Dangerous Memes By Walrus.

The "Birther" meme attached to President Obama was a cleverly crafted and slimy attempt to derail his Presidential campaign. While it developed a life of its own after his inauguration it never was going to be a call to action by patriots. The Trump - Russia meme in my opinion is a much more serious information operation because it is designed to question the legitimacy of a President Trump defence and foreign policy actions.

To put that another way, this IO is not political point scoring, its attempting to influence U.S. foreign and defence policy in a very direct way - precluding a whole raft of policy options related to normalizing relations with Russia, winding back NATO expansion and other areas that I don't even know about. I don't know if this is against the law or not.

CNN  has just led with a story that the intelligence community presented Trump with a dossier alleging five years work by the Russian Government to both compromise Trump and promote his presidential prospects and allege collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian Government. 

"....(CNN)Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.

The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegations came, in part, from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative, whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible. The FBI is investigating the credibility and accuracy of these allegations, which are based primarily on information from Russian sources, but has not confirmed many essential details in the memos about Mr. Trump...."

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/donald-trump-intelligence-report-russia/index.html

 

Buzzfeed obligingly then leaks all 35 pages of the alleged "Memos" on which the summary is allegedly based, that go into scatalogical detail about Trump in Russia.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia?utm_term=.pkOOrazq7#.oc4JGA7v2

 

Folks, to me, it doesn't seem to me that American politics can get more surreal. I don't think I've seen more flaky conglomerations passing as intelligence summaries, ever..... and CNN apparently bought it,..... and the liberal media follow suit. Trump wanted to defile the bed that President Obama slept in at a hotel in Moscow, so he arranged a sex party???

The Alt right are now digging and it seems that at least the plot for that particular memo ( the sex party one) was fed by a prankster to one DNC operative Wilson, who appears to have run with it. CNN,  Fake News all of the time. 

I'm half a world away in opposite time zones, please tell us what your morning brings... It seems to me that a "Trump the Traitor" meme is a very dangerous creation.

Comments

[Stumpy]

Whatever we think of Trump, his electoral victory confounded a lot of smart people who thought he would self-destruct as a candidate in the primaries. Odds are. imo, that he will survive the smears for no other reason than his brick-wall doggedness that, so far, has worked.

I got that tingle-on-the-neck alert watching Sen. Marco Rubio question Tillerson at the confirmation hearings. Rubio seemed a bit nervous, and as an amateur body language reader I can't say for sure, but just as the DNC delegates and candidates all had to proclaim allegiance to (read: endorse) HRC before being accepted into the DNC convention, I suspect a general political threat against anyone not complying with the Russian conspiracy theme. Openly speculating here, but I see a lot of over-acting going on, typical of theatrical actors who know they're losing their audience. That "You can't handle the truth" moment.

Tillerson's measured responses not unfavorable to Russia suggest that Tillerson has Trump's left flank, in spades. Gen. Mattis not looking bad, either.

[Tyler]

TTG,

This sounds like hand waving away 4Chan cause its to embarrassing to admit how stupid the media/Intel forces arrayed against Trump is.

4Chan knew about this secret stuff circulating before it was public knowledge and decided to latch onto it? The evidence doesn't match this but any port in a storm for the TruBelievrz.

[jonst]

It will be a battle to temper the desire Trump et al, especially et al (Bannon et al), to take a figurative flamethrower to the Intel people who either cooked this memo crap up, and leaked it...or bought it, from a troll, and leaked it with their good housekeeping seal on it. Versus reacting calmly, protecting US long term interests, but firmly, towards who did this. Who pushed it. Who repeated it. But me? I'd want some heads delivered to me.

[jonst]

You are, in my take Stumpy, correct, Tillison handed Little Mario his ass, after he kicked it. And so effortlessly. Like Joe D snagging a fly in deep center.

[Stu Wood]

Here are two Financial Times articles on Trump and his business dealings with the Russians:
https://www.ft.com/content/33285dfa-9231-11e6-8df8-d3778b55a923
https://www.ft.com/content/549ddfaa-5fa5-11e6-b38c-7b39cbb1138a

In his news conference Trump says he will not divest himself of his businesses: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-separating-business-avoid-conflict-concerns-lawyer-163222132--sector.html?ref=gs.

As the old saying goes, you can't serve two masters at the same time. Time for Trump to appoint a trustee for his business empire? if he really wants to be President.

[Valissa]

"Tillerson's measured responses not unfavorable to Russia suggest that Tillerson has Trump's left flank, in spades. Gen. Mattis not looking bad, either."

Patrick Armstrong seems to think Trump will be able to make gains against the military-industrial complex re: NATO & Russia. His post is based on this question from Sputnik "what do I make of the US Army forces moved to Europe and what do I think US President-elect Trump will do about it"?

His last paragraph deals with the issue of Trump's relationship with the military and I found his thoughts on that most interesting.

Rotating on Your Tanks https://patrickarmstrong.ca/2017/01/10/rotating-on-your-tanks/
This move – in the waning days of the Obama Administration – violates two Trumpian principles. First it is calculated to irritate Moscow and hobble US President-elect Trump in his stated intention to repair relations. Second it contradicts his ideas that NATO members should pay more for their own defence. (And a third: better relations with Russia obtained through diplomacy would eliminate the “threat” this deployment is supposed to be countering). Thus it is very probable that the whole thing will be reversed on the 21st. It should be remembered that Trump not only has a number of senior generals on his team but that there is plenty of evidence – “After 15 years of war, America’s military has about had it with ‘nation building’“**– that the US military are tired of endless wars. He’s not flying blind. And he’s not flying alone.
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**Here's the link to the article http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/after-15-years-of-war-americas-military-has-about-had-it-with-nation-building
Most American military personnel are deeply skeptical of the United States' nation-building missions overseas and would prefer to see leaders in Washington focus the country's resources on less ambiguous missions like killing terrorists and protecting the homeland, according to a new first-of-its-kind survey.

… One survey question asked: “How do you view the U.S. government’s continued involvement in nation-building efforts, establishing democracies in the Middle East and North Africa using U.S. military and financial support?” About 55 percent of respondents said they "strongly oppose" or "somewhat oppose" those efforts while 23 percent expressed support for such missions. The remainder expressed no opinion on the issue.
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[Paul Rigby]

Worthy of note is the seeming OSS-origin of the "golden shower" nonsense leveled against Trump.

William Langer's much-praised OSS profile of Hitler solemnly insisted the latter enjoyed much the same treatment at the hands of women, just one untruth among many hilariously exposed by Lev Navrozov in, I dimly recall, his autobiography, The education of Lev Navrozov: A life in the closed world once called Russia.

The attempt to associate Trump with Der Fuhrer is by now wearyingly familiar.

Langer's farrago can be read, in full, at the following link. See page 138 for the squatting urinator rubbish: https://archive.org/details/APsychologicalAnalysisofAdolfHitler

Navrozov's book is displayed here: https://www.amazon.com/education-Lev-Navrozov-closed-called/dp/0061264156

British intelligence has a rich history of interfering in just about every nation's elections, not least its own. But whereas both MI5 and MI6 once served as the covert arms of the Conservative Party, today it is the CIA which calls the tune, and pays the piper.

A particularly well-documented example of British intervention in American politics is to be found in Thomas E. Mahl's splendid Desperate Deception: British Covert Operations in the United States, 1939-44.

For MI6, souring relations between a Trump White House and May's post-Brexit poison chalice-holders would not be unwelcome, as it would reduce No 10's options, and further delay any meaningful action in exiting the EU.

Time, it would appear, is to be bought to permit regime change in Washington, and the restoration of the status quo ante.

[turcopolier]

stu wood

Your view is that having done business in Russia is disqualifying because Trump likes his business partners and is not willing to divest himself of his assets? By your criteria George Washington should not have been president because of his wealth and vested interests. He did not divest himself of anything. Somehow I think you are just a partisan. pl

[Kooshy]

Colonel hope you feel better, but FYI, I was just listening to the British state propaganda radio BBC ( as per DT oh, yeh another beauty you read fake news ) it claims democrats are already asking for impeachment of not yet inaugurated president elect.

[gowithit]

Not all seems well with Gen Mattis and the Trump team:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/01/06/mattis-clashing-with-trump-transition-team-over-pentagon-staffing/?utm

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/01/06/transition-team-disputes-report-gen-mattis-rejecting-defense-nominees/

[Stu Wood]

I think there is a difference between "divest himself of his assets" and appointing a trustee of his assets. I am not a businessman but I think he would still own his assets with a trustee.

[turcopolier]

stu wood

I half expected Trump to ask Romney to act as trustee. pl

[robt willmann]

It is now very apparent that the best candidate for U.S. president in the 2016 election would have been Rex Tillerson, now appearing today before the Senate Foreign Relations committee as part of the confirmation process to be Secretary of State.

Measured. Calm. Smooth. Still provides some actual detail in responses. Insists on looking at the big picture also. Desires plans and policies that are thought through (mandatory in the oil and gas business). Does not paint himself into a corner, or trap himself with posturing "red lines".

Since oil and gas are part of nature, exploring for it, drilling on and offshore, transporting, processing, refining, selling it at retail stations, and so forth is a reality-based operation. And very technical and science-based. Operating in foreign countries with drilling operations is difficult and fraught with innumerable problems.

Since Trump liked to loudly boast of his real estate business operation, etc. etc., one can quietly observe that ExxonMobil could buy him for pocket change.

Tillerson said shortly ago at the hearing that terrorism has been with us for centuries, and it is part of the human condition. I have not heard a politician or "high" government official speak that truth in 35 years.

[The Twisted Genius]

Tyler,

I see 4Chan trying to hand wave away a silly rumor before it became embedded in the American as a running joke. The IC didn't get the "memos" from Wilson, Corn, BuzzFeed, McCain or 4Chan. That former MI6 officer gave it directly to an FBI official in Rome in August or September. The 4Chan hand waving doesn't add up.

[Stu Wood]

Probably not a bad choice.

[turcopolier]

stu wood

BTW Washington had large sums of money in London Banks throughout the War of Independence. They kept it safe for him and after the war when he was president he was quite pro-British along with John Adams. pl

[Stumpy]

Valissa,

Thank you for the link. I'm sure that nearly all SST correspondents know way better than I how a professional soldier feels about being deployed as a symbolic gesture. Although I do miss painting the jeeps ...

[Fred]

Matthew,

They don't ask about Obama-moters operations in Russia either.
http://europe.autonews.com/article/20160226/ANE/160229901/gm-eyes-russia-production-restart

[Jack]

Robt

I saw part of the hearing and was very impressed with Tillerson. I think he'll be in the mold of Jim Baker who recommended him to Trump. He will provide a refreshing contrast to Hillary and Kerry.

[Tyler]

TTG,

Yeah, suddenly the people who are claiming this are adjusting their timeline after the archived proof has been put out there, claiming that somehow /pol/ knew about this after the fact, band wagoned on later, and are now acting as Trump's internet vanguard? This sounds like after the fact was covering.

Believe what you want, but you're only making yourself look foolish with 4D chess lawgic in the face of evidence that says otherwise.

[Tyler]

Gwi,

Based off Beso Blog? LMBO. We need a better grade of shill.

[Cee]

All,

Lawd, we've gone from Curveball to Chalupa. I'm glad that Trump shut CNN down as fake news today.

H A. Goodman for a chuckle.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2glFHiY1Xsg

[Peter in Toronto]

Great find, it appears the Shadow Government does indeed exist, operating under the "Bipartisan" characterization of its members, and intent on pursuing the broad policy objectives of the last 30 years. All of this public noise is to get Trump to comply with the game, like the other transients in the office of POTUS of the past, who might well be victims in all of this.

What is the end game?

[Outrage Beyond]

Romney to run Trump, Inc.?

A terrible choice.

Romney has no track record of actually running companies.

Rather, his capital group acquired them through highly leveraged finances, then raped them for their lunch money to pay off the debt.

[trinlae]

That theme has recently been a hot clickbait item on YouTube.