Arrest Trump for Treason

[Eric the Green]

Lock him up!

[Eric the Green]

Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign
By Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto and Evan Perez, CNN
Updated 10:37 PM ET, Wed February 15, 2017
FBI not expected to file charges against Flynn
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/d...index.html

Story highlights

The communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved
Investigators have not reached a judgment on the intent of those conversations

(CNN)High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN.

President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, according to US officials familiar with the matter.

Flynn scrambles White House

Both the frequency of the communications during early summer and the proximity to Trump of those involved "raised a red flag" with US intelligence and law enforcement, according to these officials. The communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection targeting Russian officials and other Russian nationals known to US intelligence.

Among several senior Trump advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals were then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and then-adviser Michael Flynn.

Officials emphasized that communications between campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments are not unusual. However, these communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved. Investigators have not reached a judgment on the intent of those conversations.

Adding to US investigators' concerns were intercepted communications between Russian officials before and after the election discussing their belief that they had special access to Trump, two law enforcement officials tell CNN. These officials cautioned the Russians could have been exaggerating their access.

Trump dismissed the claims that his advisers had close ties to Russia in a tweet Wednesday.

"This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing campaign," Trump tweeted.

CNN has reached out to Flynn for comment. In an interview, Manafort emphatically denied that he was in contact with Russians known to US intelligence.

"That is 100% not true, at least as far as me," he said. "I cannot believe that they are including me in anything like that. I have not been involved in any of these activities."

Manafort said he did not know where US officials got the idea that he was in contact with suspected Russian operatives during the campaign but said he never spoke with any Russian officials during that time.

"I don't remember talking to any Russian officials, ever. Certainly during the time we're talking about," he said, calling the allegations "boggling."

"I have knowingly never talked to any intelligence official or anyone in Russia regarding anything of what's under investigation," he said. "I have never had any connection to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or the Russian government before, during or after the campaign."

Trump knew about Flynn for weeks

Manafort said the FBI has not contacted him about the allegations and said he was not aware of any other Trump campaign officials or people close to Trump being in touch with Russians known to US intelligence.

Manafort, who has held business ties with Russian and Ukrainian individuals, also emphasized that his work for the Yanukovich government in Ukraine should not be interpreted as closeness to the Russians. He said he worked for Yanukovich during a time when Ukraine was "moving into the European orbit."

The extensive contacts drew concerns of US intelligence and law enforcement officials in part because it came at a time of Russian cyberactivities targeting mostly Democratic Party political organizations.

Post-election intelligence briefings on Russian meddling in the US elections included details of those communications, which included people involved in Trump's businesses.

The communications were gathered as part of routine US intelligence collection and not because people close to Trump were being targeted.
McConnell: Flynn investigation 'highly likely' in Senate committee

The FBI and US intelligence agencies continue to try to determine what the motive for the communications were.
One concern was whether Trump associates were coordinating with Russian intelligence operatives over the release of damaging information about the Hillary Clinton campaign.

"If that were the case, then that would escalate things," one official briefed on the investigation said.

[Eric the Green]

President Bannon?: Racist, Islamophobic Breitbart Leader Consolidates Power in Trump White House





"Steve Bannon is running a Cabal" Says White House leaker
https://youtu.be/xtDfiqiVVfo

Is America Experiencing A Fast Moving Coup?
https://youtu.be/gW1tNtccO1g

Jeremy Scahill on Trump Team: A Cabal of Religious Extremists, Privatization Advocates & Racists
https://youtu.be/7j7PUEVvo0A

Reactionaries like Classic Xer, Galen and Warren Dew need to ask if this is what they mean by "American"

[pbrower2a]

Here's a civil complaint -- incitement of violence during a political rally.

A Kentucky federal judge has ruled that a startling lawsuit accusing then-candidate Donald Trump of inciting violence at a campaign rally last year can proceed. The suit was brought forward by three protesters who say they were roughed up by three Trump supporters that the newly-elected president had provoked. The Trump supporters are also being sued.

Trump told the audience at a Louisville rally in March 2016 to “get ‘em out of here,” referring to the protesters — two women and a teenage boy — who were at the Kentucky International Convention Center. The confrontation that followed was caught on video footage that went viral.

Trump’s attorneys argued that the suit should not be allowed to go forward because his speech was protected under the First Amendment — and that he didn’t intend for violence to occur.

U.S. District Judge David Hale ruled that the protesters’ injuries may have been a “direct and proximate result” of Trump’s actions, and that there is no First Amendment protection for speech that incites violence.

“It is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ’em out of here’ advocated the use of force,” Hale wrote in his ruling issued Friday. “It was an order, an instruction, a command. Trump’s statement at least implicitly encouraged the use of violence or lawless action.”

One of the men accused of participating in the attack, Alvin Bamberger, said in a letter cited by the judge: “Trump kept saying, ‘get them out, get them out,’ and people in the crowd began pushing and shoving the protesters. I physically pushed a young woman.”

Plaintiffs Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah and Henry Brousseau are suing Trump and the Trump campaign for incitement to riot, negligence, as well as gross negligence and recklessness. They are seeking unspecified damages.

The judge dismissed part of the suit claiming that Trump and the campaign were “vicariously liable” for assault and battery. Hale said that the men accused of attacking the protesters — who are also being sued — were not employed by the Trump campaign, nor were they under Trump’s direct control.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trum...77f787fd8b?

[Bob Butler 54]

CNN has an interview with Democratic representative Maxine Waters where she says she wants to talk about impeachment.

[David Horn]

(04-02-2017, 10:51 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN has an interview with Democratic representative Maxine Waters where she says she wants to talk about impeachment.

This is about as likely to happen as pigs flying, but a bit of agitation is not unwarranted.  Let Maxine be Maxine.

But let's not be foolish.  Republicans don't impeach other Republicans.  Hell, they don't even criticize them very often.  Then again, Trump is in a class of one, so he may make the rule mute ... at least in his case.  I still doubt that impeachment will happen unless the GOP sees itself on the brink of doom.

[Bob Butler 54]

(04-03-2017, 09:36 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(04-02-2017, 10:51 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN has an interview with Democratic representative Maxine Waters where she says she wants to talk about impeachment.

This is about as likely to happen as pigs flying, but a bit of agitation is not unwarranted.  Let Maxine be Maxine.

But let's not be foolish.  Republicans don't impeach other Republicans.  Hell, they don't even criticize them very often.  Then again, Trump is in a class of one, so he may make the rule mute ... at least in his case.  I still doubt that impeachment will happen unless the GOP sees itself on the brink of doom.

I agree.  We are a long long way from things getting serious.  Still, I thought it worthy to note.  I also think Trump is as narcissistic as Nixon was paranoid.  He doesn't deserve impeachment yet, but he has the potential.

[pbrower2a]

Say what you want about Russia, but on this matter I am in solidarity with Russia:

ISIS supporters are celebrating two explosions on St. Petersburg subways that have killed at least 9 people and injured at least 20, according to Russian media reports.

"We ask Allah to bless the operation by the lions of the Caliphate, we ask Allah to kill the Crusaders," said an ISIS supporter from the terror group's al-Minbar forum. Others celebrated by saying that the Monday bombs made for "a metro to hell for the worshipers of the Cross" and claimed that the attacks, which are still under investigation, were a revenge against Russia's acts in Syria.

"Russia should drink from the same cup and taste from what the Muslims in Syria have tasted," said one user, promising that "the next will be worse and more bitter, you worshipers of the Cross."

The Kremlin has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fight against ISIS and other rebel groups. Russian airstrikes and shelling have killed hundreds of people and reduced entire areas to rubble.

The explosions occurred at the Sennaya Ploshchad and the Technology Institute stations, both in the center of Russia's second biggest city. At least one involved a device filled with shrapnel, according to Interfax news agency. It reported that all metro stations in the city have been closed following the blast.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently in St. Petersburg and has said that the authorities are looking into all possible motivations, including terrorism.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/04.../22023801/

[pbrower2a]

(04-03-2017, 11:56 AM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Most reasonable people would agree that "get them out" definitely meets or exceeds the "yelling fire in a crowded theater" test. It was clearly incitement of violence and was not protected speech.

It's incitement to riot, which is never protected speech. That the rioters have the word "SECURITY" emblazoned on their shirts makes it no less a riot.

[Eric the Green]

(04-03-2017, 01:04 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: The Kremlin has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fight against ISIS and other rebel groups. Russian airstrikes and shelling have killed hundreds of people and reduced entire areas to rubble.

No, no, no, The Kremlin has NOT supported Assad's fight against ISIS; the Kremlin has NOT bombed ISIS; the Kremlin has bombed the rebels against the criminal Assad.

[Eric the Green]

(04-03-2017, 10:51 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 09:36 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(04-02-2017, 10:51 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN has an interview with Democratic representative Maxine Waters where she says she wants to talk about impeachment.

This is about as likely to happen as pigs flying, but a bit of agitation is not unwarranted.  Let Maxine be Maxine.

But let's not be foolish.  Republicans don't impeach other Republicans.  Hell, they don't even criticize them very often.  Then again, Trump is in a class of one, so he may make the rule mute ... at least in his case.  I still doubt that impeachment will happen unless the GOP sees itself on the brink of doom.

I agree.  We are a long long way from things getting serious.  Still, I thought it worthy to note.  I also think Trump is as narcissistic as Nixon was paranoid.  He doesn't deserve impeachment yet, but he has the potential.

He of course deserves impeachment, but as of yet the charges against him of collusion with Russia to meddle in our elections have not been certified or proven in open committee or FBI indictment. Even then, it may not be enough for the Republicans to impeach and convict him (Remember, impeachment does not remove a president; he must be convicted by 2/3 vote in the Senate IIRC). Republicans are often as stupid as Devin Nunes or Ted Yoho. These guys are stupid, and they reflect the mentality of those who voted for them.
https://youtu.be/TMfu3aaxE68

[David Horn]

(04-03-2017, 10:51 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 09:36 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(04-02-2017, 10:51 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: CNN has an interview with Democratic representative Maxine Waters where she says she wants to talk about impeachment.

This is about as likely to happen as pigs flying, but a bit of agitation is not unwarranted.  Let Maxine be Maxine.

But let's not be foolish.  Republicans don't impeach other Republicans.  Hell, they don't even criticize them very often.  Then again, Trump is in a class of one, so he may make the rule mute ... at least in his case.  I still doubt that impeachment will happen unless the GOP sees itself on the brink of doom.

I agree.  We are a long long way from things getting serious.  Still, I thought it worthy to note.  I also think Trump is as narcissistic as Nixon was paranoid.  He doesn't deserve impeachment yet, but he has the potential.

I've heard a few people raise the issue of mental competence. That may all be bluster, or wishful thinking, but impeachment is the wrong solution for that problem.  We have the 25th Amendment to resolve those issues, and the GOP may actually be more willing to rely on that.

[pbrower2a]

(04-03-2017, 02:40 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 01:04 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: The Kremlin has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fight against ISIS and other rebel groups. Russian airstrikes and shelling have killed hundreds of people and reduced entire areas to rubble.

No, no, no, The Kremlin has NOT supported Assad's fight against ISIS; the Kremlin has NOT bombed ISIS; the Kremlin has bombed the rebels against the criminal Assad.

Direct citation  of a news source.  Putin has done more to destroy the pro-democracy fighters  in Syria than to destroy ISIS.

[Eric the Green]

(04-03-2017, 04:01 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 02:40 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 01:04 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: The Kremlin has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fight against ISIS and other rebel groups. Russian airstrikes and shelling have killed hundreds of people and reduced entire areas to rubble.

No, no, no, The Kremlin has NOT supported Assad's fight against ISIS; the Kremlin has NOT bombed ISIS; the Kremlin has bombed the rebels against the criminal Assad.

Direct citation  of a news source.  Putin has done more to destroy the pro-democracy fighters  in Syria than to destroy ISIS.

yes yes yes

[Bob Butler 54]

The LA Times is not sitting on any fences.  They are currently publishing a series of editorials on Trump...  unfavorable editorials to put it mildly.  The first is Our Dishonest President, followed by Why Trump Lies.  These are the first two of four promised.

LA Times Wrote:These are immensely dangerous developments which threaten to weaken this country’s moral standing in the world, imperil the planet and reverse years of slow but steady gains by marginalized or impoverished Americans. But, chilling as they are, these radically wrongheaded policy choices are not, in fact, the most frightening aspect of the Trump presidency.

What is most worrisome about Trump is Trump himself. He is a man so unpredictable, so reckless, so petulant, so full of blind self-regard, so untethered to reality that it is impossible to know where his presidency will lead or how much damage he will do to our nation. His obsession with his own fame, wealth and success, his determination to vanquish enemies real and imagined, his craving for adulation — these traits were, of course, at the very heart of his scorched-earth outsider campaign; indeed, some of them helped get him elected. But in a real presidency in which he wields unimaginable power, they are nothing short of disastrous.

I'm used to this sort of stuff from Eric and others on the board.  Pretty direct criticism.

[Ragnarök_62]

(04-03-2017, 07:10 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat...132b2526d6

'The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.'

Side note regarding Prince. His business these days appears to be arms trafficking. His base of operation is the same one Viktor Bout used prior to getting arrested. Just because Bout was arrested it does not mean his operation ceased. In fact, I suspect it did not cease, since it was a GRU front. So here we have Prince operating a similar business from the same place Bout did and Bout's op was a GRU op. Who knows, it could merely be a coincidence. In any case, Prince's business needs to be deeply investigated.

Yeah... This does not surprise me. Some rouge defense contractor, Blackwater is in with Russia.  So, there you go, there XY_MOX_4AD, yet another reason to nationalize all of the defense private sector. Defense as properly structured should be fully owned by the national government. I'd go as far to say that private prisons should be abolished as well. The private sector has no business whatsoever when it comes to proper government functions like defense in the true sense and criminal justice. The profit motive , as such has no place in such vital government functions. Death to the new Jim Crow [prison labor], death to Civil Asset Forfeiture [policing for profits], death to the MIC, death to I-Spy invasion of privacy. After all, what's fighting for "human rights" when at the home front, that entails compromise of our human rights?




So, is what the MIC doing worth the risk, eh?  I don't think so, myself...





Heheheheheeheheheheheheheheheheh. 

http://www.cannabissearch.com/strains/soma/

Man, it's nice to find something to mellow me out.

[Eric the Green]

(04-03-2017, 07:10 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat...132b2526d6

'The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.'

Side note regarding Prince. His business these days appears to be arms trafficking. His base of operation is the same one Viktor Bout used prior to getting arrested. Just because Bout was arrested it does not mean his operation ceased. In fact, I suspect it did not cease, since it was a GRU front. So here we have Prince operating a similar business from the same place Bout did and Bout's op was a GRU op. Who knows, it could merely be a coincidence. In any case, Prince's business needs to be deeply investigated.

GRU???

The GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye) is the main military foreign-intelligence service of the Russian Federation.?

[Ragnarök_62]

(04-03-2017, 11:24 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(04-03-2017, 07:10 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat...132b2526d6

'The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.'

Side note regarding Prince. His business these days appears to be arms trafficking. His base of operation is the same one Viktor Bout used prior to getting arrested. Just because Bout was arrested it does not mean his operation ceased. In fact, I suspect it did not cease, since it was a GRU front. So here we have Prince operating a similar business from the same place Bout did and Bout's op was a GRU op. Who knows, it could merely be a coincidence. In any case, Prince's business needs to be deeply investigated.

GRU???

The GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye) is the main military foreign-intelligence service of the Russian Federation.?

XY_MOD_4AD is correct here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Intel...irectorate
The GRU is essentially the equivalent to the CIA.

Arms/drug trafficking:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_involv...rafficking
http://www.salon.com/2016/06/28/cia_and_...port_says/

Spooks of a feather , flock together.

* The Birds award for the GRU and CIA, man.   They'll drive ya mad, you know.

[David Horn]

(04-03-2017, 07:10 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat...132b2526d6

'The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.'

Side note regarding Prince. His business these days appears to be arms trafficking. His base of operation is the same one Viktor Bout used prior to getting arrested. Just because Bout was arrested it does not mean his operation ceased. In fact, I suspect it did not cease, since it was a GRU front. So here we have Prince operating a similar business from the same place Bout did and Bout's op was a GRU op. Who knows, it could merely be a coincidence. In any case, Prince's business needs to be deeply investigated.

You missed the real side note: his sister is Betsy DeVos.  Both of them are asshole deep in funding Trump Presidency™, so anything either has to say is suspect by definition.

[pbrower2a]

(04-03-2017, 07:38 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: The LA Times is not sitting on any fences.  They are currently publishing a series of editorials on Trump...  unfavorable editorials to put it mildly.  The first is Our Dishonest President, followed by Why Trump Lies.  These are the first two of four promised.

LA Times Wrote:These are immensely dangerous developments which threaten to weaken this country’s moral standing in the world, imperil the planet and reverse years of slow but steady gains by marginalized or impoverished Americans. But, chilling as they are, these radically wrongheaded policy choices are not, in fact, the most frightening aspect of the Trump presidency.

What is most worrisome about Trump is Trump himself. He is a man so unpredictable, so reckless, so petulant, so full of blind self-regard, so untethered to reality that it is impossible to know where his presidency will lead or how much damage he will do to our nation. His obsession with his own fame, wealth and success, his determination to vanquish enemies real and imagined, his craving for adulation — these traits were, of course, at the very heart of his scorched-earth outsider campaign; indeed, some of them helped get him elected. But in a real presidency in which he wields unimaginable power, they are nothing short of disastrous.

I'm used to this sort of stuff from Eric and others on the board.  Pretty direct criticism.

This connects to Part 3: Trump's Authoritarian Vision, the next editorial installment. Donald Trump is a seventy-year-old man-child who can't tolerate mistakes by others or neglect of his immediate desires, but even more, he cannot accept the claim of anyone to more wisdom or expertise. That goes with his insular mind.

Recall Socrates (or Plato's recollection), who defined wisdom practically as knowing the limits of one's own knowledge and one's capacity to extract or create it. It's a lengthy discussion, and it is very old, but it is beyond denial.

In short,

Quote:Deep Rationality Theory (DRT):

Quote: S is wise iff

1. S has a wide variety of epistemically justified beliefs on a wide variety of valuable academic subjects.
   
2. S has a wide variety of justified beliefs on how to live rationally (epistemically, morally, and practically).
   
3. S is committed to living rationally.
   
4. S has very few unjustified beliefs and is sensitive to her limitations.
   

In condition (1), DRT takes account of what is attractive about some knowledge theories by requiring epistemically justified beliefs about a wide variety of standard academic subjects. Condition (2) takes account of what is attractive about theories that require knowledge about how to live well. For example, having justified beliefs about how to live in a practically rational way would include having a well-reasoned strategy for dealing with the practical aspects of life. Having a rational plan does not require perfect success. It requires having good reasons behind one's actions, responding appropriately to, and learning from, one's mistakes, and having a rational plan for all sorts of situations and problems. Having justified beliefs about how to live in a morally rational way would not involve being a moral saint, but would require that one has good reasons supporting her beliefs about what is morally right and wrong, and about what one morally ought and ought not do in a wide variety of circumstances. Having justified beliefs about living in an emotionally rational way would involve, not dispassion, but having justified beliefs about what is, and what is not, an emotionally rational response to a situation. For example, it is appropriate to feel deeply sad when dealing with the loss of a loved one. But, ordinarily, feeling deeply sad or extremely angry is not an appropriate emotion to spilled milk. A wise person would have rational beliefs about the emotional needs and behaviors of other people.

Condition (3) ensures that the wise person live a life that reflects what she or he is justified in believing is a rational way to live. In condition (4), DRT respects epistemic humility. Condition (4) requires that a wise person not believe things without epistemic justification. The Deep Rationality Theory rules out all of the unwise poets, politicians, and craftsmen that were ruled out by Socrates. Wise people do not think they know when they lack sufficient evidence. Moreover, wise people are not epistemically arrogant.
The Deep Rationality Theory does not require knowledge or perfection. But it does require rationality, and it accommodates degrees of wisdom. It is a promising theory of wisdom.

Promising? Practically self-evident. The wisest people know their limitations. Fools see superiority in their own unexamined image of the world, one of solipsism. Of course one must have the privilege of living in a rational manner, something impossible if one is a plantation slave, a helpless person in the hold of a slave ship or a cattle car, or a zek. When rationality is not a choice, or when economic or political reality is nothing more than subjection, then one lives as rationally only as one's masters or one's pathological mental state allows.

Neither Socrates nor Plato is a liberal or a democrat -- but we can still heed them on those points. Donald Trump is neither a liberal nor a democrat, but his infantile concept of rationality is incompatible with the expression of rationality by others who cam think in a way other than his, which is extremely easy.

Rationality is not enough, to be sure. We need to love and we need some aesthetic delight, and rationality can make us better lovers and better at appreciating or promoting the great arts. For good reason we have ethical commandments posed in such elementary terms (like "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness") so that people need think little to obey them.