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Thursday Open Thread

I'm off to the jail in the mountains and won't be back until after dinner. It's a beautiful day for the drive though.

In the news, Argentina has charged Pablo Escobar's widow and son with money laundering. I tried to read the 57 page order in Spanish, but all I got was the investigation was started due to information received from our holy global warriors, the DEA, in conjunction with Colombia, who passed it on to Argentina. At first there wasn't enough evidence to charge them, but the court now believes there is. They will both remain free pending the outcome.

The charges seem to be that they invested money with a drug trafficker in Colombia named José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos, who worked with the "Office of Evigago" and Cali Cartel who also managed investments in Colombia and Argentina. He was arrested last year and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on bribery and obstruction of justice charges in the Southern District of Florida. The Indictment is here. (He allegedly bribed an ICE agent.) [More...]

Shortly before his arrest, Piedrahita was on the radar of Argentine authorities for his involvement in a network of money laundering schemes in the south of the country. Authorities said he may have laundered as much as $15 million through various businesses, including a cafe in Buenos Aires and a government railroad construction project. Apparently, well-known criminals participated in the network, including Victoria Henao and Juan Pablo Escobar — the widow and son of Pablo Escobar — now known as María Isabel Santos and Sebastián Marroquín.

In the TV department: I finally watched the pilot episode of Dietland and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about -- in fact, I'm not sure what it's about, but it's good. The only character I'm not crazy about is Julianna Margulies -- she vamps it up too much and while Plum seems real, she seems like a caricature.

In the Narcodrama department, the five episode "El Desconocido: La Historia del Cholo Adrián” (The Unknown Hitman: The Story of El Cholo Adrián”) about "El Cholo Ivan" (Orso Ivan Gastelum Cruz) El Chapo's security guard and one-time alleged chief hitman, on Netflix is really good. A review is here. More here. It has English subtitles. It definitely tells the story from the trafficker' point of view. The actor who plays him, Guillermo Ivan Dueñas, does a really good job. The actor who plays El Chapo also is well cast (much more credible than the one who plays him in the Univision series, which I didn't like). By the third episode, I forgot he wans't "El Chapo" in real life. The series includes both of El Chapo's last escapes (the tunnel at the prison and the sewer run in Los Mochis, where both were captured). But happily, it doesn't dwell on them.

The main story is about El Cholo and his father, how he became a trafficker, and his love story with a young beauty queen, who was killed in a shootout with police. (It's still debated in Mexico whether she was a victim or she came out of the vehicle shooting at police.]

While El Cholo does bad things, the series shows why he does them -- not in justification, but in a way that shows the bad acts aren't random acts of violence, there's always a reason. The sub-arcs about the beauty queen and her protective mother, and El Cholo's first love, a girl who loved him back but rejected him because his father was a drug trafficker, are very well done. From a press release quoting the executive producer, Carolina Bilbao:

“The fictional series, inspired by real headlines, goes beyond basic storytelling and examines the human side of the war—the story delves into the characters and their personal experiences, choices, dilemmas and conflicts, as well as what it means to be born into a narco family and have no other realistic alternatives. Viewers will be able to identify with the themes of friendship, parenthood, youth, love and loss. We are honored to tell this never-before-told story, we’re confident audiences will love it.”

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Russians. Russians, You're the Russian. (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by KeysDan on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 01:25:26 PM EST
    BuzzFeed reports that Ivanka connected fixer/private Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, with a chiseled Russian bodybuilder, who offered to introduce Trump to Putin, our Russian adversary,  to pave the way for a 100-story Trump Tower in Moscow.  

    As her father was campaigning to become president of the USA, Ivanka connected Cohen with Dmitry Klakov to help close a business deal that could have made the Trump family $millions. It is unclear how Ivanka came into contact with Klakov, but FBI and Congressional investigators are trying to ascertain the connection.  The Trumpian disavowals are, of course, belied by emails.  

    Seems to be (none / 0) (#3)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 05:22:23 PM EST
    The whole family, with the exception of Tiffany and Barron.
    Oy!
    Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

    Parent
    Our Story So Far: (none / 0) (#8)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 10:15:26 PM EST
    First, Trump & Co. insisted that nothing at all happened.

    Then they said that nothing bad happened.

    Then they assured us that nothing illegal happened.

    Then they said that even if something illegal happened, the president didn't know about it.

    Then they said that even if something illegal happened, it's not a crime because the president can't be indicted.

    Then they told us that if something illegal happened, it doesn't matter because the president can pardon himself.

    Now, they're saying that the Constitution is wrong, because the Attorney General doesn't necessarily act as the president's personal attorney.

    What are they going to tell us tomorrow?

    Parent

    That is a really good rundown of excuses. (none / 0) (#19)
    by leap on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 12:53:33 PM EST
    Kind of reminds of Passover feast ritual, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"

    Parent
    Dayenu (none / 0) (#20)
    by Peter G on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 02:17:43 PM EST
    oh, that's it! (none / 0) (#22)
    by leap on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 03:16:22 PM EST
    It has been decades since I had to sit through that dinner-table ceremony. Being the only girl-child among four, I just never paid attention to the details in the highly male-dominated cants. And found the whole thing excruciatingly boring. Except when one of my brothers was always trying to make me laugh at the wrong times (duck soup), thus provoking the wrath of our dad. A neat trick. Not!

    Dayenu.

    Parent

    And on a different subject: Food! (5.00 / 3) (#4)
    by Zorba on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 05:30:28 PM EST
    I made a very nice bacon and ham quiche (if I do say so myself), with a salad and some home-made bread.
    Have to try and divert my mind from the idiocies going on in this country, after all.
    (Oh, and also, accompanied by a nice Pinot Gris.)
    Cooking is a form of meditation for me, in a way.  And the wine certainly doesn't hurt.  ;-)
    Namaste.

    We ate "Zorba" brand dolmata (none / 0) (#6)
    by Peter G on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 08:24:36 PM EST
    (am I right that that is the plural of dolma?) with our dinner tonight. Admittedly not homemade, but pretty good.

    Parent
    Ha, I've never seen (none / 0) (#34)
    by Zorba on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 08:13:55 AM EST
    "Zorba" brand.  But then, I've never looked, since I make my own.
    BTW, the plural is "dolmades," with the d's pronounced like "th" in "the."
    The diminutive plural is "dolmadakia."  These are the smaller ones served on a mezedakia platter.

    Parent
    Today (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 08:17:58 AM EST
    I am making bratwurst and sauerkraut

    It smells great.

    Parent

    Today I'm grilling Mahimahi, (5.00 / 2) (#47)
    by fishcamp on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 07:05:29 PM EST
    My old standby.  My little rice cooker has a vegetable steamer thingy that fits on top, just at the end, to steam asparagus.  Blackie the cat is darting around the kitchen for his share of the fresh mahi.  

    Yesterday I went a ways offshore, between rainstorms, and hooked up a small mahi.  Lightening on the Gulfstream sent me right back home.  The Gulfstream is only about four miles offshore around here this week, so it brings the big fish in, making it easy with my bonefish skiff.  I caught him on a small ten pound spinning rig.  Tight jaws because they are tough fish.

    Parent

    Nice. Love the mahi mahi. (none / 0) (#49)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 07:26:06 PM EST
    Went out during the last grunion run and was shocked to catch a  legal-sized white sea bass from the beach on a bass rod. He was delicious as well!

    Parent
    This recipe (none / 0) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 09:06:16 AM EST
    Sounds good to me, (none / 0) (#63)
    by Zorba on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 03:53:33 PM EST
    Howdy.
    Have you ever tried throwing some juniper berries in the sauerkraut?  I've made it with onions, bacon, and the juniper berries.
    I often use apples, juniper berries, onions, bacon with sweet and sour red cabbage.

    Parent
    That one used Apple (none / 0) (#64)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 04:46:53 PM EST
    I just finished off the leftovers.

    Parent
    Melania shoots down Guiliani (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Yman on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 08:02:01 PM EST
    Melania Trump's office disputes Rudy Giuliani's comments about her thoughts on Stormy Daniels

    The spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump pushed back Thursday on the assertion from President Donald Trump's outside attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that she "believes her husband" about porn star Stormy Daniels's allegation of a 2006 affair.

    "I don't believe Mrs. Trump has ever discussed her thoughts on anything with Mr. Giuliani," her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, told The New York Times. Reached by Business Insider, Grisham said she had nothing more to add.

    Ouch.

    Rudy Jerkolini... (none / 0) (#7)
    by desertswine on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 09:09:27 PM EST
    is a real pig.  What a disgusting human being, if he is a human being.  He may be one of those lizard people (no offense meant to lizards)l

    Parent
    What are the odds... (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 10:38:01 PM EST
    that Putin gets a Stanley Cup ring from his pal Ovechkin and lords it over the Angry Orange?

    Is it possible (5.00 / 3) (#10)
    by Chuck0 on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 08:35:29 AM EST
    that this oompah loompah in the White House can get any GD dumber? He floated, in typical TV tickler fashion, the idea that he was going to pardon Muhammad Ali. Exactly what, is this incessant moron going to pardon Ali for? For dying? For being a Muslim? For having the audacity to be a proud black man? Isn't some kind of conviction necessary? Ali's conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court. There is no crime for which to pardon Muhammad Ali for.

    And RIP Anthony Bourdain. I liked his attitude.

    Not sure what to say about Bourdain's loss (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 09:27:21 AM EST
    Right now. Josh was up late of course so still in bed thank God.

    I didn't really know who Anthony Bourdain was until my junior high son started filling up the DVR with Parts Unknown. He loved Bourdain's travel and clear eye and respect for all humanity.

    As a special needs therapist, Zorba can probably confirm that most children born with mouth anomalies have food texture issues and life long food texture challenges. Josh is no different. But Bourdain episodes inspired him to try things.

    Josh asked to try Vietnamese food when we arrived here because of a Bourdain episode. It has become his thing. We had his graduation dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant. I couldn't remember which episode Anthony went to Vietnam in, so looked it up. It was with President Obama. I had to have a little cry this morning.

    Parent

    Yes, (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by Zorba on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 05:11:09 PM EST
    Children with mouth abnormalities can have food texture issues.
    So can kids without physiological mouth abnormalities but who have sensory issues.  Those with sensory processing problems, and some of the autistic kids as well.
    I'm glad that Josh got to expand his food repertoire because of Bourdain.  I really enjoyed his shows.  I hope Josh is not too upset about the death, but it would be understandable for him to be sad.


    Parent
    The Asset of the Deal. (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 03:46:15 PM EST
    Trump, before boarding Marine One at the White House for his trip to the G-7 summit in Canada, called for the re-admittance of Russia--after being kicked out for the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

    "Whether or not, and it may be politically incorrect, but WE have a world to run."  "THEY should let Russia come back in." says Trump. Is the WE,Putin/Trump and the THEY all those peace mongers?  Politically correct...should work well with Republicans,..a good way to annoy liberals.

    It is neither politically incorrect, nor politically correct. It is a matter for discussion at the summit, its pros and cons. After all, Russia is #11 in GDP, just behind Canada, right?

     Curious to negotiate this on the White House lawn.   Vladimir wants back in, probably, more than sanctions relief.  Odd negotiations... giving up something without getting anything. Oh, wait. Maybe there is something...Trump Tower Moscow back on the drawing board?  

    I love this pic (5.00 / 1) (#67)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 05:55:27 PM EST
    Of the "mark" Macron left on Trump

    That had to be a power handshake

    Hahahaha! (5.00 / 2) (#68)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 06:14:06 PM EST
    I hoped he rolled those old knuckles together like he was tossing a bag full of marbles.

    Wow do I ever despise Trump.

    Parent

    At this point, I believe that trump... (none / 0) (#73)
    by desertswine on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 09:33:35 PM EST
    is a Russian operative - a Moscovian candidate.

    Parent
    My favorite photo from the G-7 minus One (5.00 / 2) (#70)
    by leap on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 06:53:32 PM EST
    Maybe (5.00 / 2) (#71)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 07:00:14 PM EST
    the best picture of the entire tRump era, although I am holding out for the one of him be frog marched out of the WH.

    Parent
    When you're the President of France (5.00 / 6) (#72)
    by jondee on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 09:28:10 PM EST
    they let you grab them by the hand and give it a good squeeze.

    Parent
    My (none / 0) (#69)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 06:41:23 PM EST
    my, this whole trade war does seem to be getting quite personal. No wonder tRump felt the need to bully Trudeau like he and his henchmen have been doing.

    Parent
    This performance by the parkland kids (5.00 / 3) (#74)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 09:26:53 AM EST
    is being u universally praised
    And deservedly so.

    THIS PERFORMANCE by DeNiro is being met with hand wringing snowflakes.

    Fu@k the snowflakes

    I agree with Chuck.  We can't keep playing by the old rules.  The rules have changed.  

    Lot of hand wringing on MJ (5.00 / 2) (#75)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 10:25:39 AM EST
    this morning over this. The consensus was that it only helps Bone Spurs. Eff that. It needs to be said more often by more people. I have it playing on an endless loop in my office today. Hope someone down the hall doesn't like it.

    Parent
    I (5.00 / 3) (#76)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 10:47:48 AM EST
    agree, I am sick and tired of fighting this asymmetrical war, where the deplorables are allowed to say any vile thing or ridiculous blatant lie they choose, yet scream bloody murder over even mild criticism or when  confronted with actual facts.

    It's been no holds barred for me for a long time when dealing with tRump supporters(at least the ones who are unarmed).

    Parent

    There must (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 11:25:22 AM EST
    this kind of mass "I'm sick of all this" thing going on because I have started playing trigger a conservative.

    Trigger a conservative with one word: Obama or Hillary.
    Trigger a conservative with two words: Bill Clinton.

    They can continue to have all the meltdowns they want to have. I'm sick of it and I think most of America is sick of it.

    Also trigger a conservative with a phrase: ICE is taking people's children.

    Parent

    GO GIRL (5.00 / 1) (#92)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:06:44 AM EST
    I have a favorite Tshirt

    On the front AND back it says

    JANE FONDA WAS RIGHT

    Parent

    Trump's behavior toward (none / 0) (#82)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 01:44:48 PM EST
    the leaders of the Atlantic Alliance and Japan at the G-6 minus 1, meeting may be the end of the butter 'em up epoch by Macron and Trudeau, and more of the business-minded Merkel.

      As David Leonhardt
    writes (NYTimes, June 11), Trump is trying to destroy the Alliance of US/Western Europe. He chose the Quebec meeting to pick a fight over artificial issues and not to win big concessions for the US.  

    Trump, not unsurprisingly, did not tell the truth about trade, an issue that he did not even describe well.  Trump is threatening the Atlantic Alliance over a lie.  Why?  Russian Kompromat?  Just to be different?  Whatever, it sure seems clear that Trump does want to destroy the Alliance.  And, the response needs to be as serious as the threat.

    The replacement alliance is to be with Russia, China, North Korea.  Not a hearing in the Senate or House on the dramatic shift in foreign policy/whim.  The media is ready to crown Trump for doing for Kim what no other president has done....sure, but without regard to cost. And, sells it as take it or get bombed.  Only option..one re-constructed out of equal parts rocket man, fire,  and fury.

    As Leonhardt warns, the task for American voters in this year's election is not a referendum on tax cuts, heath care or Trump's style, but a referendum on American ideals.  And, it could added, an existential referendum on America.

    Parent

    It (none / 0) (#83)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 04:38:02 PM EST
    all comes down to this,
    The best distillation of the Trump Doctrine I heard, though, came from a senior White House official with direct access to the president and his thinking. I was talking to this person several weeks ago, and I said, by way of introduction, that I thought it might perhaps be too early to discern a definitive Trump Doctrine.

    "No," the official said. "There's definitely a Trump Doctrine."

    "What is it?" I asked. Here is the answer I received:

    "The Trump Doctrine is `We're America, Bitch.' That's the Trump Doctrine."

    Funny how he never say's that to Putin.

    Parent
    I agree (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 11:21:02 AM EST
    with you. I am so sick of the handwringing about everything. I have just started telling conservatives they are triggered and letting them melt down. I'm done.

    Parent
    You know what cracks me up? (none / 0) (#81)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 12:56:57 PM EST
    This "concern" or "outrage" has what shelf life? 48 hrs at best because Trump have taken his next heinous action.

    Net neutrality died today. Do the hand wringers understand THAT?

    I think when Evangelicals have to pay for their internet porn the caca really hits the fan hahaha

    Parent

    I'm laughing (5.00 / 1) (#88)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 10:46:44 PM EST
    at this North Korean summit. This is the most ridiculous thing ever. Two egomaniacs patting each other on the back and Trump talking about how he's honored to meet a murderous dictator.

    John Meecham (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 07:19:36 AM EST
    "Just because something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it's historic. "

    Parent
    But when it comes to sea lions that swim their way from the coast to inland rivers, Oregon officials are no longer feeling so indulgent. After years of nonlethal hazing efforts, the state wildlife agency is now seeking permission to kill them.

    The sea lions are a target because of their voracious appetite for threatened and endangered fish. They gobble up so many winter steelhead at Willamette Falls, south of Portland, that state biologists say there's a 90 percent chance the fish run will go extinct. If granted a special permit from the federal government, Oregon could trap and kill as many as 92 sea lions at the falls each year.

    A predicament, but I think protecting the steelhead by killing the sea lions seems like the right thing to do in this situation.

    A week late (none / 0) (#1)
    by ragebot on Thu Jun 07, 2018 at 12:49:12 PM EST
    and the season started early.

    I made it to Laguna Beach for Alberto's landfall and got some sorta OK pix of the deformed and falling apart eye there.  Not much happened in St. Marks where my boat is now docked, storm surge was less than three feet.  Things seem to have been a lot worse on the Mid Atlantic Coast.

    In any case the GFS and other models are showing an Alberto clone as a real possibility.  Seems like a really strange year since the water of Africa is abnormally cool now and it is unlikely any invests will form there for quite some time.

    This time of year my first stop on the internet is  spaghetti models.  Less frequently my friend Levi posts on tropical tidbits, but his site is the gold standard for me.  Levi is a post doc guy at FSU and knows his stuff.  Fair winds and following seas.  Especially for my friends sailing in and around Baja where there seem to be Aletta and another invest there now.  Guess I am lucky to only have one.

    RIP Anthony Bourdain (none / 0) (#11)
    by McBain on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 09:02:27 AM EST
    Apparently, he committed suicide.
    CNN confirmed Bourdain's death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.
    Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, "Parts Unknown." His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.


    For a man (none / 0) (#12)
    by CST on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 09:15:19 AM EST
    Who had what appeared to be the greatest job in the world - he never really seemed happy.

    I hope he's finally at rest.

    Also - Eric Ripert always seemed like a really nice person, I hope he's doing ok, I can't even imagine experiencing that.

    Parent

    He did seem to have a great job (none / 0) (#15)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 11:46:44 AM EST
    and by extension, lifestyle. And Kate Spade's gig/lifestyle seemed pretty great too.

    We've recently been touched by the suicide of a beloved athletic coach at my sons' HS.

    He had gone through a bit of a tough time a few months ago with the school's administration and there are a number of people now feeling like they might have been part of the reason for his suicide, or maybe could/should have been more helpful, or aware, etc.

    The kids lost someone who really made a difference.

    Parent

    Money and success does not deter depression. (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 08:49:01 PM EST
    What excruciating inner turmoil and emotional pain someone must be experiencing, to conclude that death is the only way to find peace. My thoughts in these instances are with those who are left behind. Survivor's guilt is a devastating consequences in these matters.

    Parent
    Yes, my point exactly. (none / 0) (#30)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 10:09:29 PM EST
    My wife recently had an employee commit suicide, and she is experiencing survivor's guilt. It's easy for me to tell her it's not her fault, but I'm not in her shoes.

    Parent
    was the one who found the body.

    Parent
    Is there any substantial proof (none / 0) (#16)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 11:51:57 AM EST
    that the administration and those other people might have been part of the reason for his suicide?

    Parent
    Making popcorn for this one (none / 0) (#14)
    by ragebot on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 11:31:40 AM EST
    Seems like James A. Wolfe, a recently retired 58 year old senate aide was just charged with lying to investigators about his contacts with a twenty something New York Times reporter Ali Watkins he had a three year affair with in connection with leaks.  He denied the affair till confronted with pix of him and the reporter.  Trump said the retired aide was a 'very important leaker' and this was a 'terrific thing'.  Media watch dog groups were alarmed about the DOJ getting phone and email records of the reporter.  

    There are some reports the relationship was even longer than three years and started when Ali was an 18 year old student and Wolfe was 52.  In any case here is a link to more things to know, including a copy of the indictment about half way down the page.

    Normally, I'd share the media's alarm. (none / 0) (#28)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 09:26:21 PM EST
    However, Ms. Watkins' personal relationship with the accused certainly muddies the waters here. She was the recipient of some pretty significant scoops relating to the Trump-Russia scandal and in retrospect, one has to wonder what the true purpose was.

    It now looks like a real possibility that she might have been carrying the Russians' water for them. And if that's the case, was she fully aware of what she was doing, or was she merely one of the GRU / FSB's "useful idiots"?

    Further, did James Wolfe serve as Buzzfeed's source for the Steele Dossier, which Buzzfeed published online in January 2017? That revelation is being blamed in part for the subsequent death in Moscow of Gen. Oleg Erovinkin, who worked for Russia's State Security Service (FSB) and was suspected by the Kremlin of being one of Christopher Steele's sources.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I wanna know more about (none / 0) (#31)
    by ragebot on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 10:15:31 PM EST
    Carter Page.  Watkins had a long history of reporting on him most likely as a result of Wolfe tipping her off.  But after investigating him since 2013 he is still walking around and no one seems to have anything on him.  I have seen speculation he may be an asset (since 2013 or before) of the CIA.  The guy has a PHD from the University of London.  He also served in the US Navy as an intelligence officer.  He graduated from the Naval Academy in the top 10% of his class and also has an MBA from NYU.  He also has an MA from Georgetown in some type of security studies.  With that background it is hard for me to understand how or why the Russians described him as an idiot.  Even harder to understand is how he seems to keep popping up in so many places.  Certainly he is what I would call a high profile player who intelligence agencies on all sides were aware of for quite some time.  Every time I think I have some type of grasp of what is going on something like Watkins sleeping with Wolfe for details about Page pops up and I wind up feeling like Jon Snow when Ygritte says 'you know nothing'.

    Parent
    No (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by FlJoe on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 08:02:55 AM EST
    intelligence agency is looking for actual idiots. The useful idiot term applies to the ability to manipulate certain well placed people to gather information or spread influence.

    There is little doubt that Page has some serious academic chops, but he sure does come off as paranoid and flaky on his multiple TV appearances. I could see myself describing him as an idiot.

    Any speculation that Page was a friendly asset is pretty far fetched. Sure he has been under investigation for years, but mostly or completely in a counter intelligence frame, I would hazard a guess that they never get "anything" on the vast majority of such targets, at least not anything the could prove in a criminal trial. Matter of fact if they had such a small fish "caught in the act" they would probably let him run as freely as possible to continue the investigation that never really ends. Anyways, if Page was a friendly asset what was the need for the FISA warrant?

    Parent

    Well a (none / 0) (#39)
    by ragebot on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 02:11:21 PM EST
    FISA warrant on Page would allow intercepts of his communications with others, including those in the Trump campaign.  As for speculation Donald wondered if Watkins carrying water for the Russians, even is she did not realize it.

    But you seemed to have missed my point that Page keeps popping up every time I turn around.  For someone who folks describe as an idiot, or useful idiot, he sure seems to get around.  Maybe it is all just random chance, but there are too many random chances for my liking.

    I am still betting we have not seen the last of Page or Watkins, or Wolfe.  Notice Wolfe was only charged with lying to the DOJ.  I doubt all the stuff he leaked to Watkins was unclassified.  Problem is if he was charged with leaking then discovery could easily go into that.  By just charging him with lying discovery will be limited to that.  But I am also betting congress will hold hearings on leaking in general and Wolfe's leaking in particular.

    Stay tuned and keep plenty of popcorn ready.

    Parent

    I've met some very intelligent people ... (none / 0) (#43)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 05:42:46 PM EST
    ... in my life, who've also been extraordinarily and inexplicably credulous when it comes to their dealings with others. My late paternal grandfather would describe such individuals as "book smart and people stupid."

    Carter Page strikes me as one of those Poindexter-type of guys who take others literally and would never realize that they're being used or fleeced. So, it may have never even crossed his mind that the Russians had him pegged as an easily manipulated mark.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Agree (none / 0) (#46)
    by ragebot on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 06:38:51 PM EST
    The term ivory tower comes to mind.  But I still maintain he keeps showing up too often for random chance.  I have also met folks who purposely project an image of not being aware.  Not saying Page is doing that, or that he is not doing that.

    My military experience has been that intelligence officers are unlikely to take everything at face value; in fact just the opposite.  Way back in 2013 Page was known to both the CIA/FBI and the Russians.  One would expect he would have been burned by one or both sides before that.  Yet he was mentioned in the Steele dossier as a significant player.  In fact he was the basis of the FISA warrant.

    Bottom line is we have a guy the FBI was looking at since 2013 and used to get a FISA warrant who has never been charged with anything and seems like a bull in a China shop on TV.  For me it does not pass the smell test.

    Parent

    You (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by FlJoe on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 08:16:35 PM EST
    keep wanting to paint Page with a "uniqueness" that he does not have. The reason that he keeps popping up has more to do with external circumstances than his personal significance, There are probably hundreds if not thousands of people like him who attract the attention of intelligence agencies world wide, very few of them ever get charged in criminal court and even fewer get named as advisers to a major political figure.

    Once again you appear not to understand the difference between criminal and counter intelligence investigations. Of course Page has been on the radar of both sides for years, but really not that much of a blip. He was both of limited value to the Russians and limited danger to us, it's not that surprising that both sided would have no reason to burn him.  

    Of course once he became part tRump's team the stakes got much higher and he got dragged out of the shadows, and thanks to the Steele dossier thrust into the bright spotlights,

    I am still a bit puzzled by Page's starring role in the dossier, the Russians did seem to treat him as a bigger fish than he actually seems to be the case.

    Parent

    Page was a player in the Steel dossier. (none / 0) (#52)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 10:06:54 PM EST
    And that's because his profile was elevated, due to his relationship with the Trump campaign. But the jury's still out as to whether or not he's really all that significant in the Special Counsel's Trump-Russia investigation. If I had to guess, there's probably more smoke around him than fire.

    Parent
    It has (none / 0) (#53)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 07:06:51 AM EST
    been alleged that Page was more or less a mule carrying messages directly to Putin from the Trump campaign.

    Parent
    Lots of things have been alleged. (none / 0) (#87)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 09:33:06 PM EST
    Why am I one of the few people here who's patient enough to let the wheels of justice turn in this cas- oh, fck it! Help us, Obi-wan Mueller! You're our only hope.

    ;-D

    Parent

    Carter Page (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 02:20:37 PM EST
    has continually been caught lying about his meetings with Russians. He appears to be a Putin asset just by what he has said and done.

    Manfort definitely is a Russian asset we now know. Manafort is the one that told Trump to pick Pence. I'm guessing that was an order from Putin.

    After today at the G7 no one questions where Trump's allegiances are and they are not to America. Putin obviously has kompromat on Trump since Trump is continually doing his bidding.

    Parent

    And then Trump arrives late (none / 0) (#45)
    by fishcamp on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 06:21:40 PM EST
    to a G7 meeting disrupting everybody.  He then leaves early to fly to Singapore to meet with the worlds other fool.  One can only hope they both get caned.  BTW why are we supposed to pay for Kim's hotel room?

    Parent
    I know. (none / 0) (#50)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 07:54:13 PM EST
    Apparently Trump was offering up luxury digs paid by for us, of course, as an enticement for Kim Jung-un to meet with him. I'm guessing Kim is going to take the room, run up the bill, tell Trump no, he's not givig up his nukes and go home to a miliary parade in front of North Koreans.

    Parent
    Probably a Trump resort. (none / 0) (#86)
    by oculus on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 09:23:07 PM EST
    Krauthammer says that he only has.. (none / 0) (#17)
    by desertswine on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 12:00:03 PM EST
    a few weeks to live; an aggressive form of cancer.

    Krauthammer's been confined to a wheelchair (none / 0) (#18)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 12:48:59 PM EST
    since he had a diving accident in college.

    Somewhat coincidentally, my wife and I were talking this morning about the drummer/band leader Chick Webb, who was born with tuberculosis of the spine and stood 4 feet tall as an adult, yet still became arguably the greatest jazz drummer of his generation, thundering away on the bandstand at the Savoy Ballroom playing three sets a night and lighting a fire under the Krupas and Buddy Riches of the next generation..

    People can do some amazing things when they dig deep within themselves.

    Parent

    It's not many people I know... (none / 0) (#21)
    by desertswine on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 02:44:37 PM EST
    who can sit around in the morning drinking coffee and having a discussion about Chick Webb.  Exceptional.

    Parent
    It floated up from my (5.00 / 5) (#24)
    by jondee on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 03:54:56 PM EST
    collective unconscious for some reason.

    What's exceptional is having a mate who humors you in these flights of fancy. We're talking about a rare commodity..an exotic species.


    Parent

    True Love!!! (none / 0) (#26)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 07:06:43 PM EST
    What is the appropriate response (none / 0) (#37)
    by Repack Rider on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 10:22:03 AM EST
    ...when tragedy strikes a detestable person?

    Parent
    If it is the oompah loompah ... (none / 0) (#38)
    by Chuck0 on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 01:39:47 PM EST
    party, party, party like it's 1999.

    Parent
    Empathy. (none / 0) (#44)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 05:52:24 PM EST
    While I've never agreed with Charles Krauthammer on practically anything, I have a lot of aloha for both him and his family right now.

    At such times when such individuals are struggling to come to terms with their own immediately imminent mortality, surely we can afford to be a little bit gracious and understanding of their fate.

    After all, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that any one of us may soon find our own selves in a similar plight, in which we have been given a finite period of time by our physicians to tend to our own final affairs as best we can.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    whatever you might be thinking (none / 0) (#48)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 07:15:36 PM EST
    don't say it here. TalkLeft has a policy of not speaking ill of the dead on the occasion of their death. I'm extending that to imminent death, like Krauthammer.

    Parent
    I used the Socratic method (5.00 / 1) (#58)
    by Repack Rider on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 10:01:10 AM EST
    I just ask a question.

    Parent
    Robert Mueller slapped (none / 0) (#25)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jun 08, 2018 at 03:57:58 PM EST
    former Trump Campaign Manager, Paul Manafort, and his Russian colleague, Konstatin Kilimnik, with new indictments....for witness tampering, two new charges for both, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.  Kimimnik and Manafort worked together, according to the indictments, to tamper with witnesses.  

    Mueller is proceeding at his own studied pace, but he needs to move ahead more quickly.  The counter-offensive seems to be working, not unsurprisingly, with the Republicans. The sleazy Rudy, the pardons, etc. will fall precipitously among thinking Americans as Trump and his crooked allies are arraigned.

    Mueller (none / 0) (#41)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jun 09, 2018 at 02:26:42 PM EST
    is going to move ahead at his time not anybody else's it seems.

    However we now know Manafort was a Russian asset. Did he get placed on the Trump campaign by Putin or did Trump pick him out of a choice of Russian assets? At some point this is all going to come out. It sure seems slow though at times.

    I would think the next big thing would be something going down with Michael Cohen since we already know Manafort is likely going to have his bail revoked and be in jail until his trial.

    Parent

    My house guest last week (none / 0) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 08:34:07 AM EST
    Also a foodie was talking about this.  Now its on Mother Jones.  I guess it's a thing.  I have ordered some.  Will report.

    Anyone familiar?


    Move Over Farro: Freekeh Is Your New Favorite Grain


    Oh for pity's sake (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by Zorba on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 03:42:19 PM EST
    It's just durum wheat.  Yeh, toasted, so what?
    What's with all the interest by Westerners in stuff that people in the Middle East have been eating for many, many centuries?

    Parent
    Ms Lindsey on NK (none / 0) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 08:55:05 AM EST
    There are 2 choices.

    Peace or war.

    God help us.

    I read about (none / 0) (#56)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 08:58:30 AM EST
    that and Lindsey demanding that Dems vote for war so when it fails they can point to Dems and say they voted for it too. Let the GOP take the entire fall for some Korean disaster. You can always go home and tell the voters that you didn't believe anything Trump told you and also use George W. Bush as a reason to vote no.

    Parent
    THIS (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 09:01:48 AM EST
    Is the most serious threat we, and the world, faces.

    Trump needs to change the subject.  He doesn't give a sh!t if it kills millions of South Koreans.

    Parent

    Or helpless North Koreans too (none / 0) (#59)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 10:40:37 AM EST
    But he isn't going to stop (none / 0) (#60)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 10:41:30 AM EST
    He just got himself a Bolton. This is only the beginning

    Parent
    Larry Kudlow says (none / 0) (#61)
    by KeysDan on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 01:03:35 PM EST
    "Pierre" Trudeau "betrayed" Trump... Kim must not see weakness (Larry, need to keep up)  It was a "stab in the back", too reminiscent of the imagery Nazis took from Wagner's Gotterdammerung, to blame the Jewish people for Germany's defeat in World War I.

    Need a scapegoat if North Korea goes south. But, I believe Trump will make a deal with Kim, starting with brushing dandruff off Kim's pajama tops, and then taking everything Kim wants.

    Particularly, US will remove its forces from South Korea; Kim will end the war (armistice signed in 1953). Big wins for Kim, China. Not so much for Japan, US.  And, what about denuclearization of the Korean pennisula?  Need a definition first.. Kim, no US nukes; but OK for Kim. US?  who knows? maybe Hannity, his Singapore advisor.  If it looks like a good spin opportunity for Trump, it will be a go.  Nothing else matters. Republicans will be OK with anything as well...need something for November, after that big tax cut for rich is not living up to best expectations.

    And, Lindsey et al. want this to be take it or war. No other options, need to head off Democrats from a Cotton-senate Iran treason letter.  So, if not the Democrats, who are cowed into silence, then it is the Nazi way--you stabbed poor Trump in the back. It is Pierre's fault.

    Nobody (none / 0) (#65)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 05:00:23 PM EST
    is going to give up nukes these days. And I expect Kim will be in the I'm not giving them up group.

    Parent
    China definitely does not want (5.00 / 2) (#66)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jun 10, 2018 at 05:20:10 PM EST
    A unified Korea.  At least not a democratic one on their border.

    Parent
    Dennis Rodman (none / 0) (#77)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 11:10:09 AM EST
    On Korea

    WTF?

    Everyone's in Singapore now.. (5.00 / 1) (#79)
    by desertswine on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 11:22:43 AM EST
    except for Daffy Duck and Sylvester.

    Parent
    Poop security (none / 0) (#84)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 07:58:58 PM EST
    I thought this was funny until it occurred to me it sounds exactly like something Trump would do and for the same reason.


    Why Did Kim Jong-un Bring His Own Toilet to the Trump Summit?
    To protect his poop

    The toilet is reportedly a regular precaution for the leader, so it only makes sense he'd bring it to this monumental event. Kim has had personal toilets installed in his various modes of personal transportation and brings one with him when he visits sites around his own country. The reason, according to Lee Yun-keol, a guard who defected from the country in 2005, is that "the leader's excretions contain information about his health status so they can't be left behind." South Korean media have similarly reported a portable toilet "will deny determined sewer divers insights into to the supreme leader's stools."


    Where is Dennis Rodman? (none / 0) (#85)
    by fishcamp on Mon Jun 11, 2018 at 09:07:16 PM EST
    Kin Jong Un is a big NBA fan and played basketball in school.  He spent two years in a Swiss high school and one of his instructors said he speaks and understands English.  I just read all this in either Google or Yahoo news.

    The Worm was in the house... (none / 0) (#105)
    by kdog on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:42:03 PM EST
    piggy-backing on the pot-belly summit with his trip sponsored by some Canadian cryptocurreny company called Potcoin. I sh*t you not fishcamp.

    Times like this I really miss Hunter S. Thompson to write about it all for Rolling Stone "weird go pro" style.

    Parent

    Latex (none / 0) (#106)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:47:10 PM EST
    There were other bizarre elements, like the North Korean security official clad in latex gloves who emerged to inspect and swab down a pen Kim used to sign a vaguely worded commitment to a process of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.


    Parent
    Next you'll tell me... (5.00 / 1) (#108)
    by kdog on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:54:44 PM EST
    the latex was manufactured by Vandelay Industries.

    Parent
    Totalitarian no dummy... (none / 0) (#107)
    by kdog on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:53:30 PM EST
    if our CIA boys tried to make Fidel's beard fall out or make his cigar explode, we are certainly capable of trying to poison Lil' Kim's pen.

    Jumpin' Jack Flash geopolitics is a gas gas gas!

    Parent

    Have to give a shout-out to my former ... (none / 0) (#89)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 06:30:17 AM EST
    ... college baseball team of yore (okay, we're talking 35 years ago yore), the Washington Huskies, who upset Cal State Fullerton in 10 innings Sunday night in a thrilling NCAA Superregional Final at CSUF's Goodwin Park to earn our school's first-ever trip to the NCAA College World Series, which starts this week in Omaha. And unlike some programs -- <cough!>Florida!</cough!> -- who annually benefit from home cooking in the NCAA Regionals, UW did it the hard way, going through South Carolina and Southern California to get to Omaha.

    Go Huskies!

    I am sure that this will surprise no one (none / 0) (#91)
    by msaroff on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 08:16:24 AM EST
    But I'd love to hear Ms. Merritt's comments on the police chief who framed a 16-year old so that he could boast of a 100% clearance rate:
    Raimundo Atesiano had a statistic to tout at a town council meeting in Biscayne Park, a village of 3,000 in the middle of Florida's Miami-Dade County.

    The Biscayne Park Police Department, where Atesiano was chief at the time, had a clearance rate of 100 percent for burglaries, he said at the July 2013 meeting, according to federal court documents.

    But the statistics were a fictitious stunt to gain favor with elected officials, according to an indictment filed by Benjamin G. Greenberg, the U.S. attorney in South Florida.



    SO! Happy Tuesday! (none / 0) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:30:31 AM EST
    North Korea agrees to "complete de-denuclearization of the Korean peninsula"

    Whew not clear when but whatever.

    Glad that's all settled

    I guess Middle East peace is next.

    /S (none / 0) (#94)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:30:58 AM EST
    DJT (none / 0) (#95)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:33:02 AM EST
    "Honestly......I think he's going to do these thing.
    I really do!

    He IS very talented"

    Parent

    A paranoid explanation of (none / 0) (#96)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:39:32 AM EST
    Yesterday.

    DJT plans a war with NK.  Seriously, Bolton would have done this?  Really,  no.

    This pow wow was to set the scene.  "I tried",  "I talked to him", they are stupid but not stupid enough to believe this will "solve" anything.

    Trump and Bolton plan a war.  Trump to change to subject, Bolton just for sh!ts and grins.

    End paranoid rant.

    Parent

    It turned out (none / 0) (#97)
    by KeysDan on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 10:00:44 AM EST
    better than expected....essentially, nothing happened, other than the photo op. And, it true that a photo op with president of the US has had important diplomatic and leadership symbolism among nations in the past, that is an old and out-dated concept.

     A photo op with Trump has been cheapened by Trump himself, and no longer has the significance it once had. And, even an invitation to the White House, once so coveted, has lost all luster....Russian and North Korean spies have been welcomed to the Oval Office. And, football players. So, why not Kim?  

    Of course, Trump got an iron-clad verbal commitment, as well as that one and a half page agreement letter, that did not include things like missiles because of time. At least, it was standard size, not a joke birthday card (for our 72 year old).  And, no note takers, but Trump says he has the world's greatest memory..just wonder if Kim's is not only as great, but also, the same as Trump's.  

    And, then thee is that "complete de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula."  They will consider working toward which is good, since it may keep Trump away from fire and fury tweets for enough time for him to be booted out, by Mueller or voters.  Kim is sure to use "peninsula," since it means more than the land mass....the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea and the entire Korean environs.  And, who has nuke capabilities in those areas, that Kim wants out?

    Parent

    Yep (none / 0) (#98)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 10:06:16 AM EST
    I see your breakdown as accurate and optimistic.

    Parent
    Also (none / 0) (#99)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 10:09:19 AM EST
    true that a photo op with president of the US has had important diplomatic and leadership symbolism among nations i

    99% Kim 1% Trump

    Parent

    Bolton will incite Trump (none / 0) (#100)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 10:35:48 AM EST
    Or at least give it his all to incite Trump. This failed summit can be the platform Bolton builds incitement from.

    Parent
    Hopefully (none / 0) (#102)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 01:47:44 PM EST
    Bolton can't get another war on before the midterms.

    Parent
    All depends on your (none / 0) (#103)
    by MKS on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:12:14 PM EST
    definition of failure.  This photo-op did have the smell of Chamberlain at Munich.  The Cheeto was so desperate for the photo op.

    Reports now that China knew beforehand that the U.S. would cancel its military exercises.

    Parent

    Not what I meant (none / 0) (#104)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 02:20:33 PM EST
    When NK doesn't denuke, now Trump is being laughed at, now it's personal, then comes Bolton's incitement.

    Bolton and W Bush lost all of the previous progress made with NK with their axis of evil foreign policy. Trump does an even worse job of foreign policy.

    I had actually forgotten Bolton's role in that. Armando remembers

    Parent

    Great. (5.00 / 1) (#109)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 03:25:25 PM EST
    Well, the only thing I can say is why would anyone trust the GOP anymore when it came to telling us the truth about a war? Especially the same group that brought you Iraq.

    Parent
    As in, we're an SNL skit (none / 0) (#110)
    by MKS on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 03:28:10 PM EST
    or two away from Cheeto being egged on by Bolton to launch?

    Parent
    I've completely bummed myself out now (none / 0) (#113)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 05:57:03 PM EST
    No, really (none / 0) (#111)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 04:51:20 PM EST
    Honestly, everytime I read one of his rambling (none / 0) (#112)
    by vml68 on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 05:45:57 PM EST
    nonsensical statements/answers, I scream...How? How the f*&k, is he POTUS??!

    Parent
    I watched that trailer (none / 0) (#114)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 06:02:48 PM EST
    And thought it stank to high heaven of Steve Bannon. It seemed to me there was a lot of stock footage in it. Not that I know how to spot stock footage, just seemed very generic to me. I pictured Steve Bannon in a bathrobe, no underwear of course in front of his laptop for days putting the video together.

    Parent
    It looks (none / 0) (#117)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 07:38:05 PM EST
    like one of those bad movies from the 1960's.

    Parent
    Kind of has (none / 0) (#118)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 07:40:29 PM EST
    the feel of one of those Japanese horror movies like Godzilla.

    Parent
    Loved those.movies (5.00 / 1) (#120)
    by MKS on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:53:40 PM EST
    All that cycles crap (none / 0) (#115)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 06:04:20 PM EST
    Isn't that what Bannon believes? There's some civilization catastrophe cycle?

    Parent
    Dunno (none / 0) (#116)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 06:12:33 PM EST
    I couldn't get past Sylvester Stallone

    Parent
    Scott Adams seems to like (none / 0) (#119)
    by McBain on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 08:31:00 PM EST
    the video.
    "Let me give you my first reaction: It might be the best thing anybody ever did in a negotiation. Period. It might be, in the history of the world, the best thing anyone ever did. It is so good. It hits every note perfectly."

    My only impression is the opening was obviously inspired by the great films Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka.

    Parent

    This is to ridiculous to respond to (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 09:58:35 PM EST
    Directly so I will just suggest googling this

    "scott adams has lost his mind"

    This is like a running gag.

    Parent

    I googled (5.00 / 2) (#123)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 03:30:26 AM EST
    it and wow, Adams is just doing nothing but spewing nonsense and gibberish these days. He can't even make a coherent argument.

    Parent
    Btw (none / 0) (#122)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jun 12, 2018 at 10:00:09 PM EST
    When you type Scott Adams h.....

    The search engines will complete the query.  It's the top choice.

    Parent

    Adams was one of the first to (none / 0) (#125)
    by McBain on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 08:47:58 AM EST
    predict Trump would be elected president.  He talked about Trump being a "master persuader" and "linguistic strategist".

    Parent
    Adams the "hypnotist" says (5.00 / 1) (#126)
    by jondee on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 09:14:21 AM EST
    "you can see eagles and apple pies and flags coming out of Trumps ass when he talks"

    An image I admit, that would never have occurred to me..

    The idea of passing through of Trump's colon being like going on a trip to Yellowstone National Park or Colonial Willamsburg for some Americans these days..


    Parent

    Makes me think of that (5.00 / 1) (#127)
    by jondee on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 09:22:36 AM EST
    toilet painting by Heironymus Bosch..

    Parent
    Love this (none / 0) (#128)
    by Militarytracy on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 10:21:40 AM EST
    Remember when North Korea (none / 0) (#124)
    by CST on Wed Jun 13, 2018 at 08:25:06 AM EST
    Hacked Sony over a mediocre film and it caused a mild international crisis?

    That's the only film I could think of, and Trump is clearly the James Franco character.  We'll see if he "gets it" by the end of the movie or not.

    Thank you (none / 0) (#130)
    by KeysDan on Thu Jun 14, 2018 at 12:21:26 PM EST
    for your service..   Support the troops.

    I say (none / 0) (#131)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jun 14, 2018 at 01:14:03 PM EST
    Appoint an extra special counsel to investigate the Mueller investigation.

    It will only bolster Mueller.

    DOIT B!TCHES