There's a difference between being stupid and not knowing that something is illegal. It's not like campaign finance laws are something one should know as a matter of common sense. — Michael
We are being threatened in a very distinct way. The infrastructure of the society is under threat — the procedures that shape government, the credibility of information, the privacy rules that make deliberation possible. And though the Chinese government does not play a big role here, it represents a similar sort of threat — to our intellectual infrastructure, the intellectual property rights that organize innovation.
It is as if somebody is inserting acids into a body that eats away at the ligaments and the tendons.
These forces are motivated by self-interest, but their common feature is an operational nihilism. They are trying to sow disorder at the foundation of society. The goal is not really to convert anybody to a cause; it is to create cynicism and disruption that will open up the space to grab what you want to grab. They rig the system and then tell everybody, “The system is rigged!” And therefore, all values are suspended. Everything is permitted.
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The system more or less held this time. But that’s just because people around Trump often refused to do what he told them to do. And we happened to have Robert Mueller, who seems to be a fair referee.
The Justice Department has not been defended from political assault. William Barr’s news conference before the report’s release eroded any claim to impartiality and trustworthiness.
Trump doesn’t seem to have any notion of loyalty to an office. All power in his eye is personal power, and the government is there to serve his Sun God self. He’ll continue to trample the proper systems of government.
It’s easy to recognize when you are attacked head-on. But the U.S. is being attacked from below, at the level of the foundations we take for granted 1. — David Brooks
That's right, before 2015 Putin wouldn't have time to speak to a egoistic American millionaire.Now it's a bit different.I don’t think Trump picked up the phone to Putin — Wayfarer
I assume Assange, Glenn's old buddy, thinks the same.Glenn Greenwald: Mueller "obliterated" Russia conspiracy theory. — fishfry
Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stoalen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that member of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.
Had Trump and his team been professional or diligent (I read a quote that ‘Donald doesn’t do “diligence”‘) then they would have knocked back any approaches from Russia or anything that suggested it. But they let it slip, because Trump and his team were sloppy. — Wayfarer
They were trying to build a Trump building even as the election campaign was going on. — ssu
I assume Assange, Glenn's old buddy, thinks the same. — ssu
Mueller found no collusion and no obstruction — fishfry
Oh I've listened to Mr Greenwald. Not only commenting this issue, but also how Mr. Greenwald defends the Venezuelan regime and how it hasn't done much wrong, but how evil Americans are the real culprit of everything bad that has happened in the country.Isn't that what you high-toned philosophers call an ad hominem? If you chose to, you could read what Greenwald wrote and challenge his substantive points. But why bother? — fishfry
From its hawkish immigration crackdown, to its support of Saudi Arabia even after details of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder came to light, the Trump administration has mired itself in countless scandals that a younger Greenwald might have sought to expose. But the gadfly who now calls Brazil his home has reserved his powder for attacks on the Democratic Party and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, in a quest to draw “attention to things that were being overlooked.”
“Obviously the people who engage in money laundering and tax fraud and the like belong in prison, and I am happy Paul Manafort is there,” said Greenwald. But The Intercept founder says there are “tons” of Trump’s policies he agrees with, such as the president’s stance on Russia and NATO.
On the question of whether the Russians are behind the hacks, I think the officials provided a lot of detail about who did it and how they know. Even though there are no underlying documents, you have to essentially believe that Mueller invented it or fabricated it, which I do not think is likely. I do regard the Mueller indictment as some evidence, not conclusive, but at least some evidence finally that the Russians are involved, but that doesn’t say the extent to which Putin was involved, let alone the extent to which Trump officials are criminally implicated.
I don’t think there can be any question that the most significant finding has to be about the allegations that kicked off the entire saga almost three years ago, which was the two-pronged conspiracy theory that Donald Trump worked with, coordinated, collaborated and conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election and that Donald Trump is captive to Vladimir Putin as a result of a variety of blackmail, leverage and other forms of links that allow the Kremlin to dictate to the White House what it is that they’re supposed to do.
Great answer.You complain about people not reading Greenwald but Mueller had described several instances of what could be considered obstruction and yet this is your take away. Have you read it? It's because a sitting president cannot be indicted that Mueller doesn't reach conclusions with respect to obstruction. Here's a nice visual that shows at least 4 instances described by Mueller are basically hard evidence of obstruction: — Benkei
You complain about people not reading Greenwald but Mueller had described several instances of what could be considered obstruction and yet this is your take away. Have you read it? It's because a sitting president cannot be indicted that Mueller doesn't reach conclusions with respect to obstruction. Here's a nice visual that shows at least 4 instances described by Mueller are basically hard evidence of obstruction: — Benkei
How does it work for a Dutchman?I've decided to stop arguing with this point. - like I say ... keep it up till election day. See how it works out for you. — fishfry
Bashing? My point is that journalists have to pick their sides. Not always, but especially when the issue is a hugely political one. When they don't behave so, it's actually their readers/followers and fanbase that are the most wrathful, hence the readers are the ones forcing the journalist to pick one side and the narrative of that side.Several more paragraphs of Greenwald bashing hardly bear on the topic at hand. — fishfry
Mueller found no collusion and no obstruction — fishfry
Just saying, impeachment is looking better and better every day. — VagabondSpectre
"Unfortunately, our Western partners led by the United States do not want to agree on common approaches to solving problems," Lavrov continued, accusing Washington and its allies of trying to "preserve their centuries-old domination in world affairs despite objective trends in forming a polycentric world order." He argued that these efforts were "contrary to the fact that now, purely economically and financially, the United States can no longer—singlehandedly or with its closest allies—resolve all issues in the global economy and world affairs.
"In order to artificially retain their dominance, to regain indisputable positions, they employ various methods of pressure and blackmail to coerce economically and through the use of information,". — Sergey Lavrov
On the one hand Trump believes that Russia supports him, and on the other hand Russia uses his buffoonery to question the ability of the U.S to remain the political leader of the free world. — VagabondSpectre
It's beyond pathetic — Wayfarer
I still think (and hope) it's possible that Trump is forced out or chooses to resign, but absent that, it's desperately important that the Democratic Party selects the best possible candidate and runs the best possible campaign. (One thing to take solace in, is that there are now quite a few conservatives in the media (including ex-Republican party members) who are throwing their weight behind getting Trump out (if you haven't already, you've got to read Rick Wilson's columns/ — Wayfarer
It seems obvious to me that Russian wanted to see Trump elected because they knew he would be an utter disaster for US politics. And they got that right! — Wayfarer
It's astonishing me how many people are hanging on to this. Let's just say I disagree. — fishfry
Ah! I get it. The retreat to "every political issue is just campaign babble"-argument. — ssu
Muller explicitly stated in the report that the report does not exonerate the president of obstruction (if he found no obstruction, this would not have been stated). He did clear Trump of collusion, but not obstruction. — VagabondSpectre
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