Reuters on RussiaGate

Again, not off topic, because the story of the Russian attack on democracy is the story of fossil fuel’s last attempt to hold back the final implosion of the carbon bubble.

Been waiting for Reuters to put this on YouTube, but PBS beat them to it.

The story – the official Russian plan to attack and undermine democracy in the United States is essentially undistinguishable from the agenda of Fox News and the Republican Party.
Think about that.

Reuters:

A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former U.S. officials told Reuters.

They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the Nov. 8 election. U.S. intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies [en.riss.ru/], after the election.

The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin’s office.

The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals.

It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage U.S. voters to elect a president who would take a softer line toward Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said.

A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election. For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its pro-Trump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the U.S. electoral system’s legitimacy and damage Clinton’s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said.

The current and former U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents’ classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. U.S. intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them.

Putin has denied interfering in the U.S. election. Putin’s spokesman and the Russian institute did not respond to requests for comment.

The documents were central to the Obama administration’s conclusion that Russia mounted a “fake news” campaign and launched cyber attacks against Democratic Party groups and Clinton’s campaign, the current and former officials said.

 

85 thoughts on “Reuters on RussiaGate”


  1. “The story – the official Russian plan to attack and undermine democracy in the United States is essentially undistinguishable from the agenda of Fox News and the Republican Party”.

    Not much to “think about” there—–it’s self evident, as is “the story of the Russian attack on democracy is the story of fossil fuel’s last attempt to hold back the final implosion of the carbon bubble”.

    The question remains as to whether the Repugnants and the Pussy Grabber will be able to obstruct, distract, and obfuscate enough to keep the truth from coming out.

    (And how come the Russian troll and Whore for Putin Veirotchka isn’t the first commenter on this thread? It’s the middle of the day in Geneva. Did she take the day off or have her masters finally decided that she is totally ineffective and terminated her services?)

    Reply

        1. Actually, the USA has been hit not by a bullet or missile but by the MOASB (Mother Of All Shit Bombs) with the election of Trump and the rise to power of the Repugnants—–part of the “payload” of the bomb was obtained by scooping out the contents of Ron’s brain case.

          Reply

      1. Thanks for that illustration of what goes on in Trumps brain, feeding on its hideous self, also a reflection of you in a mirror, how can you stand your own crazy?

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      1. Yes, Ron is NOT a “real ‘Murican”, and that’s why he “takes his hat off” to our country’s enemies.

        Ron is a retired engineer with lots pf drunken and half-assed opinions but NO expertise about “dodging bullets”, politics, or climate change. Putting up with his BS is one of our crosses to bear, I guess.

        Reply

  3. “A second institute document…argued, it was better… to… intensify… messaging about voter fraud to… damage Clinton’s reputation” An interesting line of investigation should be to study the timing of this second document and Trump’s increasingly strident claims that, if he lost, it would be proof that our election system was rigged. This was, at the time, a bizarre but bold claim to make (as bizarre as ‘Obama had me wire-tapped’). You had to be Alex-Jones-crazy to think there was anything to it, yet Trump didn’t just say it, he doubled and tripled down on it: it became a major part of his messaging. Was this a coincidence? If Trump was advised to take on this weirdly conspiratorial message, which of his advisers did it come from, and what was their relationship to Russia? What we know is that most of Trump’s advisers had contact with Russia. How did a documented strategy of the Putin government end up a major message in Trump’s campaign, taken up only in the last three months or so?

    Reply

      1. Not through Congress. I have my doubts about the FBI as well. They need to put together an independent commission. What’s sad is how thoroughly we’re now relying on the ‘Fourth Estate’ to make everything right. The only reason we’re doing that is because all the other ‘estates’ have been compromised.

        Reply

    2. There is four decades of commentary and study showing the American elections are full of irregularities, albeit it that they may not be decisive. Any organization with competent monitors have already stated that they would never even begin a mission to monitor American elections because of the bizarre lack of elementary rules and procedures to safe guard the integrity of the process. Remember that any time you read about reports of international monitors on elections in Africa or Syria, etc.
      As for the documents put out by this think tank, which are being treated as though they were official government policy, when they are ever released they will be full of very general claims and considerations, and any relationship to real-world events will have to be inferred and deduced for lack of any chain of evidence to concrete facts.

      Reply

      1. Vierotchka’s Mini-Me responds—–with mindless maundering bullshit cut-and-pasted from the manual the Russian propaganda agencies provide to their trolls. Go away, DweebyJ—–you bring nothing of value to the discussion.

        Reply

  4. The video is hilarious, bunch of buffoons all inveighing seriously and with great weight about the interference in European elections and how the Russians with their authoritarian system can easily coordinate to control every last thing that is happening on the globe, in contrast to the completely impotent Americans, sidelined by their love of freedom and truth, and their virtuous hesitance to interfere in other people’s autonomy and affairs. This is delusion at its most comical.

    Reply

    1. Some of us / many of us are & have been saying exactly that.
      Including me.

      Post as many gifs as you like; more & more the evidence has been moving from insinuation to correlation to causation.

      Reply

          2. Any news outlet that disagrees with you gets your “fake news” label.


          4. In other words, the ones that are actively involved finding out the truth.
            By the way, have you & Khordokovsky been meeting up since he’s been living in Switzerland?
            I’m sure you two must have fascinating convos about how wonderful things are in the old country.


          6. I have far more respect for him and Kara-Murza than for Putin & any of his toadies.
            If you’re wondering if that includes you, let’s just say the jury’s deliberations aren’t going your way


          9. No, you’re a bitch because you behave like one, and one of your behaviors is a bitchy disregard for truth and those here on Crock that recognize it. You don’t.


          11. HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa is a non-substantive response, but it’s just about all you seem capable of. Keep teaching us lessons, Vera, you stupid, stupid, STUPID woman.


          15. Look up the meaning. But if the shoe doesn’t fit, why do you enjoy wearing it so much?
            By the way, which is such a diehard Putin apologist living in Geneva?
            Is the caviar, champagne & vodka in the worker’s paradise not up to your standards?


          17. I’m off to the People’s Climate March in Washington, DC, and will be off-line all day. Have fun with Vera!


          19. You do realize that your immediate response to my post where I said I do find the reports of Russian interference credible was to post a gif calling me “an ignorant shit”?
            So much for lying disclaimer that you don’t attack first.


          21. Nonsense. It’s the topic of discussion.
            Your mission is to deflect, derail, disturb and you’ll take any opportunity to do so.
            And there’s nothing “thinly veiled” about that.


        1. What about anyone else reading? Do they deserve a seizure too? It is irresponsible to post seizure inducing gifs. You might think it is funny but having seen family members with epilepsy have seizures isn’t. Please don’t do it again.

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          2. I see. So innocent people have to have seizures because you’re upset with someone else? You are a truly awful person.


          4. No. According to me, posting seizure inducing gifs in a public forum where people not involved in your petty argument could be affected is irresponsible. Your failure to understand this says a lot about you. Anything else you want to attribute to my comment is a figment of your imagination.


          5. I’m sorry about your family members who could have been affected – I too suffer of Grand Mal, but these gifs have not affected me, although stroboscopes do. The rhythm of these gifs is not the one that induces seizures, anyway. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. I don’t let myself be bullied by these idiots, I fight back – all my gifs are in response to often outrageous attacks and insults against me. So, I guess you support bullies. Tsk tsk. Walk on by.

            http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5232/Mlj4ZD.gif


          6. Bullshit, bullshit, BULLSHIT. Vera (or the crew of Russian hackers that operate collectively under her name and alleged persona as a ‘harmless” grandmother living in Switzerland) are merely trying to deflect and cover up their misdeeds. IMO, Vera (or the hackers) have quickly looked up some facts about PSE (PhotoSensitive Epilepsy) in an attempt to gain some sympathy and minimize the damage.

            “The rhythm of these gifs is not the one that induces seizures, anyway”, says Vera (or the boys in Moscow)?. Although there are frequencies that are more dangerous than others, some people have had seizures induced by fluorescent lights, video and arcade games, television, and shadows of trees lining roads and railroad lines.
            a particular problem here is the closeness of the computer screen to the viewer.

            MIke Male IS correct, and I support the comments made by ubrew, Torsten, and ClimateNicole—-especially the “drop dead”—-Vera has NRSV (No Redeeming Social Value—-a term I learned from working with the police in the 70’s) and would not be missed anywhere.


          8. Typical stupid, stupid, STUPID non-substantive response from the crazy one. I don’t believe in any of those irrelevant imaginary figures, nor do any other Crockers above the age of five—–why do you keep mentioning them?—-it’s just more proof of your inadequacy at dealing with facts, truth, and rational arguments.


          1. I’m less of a prick than are those who attack and insult me here. Take your griefs to them, they are the ones who start it.


        3. I also agree with what Mike Male wrote. This last one is simply irresponsible.

          Overall, posting them is a form of vandalism to this site, IMO.

          Reply

    3. Well, as at least 3 non-American security services have reported it

      and as there have been similar hacking and influence methods been used in France

      and as Russia is the primary European sponsor and instigator of terror (see the figures for Terrorist attacks in Ukraine

      and as there were the Cyprus bank payments

      and as various Putin Boyars have cause been treated with favour by Trump and the Republican party

      Yes

      Reply

        1. Nothing in schwadevivre post fits with what you posted above as

          “The real vandalism is all those posts insulting and attacking me. I simply respond on the same level”

          So why are you insulting him if you’re not a proxy for Putin & Russian interests?

          Reply

          2. Then you’ve been lying all along with your claim that you only respond in kind to personal attacks & insults.
            Thank you for the 1st plainly honest post I’ve yet seen from you here.


          4. My only medicine is alochol although I hear a lot of young Russians prefer Krokodil to distract them from the Putin paradise they inhabit.


          6. Another non-substantive response from Vera to Morin Moss. Does she ever respond with intelligence to ANYTHING?

            (Just got back from the Washington DC People’s Climate March. A great event.)


          12. Stupid and useless and mindless. Also proof positive that Vera is, by Einstein’s definition, insane (to say nothing of how disgustingly FILTHY she is)


          13. Perfect self-description on your part! LOL!

            Furthermore, with regard to Einstein’s definition of insanity, you have posted numerous identical responses to me, whereas I always post a different response and a different gif to you – and I don’t expect any different result with regard to your responses to me.

            As for “filthy”, my “filth” merely reflects your utter inner filth – and you’re not even man enough to show it, like the coward you are!

            http://imageshack.com/a/img922/1480/1NETdC.gif

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