1. #4151
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,434
    Quote Originally Posted by SKkin View Post
    Acquistion of $$$ does not drive my life, nor does it impress me in others.
    Neither does it in mine I was tired of assholes projecting their own life failures on to me and after having a few drinks regrettably disclosed to much personal information about myself. But then again none of that has anything to do with the comments I made or the topic of this thread. Nice pivot.

    Quote Originally Posted by SKkin View Post
    .I have a lot of time to read a lot of things(on and offline).
    Seems like to much time on RT, Sputnik and Alex Jones. Surely you can do better if you have so much time on your hands.

    Quote Originally Posted by SKkin View Post
    Sorry that I'm such a blue collar "looser" compared to you.
    Don't make false assumptions about me asshole. I worked as a teamster in a -20f freezer grocery warehouse for the better part of my twenties and will have a vested pension from them when I turn 55. After almost ten years of that I decided to go to school and make a change. You will find no bigger supporter of the working man and unions then myself.

  2. #4152
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    48,105
    An interesting write up from Slate about Russian money funneled to a Super PAC and where Mueller's investigation will go next.

    Where Mueller Might Go Next

    We only know about the Russian part of the conspiracy.

    The indictments filed by the special counsel on Friday forcefully punctuates the warnings of intelligence chiefs that Russia has been in the business of interfering in U.S. elections and has no intention of closing up shop. Robert Mueller has also added extraordinary detail. Russian entities have spent millions and “employed hundreds” to carry out this work. The Internet Research Agency, apparently directing the program, is now revealed to have been among the largest Super PACs operating in the 2016 elections. This is now clearly one of the major campaign finance scandals in American history.


    After the indictment became public, President Donald Trump rushed to Twitter to pronounce that no collusion had occurred. He has taken comfort in the indictment’s history of these activities, which show that they began as early as 2014. He should have continued reading, thought harder, and worried more. It is unlikely that his lawyers have picked this time to celebrate.


    To be sure, the Russians had multiples objectives in 2016, one of which was to “sow discord” among the electorate. But eventually, they organized and funded an intense program to support Donald Trump and “disparage” Hillary Clinton. The indictment is conclusive on a critical point: The Russians were all in for Trump. We have one half of the pairing needed to show a political alliance of a presidential campaign and foreign interest.


    The indictment does not settle the question of whether, for purposes of the criminal laws, the Trump campaign or its associates were willing allies. It suggests only that at the grass-roots level, among state parties and on the ground in various locales, some Trump campaign supporters were “unwitting” co-conspirators duped into collaboration with Russians posing as Americans. The prospect of Trump campaign complicity, at the organizational or staff level, has always hinged on the knowing participation of the candidate himself or key strategic personnel at the national level.


    They did know that the Russians were eager for Trump’s election and to help with his election. And as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told the press, “there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity.” It seems that more from Mueller lies ahead: Rosentein was careful to stress that the “special counsel’s investigation is ongoing.” Indeed, just moments after Rosenstein’s public remarks, the Justice Department released the plea deal of an American apparently caught up in the Russian illegal activities.

    That the Trump campaign may have had incomplete information about the full scope of the Kremlin political intervention does not excuse the part known to them, or any actions they might have taken to actively collaborate. And it seems almost certain that they appreciated that the Russians were engaged in underhanded and illegal activities: the theft of thousands of Clinton emails. How much more the Trump campaign knew or did to enhance the effectiveness of the Russian effort remains unknown. The answer will determine whether the campaign, the president or any of his senior associates will face legal consequences.



    In imagining what the next turn in this investigation might reveal, it is important to pay close attention to the indictment’s account of Russian intelligence-gathering in the United States.

    Like any organization spending substantial sums on a political objective, they worked hard to master the American electoral terrain and figure out what worked and what didn’t. The Russian operatives were learning about “purple states” from American sources. This was a sophisticated enterprise. It in this context that the Russian meeting with the campaign staff in Trump Tower, and later Donald Jr.’s communications with WikiLeaks, assumes greater significance.


    It would have been much to the advantage of the Russians’ “Project Lakhta” to have explicit and implicit blessing from the candidate. The Project management would also have benefited from receiving from the candidate and his campaign any signals useful in perfecting their program. Some of these signals have come to light, such as Donald Jr.’s recommendation to a Russian intermediary for a late summer release of Clinton dirt.


    The record is not yet clear on all that the Trump campaign may have communicated about what it hoped to gain from Moscow’s intervention. Steve Bannon, interviewed for hours by Mueller, has publicly discounted the chance that the president would not have known about the June 2016 visit from Kremlin emissaries to Trump Tower. It has been reported that the president directed the misrepresentation of the facts of the meeting, but it is not yet clear what level of knowledge he had in advance of the meeting or, if afterwards, when. But, beginning with the Papadapolous encounter with Russians telling him of thousands of stolen Clinton emails, through the Trump Tower meeting and the Donald Jr. contacts with WikiLeaks, the Russians unquestionably should have appreciated that the Trump was glad to have their help.

    The indictment situates these contacts within the wider and mostly clandestine intelligence gathering operation that the Russians conducted to achieve the most effective possible impact on the presidential campaign. The Russians were more transparent in their direct encounters with the national Trump campaign. And the campaign was not “unwitting.” Those on its staff who were engaged in direct discussions with Kremlin representatives were not low-level grassroots organizers, but included the then campaign manager, Paul Manafort, a veteran of five presidential campaigns, and the president’s own son-in law. The Russians were explicit about their aims when they needed to be, and the Trump team responded favorably. The next phase of the investigation may bring out in more detail the nature and scope of that response and establish whether there are Americans, and/or the Trump campaign organization, that will share in the liability for the multi-million dollar, illegal operations of the Russian Super PAC.


    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...t-go-next.html

  3. #4153
    I am in Jail
    Mr Earl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Last Online
    23-08-2021 @ 06:47 PM
    Location
    In the Jungle of Love
    Posts
    14,771
    ^ More and more fanciful fiction, veritable clown show antics pass government these days.

    Expect to see some protest from the thinking libertarian crowd.

  4. #4154
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Earl
    Expect to see some protest from the thinking libertarian crowd
    It won't be in this thread that's for sure.

  5. #4155
    I am in Jail

    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Last Online
    20-10-2018 @ 09:17 AM
    Location
    Ft. Lauderdale, FL
    Posts
    1,121
    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    Neither does it in mine I was tired of assholes projecting their own life failures on to me and after having a few drinks regrettably disclosed to much personal information about myself. But then again none of that has anything to do with the comments I made or the topic of this thread. Nice pivot.



    Seems like to much time on RT, Sputnik and Alex Jones. Surely you can do better if you have so much time on your hands.



    Don't make false assumptions about me asshole. I worked as a teamster in a -20f freezer grocery warehouse for the better part of my twenties and will have a vested pension from them when I turn 55. After almost ten years of that I decided to go to school and make a change. You will find no bigger supporter of the working man and unions then myself.
    bsnub is being a jerk as usual.

    SKkin can express himself so much better than you.

  6. #4156
    I am in Jail
    Mr Earl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Last Online
    23-08-2021 @ 06:47 PM
    Location
    In the Jungle of Love
    Posts
    14,771
    Quote Originally Posted by AntRobertson View Post
    It won't be in this thread that's for sure.
    And most certainly not from you...

  7. #4157
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Quite right. I'm neither a libertarian nor interested in protesting a perfectly valid investigation.

  8. #4158
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    48,105
    Back to the Rick Gates plea deal in the making. The LA Times article (linked to in the above Axios story) states Gates will be serving 1 1/2 years in prison even with spilling the beans on Manafort. Some serious crime there if he is cooperating and still doing time.

  9. #4159
    I am in Jail
    Mr Earl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Last Online
    23-08-2021 @ 06:47 PM
    Location
    In the Jungle of Love
    Posts
    14,771
    Quote Originally Posted by AntRobertson View Post
    I'm neither a libertarian nor interested in protesting a perfectly valid investigation.
    Yes of course, unlike yourself Libertarian's are intrinsically more intelligent and wanting to view the world out side the box of current consumerism cultural models.
    Libertarian's wish to rise from the false culture and evolve.

    And of course the investigation is not valid, it was formed out of the delusions and spite of the "inconsolable" Hillarybots.

  10. #4160
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Earl
    unlike yourself Libertarian's are intrinsically more intelligent and wanting to view the world out side the box of current consumerism cultural models
    They are?

    Oh well, I'll be sure and keep an eye out for any that come along and post then.

    Strange that you think that a political leaning / affiliation is an sign of intrinsic intelligence though.

    I'm quite certain these 'thinking Libertarians' of yours wouldn't share that view (or, if they did, they're not actually thinking at all...).

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Earl
    And of course the investigation is not valid, it was formed out of the delusions and spite of the "inconsolable" Hillarybots
    That's factually incorrect.

  11. #4161
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,434
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Earl View Post
    Libertarian's are intrinsically more intelligent
    The only smart libertarians are the oligarchs with all the money. The rest of you are just idiots being played.

  12. #4162
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 05:25 PM
    Location
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Posts
    25,226
    Seems the whole episode is just a money making online industry, adopted and exploited worldwide.

    Mueller Indictment - The "Russian Influence" Is A Commercial Marketing Scheme

    "You have a bad online reputation? Prigozhin can help. His internet company will fill the net with positive stories and remarks about you. Your old and bad reputation will be drowned by the new and good one. Want to promote a product or service? Prigozhin's online marketeers can address the right crowds."

    "One builds pages with "hot" stuff that hopefully attracts lots of viewers. One creates ad-space on these pages and fills it with Google ads. One attracts viewers and promotes the spiked pages by buying $3 Facebook mini-ads for them. The mini-ads are targeted at the most susceptible groups.
    A few thousand users will come and look at such pages. Some will 'like' the puppy pictures or the rant for or against LGBT and further spread them. Some will click the Google ads. Money then flows into the pockets of the page creator. One can rinse and repeat this scheme forever. Each such page is a small effort for a small revenue. But the scheme is highly scaleable and parts of it can be automatized."

    "Point 32:


    Defendants and their co-conspirators, through fraud and deceit, created hundreds of social media accounts and used them to develop certain fictitious U.S. personas into "leader[s] of public opinion" in the United States.
    The indictment then goes on and on describing the "political activities" of the sock-puppet personas. Some posted pro-Hillary slogans, some anti-Hillary stuff, some were pro-Trump, some anti-everyone, some urged not to vote, others to vote for third party candidates. The sock-puppets did not create or post fake news. They posted mainstream media stories.


    Some of the persona called for going to anti-Islam rallies while others promoted pro-Islam rallies. The Mueller indictment lists a total of eight rallies. Most of these did not take place at all. No one joined the "Miners For Trump" rallies in Philly and Pittsburgh. A "Charlotte against Trump" march on November 19 - after the election - was attended by one hundred people. Eight people came for a pro-Trump rally in Fort Myers.


    The sock-puppets called for rallies to establish themselves as 'activist' and 'leadership' persona, to generated more online traffic and additional followers. There was in fact no overall political trend in what the sock-puppets did. The sole point of all such activities was to create a large total following by having multiple personas which together covered all potential social-political strata"

    "There you have it. There was no political point to what the Russian company did. Whatever political slogans one of the company's sock-puppets posted had only one aim: to increase the number of followers for that sock-puppet.
    The sole point of creating a diverse army of sock-puppets with large following crowds was to sell the 'eyeballs' of the followers to the paying customers of the marketing company."

    More at:

    MoA - Mueller Indictment - The "Russian Influence" Is A Commercial Marketing Scheme
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  13. #4163
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,434
    ^ Your "source" moonofalabama.org.

    Why is it that so many of your sources are traced to anti Semites? It would not be the Russian connection no of course not.

    It’s very rare nowadays to find Jew-baiting on nominally leftwing forums but that’s exactly what I ran into during a brief time commenting at Moon of Alabama, an “anti-imperialist” website that like Global Research and Voltairenet can be relied upon to defend the Syrian dictatorship to the hilt.
    The Islamophobia that runs rampant at Moon of Alabama is exactly the same as found in the ultraright today. If you want to check this for yourself, just Google “Seymour Hersh sarin” and see what turns up. In addition to Democracy Now et al, you will find links from Fox News’s hardcore rightist (I guess that is a tautology) Greta Van Sustern and Newsmax.com, the website launched by conservative journalist Christopher Ruddy in 1998 with financial support from the family of the late Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Casey and ultrarightist billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.
    https://louisproyect.org/2013/12/20/...ma-but-not-me/

    So your typical garbage than OhDo.

  14. #4164
    Thailand Expat raycarey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    15,054
    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    why the 2016 Republican platform was changed to benefit Russia in the Ukraine. I think Manafort was behind it as he was working for the pro-Kremlin party in the Ukraine. Manafort brought in Russia money to buy influence and laundered the money to do it.
    if this is true (and i believe there is a very good chance that it is true) then this is the trifecta...money laundering, conspiracy (aka collusion) and obstruction of justice.

    if/when this shoe drops on manafort and the trump campaign, we can expect an unhinged tweet storm of epic proportions.

  15. #4165
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,565
    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Seems the whole episode is just a money making online industry, adopted and exploited worldwide.
    MoA - Mueller Indictment - The "Russian Influence" Is A Commercial Marketing Scheme
    Seems you're posting shit off whackjob websites again.

  16. #4166
    Thailand Expat
    thailazer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Last Online
    Today @ 09:12 PM
    Posts
    3,102
    Now that Mueller has thrown some chum in the water, he is likely off for some bigger fish.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...als-at-bayrock

  17. #4167
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,565
    Quote Originally Posted by thailazer View Post
    Now that Mueller has thrown some chum in the water, he is likely off for some bigger fish.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/artic...als-at-bayrock
    I'm guessing he might be talking to a few of the "unwitting" as well.

  18. #4168
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    48,105
    Kremlin says charges over U.S. election tampering prove nothing


    MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that U.S. charges against 13 Russians and several Russian companies accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign contained zero proof of Russian state involvement.

    The comments were the Kremlin’s first reaction to charges drawn up by the office of U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller which centered on a Russian businessman nicknamed ‘Putin’s cook’ by the Russian media who U.S. officials say has extensive ties to the country’s military and political establishment.


    The full indictment, released on Friday, said that a Russian propaganda arm funded by the businessman, Evgeny Prigozhin, oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton.


    The charges are awkward for the Kremlin which is keen to try to build a relationship with Trump in the hope that could eventually lead to U.S. sanctions imposed over its role in Ukraine being lifted.


    The election-meddling allegations have soured U.S.-Russia ties further however, triggering new sanctions as well as pressure for more restrictions. Friday’s indictment and news that Mueller’s investigation is not yet finished mean the issue is likely to dog the troubled relationship for a long time.


    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the U.S. indictment centered purely on individuals and presented no tangible proof that the Kremlin itself or Russian government agencies were involved.


    “They (the Americans) are talking about Russian citizens, but we have heard in announcements from Washington accusations about the involvement of the Russian state, the Kremlin and the Russian government,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call.


    “There are no indications that the Russian state could have been involved in this and nor can there be any. Russia did not meddle, does not have the habit of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, and is not doing so now.”



    ‘PUTIN‘S COOK’


    The U.S. indictment of Prigozhin, nicknamed ‘Putin’s cook’ because of his catering business that has organized banquets for the Russian leader and other senior political figures, is uncomfortable for the Kremlin.


    Prigozhin, 56, has boasted of meeting Putin and of the Russian leader being impressed with his business acumen. The Kremlin did not refer to Prigozhin by name in its Monday comments.


    The U.S. Treasury had sanctioned Prigozhin previously, in 2016, for providing material support to senior Russian government officials, saying he has extensive business dealings with the Russian Defence Ministry.


    Friday’s indictment accused him of funding the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, known for its trolling on social media.


    Companies which he directly or indirectly owns or controls are listed in an official corporate database as having won lucrative state contracts for the Russian presidential administration, parliament, and the defense ministry.


    His biggest business appears to be supplying food to state-run schools and universities. One of the firms he owns and manages won contracts in that sector worth 459,467,464,056 rubles ($8.15 billion) between 2011-2017, the same database shows.



    Prigozhin did not respond to a request for comment sent via his companies on Monday. On Friday, the RIA news agency cited him as saying he was unfazed by the indictment.


    “The Americans are very emotional people, they see what they want to see. I have great respect for them. If they want to see the devil, let them,” RIA quoted him as saying.


    The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it tried to influence the 2016 election, casting such allegations as part of an anti-Russian campaign in the United States which it says is primarily designed to hurt Trump politically.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1G30Z7


    I find it interesting Peskov doesn't deny the meddling happened, only denies the Russian state was involved.

    This has really backfired on Russia. This episode is tarnishing Putin's image around the world.

  19. #4169
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Max Boot: Trump is ignoring the worst attack on America since 9/11 - NZ Herald

    It's increasingly looking like it's one of two things:

    1. he's criminally complicit (or trying to cover up for some other crime); or

    2. he's failing in his duties and criminally negligent

  20. #4170
    I am in Jail
    Mr Earl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Last Online
    23-08-2021 @ 06:47 PM
    Location
    In the Jungle of Love
    Posts
    14,771
    The very clear evidence of election tampering and collusion with Russia and the Steele dossier, funded by the Clinton campaign.

    The real threat to our system of free elections is the refusal of the Democrats to accept defeat. When George W. Bush won, the Democrats rejected the outcome, invented conspiracy theories and protested in the streets. They did the same thing again when Donald J. Trump won. There’s a consistent pattern here and it doesn’t involve Moscow or the Supreme Court. Those are just their excuses.
    The Democrats have never accepted a Republican in the White House in this century. Forget the Supreme Court or Russia; it’s the Democrats who are the biggest threat to democracy.
    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269...iel-greenfield

  21. #4171
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    96,565
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Earl View Post
    The very clear evidence of election tampering and collusion with Russia and the Steele dossier, funded by the Clinton campaign.



    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269...iel-greenfield
    Whackjob websites are not "very clear evidence", you silly little boy.

  22. #4172
    In Uranus
    bsnub's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    30,434
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    you silly little boy.
    He is solidly getting smacked around as every post he makes is shot down, debunked and ultimately ridiculed. Rather than address the counter comments to his posts he just pulls the boon mee tactic and posts up another stinky turd. The cycle then repeats.

  23. #4173
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Earl and Boontard might as well be the same poster. They both spam the same Angry Old Right Wing White Man bollocks and then suffer bouts of Alzheimer’s when it’s pointed out what they’re saying is objectively untrue for the 40th time. Rinse & repeat.

    Both are defo in the grips of some precipitous mental decline in any event (and they weren’t that smart to begin with). Past time for an assisted care facility methinks.

  24. #4174
    Thailand Expat

    Join Date
    May 2008
    Last Online
    01-05-2022 @ 06:28 AM
    Location
    NAKON SAWAN
    Posts
    5,674
    Why are you shy about disclosing personal information?

  25. #4175
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    What on earth are you on about now, Repeater.

Page 167 of 291 FirstFirst ... 67117157159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175177217267 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •