Update at 11:05 PM EDT
I wanted to just add this here. It is a response I just made to a comment by efgoldman below, but I want to make sure it is up here as part of the post.
What I think happened with this leak to The Washington Post, and what I think people need to understand about it, is that this was leaked to the press, with heavy caveats and conditions to not make the disclosure worse, in order to prevent the President, or anyone else in the room with him, from being blackmailed by the Russians over this. The Russians have their own notes. Because they were allowed to bring a team from TASS with them as part of their delegation, and the TASS staffers brought their equipment, there is no way to be sure that the Russians don’t have recordings. My guess is that once it because clear to the IC folks in the know on this information that TASS had been there with their equipment and taken pictures, because the Russians released the pictures, a decision was made to try to mitigate the damage by leaking to the press ahead of the Russians. The leak is itself intended to inoculate and immunize the President and everyone else from the US side that was in the room so the Russians cannot hold this over their heads. Full stop.
And we now return you to your regularly scheduled Open Thread!
amk
LOL. Nice I got nuthin’ to say.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and we haven’t even discussed Callista Gingrich being named US Ambassador to the Vatican!
I’m guessing nobody on either side wants to discuss her experience and qualifications.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
The Canibus of lefty journalism is a bit concerned.
Also: How funny would Beavis & Butt-Head find Dr. Strangelove?
lamh36
Timurid
OK, so Adam isn’t passed out drunk or hospitalized with a stroke after today’s news…
That’s something to be thankful for. :)
Timurid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I joked about this on Twitter, but I’m a bit worried that Trump might punch the Pope next week.
You know Francis is going to read him the riot act…
Gin & Tonic
@Timurid: ….Yet….
Corner Stone
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Given that her only qualifying experience is touching Newt in places you don’t like to talk about at parties…then, no.
Mnemosyne
Adam, you were supposed to be breaking the news to us gently, damn it!
Adam L Silverman
@Timurid: I was out helping a friend move some stuff as the news was breaking. We then went and caught the first period of the hockey game. I’m now home. That is all.
lamh36
Darn it Adam, just when I was waiting for one of your long big worded post…ya get all short and sweet…bah…
I was gonna try to stay up for that the long read, but I doubt I’ll be able to keep my eyes open past my bedtime…lol
Mnemosyne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I can’t help wondering if Callista is getting the nod because even the Trump administration knows that sending a three-time adulterer to be ambassador to the Vatican is going too far. Callista is only a one-time adulterer. That we know of.
jl
“Why didn’t you tell the world, ehh?”
Ha, at least that won’t be a problem with Trump. He’s his own walking blurting squawking doomsday machine. Only question is what exactly it will doom.
As for McMaster, hard to say what his initial non-denial denial and subsequent semi-denial denial amount to. If the story is true, then some IC people with their hair on fire decided his initial statement was not strong enough and he had to get out there and try again. He’s there under orders, so if anyone in this mess deserves the tiniest shred of sympathy, I guess it is one of Trump’s central casting generals.
As for the WH staffer’s denial…. yeah… sure. whatever you say… They have negative credibility at this point.
hovercraft
What the hell is wrong with you Adam, how can you just drop an open thread on us with no comment?
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Apparently catholics are upset by the appointment, Tweety played coy/dumb and asked whichever one of his guests who told him that as his “tell me something I don’t know” segment blurb, why her appointment was upsetting.
debbie
@Timurid:
Will he get his ride with the Queen?
Lyrebird
@Corner Stone: Not true… sorry I am not a master of funny ripostes, but she was on the Hill before marrying the pretentious toad. Don’t know much more than that, but she definitely has more relevant experience than say…. DeVos or Hatchet-Man Pruitt.
Pretty low bar to clear, to be sure.
Felonius Monk
@Adam L Silverman:
Hmm. Nero fiddling. Rome burning. :-)
MomSense
I’m sort of flabbergasted that all of these Dolt45 crises have been created by Dolt45 and the bastards around him. We haven’t actually experienced a natural disaster or other kind of crisis. How the hell will this maladministration manage a major hurricane or an acute foreign policy crisis?
They are all completely incompetent. They are understaffed and seem to have purged most of the competent civil servants. Then there is the constant lying and chaos which will mean that no one will believe them when the shit hits the fan.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@hovercraft: If I were a believer, I’d be furious. If I were a diplomat, I’d be banging my head against a wall
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: Right now I’m trying to see if I can track the Breitbart response to the breaking news back through social media to our little green friends from the East…
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wha?! Huh?! Is this for real? No. You are shitting me. Please tell me that you are shitting me. Fuck.
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: There won’t be one in regard to today’s big news.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@MomSense: Aren’t we overdue for Seattle falling into the ocean/Wabash Valley eating the Midwest at this point?
lamh36
Corner Stone
@Lyrebird: Ummm…
/wiki
lamh36
@Adam L Silverman: well dangit…I guess that’s good I do need to stop staying up past my bedtime reading bout Trump’s stupid shit…lol
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: aw, come on, a paragraph.
amk
@MomSense:
Didn’t twitler say FU to NC just last week over some tornado rehab funds? The fucking NC which flipped for him?
Adam L Silverman
@Lyrebird: She was both one of Speaker Gingrich’s staffer and (one of) his mistress when he was married to wife #2. Wife #2 was one of his mistresses when he was married to wife #1.
Timurid
@debbie:
He’s going to take her to watch the submarine races…
Adam L Silverman
@Felonius Monk: I do not play any musical instruments.
jl
@MomSense: Yeah. Maybe I’m not flabbergasted, but I am very surprised. The serial missteps and disasters are all entirely of Trump or his cronies doing. Self inflected wounds. I thought the admin would unravel more slowly as the policy nonsense and blunders and insults blew up in his and the GOP’s face. But that only happened with respect to the House GOP health care travesty.
I thought there was a chance that Trump had fulfilled his promise to act more presidential after he was elected. He sure had a chance to do that after the election. But he is imply incapable of any self discipline or self awareness, He’s even more completely unfit for office than I imagined.
MomSense
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
I’m pretty sure trump couldn’t even manage a library bake sale.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: it’s mistresses all the way down, really.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
The big stories (from leaks) typically occur on Friday’s… this one comes on Monday, perhaps to keep sustained focus?
Adam L Silverman
Good times!
Omnes Omnibus
@Felonius Monk: Shit. I meant to take my violin from my parents’ house yesterday.
amk
@lamh36: Exactly. They are all cowardly enablers of this horror regime.
lamh36
“Pay Trump Bribes Here”
https://twitter.com/MarkSZaidEsq/status/864293731717066752
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.
amk
the meltdown has begun? I sure hope so.
Marcopolo
@MomSense: but only he can create the biggest and bestest crises evah. He’s not gonna let some hurricane or asteroid striking or alien encounters overshadow his ability to create chaos…bigly.
Hey Adam, asked this at the very end of the last thread: so does the person who typed up the notes from the Trump/Lavrov meeting now have to wear an ankle bracelet and be monitored for the rest of their life cause they’ve been exposed to code word intel?
jl
@Adam L Silverman: Damn straight. Loose lips sink ships.
Millard Filmore
@Adam L Silverman:
Is this a professional activity? As a hobby? Should I not ask?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Omnes Omnibus: not official, but it seems real
and the topper
efgoldman
@Corner Stone:
Eeewww. Glad i don’t get invited to those parties.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Omnes Omnibus: I takes gold-leaf plated stones to insult the Pope like that.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: I would not be surprised, given that she is, by Catholic doctrine, an adulteress, if the Holy See rejects her credentials and sends her home. I would guess that when the President is at the Vatican next week, provided his trip doesn’t get cancelled as a result of today’s reporting about the most recent self created crisis and debacle, that a senior member of the Pope’s staff will take a senior member of the President’s staff aside and explain why this appointment is unacceptable and why it would be better to find a different person to become the US Ambassador to the Holy See.
Seth Owen
One thing I don’t get is this Republican push to make their tax cuts ‘permanent.’ They can’t, really. They cannot bind a future Congrss not to raise taxes, so they may be spending political capital vainly, no? Especially if they blow up the health care system in the meantime.
Adam L Silverman
@West of the Rockies (been a while): I would venture that it is a result of last week’s crisis. Specifically to how the administration and his Congressional enablers handled things going into and over the weekend. Including the potential replacement for FBI director.
efgoldman
@MomSense:
He’d be intimidated by all those whatchacallums.. books.
JCJ
Remember in 2012 when Mitt Romney said the “Soviet Union ” was our number one global adversary? Good times…
Jeffro
@amk:
The meltdown began about 18 months ago…or much, much longer if you consider when Trumpov began his climb out of his 5th (7th) bankruptcy by money laundering for questionable Russian associates.
But yeah, I think we’re just a little past the beginning of the end here.
Wait until he realizes that everything he’s “worked” for is about to go swirling down the drain…every last penny, every property, and of course, the office of the president. Last on his priority list, but still…
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am going to go put on a helmet before I start my head desk.
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Yuuuge ones.
Gin & Tonic
How long before The Onion has to fold up its tent and go home?
amk
@JCJ: mittbot, that ever lying pos, said that to imply that the kenyan was paling around with rushyans. Party of projecting scums.
MomSense
@efgoldman:
And smart people.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Has she confessed and been given absolution?
Exurban Mom
Best tweet of the day, courtesy of Betty Cracker. https://twitter.com/bettycrackerfl/status/864281980724269057
amk
@Jeffro: twitler’s touch = bankruptcy.
efgoldman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Aww. We gonna’ take ouw baww and wun home?
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
But I was really hoping that after just one audience with the pope, she would be seen fleeing in shame with all that makeup smudged and melting down her face.
Adam L Silverman
@Marcopolo: I don’t know. In a normally functioning White House, should this type of reveal happened, anyone who didn’t already know or need to know, would be given the sensitive compartment information (SCI) and special access program (SAP) non disclosure lecture and required to sign a national security non disclosure on this information.
The real problem is that it doesn’t matter that the White House has moved to heavily redact the notes. The Russians have their own notes. And, remember, there was a Russian media team from TASS there. The Russians, at least, have their own transcript from notes if not from recordings. Moreover, back in January a member of Syria’s parliament claimed openly that Syrian Intelligence had infiltrated ISIL and, as a result, were now in charge of ISIL’s targeting. If this is actually the case, then the Russians have now passed this to their Syrian clients. And Syrian Intels infiltration of ISIL will act accordingly.
Chet Murthy
It’s an OT, so I’ll ask another off-topic (b/c there’s only ONE topic, ain’t it?)
This new WannaCry worm. It got me to thinking. It’s not like this is the first time MSFT Winders has been the target. It seems like it’s *always* the target. I get why big orgs use Winders — sometimes the software they need only exists on Windows. And sometimes that’s true for individuals also. But what I don’t get, is why anybody who has a choice, would choose Windows over Linux. I mean, at this point, does it matter what you’re “used to” when you read regularly about computers being attacked, taken over, etc?
I figure it’s reasonable to ask this here, b/c the commentariat are obviously intelligent enough that I can’t chalk up the decision to stick with Windows to stupidity. I mean, you all just aren’t stupid.
OK: a contrast. It seems like, every time I read Naked Capitalism’s comments, somebody will eventually ask about “my Winders computer is getting slow, maybe I need to buy a new one, so many viruses” and a veritable swarm of people will suggest instead re-installing with Linux, and start extolling the virtues of this. And I can’t believe that they’re any more “computer nerds” than the commentariat here.
Seriously, I’m just curious.
Major Major Major Major
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: well, we all know the pope is a hippie, and Trump hates whatever it is hippies like. They want that old Nazi pope back.
p.a.
Hey, anyone remember the Comey firing? Trump is playing 11th dimensional jacks!
Adam L Silverman
@jl: Since I don’t know what was actually disclosed (honestly, I’m not even sure what the correct term for this is at this point…), I have no way to know what overlaps with even the unclassified work I’ve done on this stuff for various Army and DOD elements. As such, I don’t want to say anything on the substance. Not because I actually know what the substance is, but because I don’t want to accidentally back into a violation unintentionally.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Thru the Looking Glass...
Well fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…
Talk about a never-ending string of unforced errors…
If Trump juggled chain saws in a circus for a living, his nickname would be Stumpy…
MomSense
@amk:
He’s the man with the minus touch.
Adam L Silverman
@Millard Filmore: If I tell you I’ll have to…
More seriously, that has been the pattern for a lot of these responses. And I want to see if the pattern holds. Given that Breitbart is owned/funded by the Mercers and Bannon is now on the President’s senior staff, it is possible this is just them doing damage control on their own.
BBA
@Jeffro: A lovely fantasy. Meanwhile, here in reality, he’s considering which world capital to nuke in order to impress the King of Saudi Arabia next time he’s in town.
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
The correct term for this is that our president is a Russian agent who was meeting with his handlers.
jl
@p.a.: One dimensional tic-tac-toe?
Zero dimensional whack-a-mole?
We need a contest to try to get the best possible description of what Trump is playing.
Major Major Major Major
@Chet Murthy: windows went through a very rough rough patch for a while but has emerged as the creator of a pretty decent OS nowadays. This attacks a known (and patched!) vulnerability, so it’s not really a question of relative OS security anyway.
The main reason there’s so much malware for Windows is because most personal computers run Windows. The main reason people don’t use Linux is: the Office suite, and plug-and-play compatability, and “it comes with it.” If you’ve never been in Linux driver hell…
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I do not know. I also do not care.
p.a.
Didn’t the Athenians pick their gvt by lot? What would the US population of 35 years and above be? Could not have done worse in a Presidential lottery.
Marcopolo
@Adam L Silverman: that’s some interesting context. Kinda like watching Rachel Maddow connect the dots tonight between Trump meeting the Crown Prince today & the under the radar meeting btwn Erik Prince/Putin confidant in Jan on the island off the coast of Africa that the Crown Prince brokered. It gets harder & harder not to believe in conspiracies. And thanks for the info.
Corner Stone
@Chet Murthy: C’mon, man.
mdblanche
If only General Turgidson had been available to warn Trump about what he was doing.
Gin & Tonic
@Chet Murthy: Businesses with tens of thousands of computers like having support contracts and (paid) licensing terms that their lawyers can understand. And the Windows 10 platform, correctly maintained by regular patching and optimal group policy settings, is really very secure. Nobody who applied MSFT’s security updates on the recommended schedule was affected by this ransomware.
Linux as a general-purpose business desktop is an idea whose time never arrived and now never will.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Adam L Silverman: That would be amazeballs.
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman: @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Twitler may be doing this on purpose, remember Pope Francis embarrassed him by criticizing his immigration policy. That’s assuming he considered how it would look to appoint the adulteress who I assume will bring her bloviating twice divorced spouse along with her.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and before he tosses the cap, he brags about how he decided not to wear it– a white trucker’s cap– while giving a speech in honor of police killed in the line of duty, because he loves the police so much.
He probably got 80% of the vote from the people he was talking to.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic: oh, and let’s not forget video games, that’s Windows land too.
efgoldman
@Adam L Silverman:
If I remember correctly, when it was made public that both candidates were getting intelligence briefings, you wondered if they might feed Coral Cankersore bad intel on purpose, to see where it ended up. Wonder if that’s what happened here?
In any case, I imagine people are going to be VERY careful going forwards, about what they discuss with him.
lamh36
I suspect the admin plans to try to keep Cheeto on message and not tweet nonsense until they leave for the overseas trip…that way they can get a “reprieve” from all this.
Of course, the foreign press have already shown to be more tough on Cheeto than the US press has thus far been. So we shall see.
Unless of course the leaks keep coming…
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Point was that if she had confessed and been granted absolution, her adultery should not be religiously disqualifying.
Gin & Tonic
@Chet Murthy:
By the way, that’s an activity that will turn your brain into oatmeal in short order.
lamh36
Adam, I understand your reasons for not doing one of your longer post, so I’ll just ask what your feelings are about the position the admin put McMaster in…and why are so many of these career folks seemingly okay with laying their professional reputations on the line for Cheeto Prez, who from the Comey firing, you can see would be willing to throw any of them under whatever bus his incompetence creates.
dm
@Adam L Silverman: John Roberts would be a good Catholic candidate. Or Neal Gorsuch. Or Sam Alito. They’re not doing anything important.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic: I wasn’t gonna say anything, but…
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m out of evens to can’t. I’m calling it a night.
amk
Is Leavenworth still open?
hovercraft
@MomSense:
Ha!
How’s your Dad doing?
TS
@MomSense:
Given who Dolt45 is, and the bastards he has placed around him – you should not be flabbergasted in any way whatsoever. This is who they are.
Lizzy L
@Adam L Silverman: Callista Gingrich has wanted this appointment for years, it’s well known in Catholic circles. (Speaking only for myself, the thought of Callista Gingrich representing American interests to the Holy See gives me serious agita.) Someone upthread (Timurid, I think) suggested that Pope Francis was going to “read Trump the riot act.” I don’t have the chutzpah to try to predict what the Pope will do, but I’m guessing this will be a cordial but very formal public encounter.
BBA
@MomSense: The weird part is, he isn’t. He has no idea what the hell he’s doing. He leaked classified information just to show off! “Can you believe they tell me this stuff?”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
efgoldman
@amk:
it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”
“Are there no prisons?”
“Plenty of prisons…”
“And the Union workhouses.” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”
“Both very busy, sir…”
“Those who are badly off must go there.”
“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”
“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
FlyingToaster
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter, if she’s continuing the sin by being married to the guy adulterer.
It’s not my religion, mind you, but since they made a valiant attempt to rip off the religion of my forefathers :)
Atonement must also involve abjuring the sin — that means, in plain English, “stop that nonsense already”. Instead, she’s married to the serial adulterer with whom she committed adultery. No priest worth his salt should be giving her communion.
If Trump were smart, he’d send someone non-Catholic and treat this like an actual ambassadorship. Fortunately for us, he’s as dumb as a stump and so we continue with our popcorn and our existential terror at trying to explain this to our nine-year-olds.
Corner Stone
Anyone seen Ivanka? In like 10 days or so?
Chet Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: Right, and as I noted, I understood why large orgs choose Windows. What I don’t get, is why intelligent individuals with any memory would. I mean, does it matter what @Major Major Major Major: “driver hell” you go thru, when your alternative is a computer that is completely pregnable?
Corner Stone
“He feeds me dog food!”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
he had his first two marriages annulled, as a favor to Callista, cause she’s an old-fashioned Catholic girl
ETA: @Corner Stone: I really hope he saw that in real time
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@MomSense:
My husband and I actually discussed updating and upgrading our earthquake preparations with this in mind. When all hell breaks loose, there will be no help from D.C. Sad.
Omnes Omnibus
@FlyingToaster: Hey, I am a Protestant agnostic. What the fuck do I know?
PaulWartenberg
Kevin Costner from “No Way Out” was less damaging to our national security than trump.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I was whining earlier today because a manager from another department tried to set up a lunch without my help and of course borked the whole thing up.
Never send a manager to do an admin assistant’s job!
MomSense
@hovercraft:
They have him sedated and back on the ventilator. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. The surgeon called it a speed bump.
Thank you for asking.
Chet Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: Oh ha! I can only agree. But honestly, the FP articles aren’t so bad for lobotomizing these days, either. Between the Hillary hate and the downplaying of the Russia story, it’s a non-stop shit-show. A few years ago I made a nontrivial donation there. This past time? Man, I’d like to claw some back, it’s so stupid over there.
PaulWartenberg
@Corner Stone:
she’s on a book tour promoting her “feminism”.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: No. While I only no what was reported, that is clearly not what happened. What people need to understand is that this was leaked to the press, with heavy caveats and conditions to not make the disclosure worse, in order to prevent the President, or anyone else in the room with him, from being blackmailed by the Russians over this. The Russians have their own notes. Because they were allowed to bring a team from TASS with them as part of their delegation, and the TASS staffers brought their equipment, there is no way to be sure that the Russians don’t have recordings. My guess is that once it because clear to the IC folks in the know on this information that TASS had been there with their equipment and taken pictures, because the Russians released the pictures, a decision was made to try to mitigate the damage by leaking to the press ahead of the Russians. The leak is itself intended to inoculate and immunize the President and everyone else from the US side that was in the room so the Russians cannot hold this over their heads. Full stop.
Corner Stone
@Chet Murthy: People spend 8 to 10 hours a day on a Windows OS environment. If they own a personal pc they are not going home to a Linux OS. Their kids’ schools use Windows. Their parents have Windows PC’s. The neighborhood library uses Windows OS PC’s.
This is not a weird mystery.
Yarrow
Hello, jackals. Just checking in to say thanks to people who have been kind. Appreciate your thoughts.
This Trump Russia crap sure is hitting the fan. I’ve been saying it for months–they’re all going down. Trump, his cronies, family and top GOP leadership. They’re guilty as hell. Going. Down. Interesting to see things start moving in that direction. Going to be ugly.
Barbara
@Lizzy L: I don’t know the exact process but if the pope had objections to Gingrich they would have already voiced them. Usual suspect is a high profile Catholic who is either seriously wealthy or has some real Canon law chops — Mary Ann Glendon was GWB’s ambassador to the Vatican.
Jeffro
@Yarrow:
It’s always darkest before…it goes completely pitch black. And THEN the dawn!
Beginning of the end, indeed.
Another Scott
@Corner Stone: She and Jared are probably solving the incipient Ebola epidemic in DRC before heading to Saudi Arabia with Donnie on Friday to solve the problems there.
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
MomSense
@Yarrow:
You’ve been missed, Yarrow. Happy to see you here with us.
FlyingToaster
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
You have got to be fucking kidding me…
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, according to Jim, she probably was granted absolution. Which is so far beyond fucked up that I can’t even…
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I went to a Jesuit high school. I’m tracking.
Jeffro
@lamh36: I don’t want to speak for Adam but he has noted a few times how some folks may have agreed to serve to try and mitigate the damage in this administration. If they don’t serve, some lesser talent/lower-moral person will.
Barbara
@Corner Stone: She was at a Georgetown restaurant yesterday for Mother’s Day.
Adam L Silverman
@Adam L Silverman: I’ve updated the post with this comment up top.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: You understand that when we tell you to “Go fuck yourself,” we mean it with the best intentions. Seriously though, be well. If that includes being here, great. If it means not being here, that is cool as well Do what you need to do to be okay.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
alone?
Lizzy L
@Barbara: Under normal circumstances, yes. But nothing is normal with this administration. However, I think Callista is going to get what she wants.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott: I have that noted. But things have been so nuts I’m not sure I’m ever going to get through the backlog.
Gian
@Adam L Silverman:
the facts Trump only allowed Russian photographers in the event and the event was at Putin’s request might suggest that Trump is already owned by Putin
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/332866-trump-met-with-russian-foreign-minister-at-putins-request-report
Today I became genuinely concerned that domestic reporters will drink some poisoned Russian tea, or bounce into a sharp umbrella. I’m not certain about it, but I’m thinking it’s more possible than I’d like.
Lyrebird
@Corner Stone: Yep, miles more experience in government than some members of the Cabinet. I’ll go vomit…
Yarrow
@Jeffro: Yep. It’s going to be interesting to see how it’s all going down. If this blows up the GOP that’ll be a good thing in some ways but what it does to the country, I don’t know…
@MomSense: Thanks. I’m sorry to hear about your dad but glad the doctor doesn’t seem overly concerned. It’s tough stuff spending that much time in the hospital. How’s your mom doing? I remember she had some health incident a bit ago.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Corner Stone:
Well… that’s still better than, “He’s threatening to fee me to the dogs…”
trollhattan
@Yarrow:
Howdy!
Trump denies fan’s existence and therefore, any fecal material striking mythical “fan” has no bearing on his continued awesomeness.
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
I can see why the US IC would think that way but the Russians don’t need to go negative with 45. All they have to do is stroke his ego and guarantee the flow of money and he will do whatever they want.
Adam L Silverman
Hmmm…
dm
@MomSense: I’ve been away for a while. On the topic of “all these crises have been self-inflicted”, has anyone mentioned the ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, yet?
Fortunately, it’s in a remote, lowly-populated area. Fortunately, we have a vaccine.
Not looking forward to Trump dealing with this one, those “fortunately”s don’t protect the people of the region.
Mnemosyne
In case our resident computer nerds hadn’t heard about this in all of the rest of today’s excitement, Disney’s CEO announced that one of their summer films has been stolen by hackers and is being held for ransom. Disney told them to go fuck themselves.
ETA: Or, to be more specific, they echoed the Duke of Wellington’s publish and be damned! response to Harriette Wilson’s blackmail letter.
MomSense
@dm:
The media don’t care about Ebola anymore.
Lyrebird
@Yarrow:
Yes indeed, and may they spoil their own plans SOON before more innocents are harmed…
and hey, you keep on taking care of yourself, ‘kay?
FlyingToaster
@Corner Stone: Weird. Every working piece of equipment* in this house is from Apple; at school everything comes from either Apple or is a ChromeBook.
But I’m in the People’s Republic and WarriorGirl goes to a lefty private school.
* There are some powered down Windows boxes and one dual-boot laptop, all ancient. In 2002 I was able to reliably crash any Windows box within an hour just with my normal work. It takes me more than 6 hours to crash a Mac. And 10 to crash Linux, but I may not have a good [redacted] tool there, so it’s hard to get shit done.
Barbara
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: No!
Yarrow
@Corner Stone:
She’s probably hiding in hopes she won’t be part of the roundup when they come to arrest her criminal family.
Adam L Silverman
@Gian: Yep, several of us noted that last week.
As for US reporters, politicians, officials, and/or activists dropping, I think that is unlikely. If bodies start piling up it will be a whole different ball game.
MomSense
@Yarrow:
She had surgery two weeks ago but is doing really well. Thank you!
Another Scott
@Yarrow: Hey, Y. Good to see you.
Stick around. We need all the jackals we can get to fight Donnie and his minions. They’re not going anywhere willingly. Remember, he said, “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.” He doesn’t care about policy or people, he cares about the grift.
Cheers,
Scott.
amk
@Adam L Silverman: awww. I’ll miss his 24×7 scowl.
randy khan
@Chet Murthy:
And it’s not like Linux is the only alternative. There are these things called Macs out there, and I hear they’re pretty popular with the kids nowadays.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus:
Of course.
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
Hey, you! Glad to hear from you. Keep in touch.
amk
@dm: It’s all obama’s fault. There.
Corner Stone
@FlyingToaster: Yes, we have you on our clipboard as a registered badass when it comes to the whole cyber thing.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: Just making sure.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Adam L Silverman: My opinion of Gowdy just ticked up a small, small notch… it looks like he’s got the good sense to not take a big bite outta THAT steaming shit sandwich after all…
Corner Stone
@Yarrow: shuck-shuck.
lamh36
@Mnemosyne: i’ve been speculating that’s is the new Pirates movie…
Adam L Silverman
@MomSense: It isn’t just the President. LTG McMaster and Secretary Tillerson were in the room. Presumably several other senior staffers (for instance I would expect the Russia and Eurasian Senior Director and the Russia Director from the NSC) were in the room and likely some mid and junior level folks (note takers, someone to get/refresh drinks and other refreshments, etc). My understanding from reporting is that the President’s personal hitter, Keith Schiller, is always with him. Schiller has a history of financial irregularities and trouble despite a full retirement/pension from NYPD (estimated to be at 70% of his highest salary) plus whatever he made, year on year as a 6 figure employee of the President’s. Those are a lot of folks, with a lot of access, who would be compromised if the Russians decided they wanted to turn the screws.
EBT
@Chet Murthy: Cause most shit just doesn’t run on linux. Don’t even argue me about it I will send you off to at least three Google engineers and a Tivo engineer who all use flavors of *nix at work and home and they will tell you the same thing.
Not to mention even the easiest to learn flavors have shit all for actual support if you have a problem. When I was learning to use ubuntu I had to switch to a different box because my video card wasn’t supported for some arcane reason.
Omnes Omnibus
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Rats have good survival instincts.
randy khan
I just had one of my Republican Facebook friends (a true believer), who generally doesn’t comment on my posts, rail at me about my mild suggestion that people call their reps to say they’re concerned about the possibility the President revealed information that could jeopardize sources and methods. So I’m guessing that this is hitting home pretty hard in the hard-right community.
(He led with an allusion to Hillary’s emails, of course. I ignored it.)
Mnemosyne
@Gian:
From what more experienced people have said, it’s very unlikely that that would happen to an American-born reporter. Russian-born reporters like Masha Gessen and Julia Ioffe may want to hire food tasters, though.
Yarrow
@Another Scott: Thanks. They may not be going anywhere willingly, but go they will. If they have to be dragged out in handcuffs, that’s what will happen.
I’ve said several times that I think Trump will throw everyone under the bus, with the possible exception of Ivanka, before he leaves office. It’s going to be grimly entertaining to watch that happen.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Gian:
MIGHT SUGGEST?
I think we passed ‘might suggest’ a ways back…
I’d say Trump is a wholly owned subsidiary of Putin…
Another Scott
McClatchyDC:
Emphasis added.
Good, good. TV ads just put money in the pockets of huge companies that are opposed to sensible Democratic policies. It’s time we stopped rewarding them.
More please.
Cheers,
Scott.
guachi
I’m a Democrat.
I’m in the military.
I’m part of the IC.
My focus is ISIS.
I’m not even certain what I should think about what Trump did and how much of what I think is colored by the above four facts. All I know is tomorrow is going to be a mess at work.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Omnes Omnibus: Yup… Gowdy and Chaffetz… running for cover…
Omnes Omnibus
@Thru the Looking Glass…: You are unfamiliar with understatement?
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Thanks.
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
It could potentially be Cars 3 as well, but Pirates seems most likely. I guess we’ll find out at some point.
lamh36
I’m tired so i’m off to bed.
i’ll leave ya with this awesomely on point twitter thread from The Daily Show
https://twitter.com/thedailyshow/status/864244723464253440
And there’s reporting that Kushner was said to nebreally mad at Spicey about the WashPo story
Mike in NC
Not a completely terrible day. “2 Broke Girls” and several other deplorable TV shows have been canceled, per IMDB.
Another Scott
@lamh36: Nice, but the answer is … EVERY SINGLE DAY.
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus: He might be.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Yarrow:
I think it’s time to start a betting pool for all of this…
I’m gonna take the long, long odds on ‘Fleeing the country in the dead of night and going into exile, perhaps in Russia’… ’cause I CANNOT see Donnie allowing himself to be locked up in prison… just saying…
I would not be surprised if Trump’s legal team is currently trying to transfer assets (that can be moved) out of the country as quickly and inconspicuously as possible…
Adam L Silverman
@guachi: Just emailed you something both home and work emails.
Jeffro
@Yarrow:
I think that’s a spot-on analysis! I don’t even know about the “grimly” by that point. Watching everyone from Ryan to McConnell to his own voters (“Why haven’t you surrounded the White House to keep them from dragging me out in handcuffs?!?”) Everyone but Ivanka indeed.
Corner Stone
@Mike in NC: There was a pretty, dumb blonde and a sarcastic brunette with great cans.
It had to be a number #1 rated TV show. At least for a while.
Mnemosyne
Jesus, when The Virgin Ben is making sense …
dm
@lamh36: I think the Las Angeles Times agrees with you.
Yarrow
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Rumor had it that the Trump kids or organization (can’t remember now) was transferring money offshore last week.
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Gowdy is a pointy-headed Dixie version of Chaffetz. If that weasel took his name off the list then it has more to do with fear of getting caught up in something that’ll ruin his career (or worse) than anything resembling honor or principle. Possibly based on something he may already know that Nunes accidently let slip through in a hearing before he recused himself (or has since come out after Devin bowed out). It’s noteworthy only as a tea leaf suggestion that one rat is seeing water seeping through the timbers.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Omnes Omnibus: No… I’m just in not in the mood for understatement right now…
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Yarrow: Back into the Bank of Cyprus?
zhena gogolia
How did you know I watch this every day in a vain attempt to ignore reality?
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
@Mike in NC: Oh thank Christ. That show was an abomination. I don’t think I made it through a full episode, and I’m not highbrow.
Yarrow
@Jeffro: I think the “grimly” part, for me anyway, is what damage it could do to the country. If the entire top GOP leadership is taken out, along with the president, his advisers, many appointees, and his family, it’s going to be ugly for the country. Maybe it’s the thing we need to lance the boil of some of the festering ugliness that hides in the GOP.
Yarrow
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Doubt it. Thought I read something about the Caymans.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
Good to hear from you.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Yarrow:
From an article in Newsweek…
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Yarrow: Where was Manafort rumored to have laundered money?
(The Bank of Cyprus comment was meant to be snark… guess I should have put / in there somewhere…)
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: The Caymans reference was from an attorney named Sarah Smith who tweeted at both the President and the FBI the claim that she had done 4 forensic audits on Trump’s casinos and that if he doesn’t stop lying about Comey that she will disclose what she discovered. And that the FBI needs to look at banks and corporations in the Caymans regarding the President’s finances. There is no way to know if this is accurate.
ruemara
@Gin & Tonic: It left last week.
Since it’s OT here’s a pretty picture. I think it’s an orchid.
There’s more on my site.
I figured we could use a nature break. Plus, I need another camera body, so if you see an image you like, buy it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Thru the Looking Glass…: Whatever. Everyone is different and shitting on people’s coping mechanisms isn’t cool. If someone needs Nickelback to get through this, I will keep silent.
Jeffro
@Yarrow: Good point. Would do well for the Dems to keep putting the evidence of all this ‘festering ugliness’ in front of the country, so that everyone can see what the other side was up to.
I’ve been saying for a while that as naive as it sounds, a “truth and reconciliation” commission that covers everything in the 2016 election (which would include looking at Trump back into the 80s and Citizens United and the Mercers and the Gingrich/Delay era and on and on) is a good idea. At least give the country a shot at airing out its dirty laundry, so we can move forward.
Yarrow
@Steeplejack: Thanks. I hear you were a source for intel today. Congrats on the good work. Do they give you a snappy suit, a fancy car and a bunch of cool toys now?
Marcopolo
@Adam L Silverman: See my comment @ 179 in the last thread.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks. I knew I’d seen it somewhere.
Yarrow
@Jeffro:
Agreed. I’ve felt we have needed one for awhile as well. Maybe the 2016 election will lead to some good outcomes in the long run. Just need to keep as many people as possible from being hurt in the meantime.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Omnes Omnibus: Shitting on people’s coping mechanisms isn’t cool?
I have no idea what you’re talking about… what makes you think I’m shitting on your coping mechanisms?
Adam L Silverman
@Marcopolo: Tracking. I think the other thing is that it is now highly likely no one is getting confirmed any time soon. So it will drag on and on and on. And the Senate Democrats, both on and off the relevant committees, are going to go through every nominee with a fine tooth comb. As will the news media, except for FOX, Breitbart, Drudge, NRO, and the like. Even most honest people that don’t go looking for trouble aren’t going to come out of that looking good/unscathed.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: No worries. It all starts to blur together after a while…
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: The leaks are gushing like a firehose now. And the number of people who have jumped into the fray with supposed knowledge and expertise is just dizzying. I’m following along but it’s increasingly challenging.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: It is indeed.
MCA1
@BBA: Oh, he IS. That he doesn’t know it doesn’t change the fact.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
Naw, just happy to contribute my little tail-splat of mud to the giant beaver dam that is Balloon Juice. So to speak.
hovercraft
@Yarrow:
Welcome back, it’s great to hear from you!!
I know sometimes it’s all overwhelming, but coming here and fighting or commiserating with this unruly group of animals can be therapeutic.
Please keep in touch and don’t be a stranger. Take care of yourself, and if that means ignoring us all for a while I guess that’s okay too, just make sure to keep one of the FP’s updated.
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack: What did I miss while I was out? Dish the dirt!
hovercraft
@MomSense:
Glad to hear that. I hope that he and you have a comfortable night and that tomorrow brings better news.
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: I know it’s been said, but – glad to see you here.
Yarrow
@Steeplejack: That’s too bad. I was envisioning you with at least a Bond-esque car equipped with some fun toys. Bonus if Dame Judy Dench tells you what to do.
@hovercraft: Thanks! Appreciate your kind thoughts.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: On target, also when I’ve wanted to modify things on my Linux machine(actually a triple boot with Windows and Mac/OS), the first instruction I usually run across is “open a command prompt, type sudo…”, this won’t work with 95% or more of computer users.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Thank you.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Yarrow: Nice to see you commenting.
Steeplejack
@Adam L Silverman:
No biggie. Just mentioned this afternoon that something big might be dropping from the Post.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
No, on the old-school journo side they buy you a new pair of Clarks desert boots and offer to get your corduroy sportcoat pressed. And maybe replace the leather elbow patches.
MisterForkbeard
@?BillinGlendaleCA: As someone who’s been in Linux driver hell for the friendly install of Ubuntu on a pretty stock machine, it’s something I stay away from in most cases. Windows 10 does fine for me, most of the time.
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack: Okay. Well done.
Captain C
@MomSense: He could make that an epic disaster.
Steeplejack
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks.
Yarrow
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks.
@Steeplejack: Pshaw. That old school journo attire is just a cover.
Origuy
@Chet Murthy: Many businesses buy computers to run a specific application. Hospitals have a limited choice in the software they can use to manage patient records, pharmacies, etc. There are tailored applications for just about every business you can think of. And almost all of those run on Windows. The computers don’t get updated until the applications are certified on those systems, which is one reason you see businesses running Windows XP. The applications they’ve built their businesses around may not have updated; they may no longer be supported.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
Shh. You’ll give it away.
ETA: Actually, the old-school journo look segues seamlessly into clueless old fart, so there’s that.
Captain C
@Adam L Silverman:
That said, it also, incidentally, feeds further the narrative that the President and those close to him are Russian stooges.
Raoul
Presidential call to King Abdullah of Jordan popped up for schedule tomorrow morning. Hmmm….
…
@Captain C: also feeds the narrative that this admin is just poo flinging incompetents lead by the tantruming child in chief.
Captain C
@FlyingToaster: She did manage to “convert” Newt, which may qualify as a miracle.
Morzer
To me it looks more likely that someone in the intelligence community wanted to make sure that this sort of idiocy never happens again, even though it’s far too late for that. I don’t think the aim is to immunize Trump from blackmail at all. If the Russians want to blackmail him, they surely have better material than Dumbass Donnie’s Oval Office Loose Lips – and they got what they wanted from this episode, which was a clear demonstration to the rest of the world that POTUS is ignorant, unreliable and indiscreet to the point where no ally will be eager to share anything like valuable intelligence for the foreseeable future. I suspect that even the intelligence community is completely unprepared for just how compromised and cowardly the GOP are in the face of a Russian owned president, so that future may be quite a long one.
Vhh
@MomSense: No, he is not up to that. He is what the Russians call a poleznij furak, a useful idiot. It is not a term of affection or respect.
villiageidiocy
@ruemara: Not an orchid. In the Araceae – philodendron family.