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PoliGAF 2017 |OT1| From Russia with Love

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Not CNN, and not a map, but presumably it's this one?

16299484_10158202355290008_366982547584853266_n.jpg


(Via Mayim Bialik's Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MissMayim/...54396735007/10158202355290008/?type=3&theater )

Meanwhile...

Kennedy, not Trump, will determine the Supreme Court’s future
Not that I like Kennedy all that much, but I don't think he wants Trump to pick his successor.

If Kasich or Bush were president, or Pence somehow, sure, maybe. Probably even.

Keep in mind Kennedy's biggest legacy is LGBT rights, and Trump's supposed nominee wants to criminalize gay sex.
 
I think that map was showing American deaths from individuals originating in those countries as opposed to the outright number of terrorist agents in those nations. If it was the latter the seven banned nations would have numbers far higher than zero.


ah yes those were the numbers

lack of sleep it is almost 5am

so drained fuck Trump.
 

BowieZ

Banned
Can anyone help me come up with and perfect a glossary of these neo-Orwellian/Putin-like doublespeak and directives we've encountered over the last week and few months? For example:

DOUBLESPEAK

Alternative Fact - falsehood derived from poor (or no) research

American Carnage - fantasy-based exaggeration of the plight of rust-belt workers as a nation-wide existential crisis

Deplorable - (ironic use) -

Fair Press - subtle denigration of the Free Press that implies the Free Press is not "Free" of bias

Keep America Safe - slogan that encourages the ignoring of statistics that prove terrorism kills few while gun homicides continue to kill about 15,000 a year

Liberal Media -

Patriot - believer in American exceptionalism at the expense of matters of the Constitution or historical knowledge and context

SJW (Social Justice Warrior) -

Snowflake/Leftie/____ - pejorative term for left-wing voter


DIRECTIVES

Causing Political Polarisation - deliberately espousing radical and often racist nationalist rhetoric that both delights (those who have ignorant, isolationist worldviews) and shocks (those who

Maligning the Constitutionally-Enshrined Free Press -

Cultivating an Alternative Press (that initially falsely asserts to be unbiased) as a 'solution' to the Free Press -

Gaslighting - confusing the public with simultaneous lies, half-truths, and truth (e.g. calling for a Muslim ban, implementing one, saying it's not a Muslim ban, saying it's going well when the world disagrees), in an attempt to make intelligent citizens question their intelligence

Shock-and-Awe Policy-making - enacting executive orders at a record, almost hourly pace, to overwhelm intelligent citizens who diligently investigate each action


There's so many more it's so hard to even know where to start.

EDIT: Well, this will help. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak

Any others?
 

kirblar

Member
SJW isn't doublespeak, it's just conservatives taking a term with a moderately useful purpose and ruining it because they're awful.
 

BowieZ

Banned
SJW isn't doublespeak, it's just conservatives taking a term with a moderately useful purpose and ruining it because they're awful.
This didn't happen out of coincidence. Breitbart/Bannon, Trump and Spencer, and the like, propagated that terminology intentionally.

And yes, it's doublespeak. Doublespeak are words that are used as a political tool to diminish the actions of the combatant (in this case, the evil "leftie"). In this case, "Social Justice Warrior" employs the ad hominem fallacy to help the extremist dismiss outright the message being conveyed by the combatant.
 

Chumley

Banned
Morning Joe right now is like something out of a Tom Clancy film where everything is going to shit. David Ignacius saying every single military source he has told him this does not make America safer and is the best recruitment tool for ISIS imaginable, John Meechum saying historically this approach has never worked for a President, and Mark Halperin just flat out pissed off about the entire thing.
 

sazzy

Member

Pixieking

Banned
This is interesting...

I don't think it's as suspect as it sounds (or at least, for Trump), but...

C3aX9UdXUAAVghB.jpg


C3aX9UbWQAAhDIO.jpg



Commodities | Wed Jan 25, 2017 | 12:05pm EST:
How Russia sold its oil jewel: without saying who bought it

More than a month after Russia announced one of its biggest privatizations since the 1990s, selling a 19.5 percent stake in its giant oil company Rosneft, it still isn't possible to determine from public records the full identities of those who bought it.

Side-effect of trying to find out about this: Remember that fake news isn't always a Right Wing attack on the Left, it's also occasionally about giving the Left what it wants, in the hope that anger will dissipate or protests won't occur. "Oh, look, Trump has been caught red-handed doing something... I don't need to protest about it now that it's being fixed."

Also:

Twitter Activist Security - Guidelines for safer resistance

the grugq Information Security Researcher :: PGP 0xDB60C7B9BD531054

Many people are starting to get politically active in ways they fear might have negative repercussions for their job, career or life. It is important to realise that these fears are real, but that public overt resistance is critical for political legitimacy. This guide hopes to help reduce the personal risks to individuals while empowering their ability to act safely.

I am not an activist, and I almost certainly don't live in your country. These guidelines are generic with the hope that they will be useful for a larger number of people.
 

sazzy

Member
Donald "small hands" Trump is gonna be extra stupid today, considering the thrashing he is getting pretty much everywhere.
 

BowieZ

Banned
This is interesting...

I don't think it's as suspect as it sounds (or at least, for Trump), but...

[/IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3aX9UdXUAAVghB.jpg[/IMG]

[/IMG]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3aX9UbWQAAhDIO.jpg[/IMG]

Commodities | Wed Jan 25, 2017 | 12:05pm EST:
How Russia sold its oil jewel: without saying who bought it

Side-effect of trying to find out about this: Remember that fake news isn't always a Right Wing attack on the Left, it's also occasionally about giving the Left what it wants, in the hope that anger will dissipate or protests won't occur. "Oh, look, Trump has been caught red-handed doing something... I don't need to protest about it now that it's being fixed."

Also:

Twitter Activist Security - Guidelines for safer resistance
A helpful Infographic about the "Matryoshka"-style ownership structure of the stakeholders:

RUSSIA-ROSNEFT-PRIVATISATION-01.jpg


Courtesy of the Reuters link.

The Singapore-registered investment vehicle that holds the newly privatized 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft is called QHG Shares. It is owned by a London-registered limited liability partnership, QHG Investments, which in turn lists as one of its two owners another London-registered limited liability partnership, QHG Holding, created on Dec. 5.

One of the partners in QHG Holding is QHG Cayman Limited, registered at an address of the Cayman Islands office of Walkers, an international law firm.

Jack Boldarin, Walkers managing partner in London, told Reuters the law firm would not be able to confirm whether any company was its client, or comment further.

The use of an offshore company is by itself no indication of wrongdoing, but it can make it impossible to determine the true owner of an asset from public records.

The Singapore vehicle is also the borrower for Intesa's 5.2 billion euro loan, and QHG Holdings, the London partnership that includes the Cayman Islands firm, is a guarantor of that debt.

Banking experts say Intesa would be required by "know your customer" rules to verify the borrowers' identities. Regulators would exercise heightened scrutiny because of the size of the deal and the need to comply with sanctions on Russia.

Reuters asked Intesa whether it knew who the beneficial owners of the Cayman company were. The bank replied with a statement: "Intesa Sanpaolo does not comment on the details of its client operations. But we wish to reiterate that the financing was completed with strict adherence to the regulations applicable to embargoes. Italian authorities found nothing that would prohibit such an operation."

The Italian central bank, which serves as Italy's banking regulator, declined to comment.

(For a graphic showing the ownership of the privatized stake, click on: tmsnrt.rs/2jJvBpk )

MYSTERY FINANCING

If the full identity of the new owners of the Rosneft stake is a mystery, so too is the complete source of the funds with which they bought it.

Although Qatar has never publicly confirmed how much it has contributed to the deal or the size of the stake that it bought, Glencore and Rosneft say it contributed 2.5 billion euros. Along with the 300 million from Glencore and the 5.2 billion loaned by Intesa, that still leaves a shortfall of 2.2 billion euros.

Glencore has said this additional money came from other, undisclosed banks, including Russian banks, but has given no further details. The Qataris and Rosneft have declined to comment on the source of this funding.

The purpose of Russia's privatization program is to attract overseas money to cover a budgetary shortfall caused by low oil prices and Western sanctions.
 
How does Spicer have this job? There are a tens of thousands of Republicans out there that can spin Trump's bullshit so much better than this
 

Chumley

Banned
"It was only 109 people who cares" referring to green card confusion

"This was all Obama's idea" again

"Steve Bannon has extensive military experience" right that's totally why he's on the council

Spicer sucks

MARK HALPERIN I just don't understand why this is such a problem help me understand break it down for me

MARK HALPERIN

lmao
 
Buck stops with Trump though

Spineless fuck Scarborough still refuses to place blame directly at Trump for anything. Last week he put it all on Sean Spicer, this week it's all on Stephen Miller.

Yeah, we're supposed to believe Miller went rogue and bossed around the federal government.

Donald J. TrumpVerified account
‏@realDonaldTrump
Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....

Donald J. TrumpVerified account
‏@realDonaldTrump
protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 5m5 minutes ago
There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!
 

Chumley

Banned
Joe is completely losing his shit about Stephen Miller as if Trump will actually throw him under the bus over this. He won't. Save your breath dude.
 

Pixieking

Banned
This is not true. For instance, the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 240 Marines was committed by an Iranian national. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombings

Hmmm... See my point about Left Wing fake news. It sounds awesome saying "Oh, Trump is wrong about all this", but maybe people shouldn't let feel-good stats get in the way of facts?

Though, to be fair, it's not like the Right has those kinds of compunctions - stretching the truth to make a point is pretty much all the Right Wing media does nowadays.
 

BowieZ

Banned
Okay. I seriously need help:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/...jgv9SJfLgxqSYxkeSaMZcdfyZ9pjOKWtT0agoiZS8xAU=

This is the legal document filed in London on the 4th Jan, 2017, signing some sort of change of ownership for the QHG Holding LLP (and its partner QHG Cayman Limited) mentioned above, and it's signed by Shiekh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority (who, interestingly enough, in December promised to invest $10 billion in US infrastructure projects)...

There's all sorts of other names involved here, including:


Steven Manning - Director of Cayman Islands Walkers Global (where QHG Cayman Limited registered)

Braden Sheps - Latham & Watkins 99 Bishopsgate, London 020 7710 3041
who formally registered a charge 3/1/17

signed James Lawlett 4/1/17 (not sure if just Govt. House clerk)
signed Ann Nasm/Nasit?
noticed: Yuriy Shpek at Glencore UK
Witness: Freddie Shanagher - 1 Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ, Trainee Solicitor

Intesa SanPaolo SPA London Branch
Michele Mattana
44 20 7651 3000
90 Queen Street, London EC4N 1SA, Fax: 44 207 651 3200

And here's the original filing when it was originally Klavak (misspelled as Klevex) LLP, names including:

Glencore UK - Nick Reid filed initial Klevex LLP (Nick's profile: https://opencorporates.com/officers/192750576 - works at Asteri Capital, which is part of Glencore UK in some way, formerly known as Glencore Advisory Services Ltd)

Glencore UK involvement terminated Dec 30 by Latham & Watkins LLP

EDIT: There's also PLEVEX, also owned by Glencore & Glencore UK, registered here: https://www.companies-register.com/plevex-llp-OC414946

Further information here.

Public records in Singapore show that Russia's second-largest bank, state-controlled VTB, loaned the Singapore vehicle QHG Shares (the subsidiary of QHG Holdings and its partner QHG Cayman Limited) the full 10.2 billion euros that it paid to the Russian state last month to buy the stake.

VTB held the 19.5 percent Rosneft stake as collateral for that loan for part of December, before relinquishing it back to Rosneft's state-owned parent company Rosneftegaz, which in turn relinquished it back to the Singapore vehicle when Intesa's loan arrived in January.

VTB and Rosneft say VTB's role in the deal was solely to reduce market turbulence which would have arisen if the 10.2 billion euros had arrived abruptly from abroad to be converted to roubles on the open market.

Apart from saying that its role was to reduce market volatility, VTB declined to comment further, including when asked if the full 10.2 billion euros was paid back, or by whom.
 

gaugebozo

Member
Hmmm... See my point about Left Wing fake news. It sounds awesome saying "Oh, Trump is wrong about all this", but maybe people shouldn't let feel-good stats get in the way of facts?

Though, to be fair, it's not like the Right has those kinds of compunctions - stretching the truth to make a point is pretty much all the Right Wing media does nowadays.
Yeah. One of the things that makes it difficult with Trump is that nobody's really sure where the line is with him. Obamacare has death panels? Obviously fake news. Donald Trump sleeps naked in an oxygen tent which he believes gives him sexual powers? Hmmmm...
 
Honestly

The Dems have been trash. They need to do more.
Hmm... Right now, I think there's a fair bit of wisdom in having them keep their heads down. Without a firm opposition to lash out at, the administration seems to be twisting in the wind. Our side is fired up, and theirs is noticeably absent.
 
This is not true. For instance, the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 240 Marines was committed by an Iranian national. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombings

The chart is clearly about Americans killed by terrorists in the domestic U.S., not those abroad (even if technically on U.S. because it's an embassy or base or whatever)

It's a little disingenuous given what you and others have posted (it would also ignore non-deaths like the Iranian hostage crisis), but it isn't necessarily untrue (just not totally clear)

I prefer the one that compares # of deaths due to terrorism with other factors, such as the infamous armed toddler epidemic in this country.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
The thing that makes no sense from Spicer's argument is that if it was a national security issue, you tell the DHS. They didn't even know about it.
 

Teggy

Member
Scarborough met with Trump this weekend and this morning blames Miller for everything. I guess dad gave him his marching orders.
 

Pixieking

Banned
Yeah. One of the things that makes it difficult with Trump is that nobody's really sure where the line is with him. Obamacare has death panels? Obviously fake news. Donald Trump sleeps naked in an oxygen tent which he believes gives him sexual powers? Hmmmm...

I find your avatar quite apt here. :p

They're being smart and letting this play out as the US vs Trump and not a partisan battle.

Plenty of Dems have spoken out against this.

Yeah, this is the kind of thing that ought to have happened during the campaign, but the electorate were lazy, or maybe just unthinking. "US vs Trump" is what should've happened with Pussygate, with him not paying his contractors, with his taxes, with Hillary's Deplorables comment being taken-up as a call to arms against Trump and his White Nationalist supporters.

Finally the electorate is being woke to what Trump represents... It's just 12 weeks too late.
 

Chumley

Banned
Scarborough met with Trump this weekend and this morning blames Miller for everything. I guess dad gave him his marching orders.

That's exactly what it is. How the fuck MSNBC justifies keeping him on with such blatant conflicts of interest I don't understand.
 
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