Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Caitlin Johnson — The Big Fat Compendium Of Russiagate Debunkery


Calling BS.

Medium
The Big Fat Compendium Of Russiagate Debunkery
Caitlin Johnson
ht Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism

18 comments:

Kaivey said...

Good article. I pinned it to my start screen.

MRW said...

Here's the abbreviated version, Kaivey:

1. There is no proof.

2. The NSA could at any time provide public proof of Russian hacking without compromising any intelligence sources, and yet they don’t.

3. This is all coming from the same people who told us, incorrectly, that Russia hacked the French election.

4. The “17 intelligence agencies” narrative was a lie.

5. The CrowdStrike report on the alleged DNC hack is extremely suspect.

6. There’s no good reason to believe the Russians (or anyone) hacked Podesta’s emails, either.

7. Many experts are highly doubtful of the hacking narrative.

8. Also worth noting: the CIA is known to have actively cultivated the ability to forge signs of Russian cyber intrusions.

9. The Democrats are flat-out lying when they say the WikiLeaks emails didn’t contain anything incriminating.

10. This hilarious three-minute video, comprised entirely of mainstream media clips.

11. Even if Russia did hack the Democratic party, that doesn’t justify all the hysteria and McCarthyism that has engulfed America today.

12. The Clinton camp was building the Russia narrative long before it was sold to the public, and long before allegations of Trump-Russia election collusion surfaced.

13. Hillary Clinton was pushing for escalations with Russia throughout the entirety of her campaign, long before any leak drops or hacking allegations.

14. The US power establishment stands everything to gain by lying to the American people about Russia.

15. This is the same power establishment that lied to us about WMDs.

16. The US power establishment is lying about the threat Putin poses.

17. The US power establishment is lying about Syria.

18. The US power establishment has an extensive history of using lies, propaganda and false flags to manufacture support for immoral acts of military aggression.

19. This epic Twitter rant by the dude with the accurate username deserves its own entry.

20. Even stalwart establishment Democrats are openly acknowledging that there is no proof of Trump-Russia collusion.

21. The Trump-Russia collusion narrative makes no sense.

22. Russiagate can be used to leverage Trump into acting in alignment with establishment interests.

23. Russiagate can get us all killed.

24. The xenophobia is getting scary.

25. The McCarthyism is disgusting.

26. Hillary has plenty of Russian ties herself.

27. This video of Russiagaters demonstrating with their own words that their schtick arises not from facts or logic, but from a cultish, faith-based belief system.

Detroit Dan said...

Thanks MRW. That was a fat compendium -- but very well done.

She convinced me that Russiagate is a national mania, on a par with the McCarthyite era of the 1950s and the 2003 war in Iraq. Vietnam in 1965 is probably also a valid comparison.

It's understandable, to some extent, in that Trump is such an extreme buffoon. But the stakes are too high to lazily accept the bogus narrative.

MRW said...

Detroit Dan,

It's understandable, to some extent, in that Trump is such an extreme buffoon.

DD, no “extreme buffoon” could have pulled off in life what Trump did. Neither the wealth nor capturing the presidency from a dead halt out of the shadows.

I lived in Manhattan and watched him close up for two decades. He grasped the power of media the instant media regulations in place since 1934 that protected and served the public were abandoned in 1985 and became entertainment (infotainment)—the shitty legacy of a shot-in-the-head Reagan. He was out every night milking it. He didn’t drink. He didn’t take drugs. He was focused.

You need to give the man his due.

Extreme buffoon is not one of them.

Peter Pan said...

Compared to Pence, Trump is a buffoon. There is an expectation as to how a president should conduct himself, and Pence knows how to play the part.

Trump is an entertainer, an actor. His behavior as POTUS might be respected if there was substance in his vision or policies. But Trump is all style and no substance. Even Ronald Reagan was an intellectual compared to this clown.

You need to give the man his due.

As in respect?
Trump has earned my contempt. He ran for president, made a bunch of promises, and failed to deliver them. Just another phony playing the field. When I look at his public life, I see a series of embellished "accomplishments". The guy is a fake and a flake.

MRW said...

He ran for president, made a bunch of promises, and failed to deliver them.

How do you know? He was inaugurated Jan 20th or 21st, 2017. I was a two-term Obama voter. He didn't deliver. But I didn't foresee that. U.n.f.o.r.t.u.n.a.t.e.l.y.

MRW said...

So, you give US presidents five months to prove themselves to you?

Tough task master.

Noah Way said...

This thread is a vivid example of how distraction works. Instead of discussing the issue (the new McCarthyism as a tool to advance specific interests), the thread devolves into a debate on Trump's intelligence (or lack thereof). The other common feint is partisanship, which also serves the purpose of divide and conquer. By keeping people at each other's throats we don't unite against the system.

Tom Hickey said...

Compared to Pence, Trump is a buffoon. There is an expectation as to how a president should conduct himself, and Pence knows how to play the part.

Who won the election?

I agree with MRW that characterizing DJT as a buffoon is nonsense. People are confusing this with being an asshole.

Many people that didn't grow up in NYC, or live there for a considerable time, regard New Yorkers as assholes, or would if they encountered them. It's difficult to be successful in an environment of assholes without either being an asshole or being able to impersonate one as needed. Trump is a "complete asshole," "total asshole," and "perfect asshole" in this regard.

In his world, it is a feature rather than a bug. And he has the trophies to prove it, the presidency being the cherry on top.

Pence is actually the buffoon, along with the rest of them that DJT wiped the floor with before they knew what hit them. That's high New York style.

Detroit Dan said...

Trump strikes me as a buffoon, but I suppose that is a matter of personal taste.

I do think Bernie Sanders was correct when he opined that Trump is a pathological liar. That's a big part of the ongoing circus, although it's not just Trump but a natural outgrowth of the Republican modus operandi going back quite some time.

Tom Hickey said...

I do think Bernie Sanders was correct when he opined that Trump is a pathological liar.

All politicians have to be willing to lie. Persuasion is the art of lying. And politics is persuasion when candidates have to stand for election and reelection.

Persuasion is also necessary in governing.

Politics is also about ideology and addressing interest and identity groups. In this kind of game honesty is the booby prize.

Some now doubt that Trump was the "master persuader" that some took him for.

I don't see that as being the case, since he persuaded his base to come out for him and polling seems to show that they are still behind him, recognizing that he is under attack by the Democrats, liberal press, and cuck Republicans, as they expected he would be.

Moreover, if DJT can wither the barrage and not be removed from office (it is doubtful he would ever throw in the towel and resign), the opposition will eventually be viewed as the assholes.

2020 is long way off but asking the question now whether DJT could be elected, I would put him as the odds on favorite, since there is no one on the horizon that take the GOP base and the Democrats are hopelessly divided and many want Bernie to start a third party.

Peter Pan said...

MRW, when a president doesn't deliver anything in the first 100 days, it is time for the cold shoulder. Waiting 6+ years for Obama to do something should teach you something.

Tom, Trump was pitted against right-wing lunatics and GWB's autistic brother. Then he was pitted against a war-mongering crook who still won the popular vote. That doesn't impress me one bit and I don't know why it would impress anyone.

Trump's base are going to get fucked over until 2020 or 2024. The choice is theirs, if they insist on being true believers.

With Trump out of the way, Republicans can implement their agenda. The downside is they will have to own up to the consequences of their policies. For now, they can hide behind the circus that occupies the White House.

Peter Pan said...

This thread is a vivid example of how distraction works. Instead of discussing the issue (the new McCarthyism as a tool to advance specific interests), the thread devolves into a debate on Trump's intelligence (or lack thereof). The other common feint is partisanship, which also serves the purpose of divide and conquer. By keeping people at each other's throats we don't unite against the system.

Then cease being distracted by false 'billionaire saviors' and begin the process of building a grassroots movement. The 'two cheeks of the same ass' party system in the US cannot be reformed.

MRW said...

Pence is actually the buffoon, along with the rest of them that DJT wiped the floor with before they knew what hit them.

Brilliance. Could not agree more. Pence is a padded room for the Southern Evangelicals.

MRW said...

Bob, so who picked Pence?

MRW said...

MRW, when a president doesn't deliver anything in the first 100 days, it is time for the cold shoulder.

Says who? You? We don’t have the parliamentary system in this country, bub. The US President has NO control over the US Congress. Even though he is (so-called) ‘head of government’, he has no control other than the right to reject House and Senate passed rules into law. And persuasion aforethought. Our US President does have powers your Canadian Prime Minister does not have because our US President is also Head of State. Your Head of State is the Queen. Not your current ex-French drama teacher.

Trump was pitted against right-wing lunatics and GWB's autistic brother.

”GWB's autistic brother?” You mean Jeb? He was the smartest of the bunch, imo. But Trump erased him with the ‘low-energy Bush’ remark. Destroyed Jeb Bush with that one remark. Wiped him out of the race. Characterized him forevermore. Although, the Trump comment I loved the best was when Jeb puffed his chest about his mother Barbara and how strong she was in some regard (forget the actual phrase) and Trump fired back that she should be running for president, not Jeb. I thought it was fucking brilliant. It was an instantaneous remark from Trump, and showed his quick mind.

Peter Pan said...

So who picked Pence?

The Republican establishment. He was their gift to Trump.

The US President has NO control over the US Congress. Even though he is (so-called) ‘head of government’, he has no control other than the right to reject House and Senate passed rules into law.

A republican president has no control over a majority republican House and a majority republican Senate? Or vice versa?
By that standard, Obama is not to blame because he failed to 'control' the Dem majorities in the Congress. Of course, he also failed to INFLUENCE, let alone TRY to get progressive legislation passed. 'Hope and change' was a con back then, and 'making America great again' is a con right now.

Our US President does have powers your Canadian Prime Minister does not have because our US President is also Head of State. Your Head of State is the Queen. Not your current ex-French drama teacher.

A Canadian PM has more power than a US President. The PMO (Prime Minister's Office) has more unofficial power than Ministers of Parliament or even the caucus. If Obama had had that kind of power, he still wouldn't have pushed for the 'change' that got him elected. He was a corporate tool from the beginning.

Trump is on record holding contradictory positions on many issues. He's in favor of single payer and he's not. He claimed the deficit can and cannot be ignored. He wants to have better relations with Russians and put Iran in its place.

Trump is consistent in his bigotry, I will grant him that. During the campaign he made a series of vile and bigoted pronouncements. Once in office, he attempted to impose a travel ban that continues to be rejected on constitutional grounds. Not even a Canadian PM could get away with that.

You mean Jeb? He was the smartest of the bunch, imo. But Trump erased him with the ‘low-energy Bush’ remark. Destroyed Jeb Bush with that one remark. Wiped him out of the race. Characterized him forevermore.

As I said, style over substance. It appears you approve of style over substance. So does the Chump Nation.

Peter Pan said...

Here is Canada's version of style over substance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlBiGylBzLo

Mulroney won the election in part because of this exchange. He went on to be the biggest patronage appointer of his time...