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Putin's Soccer Ball for Trump Had Transmitter Chip, Logo Indicates (bloomberg.com)
Russian President Vladimir Putin's gift of a soccer ball to U.S. President Donald Trump last week set off a chorus of warnings -- some of them only half in jest -- that the World Cup souvenir could be bugged. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham even tweeted, "I'd check the soccer ball for listening devices and never allow it in the White House." It turns out they weren't entirely wrong. From a report: Markings on the ball indicate that it contained a chip with a tiny antenna that transmits to nearby phones. But rather than a spy device, the chip is an advertised feature of the Adidas AG ball. Photographs from the news conference in Helsinki, where Putin handed the ball to Trump, show it bore a logo for a near-field communication tag. During manufacturing, the NFC chip is placed inside the ball under that logo, which resembles the icon for a WiFi signal, according to the Adidas website. The chip allows fans to access player videos, competitions and other content by bringing their mobile devices close to the ball. The feature is included in the 2018 FIFA World Cup match ball that's sold on the Adidas website for $165 (reduced to $83 in the past week).
The WH has edited the official transcript AND edited the official video. So it's no mistake - https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/25/politics/trump-putin-transcript/index.html
Slow news day, huh. Head flappers are going to flap their flappy little heads about something.
Left and Right, let's unite! Put aside our differences and work together for Make America Great Again. Let's do it! We can do it.
Ebony and Ivory living in harmony? Awesome thoughts! Peace out.
TFS starts out as hinting that its going to be a "muh Russian hackers" anti-Trump story, but then morphs into an ad for an Adidas Soccer ball. Not that is going to stop the anti-Trump anon posts, though.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/25/politics/trump-putin-transcript/index.html - and then the coverup is evidence of cognizance of guilt, not to mention a crime to edit an official record for such purposes.
I for one welcome are new Russian advertising overlords.
Tons of consumer goods have RFIDs in them now and few people know. They are in shoes and belts and purses and higher end clothing items, and exist to track consumer patterns as they are scanned at various store entrances. This is not a conspiracy theory - it has been going on for a long time.
This product is actually better in that it fully discloses some kind of end-user use for this, and it's not only about secret analytics (although it's certainly also used for company analytics).
Hey, look! Another unhinged lefty doing everything he can to make sure that left's miserable losses over the last several years continue apace. Thanks!
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Traitors?
Mate, you wouldnâ(TM)t know a traitor if one walked up and introduced themselves as a traitor.
Now that we know Putin stole the election from Hillary Clinton it goes without saying that she must be given the Democratic nomination again in 2020. All potential challengers need to step aside. If it weren't for the Russian meddling she would've clearly won so she has to run again.
The summary says:
the chip is an advertised feature of the Adidas AG ball
Are we going to now say that Russia hacked Adidas, put a "spy! device on it (NFC of all things) for the sheer purpose of listening in on Trump?
The Trump Derangement Syndrome has reached new epic proportions.
How do you become a failed billionaire? I would love to become a failed billionaire.
Hey Ivan, here is your 50 kopek, you've added to the misinformation campaign, now fek off.You idiots still waiting on evidence don't know how investigations work, you don't disclosed the damming evidence until you are sure to have a slam dunk case. All these little indictments so far are paving the way for the main attraction.
Sounds like a great place to hide something in plain sight.
A soccer ball with a transmitter that isn't supposed to have one would stand out. However, a soccer ball that has a *different* transmitter than it came with would be much harder to identify.
Obviously that NFC chip will link Trump to the C&C server Putin has set up to give Trump orders as to what he should work on sabotaging next. Russian cyberoperatives have clearly demonstrated their proficiency in hacking into any system they want, so hacking into whatever media server that chip links to should be trivial for them. Orders and other relevant data embedded in media files (a common steganography technique) can then be easily retrieved and decoded by Trump and no one would be the wiser.
Haha, I'm just kidding.
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...or am I?
"The chip allows fans to access player videos, competitions and other content by bringing their mobile devices close to the ball."
Or you could just browse the web to get the same content? I suppose there is always the possibility for exclusive content locked behind some obscure URL that is unique to whatever is stored on the chip, but really? I find this stuff interesting from a technical perspective but cringe-worthy if actually marketed and desired.
And their constant election meddling.
Upholding the highest laws - what laws has Trump broken and convicted of?
And replace them with your fucking traitors and asshats? Nope. We had eight years of nothing but amateur hour with Obama and we are not electing some dressed up socialist asshole. I would rather have Donald Dingdong than some left wing twerp. Yeah your side is just that bad.
Remember when the biggest foreign relations scandal involving a president was giving a bust of Churchill back to England?
Good times.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Why, in the name of all that is or ever will be, would a gawds damned soccer ball need to be wireless enabled? Yes, I see the little sales blurb there trying to justify a $165 souvenir ball. Fine, whatever, dipshits gonna dipshit cause gadget overload is never enough, but why cooked this shit up? The internet of shit thing is really getting out of hand. It's seriously to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if our toilets get wireless enabled so they can report the content of our excrement directly to our doctors/insurance company so they can nail us on violations of whatever bullshit health code they've cooked up we're supposed to follow that day.
Anybody supporting that level of dumbfuckery (the ball, as I don't *THINK* the toilet exists . . . yet) needs a good swift kick in the jigglers.
On top of that, since that's the actual configuration of the ball, they could have hidden some real spying devices within it and disguised them as the official version's antenna. This whole thing has me wantin' to smack my head into the wall repeatedly until I lose consciousness and just hope I don't wake up. Too much stupid in the world to take.
This is a non story its a feature of the soccer ball.
so you believe them when they tell you what is in there
did you miss the "trojan horse" story in school or are you really that stupid?
You must be religious if you believe that nonesense. Same things that religions do. They basically say "Do our bidding in this life, so that you can get your big pay off (aka slam dunk) in the next one... maybe... if it exists... but we assure you exists so you have nothing to worry about obviously"
The transmitter clues on the outside are just a distraction from the interior, where the Keeper lived. You just wait, Trump is suddenly going to start making sense and speaking rationally. Only when he drinks (which he's not yet known for doing) will he be able to honestly speak his mind. (Keepers can't handle booze.)
I know! People were so mad at the left last time that they lost by negative 3 million votes!
That's probably all it does. An access token at best, yes, and even that is doubtful since it's meant to send your phone to promotional material. Which, judging how see socnet users froth over cinema adverts (aka trailers), is a smart move for Adidas.
And many years ago, he did :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)
It's funny because you can't refute any part of what they said though. You can only change the subject like an Ivanbot.
#Mueller doesn't mind, go ahead and try lol
#Mountain of damning evidence
If you are waiting for indictments for "collusion", there won't be because there is no crime called "collusion"; when collusion is criminal, it's called conspiracy.
So far there have been two indictments of American citizens for "Conspiracy against the United States": Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Gates struck a deal in which he pled guilty, and he's now a cooperating witness.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I'd like to know where the failure is. He's president of the United States. He's worth billions now. He's improved communities all over the country, and created jobs. He's been nothing but golden for our economy. If you want to focus on the times he's failed I guess you can do that, but you're obviously ignoring the many more times he's been successful.
In Soviet Russia ball kicks you.
Tried to find the like button for this reply.
Let's pretend that one exists
[X] Like Post
There, maga
I think you aren't giving Pence a fair chance. He's a disgusting person, but I fucking swear, he's not a spoiled child like Trump. He'll merely push for evil things, not insane evil things. He's relatively oldschool. And he can be replaced with the 2020 election, unless Republicans really just can't do better. Or he can be replaced earlier, if he is just another criminal too. But there are actually good reasons to believe Pence is not a criminal the way Trump is. Pence is merely an anti-American asshole. Maybe you don't want an anti-American asshole as president, but as you've seen, we can do a lot worse.
I'd travel to DC for that. Make public like the good old days. Trump loves the good old days.
Step 1: gather underpants
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Fail to make a billion dollars.
Yet, he was able to beat the smartest woman on the Planet in the race to become President. We could all be so lucky to be a failed billionaire present with a supermodel wife.
Still waiting on the Russia evidence. How many Mueller indictments were there for Russian COLLUSION so far? None? Oh yea, lets indict a couple of russian ham sandwiches that will never show up in court to show some value for the millions spent covering up the incompetence of the Clinton campaign (Yes, yes, we all know that Putin personally prevented Hillary from campaigning in Wisconsin and Michigan).
Watergate investigation took 4 years.
Clinton investigation took 6 years.
Mueller has only taken about 18 months.
And we taxpayers have spent more money flying Trumpoid down to Mar-a-Lago and providing SS protection there, just so he can GOLF than the Mueller investigation has cost so far.
So kindly STFU and FOAD, toadie.
is can they embed some sort of position-tracking chip in the ball so when players kick it high the video stream is augmented to show the vertical projection of the ball on the grass in real time? Not knowing in which direction the ball is going always bothered me when watching the game on the 2D screen.
I know! People were so mad at the left last time that they lost by negative 3 million votes!
Perfect!
Weird how they had 3 million "votes" in states with no voter ID requirement and that use unverifiable voting machines. Yet for some reason, it's the left that blocks every attempt to secure our polling places from voter fraud. The left that routinely brings in busloads of people to polling places. Gee, I wonder why that might be?
#WalkAway is still a growing movement. It's amazing how quickly it grew once it was given a name: many people had already done it, they just didn't realize how many had joined them.
But go ahead, tell me about this mythical "blue wave" that no reputable poll has ever shown.
This is a non story its a feature of the soccer ball.
That was before the Russians re-flashed the code in it.
Keep stupid clickbait headlines off Slashdot, will ya?
Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
How does the NFC thing work? Seems like marketing hype (well, duh):
During manufacturing, the NFC chip is placed inside the ball under that logo, which resembles the icon for a WiFi signal, according to the Adidas website. The chip allows fans to access player videos, competitions and other content by bringing their mobile devices close to the ball.
Let's say I'm watching the France/Croatia game at the World Cup and I want to see one of those player videos of Kylian Mbappe. All I have to do is run onto the field, grab the ball and hold my phone near it? Sounds like a lot of work. Well, compared to drinking too much beer and starting a fight with the other team's fans.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
the left allow illegal to vote in their elections. Their credibility is shot.
Actually, it seems like it is intentionally pathetic so that it would make the "liberal side" look so.
the Watergate break in was in 1972. Nixon resigned in 1974. 2 years.
Ken Starr was appointed special counsel in 1994. Clinton was impeached in 1998. 4 years.
Why make up dumb shit?
trump got cucked by putin hahahhaa
Well, his idol definitely got the upper hand. It's going to take a bit for trump to clean that cream off his chin; but we know he'll be back for more.
Traitors and asshats
Yeah, sure, 'traitors and asshats' that will actually protect the environment (you know, the air you breathe, the water you drink, and so on), not allow the destruction of animal species for no damned good reason, that won't destroy public education in favor of 'vouchers' that only benefit The Rich and leave The Poor and middle-class with shit schools and shit teachers, not sabotage the national economy with 'tax cuts' that only benefit The Rich and fuck over everyone else, not have a neo-nazi heading up the DoJ, not shit on the long-time allies of the U.S., not piss off the entire world with heavy-handed 'trade tariffs' instead of taking a more thoughtful and measured approach, not tearing apart families for having the almighty GALL to want to get their children away from violent regimes and violent drug cartels, not hand the Internet to greedy ISPs on a silver platter, fucking over the American consumer in the process, not appoint neo-nazis to the Supreme Court, helping drag us back socio-politically to the 1940's, and so on, and so on, and so on. Get your heads out of your asses and stop helping fuck over the country you live in, you mongoloids.
I went out to *BSD's grave on Decoration Day. The old forgotten cemetery is to be found adjacent to the dark woods beyond the edge of town. There within olfactory distance of the municipal treatment plant you will find *BSD's final resting place.
*BSD's tombstone was shrouded by thick mosses and knots of noxious ivy. A mournful funerary crow sounded the requiem, as I gently pulled aside the tangled twists of thorns, and cleaned the decaying marker the best I could. A suffocating melancholia filled my heart, while I pondered that this indeed was *BSD's figurative charnel house of which so many have plaintively spoken.
Nothing is so pitiful as an untended grave, a loved one now forgotten. The short sad life of this doomed and fated OS makes us realize that there but for the grace of God go all of us.
I planted some wilting marigolds, found discarded in the waste heap behind the caretaker's shack, wishing that by some miracle these fleurs de mort might take root and bring a modicum of cheer to *BSD's God forsaken plot. My fervent hope is that the torpid colored boy, who so carelessly mows the grounds, doesn't slice them down, inadvertently mirroring *BSD's own doomed encounter with death's irresistible scythe.
Funny how things work out. Linux, that brilliant novam stellam, now runs the Internet and the world's fastest computers, while *BSD lies moldering within its forgotten crypt. Let the barren silence of *BSD's tomb be a mute reminder that hubris and braggadocio were no defense on that woeful day when the Angel of Death's bleak umbra was cast upon *BSD.
She won't win (she's got the charisma of a dead trout and she's pretty much persona non grata in the party after losing to his orangeness) but she'd draw so much fire it'd be smooth sailing for the Dems.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
NFC is effectively RFID, which has been used to track razor blades at walmart for over a decade. It can contain data like a QRcode does if there are enough bits.
NFC on smarted devices allows dynamic RFID stuff - like payment systems.
Had a Nexus4 which claimed to have NFC support. It worked, sometimes, but it wasn't consistent enough for me to trust it. I have a Yubikey with NFC support for 2-factor auth. It worked with the N4 about 1:20 attempts under very controlled use.
NFC seems to be 5cm or less, but there have been proven cases of 5m and more. I'd feel better using a QRcode.
I'm not going to get into whether I believe Trump is guilty of this, that, or the other thing, but I really do need to point out your ignorance. The conviction you're asking for is precisely the upholding the AC above you is calling for.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
You've got to look at the "big picture". Real straight up BSD has no market share left. Even NetCraft admits it. One BSD that has hit rock bottom is FreeBSD. FreeBSD doesn't even register on NetCraft's surveys anymore. That is a humiliating fall into obscurity. We looked at the situation from all angles, and for what ever definition you choose, my IT business concluded that BSD is dead. No "ands", "ifs", or "buts". It's time to grow up, and face reality. Sorry!
Well, it looks like you just have to sit and wait for 30 more months to disprove his point. Good on you for correcting him to no real end, though.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Clearly astroturfing tea-party trumptard, liberals are against the death penalty.
Actually, it seems like it is intentionally pathetic so that it would make the "liberal side" look so.
LOL that would be gilding the lily. The left has no need to be made to look pathetic. Give me a call when they have stopped promoting teaching 5 year olds how to be drag queens, or giving hormones to pre pubescents, or just trying to gloss over pedophilia in people jeffrey epstein.
I mean either they were clueless to the point of needing to be institutionalized or they didn't care about Harvey Weinstein's habits as long he said the right things.
I'm not going to get into whether I believe Trump is guilty of this, that, or the other thing, but I really do need to point out your ignorance. The conviction you're asking for is precisely the upholding the AC above you is calling for.
Conviction first, trial and evidence maybe later. Da comrade, maybe they will reopen the chekka so you can have a job.
If I remember correctly, Goal Line Technology relies on a couple of RFID chips being placed on the ball. Then they communicate with sensors placed on the goal posts and crossbar.
However, I'm sure the sensors are used to spy on the goalkeepers.
> And we taxpayers have spent more money flying Trumpoid down to Mar-a-Lago and providing SS protection there, just so he can GOLF than the Mueller investigation has cost so far.
I'm curious what point you were trying to make via this? That we have to spend a lot because unhinged leftists want to kill him?
Not sure if trolling or lacking reading comprehension...
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
That settles it! Adidas is in cohorts with the KGB....
US did bug Merkel.
Agreed.
Let's follow the left into it's socialist utopia of safe spaces, support for mass illegal immigration, 8 billion pronouns, "diversity", thought police, protests for everything, high taxes, affirmative action, micro-aggressions, identity politics, anti-white/asian/male rhetoric, bending over to foreign gov'ts, shitty school lunches, tearing down historical statues, warnings/labels/regulations for everything, etc (sorry, I got bored writing this list).
Anyway, the left is so lame it hurts.
PS Yo where's PopeRatzo? These threads always bring you two out.
When you dig deeper in the articles, and read the speeches and comments, they really do sound apologetic. However, the analysts, from sources that are not what one would call right leaning, all seem to miss this. Bias is what bias does, but hey, congrats on being modded up for expressing a liberal leaning view on slashdot. In other news, the sky is blue...
https://www.politifact.com/tru...
"Liberalism is a very noble idea, currently controlled by some very bad people. Be sure you do not get the two confused.
the Watergate break in was in 1972. Nixon resigned in 1974. 2 years.
Ken Starr was appointed special counsel in 1994. Clinton was impeached in 1998. 4 years.
Why make up dumb shit?
I wasn't making shit up; just misremembering something I saw a few months ago. Didn't take the time to re look it up while at work.
I also note that you didn't refute my statement regarding the cost...
Seriously the CIA and NSA openly^H^H^H^H admit to doing this sort of thing all the time when their officers retire and publish their memoirs... in books..... they write what they did as a spy in a book that people read after they retire.
Sadly you're a "low information" voter.
the Watergate break in was in 1972. Nixon resigned in 1974. 2 years.
Ken Starr was appointed special counsel in 1994. Clinton was impeached in 1998. 4 years.
Why make up dumb shit?
You appear to be correct about Watergate; but you are REALLY off on The whole Clinton saga:
https://www.theguardian.com/wo...
The commercial version of the ball links to a website with world cup related videos. Trumps special ball may have been reprogrammed. For example, it may link to a website with a list of demands and a teaser of the pee-tapes. Or maybe the NFC has been modified to look harmless on the surface, but if the agent authenticates with the right key they can use the NFC connection to download the audio that the ball has stored.
Also, most of the money being paid to Mar-a-Lago goes to Trump, which in turn goes to Russian and Chinese oligarchs because Trump owes them bigly.
In most cases, like this, an NFC chip is correctly described as transponder, not transmitter. It's a passive device that responds to magnetic field, at lengths around half a feet. So the "transmitter" headline is clickbait unfit for a (former) tech-site. It also seems like classic red herring, nobody knows if the ball was equipped with other toys by Russia, focusing on a known passive transponder distracts from that. On the other hand I get the joke potential as world leaders tend to receive gifts at every meeting, and there are certainly existing protocols to protect them from eavesdropping, bombs etc. Of particular note in this context, the briefcase that follows POTUS around and contains all the nuclear missile launch codes etc. is known as the "nuclear football" making things weird for this particular analogy.
Putin is a trained KGB agent. You seriouly think he and his people would come up with something so obvious and stupid and easily detectable? Seriously?
The problem with the hysteria, both the anti-Trump and the anti-Russia one, is that it is a stupidity epidemic. It contains too much disdain and makes you underestimate them. Both. Trump, for all the spectacle and shouting, actually did a few things right. And Putin, whatever you think about him, is not an idiot.
I'm sure the Russians are spying on the Americans - just like vice versa. But they would be idiots to do it like this. Someone watched too many stupid Hollywood spy movies.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Wow, this is the second piece of clickbaity nonsense today. Not as bad as the Falcon rocket thing, but pretty annoying. In retrospect, the headlines kind of gave it away, but me-monkey clicked anyway. How about a service that lets people tag headlines as clickbait and learns from them, like a mail spam filter?
Liberals don't need anybody's help to look pathetic.
Bonus captcha: "shiftily"
It's okay, Trump can get away with being full of shit, so can you.
Must be the russians!
(Yoda voice) This is why you lost...
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
"Yeah your side is just that bad."
Ha ha. You're a fucking idiot.
We had eight years of nothing but amateur hour with Obama
And the country was better for it in every metric. That doesn't bode well for every other government if you consider that one amateur.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
There are Trump-hating leftwing outlets in the US who are hyping this as a new anti-Trump meme: Trump so stupid Putin gave him a bugged ball right in front of the world.
To believe it, however, you have to be a doofus who wraps foil around his/her/its head and thinks places like CNN are providing "news".
Breaking News: Trump-Russia-Adidas Collusion!!!!!
The absolute total insanity of Hillary supporters seems to know no bounds. The election ended almost two years ago, and they still cannot wrap their brains around it. They were so sure Hillary would win and Trump could not that they rigged their own Democrat primary to make sure she and not Bernie was the nominee, then they rigged the FBI investigation so that Hillary was not prosecuted for a long list of felonies, then they took a piece of Hillary campaign propaganda her team bought from a foreign spy who got it from Russians and used it to start a fake investigation of Trump to blow him to bits---- and Hillary STILL lost. I suppose their complete meltdown is a bit understandable now that I review what happened...
As much as I hate having to defend Trump & Co, it's not like Obama & Co all that much better when they were in power. Despite many promises under Obama's watch the rich still payed way less than what they should, the oil industry were not only allowed to continue to expand their "fracking" operations with little regard to the environment, but also continue having an exception to environmental protection laws like the Clean Water Act (which absolutely baffles me personally), the war on drugs and terror only escalated, old import tariffs like the 25% "chicken tax" on light trucks, cemented in place by Lyndon B Johnson to win over special interests, were left completely untouched, allowed the SEC to be staffed by the sector it's supposed to be a watchdog and regulator of along with mass dragnet spying and general privacy violations reaching an absolute staggering all time high as shown by the Snowden leaks. Hell, even Obama's much praised net neutrality rules required mass outrage to get put in place.
When you consider all of this, Trump & Co really aren't that big of a step backwards. Maybe I'm just a bitter Bernie Sanders supporter, but at least I'm capable of seeing the flaws in Obama's slightly-less-corrupt government.
"Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
Putin was actually introducing Russia Pay. You pay with your balls.
Putting enough flash into the ball to store audio would be obvious because it would require external power and you could find the battery with a scan. But making it a remotely powered microphone could be accomplished imperceptibly. Either way the smart thing would be to microwave it.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Either way the smart thing would be to microwave it.
nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Yep, Obama solved climate change, fixed healthcare, outmaneuvered Russia in Crimea and Syria and Ukraine, properly regulated wall street, reversed income inequality trajectory, ended disastrous globalist free trade agreements like the TPP, set race relations on the right track, and reigned in the treasonous security agencies who constantly lie and fabricate evidence to get the country involved in war and conflict.
Oh wait no, the opposite of all those things. No hope, no change.
If Putin has Trump by the balls, then he really sucks as a negotiator because Trump doesn't seem to be helping Russia much at all. If I were Putin, I'd expect a little more out of my minion.
Hey look, an idiot who plays chess, thinking he won, because he had more pieces on the board. Unaware that Check Mate doesn't require much in the way of pieces on the board.
Keep arguing from stupidity and you'll keep losing.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Not to mention a peaceful North Korea...
Oh wait, that was President Trump, too.
Anyone with half a brain realized that comment was about the candidates popularity, and not the electoral college. But by all means, keep dropping your "wisdom."
Everything in my world has to be either one extreme or the other extreme, there can't be ANY COMPROMISES of any kind!
Fuck off. I can't even tell anymore which of you are just the garden-variety trolls and which of you really as as fucktardedly stupid as you sound.
I call 'em like I see 'em. If you're going to make fucktarded statements like some genetic throwback, then maybe you are. Besides, it's not like anyone pulls their punches with me or anyone else, so why the fuck shouldn't I? BTW you're likely another fucktarded Trumpite therefore you can fuck ott too.
Listen, buddy: I may have voted for Obama, but I far from agreed with everything he did, and assuming (like the fucktard a few above you here) that everything has to be extremes in one direction or the other is just fucked up, too. I voted for Obama because the alternative was even worse. But I didn't agree with or wanted the ACA, I think it's wrong to force someone to purchase something they may not want or need or can really afford; it's a drain on me financially, personally. I also don't agree with the way he handled some foreign matters. But meanwhile, just like always, because the wheels of government turn very slowly, Trump is taking credit for things Obama did that are just showing their positive effects now, and by the way let's be honest about it: the Bush Administration more or less took a sledgehammer to the toilets (so to speak) when they left office, leaving Obama with a gods-be-damned mess to clean up, and in the middle of a recession (which one could argue was because of so many years of one Bush or the other) so he was way down in the red just to start with, and I think that being considered he did a pretty damned good job overall even if I didn't agree with everything he did or said. Meanwhile Donald Trump is trying to drag the United States back to about 1940 socially and poltically, he keeps appointing extremists of one degree or another, many of which are flat-out corrupt, most of which seem to have their own agendas that have nothing to do with serving the United States of America, and he's about as untrustworthy overall as anyone could possibly be. I didn't vote for the son of a bitch, I didn't vote for Clinton because I don't trust her either (but I may as well have), I voted for the Green Party candidate (who was it, even, I don't even remember now!) because so far as I'm concerned you MUST vote. But I'm not going to sit here and listen to someone talking to ***ME*** like I'm some robot that just repeats what he's told to repeat, I was not affililated with ANY political party before about 3 months ago and now I HAVE to be Democrat to help restore some sense of balance to this countrys' government, which if you didn't notice has gone COMPLETELY out-of-balance, and like a poorly loaded washing machine on spin-cycle it's threatening to tear itself apart because half or less of the people in this country are having their interests addressed, the rest are functionally-speaking being told to FUCK OFF and quite frankly that makes me wonder if there's going to BE a country much longer. So excuse me if I'm not going to sit on my hands like some fucking coward and keep my mouth shut, I'll make all the noise I want to about this, it's my DUTY as a citizen of this country to utilize my right to freedom of speech and speak out about things I think are wrong. I don't HAVE to 'suppor the president' or his Administration, that's not what this country is about, it's not a dictatorship, dissent is part of our national DNA, and I'll be damned if anyone on either side of the aisle is going to hush me up just because they don't like what I have to say.
Has the idiot had security check the firmware on the chip, to see whether it's *only* broadcasting what it's supposed to?
I can just see it now, Putin visits the WH, and puts a collar and leash on Trumpolini, and walks him around the WH.
People with slightly more than half a brain don't use measurements that don't matter. The Hindenburg was HUGE how did it fly????? (for example).
And she was "more popular" is also a non-sequitor, because she didn't get 50% of the vote. She was very popular where it where it mattered less, and less so where it mattered more. It also doesn't count votes that would have changed, people who would have voted that didn't because they are R in California (for example). The resources spent campaigning would have gone elsewhere, changing the votes in both places.
So, in conclusion, it is meaningless sour grapes by people who can't believe she lost to probably someone who was equally bad as an option. I "wasted" my vote for voting for neither of them.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I don't see why we can't lump the trolls in with the stupid here. Fuck both of those crowds.
Sure, that all sounds good and dandy, and no one would argue we don't need some rigorous environmental protection. The real problem is these government agencies (FBI, EPA, etc, etc) have gone unchecked, unchallenged, and unmanaged for so long they have become corrupt versions of what we hope them to be. To your next point, sometimes balance is only achieved from bouncing from one 'extreme' to another, but I don't feel either end is really as extreme as we make them out to be.
They different is Watergate/Clinton investigations were started due to some pretty clear and damning evidence. Occam's Razor suggests the most likely instigating factor for the Mueller investigations was some political impropriety and fearmongering on the Democrat's part. In terms of real evidence pointing to a massive conspiracy by the Trump campaign to collude with Russia (on anything), it is objectively almost nothing. It still may or may not be true, but I don't think anyone can deny Democrats have twisted themselves in circles trying to convince the world of some massive conspiracy, a la 9/11 truthers.
So far there have been two indictments of American citizens for "Conspiracy against the United States": Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Gates struck a deal in which he pled guilty, and he's now a cooperating witness.
You're talking about this indictment for Paul Manafort and Richard Gates?
Conspiracy Against the United States is a specific crime under 18 U.S.C. 371. None of these indictments were under that code. The were indicted for Bank Fraud Conspiracy which falls under 18 U.S.C. 1349 and 3551.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
In the Soviet Russia, Adidas Spies on You!
They different is Watergate/Clinton investigations were started due to some pretty clear and damning evidence. Occam's Razor suggests the most likely instigating factor for the Mueller investigations was some political impropriety and fearmongering on the Democrat's part. In terms of real evidence pointing to a massive conspiracy by the Trump campaign to collude with Russia (on anything), it is objectively almost nothing. It still may or may not be true, but I don't think anyone can deny Democrats have twisted themselves in circles trying to convince the world of some massive conspiracy, a la 9/11 truthers.
And I'm going to seriously consider the opinion of someone who starts a Post with "They different"?
And just remember, after Trump stated Publicly that handing over Ambassador McFaul to Putin's gang of thugs for "Interviewing" was actually "worth Considering", the Senate voted 98-0 last week to block that idea.
http://time.com/5343322/michae...
Oh, and when Articles of Impeachment against Assistant AG Rob Rosenstein were filed in the House last night, only ELEVEN ***REPUBLICANS*** (out of 236 Representatives total) jumped on the bandwagon. Even Speaker of the House Paul Ryan spoke out Publicly against the measure. Even Trey Gowdy, who is NO supporter of the Mueller Investigation, said of the Rosenstein Impeachment attempt: "Impeach him? For What?"
https://www.newsweek.com/rod-r...
And in fact, those Eleven Traitorous Republicans have already turned tail and run home:
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/26/...
Yep. Sounds like the Democrats are the only ones that are beginning to think "something's up"...
Gimme a break, willya?
MAGAP
(Make America Get Another President (tm))
Rosebud! Rosebud. Rosebud...
Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
Manafort's indictment was updated in June to include charges under 18 U.S.C. 2, 371. Google Case 1:17-cr-00201-ABJ Document 318. This was after Gates pleaded guilty to violating the same law in February (google Case 1:17-cr-00201-ABJ document 195), and was possibly a result of Gates subsequent cooperation with federal prosecutors.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
So you start off by saying you don't want one extreme or another, then at the end you basically say "I'm an extremist". Well played.
There are powerful people that make a great deal of money with problems in the country. People that would have to get a real job if it weren't for their manufactured crisis.
Take the whole mother/child separation bullshit. This happens every day to American women when they go to jail. Yet somehow it's not supposed to happen to an illegal that broke the law coming into the country? Why? It's a lie wrapped up in a moral argument.
North Korea is peaceful? How? The same government, still has nuclear weapons, still develops delivery systems, still executes political prisoners. What has changed?
You do worse with your inheritance billions than the market would have.
As Forbes calculated back.in 2016.
You're against racism but have no problem using racial slurs. Do you see the issue there?
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Is this a sly joke about Russia making Trump president and putting him in charge of the nuclear football? 'Balls in your court, don't start a nuclear war.'
Yes, that superseding indictment doesn't really add much and you're correct that Gates cooperation is the likely cause for it.
The conspiracy in question, though, isn't any new crime. It's still related to the previous crimes for which Manafort was indicted. It was the conspiracy to defraud the US by hiding the financial transactions and holdings that occurred between 2006 and 2016. Gates provided the testimonial evidence to prove that Manafort and others conspired to perform the actions rather than just the actions being committed independently.
From in or about and between 2006 and 2017, both dates being approximate and inclusive, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the defendant PAUL J. MANAFORT, JR., together with others, knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Treasury, and to commit offenses against the United States, to wit: the violations of law charged in Counts Three, Four, and Five, and to unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly fail to file with the Treasury an FBAR disclosing a financial interest in, and signature and other authority over, a bank, securities, and other financial account in a foreign country, which had an aggregate value of more than $10,000 in a 12-month period, in violation of 31 U.S.C. 5314 and 5322(a). 39. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect its illegal
While you are technically correct that "Conspiracy Against the United States" has been seen in an indictment from the Mueller investigation, it's a fact that isn't relevant to the AC to which you were pointing it out. That AC was referencing the Russia collusion narrative. You pointed out that it would show up as Conspiracy Against the United States and that such an indictment occurred. The conspiracy which Mueller indicted for has no relevance to the Russia collusion narrative. The nature of the conspiracy which is indicted is important as it is an umbrella crime that can cover a myriad of different offenses and failing to include the context of what the conspiracy was for is misleading at best to try to score cheap political points in favor of the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
Actually Hillary conspired with the press to get Donald extra airtime and coverage because he was the only Republican she had a chance of defeating. Apparently she was less popular than she thought and Donald ended up winning.
Maybe they just hacked the Adidas server and this particular serial number has a custom payload.
Ask yourself, as you literally just made up dumb shit to refute a correct point. Why are rightards so retarded?
Here you are with that laughably bad analogy again :) When you grow up, child, you'll realize how much of an idiot you are. Meanwhile us adults would like to continue the conversation without rude interruptions from children.
I think it is 6th grade where one learns about the EC. I think you have three more grades to go, junior.
If you believe that he's a billionaire then please explain why he won't release his tax returns and demonstrate on paper what he constantly brags about to anyone within earshot.
This might help explain why: http://fortune.com/2016/03/23/donald-trump-debt/