Abuse and Power by Carter Page

[honorentheos]

I'd appreciate the global politics selection.

I'm often more interested in Republican or Democrat primaries. The general election talking points are so redundant and predictable. Any nuanced policies are buried.

I do get a little insight in the Russian side given I'm married to a Russian woman and speak broken Russian. I guess the NSA heard thst.

Found a used copy online that's on the way. Should be here in a week. I'll let you know when I've got it and start reading. 256 pages should be a quick enough read.

[canpakes]

I'd appreciate the global politics selection.

I'm often more interested in Republican or Democrat primaries. The general election talking points are so redundant and predictable. Any nuanced policies are buried.

I do get a little insight in the Russian side given I'm married to a Russian woman and speak broken Russian. I guess the NSA heard thst.

ajax, not meaning to derail from this excellent thread, but was your wife a US citizen when you first met her? Asking as this adds some context to earlier comments you’ve made about marriage, given the possible cultural differences and challenges from that sort of situation.

[ajax18]

I'd appreciate the global politics selection.

I'm often more interested in Republican or Democrat primaries. The general election talking points are so redundant and predictable. Any nuanced policies are buried.

I do get a little insight in the Russian side given I'm married to a Russian woman and speak broken Russian. I guess the NSA heard thst.

ajax, not meaning to derail from this excellent thread, but was your wife a US citizen when you first met her? Asking as this adds some context to earlier comments you’ve made about marriage, given the possible cultural differences and challenges from that sort of situation.

No she wasn't. And yes, the early years were the most difficult. I don't want to go into more detail than that on this board. I'd be happy to PM you a suummary sometime. For the purposes of this thread, like Carter Page, I suppose they consider me to be Russophile as well.

[Gadianton]

Not exactly, Ajax. When the war first broke out, you were as pro-Ukraine as they come, inspired by the underdog fighting for their country being wrongfully invaded. It was only after the dust settled, and Tucker Carlson and team were so vocally pro Putin that you cooled off. And since then you just sort of skirt the topic.

[Dr Exiled]

Worthy of further investigation, wouldn't you say? Mr. Bobulinski claims big guy Joe Biden used his office to get 10% from a Chinese deal. I wonder if the deal would have gone through had the big guy not been involved?

No one, Trump, Biden, McConnell, Pelosi, should be above reproach. Our beloved Harry Reid went to Washington poor and left worth around $100 Million. I wonder how that happened?

My father knew some in the most beloved Gipper administration and they made $millions off of insider information.

Should this be allowed? Should team politics prevail over truth? If Trump had liaisons with underage girls on Epstein Island, I'd like to know and perhaps he should be charged? Clinton?

Anyway, yes, at this point we are dealing with conjecture against a beloved president who may have benefitted from corruption. Let's see and not dismiss it based on nonsense Russia hysteria.

Mr. Bobulinsky also said he delivered "proof" to the Senate Committee, except... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/us/p ... china.html

But "worthy of investigating" is your go to phrase when you've latched onto some fringe theory.

Fringe theory ... like the laptop being Russian disinformation, a.k.a., what certain people will push in defense of their team leader's possible corruption? Don't get me wrong, I am all for investigating Trump until the cows come home. That guy had some shady dealings with the mob and Epstein that are worthy of investigation. He has blood on his hands for killing Solemani and for allowing Assange to continue to be imprisoned. Even so, Saint Biden shouldn't get a pass simply because he isn't Trump and we're in the anything goes to stop Trump mania that has infected our politics and media since he mistakenly won in 2016 (it was supposed to be a Clinton coronation after all).

[Res Ipsa]

Mr. Bobulinsky also said he delivered "proof" to the Senate Committee, except... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/us/p ... china.html

But "worthy of investigating" is your go to phrase when you've latched onto some fringe theory.

Fringe theory ... like the laptop being Russian disinformation, a.k.a., what certain people will push in defense of their team leader's possible corruption? Don't get me wrong, I am all for investigating Trump until the cows come home. That guy had some shady dealings with the mob and Epstein that are worthy of investigation. He has blood on his hands for killing Solemani and for allowing Assange to continue to be imprisoned. Even so, Saint Biden shouldn't get a pass simply because he isn't Trump and we're in the anything goes to stop Trump mania that has infected our politics and media since he mistakenly won in 2016 (it was supposed to be a Clinton coronation after all).

Who's saying Biden is a saint that should be exempt from all investigation. As to the laptop being "Russian disinformation," that's a gross oversimplification of what folks were saying, based on a few soundbites. Last I looked, there were questions about the chain of custody and evidence that the contents had been altered to some extent between the time the first guy made a copy and the time that anyone other than Trump insiders were given access to the contents. When combined with the timing of the release, worth investigating, don't you think.

As far as we know, the FBI has the original of the laptop and I'm confident that they will have done their due diligence with respect to the chain of custody of the laptop and whether any files had been altered before the laptop was discovered at the repair shop. And that if the laptop contains evidence of probable cause that any crime has been committed, it will investigate that as well.

The only witness that appears to possibly implicate Joe Biden in any wrongdoing said he had the receipts and delivered them to the Senate committee. Since then, crickets. Where is the documentation that supports his story?

It's all kind of moot, but you'll get investigations. Just like the multiple Benghazi investigations. I'll make the popcorn.

[Vēritās]

Mr. Bobulinsky also said he delivered "proof" to the Senate Committee, except... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/us/p ... china.html

But "worthy of investigating" is your go to phrase when you've latched onto some fringe theory.

Fringe theory ... like the laptop being Russian disinformation, a.k.a., what certain people will push in defense of their team leader's possible corruption? Don't get me wrong, I am all for investigating Trump until the cows come home. That guy had some shady dealings with the mob and Epstein that are worthy of investigation. He has blood on his hands for killing Solemani and for allowing Assange to continue to be imprisoned. Even so, Saint Biden shouldn't get a pass simply because he isn't Trump and we're in the anything goes to stop Trump mania that has infected our politics and media since he mistakenly won in 2016 (it was supposed to be a Clinton coronation after all).

Surprised to see you repeating this Right Wing nonsense. Where were you during that time, living in a cave tuned in to FOX? Because that isn't what was being said at the time. The Right intentionally distorts everything that is actually said on the Left and dumbs it down into a convenient meme for simple minds to consume.

Black lives matter the left says? What they really mean is White lives don't matter!

Wokeness the Left says? What they really mean is just be a bunch of Karens, teach critical race theory and give your children sex change operations!

The Hunter Laptop was Russian disinformation the left says? What they're really saying is that the laptop never existed and that the story was completely fabricated by the Russians!

No, that's not what any of those things mean.

Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say

So what is the "story"? That a laptop exists showing all kinds of embarrassing images and videos of Hunter? No. Those photos and videos were available on the internet so there was no doubt that a laptop existed and was handed over to Right Wingers.

The "story" that is false is all the nonsense Right Wing media is trying to infer from the laptops existence, the same way they did with Hillary's "missing emails." They were suggesting there are docs on the laptop that prove JOE BIDEN THE PRESIDENT was involved in illegal business activities and they were pushing this crap just two weeks before the election. There is absolutely zero evidence to support that "story" but the propaganda powers that be, including those bots originating in Russia, helped push it right into the mainstream until even Tucker Carlson dropped the story because there was nothing to support it after a thumb drive containing the "incriminating proof" was conveniently lost in the mail after they mailed it to themselves before making copies!

[ajax18]

The Hunter Laptop was Russian disinformation the left says? What they're really saying is that the laptop never existed and that the story was completely fabricated by the Russians!

What does Russian disinformation mean? What does Russian misinformation means? Is there any difference between the two words? And why does the answer have to be so complicated? I think the complication is the result of deliberate obfuscation.

[Vēritās]

The Hunter Laptop was Russian disinformation the left says? What they're really saying is that the laptop never existed and that the story was completely fabricated by the Russians!

What does Russian disinformation mean? What does Russian misinformation means? Is there any difference between the two words? And why does the answer have to be so complicated? I think the complication is the result of deliberate obfuscation.

I could explain it to you but we've already established the fact that you're allergic to reading things. Hell, Mueller laid it out as plainly as possible as did the Republican led Senate Intel committee, but you won't read any of that either because... reading things that disrupt your preferred narratives hurt your feelings I guess.

The only deliberate obfuscation is coming from the Right Wing media trying to recreate what actually happened, what was actually said, and who actually supported it. More than 50 former intel officials came out in a joint statement warning that the Hunter laptop "story" had all the hallmark signs of typical Russian disinformation that is designed to hurt democrats in our free elections. That's what the Russians have been doing for years.

That's what conspiracy brains want to hear and they know it. Just take some bit of truth and then add a dose of hyperbole with a gallon of innuendo and voilà, you have a whole new conspiracy theory to start pimping to your conspiracy brained base. This is exactly what happened with the Hillary Email "scandal." All you folks needed to know was that she deleted some emails on a private server, and then suddenly that becomes instant proof in your minds that she was deleting things that would incriminate her for being a traitor. Why? Because you idiots had been conditioned since the early 90's by talk radio and FOX News to believe the Clintons were basically undercover Communists who ate babies alive. Rational minds understood that the whole HC scandal would amount to a huge nothingburger and that's exactly what it was. George Bush used a private server as well and had lost 22 million emails that were later recovered, but there was no freaking out about that.

Meanwhile, her biggest crime was being careless with sensitive data as the entire Trump family says "hold my beer" while Jared, Ivanka, Donald, and four others throw caution to the wind by using unsecured lines of communication, having secret meetings without translators ,note takers, etc. And to add insult to injury, Donald Trump quite literally steals top secret documents, lies about having them, claims to be a victim of an unjust investigation, and then once the docs are found on his properties he lies again and says they are his personal property. But you're worried about a laptop with some porn belonging to someone who has never held public office.

[Res Ipsa]

The Hunter Laptop was Russian disinformation the left says? What they're really saying is that the laptop never existed and that the story was completely fabricated by the Russians!

What does Russian disinformation mean? What does Russian misinformation means? Is there any difference between the two words? And why does the answer have to be so complicated? I think the complication is the result of deliberate obfuscation.

Why do you think it's complicated? Misinformation=false information. Disinformation=intentionally stated misinformation with a purpose to deceive. Russian: originated from or amplified by the Russian government. These terms are no more complicated than other generalized terms we use thousands of times a day. Like, for example, "terms." Broad is not the same as complicated.