so obviously responsible for it's use?
Wow. What a piece of crap in one sentence.


General Powell, hero of the My Lai Massacre cover up, would be proud of your well thought out reply. Did anyone ever discover what he actually had in that vial? Did you think it was the real deal?
Terry

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3278 on: March 21, 2018, 02:36:38 AM »
So.... little Vladi calls Treasonous Trump.... and Donnie congratulates Vladi on his stuffed ballot box win.  AND... Donnie seems to forget that Vladi is up to his spy killing ways... inside Britain.

I now think that Donnie may have a good idea.  He wants legislation that requires the death penalty for drug sellers if they meet certain criteria.  I agree with him.  I also think we may want to think about requiring the death penalty for any politicians guilty of treason for helping any adversary interfere with our election process.

I would be in favor of both.

FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3279 on: March 21, 2018, 08:59:05 AM »
If the scientist that wrote a book about how to cook Novichoks is living in America, and America was responsible for shutting down and removing all of the apparatus for developing and testing this type of agent, why is Russia so obviously responsible for it's use?
Wow. What a piece of crap in one sentence.


General Powell, hero of the My Lai Massacre cover up, would be proud of your well thought out reply. Did anyone ever discover what he actually had in that vial? Did you think it was the real deal?
Terry

Terry, you are trolling. (Red herrings and such).
And Martin has a point.
Your overview of 'questions' contains no references, nor seems to have any basis in fact.
This is our planet. This is our time.
Let's not waste either.

Neven

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3280 on: March 21, 2018, 10:43:52 AM »
If only the Russian connection would go away!
Why would a Russian oil company ask about American voter stuff?
There is more...

Yes, and there are companies from China, Saudi Arabia, Africa, etc, who are interested in this stuff. Everybody is interested, because everybody is doing it, ie using marketing/propaganda to stealthily influence people, by sparking controversies, fanning flames, keeping everyone incensed.

This is about much more than just Russia, and Russiagate could be used as an instrument to lay bare the way the system works, and why it works that way. By overly focusing on Russia alone, you effectively create smoke and mirrors that detract from the larger issues.

Here's someone who manages to touch upon the core issues for a bit in the first three minutes:

The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

johnm33

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3281 on: March 21, 2018, 11:17:08 AM »
Anyone surprised by the manipulation implied in C.A.s work should read at least a little about  Edward Bernays, the tools are new and in development, the inclination is old, older than Bernays. Think of the now perjorative terms 'populist/populism' they're really synonyms for democratic in the sense that it implies people are inclined to vote in their own interest and of course any politician appealling for votes based on that is beyond the pale.
 

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3282 on: March 21, 2018, 01:04:26 PM »


This is about much more than just Russia, and Russiagate could be used as an instrument to lay bare the way the system works, and why it works that way. By overly focusing on Russia alone, you effectively create smoke and mirrors that detract from the larger issues.
 

This general concept keeps coming up and it's simplistic, therefore wrong.  The general form is "public attention to X detracts from public attention to Y."  The proposition is true if X and Y are utterly unrelated.  Attention to the Kardashians detracts from public attention to environmental concerns, sure. 

But if they're even tangentially related, the opposite holds.  Attention to football will draw attention to other sports.  In this case, attention to Russiagate has directly led to attention to Cambridge Analytica and dirty campaign tricks.

Media attention to any aspect of politics leads to greater public awareness of other political issues.  The immediate post-Watergate era led to a decade of political reform and public engagement in politics, precisely because of intense media coverage of Watergate.  Russiagate is doing the same.

Intense media attention to Russiagate isn't a problem, it's part of the solution.

Martin Gisser

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3283 on: March 21, 2018, 01:48:03 PM »
If only the Russian connection would go away!
Why would a Russian oil company ask about American voter stuff?
There is more...

Yes, and there are companies from China, Saudi Arabia, Africa, etc, who are interested in this stuff. Everybody is interested, because everybody is doing it, ie using marketing/propaganda to stealthily influence people, by sparking controversies, fanning flames, keeping everyone incensed.
They are interested in manipulating elections in their own nations. --- That Russian oil company was interested in manipulating U.S. elections. There's the rub: Weaponising Big Data and AI for a disinformation war against another nation.

For simply fanning controversies, no CA technology needed. Just a farm of trolls. Or simply a group of radicals connected via Facebook.

A shocking example of what can happen with simple no-tech facebooking is the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. And these folks are Buddhists, even monks. Buddhist Facebook flames, inciting murder and rape...
http://time.com/5197039/un-facebook-myanmar-rohingya-violence/
Quote
U.N. special rapporteur for human rights Yanghee Lee also submitted a report to the Human Rights Council this week, warning that violence against the Rohingya bore “the hallmarks of genocide,” and expressing concerns over “high levels of hate speech and incitement to hostility, discrimination and violence, particularly on social media.”

“I’m afraid that Facebook has now turned into a beast,” Lee told reporters
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 01:55:34 PM by Martin Gisser »

SteveMDFP

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3284 on: March 21, 2018, 02:02:30 PM »
Intense media attention to Russiagate isn't a problem, it's part of the solution.

Interesting theory. The day a Special Prosecutor is appointed to investigate the HRC and DNC General election campaigns use of "targeted analytics" and funding sources for that I might start warming to some plausibility in the theory.

The day the US Congress with WH consent and support instigates a Special Commission of Inquiry to investigate all such related matters properly and genuinely; and which at least goes back to the 2008 and 2012 general elections as well, then I might even be convinced the theory is plausible.

In the meantime I'll wait and see what happens.

If that's your measuring gauge, I think you'll be disappointed.  The Watergate scandal let to a decade of heightened public awareness and political reform, but it was forward-looking, not backward-looking.  There was no ongoing public focus on historical details, like *why* the break-in was done.  No real interest in pursing Nixon's efforts to undermine peace in Vietnam in 1968.  Only now is this now-obscure item made public:
Nixon Tried to Spoil Johnson’s Vietnam Peace Talks in ’68, Notes Show
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html

So I'd be pleased if all the attention to Russiagate accomplishes just 2 forward-looking things:
-Removing Trumps ability to press the nuclear button, and other war-making powers, and
-If not overturning Citizens United, at least creating transparency requirements around all the "dark money" election spending.


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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3285 on: March 21, 2018, 04:00:18 PM »
It appears CA is at the heart of Russiagate.
And this is not new, at least for those who follow less mainstream news sources. E.g. it has long been on the radar of Louise Mensch and friends. Here is her latest blog post:
https://patribotics.blog/2018/03/20/cambridge-analytica-next-their-links-to-russian-propaganda/
Quote
March 20, 2018
Cambridge Analytica: Next, Their Links to Russian Propaganda

[...] But the mainstream media’s welcome refocus on this firm has still not cracked the single most important part of this story: the coordination between the Trump Campaign’s data team and Russian intelligence, which used targeting data from Cambridge Analytica.

We believe that the next shoe to drop in mainstream reporting – we cannot, however, say when –  will be Cambridge Analytica’s ties to Russian intelligence via Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn and the FISA warrant subject servers tied to the Trump Campaign. Here’s why.
[...]

Apropos non-mainstream news sources:

http://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/told-rigged-trump-clinton-how/8908/
Quote
Back in mid-November of 2016, even as the shock of Donald Trump’s election victory was still sinking in, Palmer Report began documenting the various ways in which the voting results seemed “off” from a mathematical and statistical standpoint. It wasn’t merely that Trump won, but the way in which the numbers played out, that reeked of being nearly mathematically impossible.

Palmer Report’s analysis focused on the four states where Trump pulled off improbable surprise victories that went sharply against the polls, even as the rest of the nation largely fell in line with the polls. Those four states were Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania. We documented how it was statistically suspicious that Trump pulled off all four of those upsets by the same 1% margin, while a more realistic statistical distribution would have had him winning one of the states by 0.5%, another by 3%, another 1%, and so on (link).

We documented how Hillary’s early voting lead in Florida should have been mathematically insurmountable on election day (link). We also documented other mathematical unlikelihoods about the results (link).

At the time, the maddening thing about assembling our analysis was that we didn’t know why the results were so far skewed from mathematical reality. We ended up concluding that our own findings were a “mountain of statistical and mathematical and logical and demographic discrepancy and suspicion and nothing more.”
[...]
Fifteen months later, some crucial questions still need answered.
(my emph.)

This "by the same 1% margin" thing is not that improbable. My rough (not even back-of-envelope) guess would be P=(0.5)^4=1/16.

So we have a statistical melange of Comey's October surprise, Russians, Cambridge Analytica, plain stupid voters, and what else...

Neven

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3286 on: March 21, 2018, 04:13:43 PM »
They are interested in manipulating elections in their own nations. --- That Russian oil company was interested in manipulating U.S. elections. There's the rub: Weaponising Big Data and AI for a disinformation war against another nation.

First of all, China, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other countries are also interested in manipulating US elections. This is nothing new, it's been happening for years, and these countries don't even have NATO missiles on their borders.

But even if you were correct, there still is a total lack of discussion that covers questions like:

- Why is it okay if these covert psyops are done within a country, but not okay when countries do it in other countries?
- Why is it okay if the establishment does covert psyops, but not okay if some entity outside of the establishment does it? To be more specific: Why can establishment Democrats pay for and then push the Steele Dossier, but Mercer and Trump can't spread their poison?
- Why is it okay if the US does it in other countries, but not when other countries do it in the US?
- How can we solve the problem of social media to make all covert psyops of this kind impossible to perform?

The narrative that 'Russia is to blame for all our woes, and neoliberalism has nothing to do with it' is apparently so precious, that there is no room to ask or discuss these questions. One could even argue that Russiagate itself is a covert psyop manipulation to prevent these questions from being asked. There are undoubtedly many Cambridge Analyticas out there.

Quote
For simply fanning controversies, no CA technology needed. Just a farm of trolls. Or simply a group of radicals connected via Facebook.

A shocking example of what can happen with simple no-tech facebooking is the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. And these folks are Buddhists, even monks. Buddhist Facebook flames, inciting murder and rape...

How can you be sure there is not some kind of Cambridge Analytica behind this? Maybe there's money to be gained, or unions to be crippled, by inciting racism and division in Myanmar? Cui bono? You can never know for sure if something is spontaneous or astroturf. So, the question becomes: How does one prevent this from happening? By destroying Russia? Maybe I'm too young, but it doesn't seem to be a very wise thing to do.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

Neven

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3287 on: March 21, 2018, 04:18:10 PM »
So we have a statistical melange of Comey's October surprise, Russians, Cambridge Analytica, plain stupid voters, and what else...

Decades of neoliberalism, the worst possible establishment candidate, stupid voters who at the same time are poor, sick and totally disillusioned with the system, smart people who look down on stupid people, but are actually pretty stupid themselves, year of US meddling in other countries. And there's probably more.

Does the Palmer Report discuss how these things can be prevented, so that no one can do it (not just those elements the establishment doesn't approve of)? Tulsi Gabbard proposed legislation to return to paper ballot votes only. Any news on that?
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

Martin Gisser

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3288 on: March 21, 2018, 04:27:26 PM »
The narrative that 'Russia is to blame for all our woes, and neoliberalism has nothing to do with it' is apparently so precious,
Your precious narrative

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3289 on: March 21, 2018, 04:43:41 PM »
Quote
Intense media attention to Russiagate isn't a problem, it's part of the solution
.


SPOT ON...

It's interesting that the three legs of the US democracy table that are saving it...... are the FBI, Democrats, and journalists.  And those are the three that Traitor Don consistently targets.

The journalists were WAY TOO TIMID during the campaign and Trump's first several months in office.  They are FINALLY finding their voice.





FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Martin Gisser

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3290 on: March 21, 2018, 04:50:39 PM »
For simply fanning controversies, no CA technology needed. Just a farm of trolls. Or simply a group of radicals connected via Facebook.

A shocking example of what can happen with simple no-tech facebooking is the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. And these folks are Buddhists, even monks. Buddhist Facebook flames, inciting murder and rape...

How can you be sure there is not some kind of Cambridge Analytica behind this? Maybe there's money to be gained, or unions to be crippled, by inciting racism and division in Myanmar? Cui bono? You can never know for sure if something is spontaneous or astroturf.
But I can wield Occam's razor and it's corollary, Hanlon's razor:

I don't know much of Myanmar, but I have followed the Theravada Buddhist monks sowing violence by hate speech - I'm a nonmetaphysical Buddhist fascinated (and often repelled) by old Buddhist weirdnesses, and now I am stunned by this shameful failure of Buddhism as a religious-secular system.).

We can assume Myanmar is not that rich and sophisticated to have astroturf.

Quote
So, the question becomes: How does one prevent this from happening? By destroying Russia? Maybe I'm too young, but it doesn't seem to be a very wise thing to do.
Nobody is talking about destroying Russia.
How to prevent this: We need to grow an intellectual immune system.
To grow an immune system, it helps having identifyable actors. (That's of course also dangerous - if the immune system-to-grow breaks down and folks suddenly want to fight Russia instead of Stupidity.)

Cui bono? Sometimes it's just the group ego.
The Buddhist monks who want to have more power, feeling insecure -- no wonder with their dismal grasp of basic early-Buddhist psychology, no wonder with their failure in basic Buddhist practise. They are hollow pretenders in robes.

Will to power compensates hollowness. This can be a sociological (group ego) phenomenon (We, traditional Buddhists). -- And it can also be individual (I, Donald J Trump) coupled with an empowering environment, without the intellectual immune system I'm trying to propose.

Methinks the Rohingya crisis is simply a fulguration (emergent phenomenon) of stupid and evil. Not made by one evil man or one group or one system. (Buddhist philosophy is process oriented, as opposed to object-oriented, and denies soul / self / essence. Actors are processes.)

Methinks the whole bloody Facebook mess in Myanmar just happened. No need for conspirational ideation.

------------------
Edits finished. Gone for a while now.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 05:10:29 PM by Martin Gisser »

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3291 on: March 21, 2018, 04:59:06 PM »
If Bannon hasn't cut a plea deal with Mueller yet; he had better have something very worth offering to Mueller to cut such a deal now, or he could be in serious trouble:

Title: "Whistleblower Says Steve Bannon Was at the Heart of Cambridge Analytica’s Data Collection Operation"

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/whistleblower-says-steve-bannon-was-at-the-heart-of-cambridge-analyticas-data-collection-operation.html

Extract: "British data firm Cambridge Analytica is currently under fire on multiple continents for its methods, namely using data illegitimately collected from Facebook users in order to create psychological profiles of some 50 million American voters. For some perspective, if that 50 million number holds, it would account for more than a quarter of the votes cast on election day in 2016. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost three million votes with nearly 63 million votes. The London-based firm linked up with the Donald Trump during his presidential campaign, but former Trump campaign chief and White House adviser Steve Bannon was involved with the company long before the Trump campaign has morphed from theoretical nightmare to an actual one. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Bannon, who was then the head of Breitbart News with a billionaire patron in Robert Mercer, was deeply influential in the early formation of Cambridge Analytica and signed off on its acquisition of the dodgy data."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3292 on: March 21, 2018, 06:00:05 PM »
To me the following tweets represent obstruction of justice & I hope that Mueller includes such non-presidential behavior in any obstruction indictment that he brings against The Donald:

Title: "Trump tweet critical of Robert’s Mueller’s appointment"

https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/trump-mueller-russia-1.17575135

Extract: "In a pair of morning tweets that misspelled special counsel, Trump quoted Dershowitz’s interview.

“ ‘Special Council is told to find crimes, whether a crime exists or not. I was opposed to the selection of Mueller to be Special Council, I still am opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have been a Special Council appointed because there was no probable cause for believing that there was any crime, collusion or otherwise, or obstruction of justice!’ So stated by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz,” Trump tweeted.

“Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!” Trump tweeted Sunday morning, omitting that Mueller is a Republican.""
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TerryM

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3293 on: March 21, 2018, 09:13:02 PM »
If the scientist that wrote a book about how to cook Novichoks is living in America, and America was responsible for shutting down and removing all of the apparatus for developing and testing this type of agent, why is Russia so obviously responsible for it's use?
Wow. What a piece of crap in one sentence.

-----------------------
P.S.: Someone might feel reminding me of forum decorum. Particularly Susan's "Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?"...
I said "crap" (truthfully) because Terry's sentence sprang into my eyes and insulted my intelligence (and that of many other readers for sure). So I found it necessary to retaliate with a shorter insult. (I will try even harder now to ignore Terry.



My pardon for insulting your apparently easily offended intelligence.


Was it kind?
No. Popping preconceived prejudices is seldom "kind". It may however be required if clarity is the desired outcome.


Is it true?
Truth is a high bar. It's certainly a working hypothesis that is best suited to open the way to the next better one. - with apologies to K. Lorenz.


Is it necessary?
If discussing the possibility that reliance on an argument to authority in necessary, then it is indeed necessary.


Or were you perhaps striving to explain away your well reasoned response?


Do you doubt that there is a book containing a formula that purports to explain how to produce a Novichok?
Perhaps you doubt that the author Mirzayanov lives in America?
Could it be that you're unfamiliar with the disposal of the Uzbekistan chemical weapons facility that worked with Novichoks by the Americans?


I'm sure that with this background, my questioning of the "Only Russia could be responsible" meme would not be seen as "crap".


Terry
BTW - Good luck dealing with those insults to your intellect.


You might want to read some of Craig Murray's writings on the subject. He was the Ambassador to Uzbekistan when the Americans were tearing down the Chemical Weapons Facility.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/of-a-type-developed-by-liars/

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3294 on: March 21, 2018, 11:24:19 PM »
McCabe thought that there was sufficient evidence that Sessions perjured himself to open an investigation that was subsequently passed on to Team Mueller:

Title: "Report: FBI’s McCabe investigated Sessions over Russia testimony"

https://www.axios.com/mccabe-authorized-criminal-investigation-into-sessions-fc6b3bc6-1380-4689-afd2-39312929ef52.html?source=sidebar

Extract: "ABC News is reporting that Andrew McCabe, who was fired last week as the FBI’s deputy director days before he was set to retire, authorized a criminal investigation into Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year.

About the investigation: Per ABC, it was into whether Sessions “lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives,” and top lawmakers from both parties were briefed on it by McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. A source close to Sessions told Axios that "he was not aware of this investigation at the time McCabe was fired."

The investigation was passed on to Robert Mueller "within weeks" when he was appointed Special Counsel, per ABC."
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SteveMDFP

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3295 on: March 21, 2018, 11:36:11 PM »
McCabe thought that there was sufficient evidence that Sessions perjured himself to open an investigation that was subsequently passed on to Team Mueller:

Title: "Report: FBI’s McCabe investigated Sessions over Russia testimony"

https://www.axios.com/mccabe-authorized-criminal-investigation-into-sessions-fc6b3bc6-1380-4689-afd2-39312929ef52.html?source=sidebar

Extract: "ABC News is reporting that Andrew McCabe, who was fired last week as the FBI’s deputy director days before he was set to retire, authorized a criminal investigation into Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year.

About the investigation: Per ABC, it was into whether Sessions “lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives,” and top lawmakers from both parties were briefed on it by McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. A source close to Sessions told Axios that "he was not aware of this investigation at the time McCabe was fired."

The investigation was passed on to Robert Mueller "within weeks" when he was appointed Special Counsel, per ABC."

It's been apparent that Sessions lied to Congress.  So did multiple other members of Team Trump.  The real question was whether all the lies about contacts with Russians were coordinated, or whether they each individually elected to perjure themselves.  It's not plausible that these lies were not coordinated.  Therefore, a criminal conspiracy.  If Donald was so much as in the room for any of these conversations, he's guilty of conspiracy, too.

I suspect that Sessions has stayed on, rather than resign with a shred of decency still intact, only because he's been a cooperating witness in Mueller's investigation and Mueller has asked him to try to stay put.

Sessions has tried to explain away his inconsistent answers to Congress.  Mueller may decide he's not guilty of this crime beyond a reasonable doubt.  Maybe Sessions won't be charged in exchange for cooperation.

Donnie, however, is in deep doo-doo.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3296 on: March 21, 2018, 11:46:31 PM »
Seth Abramson indicates that Yulya Alferova, the ex-wife of Artem Klyushin, met and socialized with Trump during the 2013 Miss Universe weekend, and that as a result of that meeting she apparently knew that Trump was planning on running for President by late 2013.  Furthermore, Abramson indicates that Artem Klyushin fits the profile of the man that Trump's bodyguard Keith Schiller says offered to send-up five Russian prostitutes to spend the night with Trump when the alleged Pee Pee tape was made.  At the minimum this proves that the Russian know that Trump was going to run for president before the 13 indicted Russian started their disinformation campaign in 2014, and that Klyushin may have been operating under directions from the Kremlin (via oligarchs) to set-up Trump for kompromat:

https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/964976324749209601

Per Seth Abramson, Konstantin Rykov was running with this crowd and posted the attached statement to his Facebook page last year; but the real question is why would Rykov make such a post?
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3297 on: March 22, 2018, 05:01:43 PM »
For Mueller to grant Nader full immunity, Nader must be offering information on the highest people in Mueller's investigation:

Title: "Mueller Grants Immunity to Organizer of Seychelles Back Channel Meeting, Calls Him Back"

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/21/1751042/-Mueller-Grants-Immunity-to-Organizer-of-Seychelles-Back-Channel-Meeting-Calls-Him-Back

Extract: "Mr. Nader has been granted immunity in a deal for his cooperation with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to people familiar with the matter, and his relationship with Mr. Broidy may also offer clues to the direction of that inquiry.

Mr. Nader has now been called back from abroad to provide additional testimony, one person familiar with the matter said this week. Mr. Mueller’s investigators have already asked witnesses about Mr. Nader’s contacts with top Trump administration officials and about his possible role in funneling Emirati money to Mr. Trump’s political efforts, a sign that the investigation has broadened to examine the role of foreign money in the Trump administration.

It sounds like Nader, who organized the Seychelles meeting between Erik Prince and a high-level Russian banker to create a secret Trump-Russia back channel, also has loads of criminal exposure in unrelated cases. So his immunity is a massive incentive for him to cooperate.

According to Rachel Maddow, Nader is the first person in the Mueller investigation to be granted immunity.

Between the head of Cambridge Analytica’s being caught on video bragging about all manner of dirty tricks, and the sudden immunity and call-Back of George Nader, many of the strands of this colossal scandal are starting to come together."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3298 on: March 22, 2018, 05:09:04 PM »
I think that Mueller should expand his investigation of Jared to include investigation of MBS's allegations:

Title: "Saudi Crown prince said he has Kushner ‘in his pocket’ after allegedly receiving sensitive information from the President’s Daily Briefing"

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/saudi-crown-prince-said-kushner-pocket-allegedly-receiving-sensitive-information-presidents-daily-briefing/#.WrL-oL_ekd8.twitter

Extract: "Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly bragged about having White House senior counsel Jared Kushner “in his pocket” and may have used highly sensitive intelligence from the President’s Daily Briefing in his violent crackdown on dissent in Saudi Arabia, The Intercept reported Wednesday.

Three sources told The Intercept that Kushner had revealed names of Saudis disloyal to the crown prince."


See also:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/21/1751046/-Saudi-Crown-Prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman-Says-Jared-Kusher-is-in-his-pocket
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Re: Russiagate
« Reply #3299 on: March 22, 2018, 05:17:30 PM »
The rats are deserting Trump's sinking ship:

Title: "John Dowd resigns as Trump's personal lawyer"

https://www.axios.com/john-dowd-resigns-trump-lawyer-33c2c33d-f340-43a3-a932-cfae4c728b6a.html

Extract: "President Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd has resigned as the head of the president's legal team for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, per the NYT. A White House official confirmed the report to Axios."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson