Current Events 3/17: good job cole

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facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

Donnie had a good 24 hours.

It's gone.

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/837131326599876612

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:44

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 10:04

AreWeDrunkYet: Jul 8, 2006

facialimpediment posted:

Donnie had a good 24 hours.

It's gone.

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/837131326599876612

Fake news

(literally what 40% of the country will believe)

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:46

shame on an IGA: Apr 8, 2005

facialimpediment posted:

Donnie had a good 24 hours.

It's gone.

https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/837131326599876612

Is anyone taking prop bets on what hour the first tweet drops?

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:47

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

shame on an IGA posted:

Is anyone taking prop bets on what hour the first tweet drops?

I'd say 5:30, claiming it's fake news. Tomorrow's Spicy Time is going to lead off with it being fake news, too.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:49

Proud Christian Mom: Dec 20, 2006; READING COMPREHENSION IS HARD

the Russians really did win the Cold War. wow.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:55

UP THE BUM NO BABY: Sep 1, 2011; by Hand Knit

FrozenVent posted:

I'd say 5:30, claiming it's fake news. Tomorrow's Spicy Time is going to lead off with it being fake news, too.

Uhhh no, it will begin with something inane like the steak story

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:56

shyduck: Oct 3, 2003

The AG lied under oath, and nothing's going to happen :smith:

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:57

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

The video is absolutely brutal. The best is that Sessions's spokesman confirmed the meetings. Not COMPLETELY out of the ordinary for a Senator on his committee to meet with an Ambassador, but WaPo checked with all of the members on that specific committee and NO OTHER MEMBERS contacted the Russian Ambassador. Then he lied about it.

https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/837131623124647940

Chris Cillizza had a good quote: "Where there's smoke and smoke and smoke and smoke and smoke and smoke, there's usually fire"

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:57

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

There's the hammer, here's the ~~sickle~~ anvil:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/...p-news&_r=1

Copying the full article for those behind the paywall:

quote:

Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking

WASHINGTON � In the Obama administration�s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election � and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians � across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn�t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.

American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials � and others close to Russia�s president, Vladimir V. Putin � and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence. Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Trump associates.

Then and now, Mr. Trump has denied that his campaign had any contact with Russian officials, and at one point he openly suggested that American spy agencies had cooked up intelligence suggesting that the Russian government had tried to meddle in the presidential election. Mr. Trump has accused the Obama administration of hyping the Russia story line as a way to discredit his new administration.

At the Obama White House, Mr. Trump�s statements stoked fears among some that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed � or its sources exposed � once power changed hands. What followed was a push to preserve the intelligence that underscored the deep anxiety with which the White House and American intelligence agencies had come to view the threat from Moscow.

It also reflected the suspicion among many in the Obama White House that the Trump campaign might have colluded with Russia on election email hacks � a suspicion that American officials say has not been confirmed. Former senior Obama administration officials said that none of the efforts were directed by Mr. Obama.

Sean Spicer, the Trump White House spokesman, said, �The only new piece of information that has come to light is that political appointees in the Obama administration have sought to create a false narrative to make an excuse for their own defeat in the election.� He added, �There continues to be no there, there.�

As Inauguration Day approached, Obama White House officials grew convinced that the intelligence was damning and that they needed to ensure that as many people as possible inside government could see it, even if people without security clearances could not. Some officials began asking specific questions at intelligence briefings, knowing the answers would be archived and could be easily unearthed by investigators � including the Senate Intelligence Committee, which in early January announced an inquiry into Russian efforts to influence the election.

At intelligence agencies, there was a push to process as much raw intelligence as possible into analyses, and to keep the reports at a relatively low classification level to ensure as wide a readership as possible across the government � and, in some cases, among European allies. This allowed the upload of as much intelligence as possible to Intellipedia, a secret wiki used by American analysts to share information.

There was also an effort to pass reports and other sensitive materials to Congress. In one instance, the State Department sent a cache of documents marked �secret� to Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland days before the Jan. 20 inauguration. The documents, detailing Russian efforts to intervene in elections worldwide, were sent in response to a request from Mr. Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

�This situation was serious, as is evident by President Obama�s call for a review � and as is evident by the United States response,� said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for Mr. Obama. �When the intelligence community does that type of comprehensive review, it is standard practice that a significant amount of information would be compiled and documented.�

The opposite happened with the most sensitive intelligence, including the names of sources and the identities of foreigners who were regularly monitored. Officials tightened the already small number of people who could access that information. They knew the information could not be kept from the new president or his top advisers, but wanted to narrow the number of people who might see the information, officials said.

More than a half-dozen current and former officials described various aspects of the effort to preserve and distribute the intelligence, and some said they were speaking to draw attention to the material and ensure proper investigation by Congress. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified information, nearly all of which remains secret, making an independent public assessment of the competing Obama and Trump administration claims impossible.

The F.B.I. is conducting a wide-ranging counterintelligence investigation into Russia�s meddling in the election, and is examining alleged links between Mr. Trump�s associates and the Russian government.

Separately, the House and Senate intelligence committees are conducting their own investigations, though they must rely on information collected by the F.B.I. and intelligence agencies.

At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, former Senator Dan Coats, Mr. Trump�s nominee for director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that �I think it�s our responsibility to provide you access to all that you need.�

Some Obama White House officials had little faith that a Trump administration would make good on such pledges, and the efforts to preserve the intelligence continued until the administration�s final hours. This was partly because intelligence was still being collected and analyzed, but it also reflected the sentiment among many administration officials that they had not recognized the scale of the Russian campaign until it was too late.

The warning signs had been building throughout the summer, but were far from clear. As WikiLeaks was pushing out emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee through online publication, American intelligence began picking up conversations in which Russian officials were discussing contacts with Trump associates, and European allies were starting to pass along information about people close to Mr. Trump meeting with Russians in the Netherlands, Britain and other countries.

But what was going on in the meetings was unclear to the officials, and the intercepted communications did little to clarify matters � the Russians, it appeared, were arguing about how far to go in interfering in the presidential election. What intensified the alarm at the Obama White House was a campaign of cyberattacks on state electoral systems in September, which led the administration to deliver a public accusation against the Russians in October.

But it wasn�t until after the election, and after more intelligence had come in, that the administration began to grasp the scope of the suspected tampering and concluded that one goal of the campaign was to help tip the election in Mr. Trump�s favor. In early December, Mr. Obama ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full assessment of the Russian campaign.

In the weeks before the assessment was released in January, the intelligence community combed through databases for an array of communications and other information � some of which was months old by then � and began producing reports that showed there were contacts during the campaign between Trump associates and Russian officials.

The nature of the contacts remains unknown. Several of Mr. Trump�s associates have done business in Russia, and it is unclear if any of the contacts were related to business dealings.

The New York Times, citing four current and former officials, reported last month that American authorities had obtained information of repeated contacts between Mr. Trump�s associates and senior Russian intelligence officials. The White House has dismissed the story as false.

Since the Feb. 14 article appeared, more than a half-dozen officials have confirmed contacts of various kinds between Russians and Trump associates. The label �intelligence official� is not always cleanly applied in Russia, where ex-spies, oligarchs and government officials often report back to the intelligence services and elsewhere in the Kremlin.

Steven L. Hall, the former head of Russia operations at the C.I.A., said that Mr. Putin was surrounded by a cast of characters, and that it was �fair to say that a good number of them come from an intelligence or security background. Once an intel guy, always an intel guy in Russia.�

The concerns about the contacts were cemented by a series of phone calls between Sergey I. Kislyak, Russia�s ambassador to the United States, and Michael T. Flynn, who had been poised to become Mr. Trump�s national security adviser. The calls began on Dec. 29, shortly after Mr. Kislyak was summoned to the State Department and informed that, in retaliation for Russian election meddling, the United States was expelling 35 suspected Russian intelligence operatives and imposing other sanctions. Mr. Kislyak was irate and threatened a forceful Russia response, according to people familiar with the exchange.

But a day later, Mr. Putin said his government would not retaliate, prompting a Twitter post from Mr. Trump praising the Russian president � and puzzling Obama White House officials.

On Jan. 2, administration officials learned that Mr. Kislyak � after leaving the State Department meeting � called Mr. Flynn, and that the two talked multiple times in the 36 hours that followed. American intelligence agencies routinely wiretap the phones of Russian diplomats, and transcripts of the calls showed that Mr. Flynn urged the Russians not to respond, saying relations would improve once Mr. Trump was in office, according to multiple current and former officials.

Beyond leaving a trail for investigators, the Obama administration also wanted to help European allies combat a threat that had caught the United States off guard. American intelligence agencies made it clear in the declassified version of the intelligence assessment released in January that they believed Russia intended to use its attacks on the United States as a template for more meddling. �We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned,� the report said, �to future influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies.�

# ? Mar 2, 2017 03:59

Woof Blitzer: Dec 29, 2012; [-]

Nothing will happen unless democrats get a majority in the house in 2018 (lol) and start impeachment proceedings.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:00

Woof Blitzer: Dec 29, 2012; [-]

Lah dee do dee dah I love being in the nothing matters timeline.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:00

Riot Carol Danvers: Jul 30, 2004; It's super dumb, but I can't stop myself. This is just kind of how I do things.

Most of the pro trump responsible responses to that post are calling it fake news.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:01

CoffeeQaddaffi: Mar 20, 2009

WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:

Most of the pro trump responsible responses to that post are calling it fake news.

Literally anything critical or negative of the Trump administration is being called fake news.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:05

shyduck: Oct 3, 2003

The WaPo and NYT could say the sky is blue and trumpets would call it fake news

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:05

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling
1-800-GAMBLER; Ultra Carp

WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:

Most of the pro trump responsible responses to that post are calling it fake news.

The NYT could call Trump the greatest President since Washington and people would still call it fake news on sheer reflex.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:05

Zeris: Apr 15, 2003; Quality posting direct from my brain to your face holes.

Not playing devil's advocate - actually wondering - what are the list of ways Russia interfered, with an outcome useful to Trump, in the election?

-Hack DNC emails and leak them
-???

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:17

Vengarr: Jun 17, 2010; Smashed before noon

Giving money in exchange for future favors, maybe?

Just spitballin'

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:19

mlmp08: Jul 11, 2004; Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration; Nap Ghost

Zeris posted:

Not playing devil's advocate - actually wondering - what are the list of ways Russia interfered, with an outcome useful to Trump, in the election?

-Hack DNC emails and leak them
-???

It's not a long article: https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:23

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Zeris posted:

Not playing devil's advocate - actually wondering - what are the list of ways Russia interfered, with an outcome useful to Trump, in the election?

-Hack DNC emails and leak them
-???

They ran a botnet that was dedicated to retweeting anti-Clinton news stories, including fake news. Might seem trivial, but how many "That's Awful!" shares did you see on Facebook from 60 year old aunts and uncles who voted red.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:27

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

I AM RUNNING OUT OF SHOES

WALL STREET JOURNAL JUST DROPPED ANOTHER

https://twitter.com/shaneharris/status/837141963782688769

"Investigators Probed Jeff Sessions� Contacts With Russian Officials"

quote:

WASHINGTON�U.S. investigators have examined contacts Attorney General Jeff Sessions had with Russian officials during the time he was advising Donald Trump�s presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.

The outcome of the investigation, and whether it is ongoing, wasn�t clear, these people said. The contacts were being examined as part of a wide-ranging U.S. counterintelligence investigation into possible communications between members of President Trump�s campaign team and Russian operatives, they said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has been leading the investigation, didn�t immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House directed requests for comment to the Justice Department.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:29

Nuclear Tourist: Apr 7, 2005

Proud Christian Mom posted:

the Russians really did win the Cold War. wow.

They're certainly rewriting the terms of surrender, if nothing else.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:30

bird food bathtub: Aug 9, 2003; College Slice

Zeris posted:

Not playing devil's advocate - actually wondering - what are the list of ways Russia interfered, with an outcome useful to Trump, in the election?

-Hack DNC emails and leak them
-???

Pretty strong suspicion that Trump is funded almost entirely with Russian money by now. He bankrupted a god drat casino. He's a loving terrible businessman and has been under water for so long no western banks would touch anything he does with a twenty foot pole for decades. Yet somehow mysteriously he's still doing his thing and the most fickle, two-faced, disingenuous person to ever walk the face of this planet that has been on both sides of every issue in the same conversation has only ever been rock-solid and completely unchanging about two things; not releasing his tax returns and praising Putin.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:32

ded redd: Aug 1, 2010

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/837142268905652226

loving hell, is this common knowledge? This is absurd.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:40

ded: Oct 27, 2005; Kooler than Jesus

If Obama had done even one of these things what would the result have been I wonder.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:42

LtCol J. Krusinski: May 7, 2013

Zeris posted:

lol when the cousins become step-siblings. But, whatever.

Believe it or not banging your brothers wife is totes in the Bible.

Genesis 38:8

Then Judah said to Onan, "Sleep with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother."

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:43

Defenestrategy: Oct 24, 2010

At this point whether he's a Russian spy is debatable, direct or indirect collusion really isn't. I mean what's next, Betsy Devo's spent a winter in Russia studying Russian Schools or something?

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:45

shyduck: Oct 3, 2003

ded posted:

If Obama had done even one of these things what would the result have been I wonder.

Impeachment

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:46

Godholio: Aug 28, 2002; Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?

KildarX posted:

At this point whether he's a Russian spy is debatable, direct or indirect collusion really isn't. I mean what's next, Betsy Devo's spent a winter in Russia studying Russian Schools or something?

That would be her greatest qualification for Ed Sec.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:48

M_Gargantua: Oct 16, 2006; STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES; Exciting Lemon

facialimpediment posted:

Donnie had a good 24 hours.

Maybe the media is playing 4 dimensional chess against donnie's 69 level? They make him seem good for a day so that tomorrow trash looks worse in comparison?

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:50

Godholio: Aug 28, 2002; Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?

From the folks that brought you Cards Against Humanity:

https://twitter.com/MaxTemkin/status/835186725592891392

# ? Mar 2, 2017 04:55

shyduck: Oct 3, 2003

As should be of no surprise, Pelosi et al. are calling for Sessions to resign.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:00

M_Gargantua: Oct 16, 2006; STOMP'N ON INTO THE POWERLINES; Exciting Lemon

KildarX posted:

At this point whether he's a Russian spy is debatable, direct or indirect collusion really isn't. I mean what's next, Betsy Devo's spent a winter in Russia studying Russian Schools or something?

Doesn't matter if he's a russian spy so much as he's got a few hundred million in loans from Russian banks and i'm starting to believe that the 19% Rosneft sale really was him benefiting.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:01

Ceiling fan: Dec 26, 2003; I really like ceilings.; Dead Man’s Band

Office Pig posted:

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/837142268905652226

loving hell, is this common knowledge? This is absurd.

Of course he was. Russian ambassador and Russian case officer are practically synonyms. The sneaky thing would have been to keep him out of any espionage work. That would be the absolute last thing anyone would expect.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:01

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Godholio posted:

From the folks that brought you Cards Against Humanity:

https://twitter.com/MaxTemkin/status/835186725592891392

Secret Hitler is fun as poo poo.

e: My friends and I recently changed it to Secret Trump whenever we play.

psydude fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Mar 2, 2017

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:04

Zeris: Apr 15, 2003; Quality posting direct from my brain to your face holes.

Russia undermining Clinton and Russia colluding with Trump staff are not the same thing. I'm not talking about objective reality, I'm talking about what's provable. They could have done everything in that IC report and not said a word to Trump or his cronies. Unless they were spelling it out to the GOP campaign and demanding favors in return -- unless that's what was in those conversations -- or whatever, then I don't get it.

It looks stupid -- Sessions lied, obviously, but until it's clear what he lied about, there's no saying whether this will last or snowball to something worth resigning over.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:17

Duzzy Funlop: Jan 13, 2010; Hi there, would you like to try some spicy products?

shyduck posted:

As should be of no surprise, Pelosi et al. are calling for Sessions to resign.

If Pelosi could also resign, that would be swell.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:21

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

woops

https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/837157240599638016

yeah you're not supposed to do that

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:35

shyduck: Oct 3, 2003

Hope she has 2FA enabled

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:37

facialimpediment: Feb 11, 2005; as the world turns

Here's Sessions's statement:

https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/837158913334251522

WaPo says the meeting was in Sessions's office. WSJ says it was a phone call. If it was a phone call to the Russian Ambassador, you bet your rear end that line is tapped and recorded.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:39

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 10:04

DAS Super!: Jul 26, 2007; You should probably pay more attention to your log.
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We live in interesting times....

# ? Mar 2, 2017 05:42

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > Current Events 3/17: good job cole

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