Comrade Trump

[frank ryan]

OMG... it's over for Drumpf this time!!!

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5th Avenue voter Ted!

[BlueK]

Even Fox is having a hard time today justifying Trump's pathetic performance.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...-putin/565346/

[Walter Sobchak]

Your predictions have all been wrong. This will be no different.

Trying to figure out to what you refer here, but coming up empty.

No one can deny that the Podesta and the DNC servers were compromised. The result yielded information that exposed the corruption and deceit of some of the country’s most powerful political figures.

Mueller's latest indictments went into great detail about the methodology of those intrusions. But given the lack of access to the DNC server itself, the DOJ/FBI must have some help from another govt agency that might have access to the data sessions of every American in the country. (That agency will remain unamed, but in 2013 Sen. Ron Wyden asked *rhymes with* Clames Japper: “Does the ███ collect any type of data at all on millions, or hundreds of millions, of Americans?” And Mr. Japper said "No." But I digress.) The level of detail included in the indictments about the methodology implies there is actually some solid evidence that supports that methodology.

Yet, if you read the indictments, details on attribution were noticeably lacking... and with good reason. It is pretty much impossible to determine attribution in these cases. Don't believe me? Well, read for yourself:

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/world/28cyber.html

U.S. and Russia Differ on a Treaty for Cyberspace

By JOHN MARKOFF and ANDREW E. KRAMER
JUNE 27, 2009

The United States and Russia are locked in a fundamental dispute over how to counter the growing threat of cyberwar attacks that could wreak havoc on computer systems and the Internet.

Both nations agree that cyberspace is an emerging battleground. The two sides are expected to address the subject when President Obama visits Russia next week and at the General Assembly of the United Nations in November, according to a senior State Department official.

But there the agreement ends.

[...]

Other Russian proposals include the application of humanitarian laws banning attacks on noncombatants and a ban on deception in operations in cyberspace — an attempt to deal with the challenge of anonymous attacks. The Russians have also called for broader international government oversight of the Internet.

But American officials are particularly resistant to agreements that would allow governments to censor the Internet, saying they would provide cover for totalitarian regimes. These officials also worry that a treaty would be ineffective because it can be almost impossible to determine if an Internet attack originated from a government, a hacker loyal to that government, or a rogue acting independently.

Sorry to keep dunking on you frank. But you just make it so easy.

[frank ryan]

The woman most recently charged has been accused of working to infiltrate the NRA:


Charges Against Maria Butina Confirm 'Infiltration' Was Part Of Russian 2016 Attack

New charges against a woman who tried to build bridges between the Russian government and American political leaders via the National Rifle Association delivered a breakthrough in understanding one aspect of the attack on the 2016 election: "infiltration."

After months of questions and speculation as to how or whether the NRA connection might have worked, prosecutors have proffered an answer: The Russian woman, Maria Butina, was the intermediary between Russian government officials and Americans, both in the NRA and elsewhere in politics, according to court documents.

Feds Charge Russian Student, Linked To NRA, With Conspiracy July 16, 2018
The government charges that she was acting as a foreign agent without registering. Her attorney called the charges overblown, as NPR's Carrie Johnson reported.

Butina serves or served as the deputy to someone identified in court papers only as a "Russian official," who is probably Alexander Torshin, a now-sanctioned Kremlin official who also cultivated relationships with American political leaders and the NRA over several years.

The two "took these steps in order to infiltrate these groups and advance the interests of the Russian Federation," as FBI special agent Kevin Helson said in an affidavit that accompanied the criminal complaint.

That word, "infiltration," has been one the least-understood lanes of the active measures waged by the Russians since before 2016 — along with others that included social media agitation, clandestine outreach by intelligence operatives and cyberattacks.

"Infiltration" first entered the lexicon of the Russia story in January, after the House intelligence committee released the transcript of its interview with Glenn Simpson, founder of the political intelligence company that commissioned the infamous Russia dossier.

According to Simpson, Russia's active measures sought not only to target the NRA but "various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise."

The gun rights organization has acknowledged that it has a handful of overseas members but says that they gave only a negligible amount of money. More broadly, the NRA has said it hasn't done anything wrong but it has not addressed its relationships with Butina and Torshin in detail.

The gun rights group has so far not offered any comment about the Butina charges.

Torshin was placed under sanction by the Treasury Department earlier this year and is barred from returning to the United States. Butina was arrested on Sunday, the Justice Department said.

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/17/62962...an-2016-attack

[frank ryan]

I think it’s more likely than not that Trump is being blackmailed. I hope the midterms don’t get interfered with although I see zero reasons why the Russians wouldn’t.

[creekster]

I think it’s more likely than not that Trump is being blackmailed. I hope the midterms don’t get interfered with although I see zero reasons why the Russians wouldn’t.

Blackmailed? How? From the items in the Steele dossier?

And interferred with how? How would they accomplish this? As in make us think someone won who didnt win? Maybe that explains the Ocasio-Cortez victory.

[old_gregg]

Blackmailed? How? From the items in the Steele dossier?

And interferred with how? How would they accomplish this? As in make us think someone won who didnt win? Maybe that explains the Ocasio-Cortez victory.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/voting...ems-sold-to-us

[BlueK]

Blackmailed? How? From the items in the Steele dossier?

His personal business interests in Russia could very easily be affected by how Putin feels about him.

[creekster]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/voting...ems-sold-to-us

So youre saying it DOES explain Ocasio-Cortez?

[old_gregg]

So youre saying it DOES explain Ocasio-Cortez?

it answers the question of how

[creekster]

His personal business interests in Russia could very easily be affected by how Putin feels about him.

True, but he also has holdings in a lot of other countries including the UK (or England, who can keep them straight??). I think it is more likely gross incompetence than malicious scheming. As Commando points out, his walk-back from the Helsinki comments is so absurd they are almost comical.

[creekster]

it answers the question of how

It was sort of a joke. And if you read the article it doesn't really say "how" it says it is possible, but it seems fairly unlikely, given the machine's place in the voting food chain. Moreover, being aware of that obvious backdoor, it can be closed.

[Jeff Lebowski]

True, but he also has holdings in a lot of other countries including the UK (or England, who can keep them straight??). I think it is more likely gross incompetence than malicious scheming. As Commando points out, his walk-back from the Helsinki comments is so absurd they are almost comical.

Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity.

[BlueK]

So youre saying it DOES explain Ocasio-Cortez?

Ocasio-Cortez was able to strike lightning in a bottle because of the silly NY primary schedule where a house race was separate from other races which haven't had their primary yet. The vote totals in that district were tiny. So all she had to do was rally her supporters more than the smug incumbent, much like a Utah candidate used to be able to do just by getting enough people to vote for them at the state convention.

[Uncle Ted]

it answers the question of how

The election and voting machines weren't rigged... stop all your whinning: