The Cyberwar is about to get hot

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 10/14/2016 - 11:06pm

It's official: Washington is gearing up for cyberwar with Russia.

The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.
Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation designed to harass and "embarrass" the Kremlin leadership.
The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This is idiotic.
Not because we don't have the best offensive cyberweapons. We do, and we've used them before.

It's stupid because we are the most vulnerable and exposed nation in the world.
All those hacks of our major corporations and federal government prove that in no uncertain terms.

What does a cyberwar look like? It looks like sh*t not working.

If the U.S. were to ramp up its counterattacks on countries it thinks are sponsoring hackers that breach American accounts, don't expect a sci-fi digital armageddon. The target's electric grid might still work, and so may the ATMs. Think of it more as a creeping worry that simple things we rely on can't be trusted — the machines that count our votes, the total on our bank balance, our personal digital files.
...
In a hot cyber war, the first line of attack would not be like on Star Trek, with spectacular bursts of sparks flying out of computers. Instead it would be a stealth attack on the enemy’s military command and control infrastructure, to keep it from being able to strike, said Matt Devost, managing director of Accenture Security and a special government advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The problem is that much like nuclear attacks, no one wants to let the genie officially out of the bottle. Certainly the United States and Europe benefit the most from a free and open Internet, so weaponizing it is not a step taken lightly.

Cyberwar sounds cool right up until the money in your bank vanishes, or your employer has trouble paying you, or the pharmacy can't find your prescription because it no longer exists. Maybe your cell phone only works 10% of the time. Or maybe its just the internet of your provider is so messed up that you can't complain on twitter and facebook for several months.
Then cyberwar is not going sound cool at all.

This cyberwar has been building for a long time.

U.S. government hackers at the National Security Agency are likely targeting Russian government-linked hacking teams to see once and for all if they're responsible for the massive breach at the Democratic National Committee, according to three former senior intelligence officials. It's a job that the current head of the NSA's elite hacking unit said they've been called on to do many times before.
Robert Joyce, chief of the NSA's shadowy Tailored Access Operations, declined to comment on the DNC hack specifically, but said in general that the NSA has technical capabilities and legal authorities that allow the agency to "hack back" suspected hacking groups, infiltrating their systems to gather intelligence about their operations in the wake of a cyber attack.

Hillary says we "know" Russia hacked the DNC, and that's all you need to know.
She hasn't shared this proof with intelligence agencies yet.

This isn't the first nation we've launched a cyberwar against.

The Obama administration has determined that it must retaliate against China for the theft of the personal information of more than 20 million Americans from the databases of the Office of Personnel Management, but it is still struggling to decide what it can do without prompting an escalating cyberconflict.
The decision came after the administration concluded that the hacking attack was so vast in scope and ambition that the usual practices for dealing with traditional espionage cases did not apply.

China Daily writes that the United States risks setting a “dangerous precedent”.
Xinhua reports that the United States is “building momentum for a cyberwar.”

if you are going to declare any sort of war against a foreign government, even a cyberwar, then you need to justify it. You can't just do it. There needs to be some sort of public debate.
Let's not forget innocent civilian casualties, which happens in all wars, whether it is wars on terror or drugs or other things.
What's more, the laws being passed to legalize this war are very authoritarian and a danger to civil rights.

Back in April, the DHS said that 2% of hacks rise to the level of "prompting a national response". Considering that there are hundreds, if not thousands of attempted hacks every day, that number is alarming.

Pre-emptive cyberattacks is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down. There is no telling where it might stop.
The legality of a cyberwar could be nightmarish. The lack of transparency remains the same.

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Comments

Submitted by ThoughtfulVoter on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 12:03am

Geesh...

What an elaborate cover-up for what the Clinton mafia did during the primary!! I personally am very doubtful that it was Russia that tampered with our votes!

Submitted by Oldest Son Of A... on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:51am

They are getting a little over the top with this...

Consider the Clintons and their campaign, and the DNC, actually did the stuff they wrote bout in these e-mails and it was common visible knowledge to virtually any open mind watching the corrupt political process...

Then the Wag The Dog coverup, cover over, diversion begins, with outrage over an old video...
Yea we know Trump is the most obnoxious idiot that has ever run for president...

Then we have to go through several thousand claims of Philandering Trump that are looking more dubious to me every day...

Then on to an escalation of tension with Iran & Russia in the Syrian War possibly leading to a Nuclear Exchange...

And now we have to blow up the Damn Internet?

What the hell is the matter with these people, I make a substantial portion of my income on the internet and this is really starting to piss me off. What do we as a people have to do to end this Bullshit?

—

"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 2:23pm

The US is thinking cyber war, Russia is thinking Real War

This is an excellent article describing how Russia is tired of the US warmongering in Syria and going back on the deals it made.

“We held endless expectations that the USA will finally separate the non-terrorists from the terrorists [in Syria]. We waited more than a year for this. But it is clear they did not want to. They are taking us and the whole world for fools. America is working on the side of Al Nusra [Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate], providing them with diplomatic cover; providing them with additional arms; helping them by their supposedly mistaken bombing of a Syrian army position.

Kerry and his Russian counter part had reached an agreement, but then the Pentagon went behind Obama's back and broke the deal
“American forces directly bombed a Syrian military outpost. This was no mistake. It was coordinated with the terrorists, who followed up with an attack. Then there came a camouflaged attack on the humanitarian convoy near Aleppo [Sept. 20]. Finally, it became clear to Moscow that diplomacy is merely a ‘service’ for the Pentagon. Kerry, in intellectual style, justifies the actions of the Pentagon. Often, post factum.

“Formally the situation returned to where it was before Sept. 9 when Kerry and Lavrov reached their agreement on a truce. But then [U.S. Defense Secretary] Ashton Carter entered the picture. He opened a second front. He forced Kerry to fight on two fronts. If Kerry previously thought he was competing with the Russians, now he came under “friendly fire” from the Pentagon.

.
Why hasn't Obama fired the generals who did this and removed Ash Carter from his position? Or is Obama still in control over our military?
It seems to me that there has been a military coup, just not sure when it happened.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/15/warnings-new-world-war

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.

Submitted by gustogirl on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:10am

What happened to Guccifer/Guccifer 2.0?

They didn't do it? It was Russia all along?

How handy. It discredits Wikileaks at the same time by implying they are in cahoots w/ Russia.

Submitted by MrWebster on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 4:58pm

Yah, why didn't Russians hack for Bernie?

Yah, if the Russians are intent in seeing Hillary go down, why not use their super duper encoder rings to rig the elections for Bernie who is not the anti-Russian war monger that Clinton is? Why wait until the general election and risk it all?

Submitted by Oldest Son Of A... on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 3:16am

There is only one group of people rigging this election...

And it sure as hell isn't the Russians...

Who is winning the election?

—

"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

Submitted by Not Henry Kissinger on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 12:27am

Saber Rattling....

ahead of the Lavrov/Kerry meetings on Syria this weekend in Switzerland.

Threatening cyber war just goes to show how desperate for leverage the US really is.

—

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Submitted by Pricknick on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 12:47am

I'll show you mine,

if you show me your's first.
If our government thinks they have the upper hand in any cyber war malfeasance, they're in for a rude surprise.
Some countries learn from their lessons. This country is doomed to repeat what doesn't work anymore.
Exceptionalism at its finest.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by Oldest Son Of A... on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:33am

With Leaders in the Cue...

That want to wipe servers clean with a cloth...

—

"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

Submitted by Not Henry Kissinger on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:12am

It's suicidally stupid.

The US Internet economy alone is around 6% of GDP, and that's without all of the knock on effects to 'brick and mortar' companies that rely on the Internet.

US GDP growth right now is less than 1%, Declare cyber war and you might as well just declare a national Depression the next day.

Not to mention the disabled infrastructure, police and fire communications, sewage, power, etc., etc. etc.

A lot of people will die.

—

Submitted by Pricknick on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:31pm

Not to worry.

A lot of people will die.

Only the malfeasants.

—

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Submitted by bobswern on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 1:53am

Many reasons why this CIA cyber attack story is pure propaganda

1.) It's well-proven that Ken Dilanian is, arguably, the most called-out CIA stenographer in the US MSM.

2.) The end result of any publicly-stated effort by our government to instigate an even more overt cyberwar would send chills down the backs of the majority of U.S. corporate boards. (i.e.: optically speaking, this entire effort could very, very easily backfire upon the U.S.) Rule number one in the history of our country's Military-Industrial-Surveillance state: U.S. forces, cyber or otherwise, are only tasked to increase/protect our country's corporate profits, not to endanger them. (See: "SMEDLEY BUTLER.")

3.) The U.S. hacks and disrupts--and has hacked and disrupted--more global elections and sovereign politics, in general, than virtually all other countries on this planet, in recorded history.

The hypocrisy here is nothing less than chilling!

From a comment I made, more than once, over at "the place which shall not be named" (which receives somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000,000+/- per year from the national Democratic Party--i.e.: the DNC/DSCC/DCCC--parrot their talking points):

Here’s are a few important and very basic (unpublicized) TRUTHS about this story...

Back in 2008, the U.S. intelligence community was well aware that it was highly likely that both the Obama and McCain campaigns’ (as well as the Democratic and Republican Parties’) I.T. networks were hacked by foreign governments.

Frankly, what’s playing out now in the MSM is little more than what has been a well-known reality throughout the global intelligence community for at least a decade, if not much longer.

From Robert Mackey, over at The Intercept, "If Russian Intelligence Did Hack the DNC, the NSA Would Know, Snowden Says":

(This is, EASILY, the best published article on this matter that I’ve read, to date. And, it’s quite evenhanded, too!)

…The suspicion that the raid of the DNC servers might have been carried out by Russian intelligence was unsurprising to some experts, as Wired’s Andy Greenberg reported, given that the FBI warned both Barack Obama and John McCain in 2008 that their campaign computer systems had been breached by foreign hackers, most likely from Russia or China.

Some observers, like the Harvard Law professor Jack Goldsmith, who worked for President George W. Bush, suggested that such attacks might be seen as payback, given that American intelligence agencies have made aggressive use of hacking, which “almost certainly extends to political organizations in adversary states.”

7/ Current U.S. cyber-espionage almost certainly extends to political organizations in adversary states.
— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) July 26, 2016

As the journalist Marcy Wheeler noted on her blog, according to report on the Snowden documents by Jens Glüsing, Laura Poitras, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark for Spiegel, the NSA hacked into “a key mail server in the Mexican Presidencia domain within the Mexican Presidential network,” during that country’s 2012 election campaign, and intercepted 85,489 text messages sent by the ruling party candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto himself, or his associates.

The whole thing's a farce; and "the joke" is DEFINITELY on U.S. citizens for buying into this kabuki!

In other words, one may bet their bottom dollar that the U.S. is doing more to disrupt international/sovereign politics and elections, just like they have for generations. Our country's history is riddled with these stories of U.S. imperialism.

—

"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson

Submitted by jbob on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 4:38am

100% Agree about propaganda

The Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

If plans for an attack were covert they would not announce them to NBC.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:29am

Actually they WOULD announce it on NBC

They would do it under two scenarios:

1) When it's already underway
2) When the decision has already been made

I base this statement on historical experience for Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc.

Submitted by sensetolisten on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 5:15am

Hey Bob, you curious what conservative bloggers wrote on this?

Obama Channels His Ahmadinejad – White House Banter For Domestic Left-Wing Consumption…

The story about the CIA prepping for a possible cyber attack against Russia is akin to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad building wooden Aircraft Carriers for Iranian military exercises. In essence this story is, laughable domestic consumption only.

Pushed by NBC-Universal this story is so fundamentally absurd, it’s beyond silly.

If the U.S. were going to launch a cyber operation against Russia: #1) it would never be announced, and #2) it would not be the CIA carrying it out, it would be the NSA.

So why push the ridiculous story? The motive is about propping up the failing candidacy of Hillary Clinton. There are trillions of dollars at stake, and sometimes strategic desperation calls for deployment of “The Bathtub Principle” ....

[snip]

Yes, why?

Which really is the most important question. And why aren't you, or the author of this essay asking why? You should read the entire essay, it gets better, and they obviously do discuss this most important question of why in greater detail. It is a most refreshing read and sadly, or shockingly, rather reminiscent of days gone by when liberal bloggers were the shit. Seems like the most insightful and potent commentary is coming from the rank and file conservative minds these days, rather surreal and quite ironic ... and yeah, I find that to be the most shocking discovery of all this season.

The bottom line, though, and as I noted, what even you fail to mention, is the intent of their kabuki charade, yet the conservatives keenly easily readily pick up on it. Yes, the WHY of the charade. And for that I turn to the most refreshing and honest conservative mind of them all, I believe, and that is the much maligned (by our "liberal" bloggers) Trey Gowdy.

Did you, by any chance, catch any of the recent Congressional Oversight hearings? Because if you did, you would notice that, quite literally, every single Democrat in congress wanted to exclusively discuss the alleged Russian's cyber attacks on the DNC, unproven though they were, during a hearing that was called with the expressed purpose to discuss the FBI's investigation of Hillary's email server, whilst every single Republican was on point.

What does THAT tell you, bob?

Yeah, Gowdy was the gold standard:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCif-W02hfQ]

And so is Jason Chaffetz:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAfrOsqGbpc]

And in case you missed the previous gem:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opPh9uG29cQ]

The liberal blogosphere is dead, or on its last breath, dying and scattered to the four winds, while the conservative blogosphere is unified and thriving and vibrant and energized. Well, not a surprise, since they got the candidate they voted for, and we got......

But hey, it's not like you could dare mention this at LOF, because if you did, even you, the great revered respected bobswern, would get summarily banned.

You think, maybe, even you have been affected by the censorship and abuse, that you would fail to ask the most glaringly obvious question ?

The. Most. Important. Question.

I think we took a wrong turn, somewhere, and entered a surreal Twilight Zone alternate universe...

—

“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
― Harry Truman

Submitted by bobswern on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:41pm

The White House's and Congress' sabre-rattling...

...and virtually all propaganda being spewed inside the Beltway, not just now but for many months, has been ALL ABOUT the Presidential campaign, and Clinton kabuki. And, Sensetolisten, yes, there has been some rather insightful commentary coming from a few conservatives these days, and I have been paying attention to it. So, OF COURSE, it's all about Clinton winning the White House. I thought this was something that virtually all here reading this understood to be a given!

And, for the record, look at my diary posts there from April onward, to understand that I was spending a great deal of time getting this very message out to the community during my last months of posting diaries there. But, then when the admins started simply MAKING SHIT UP ABOUT MY WRITING and then creating bullshit out of thin air, in private messages to me--while they realized they couldn't outright ban me for posting what I posted, without looking like total idiots--they did the next best thing and hit me with a permanent "NR."

But, to act as if I just stood by and didn't speak up while I was posting there is simply untrue. It's belied by the content of my posts there!

Then again, it took this election cycle for me to finally leave the Democratic Party. (Because they left me a LONG, long time ago.)

—

"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson

Submitted by sensetolisten on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 12:11pm

Sorry, I stopped reading LOF except for minor exceptions

when I myself got banned back in April, though I do, or I did, out of morbid curiosity, peruse the REC list from time to time to see the narratives /meme’s they were promoting, (opposition research, if you will) so I have sadly not kept up on your writing, nor did I know you were banned too.

The fall of LOF is now complete.

Once upon a time, I followed your writing religiously.

I do hope you realize that my “great revered respected bobswern” was not really meant as a snark, quite the opposite, more tongue and cheek jibe, a jibe to myself, actually, because the truth is, to me, you were the singularly greatest writer on LOF, and your writing and insight actually was revered and respected.... by me.

Yes, you are right, maybe “virtually all propaganda being spewed inside the Beltway, not just now but for many months, has been ALL ABOUT the Presidential campaign, and Clinton kabuki” is “something that virtually all here reading this understood to be a given” ... but maybe it still needs to be said, over and over and over and over, because that’s the real story, because that’s the real issue, and that’s their real weakness. Yes, it is stating the obvious, but too often we are ignoring the obvious. So, maybe it needs to be hammered home on all occasions on all issues from all angles, relentlessly rigorously repeatedly, in order to neutralize the damage of their false narrative. In fact, I believe this is what is singularly missing from the liberal blogosphere these days, and furthermore, this is what is making the conservative blogosphere so potent these days.

Truth is, I discovered only recently, (over the past 6 months, and even more acutely, over the last 6 weeks), that the writing from the conservative blogosphere contains the brightest, and ironically, the most respectful, warm and friendly minds today. I really thought that c99 would be our new home, but alas, even here, there still is the shadow of the same unchecked abuse, harassment and stalking behavior that poisoned LOF. Yes, I do peruse the essays here, but not religiously and not consistently and I rarely comment, and when I do, I expect half of the time to be attacked, especially when I make any statement that challenges the narratives that Brock/DNC want to promote. Oh sure, they will usually add the obligatory "I hate Hillary too" smokescreen, while they promote their hidden agenda, but their agenda is still rather clear. They are fooling no one, and if they pulled that crap on a conservative blog, they would get exposed and shut down in a heartbeat. Yeah, probably the most important and really the main point I wanted to make was the rather shocking observation that the rank and file conservative minds are the cutting edge bloggers of today. Now THAT was a real slap in the face discovery. Not that I have the time to blog much these days due to work, and maybe, admittedly, I am one of those demoralized liberals who has lost hope ... when I witnessed the rigged Dem primary, and Obama remained silent, and then under his admin, Comey betrayed his oath office, lying about the Espionage Act requiring "intent" .... but/so, I have come to follow the conservative bloggers religiously, just to stay informed, because I do believe it's where the real stories are being discussed --- real thought, constructive criticism, critical thinking, the cornerstone of our democracy and a free society --- free from surreptitious harassment that is tacitly condoned by the moderators. How far we have fallen over the last 8 years when liberals dominated the blogosphere. Sad but true.

Yeah, freedom of speech matters.

As I said, the liberal blogosphere is dead, defeated, censored, and demoralized, and the conservative blogosphere is blossoming and THAT is the most telling indicator to me that Trump will destroy Hillary in the election, assuming the DNC does not rig the general election the way they rigged the primary election. It's no wonder that Trump's rallies are exploding with tens of thousands of inspired motivated passionate voters --- in Conservative, Liberal AND Swing states alike. Yeah, their electorate is organized and mobilized -- registering millions of new voters with a fury. Yup, assuming an honest election, (and I categorically reject all of the official polls as being entirely rigged) Trump will win in an unprecedented landslide victory, and further, Stein will win blue states, but I mean, MAJOR blues states, like NY and CA, thus delegitimizing the Democrat Party (DP) and legitimizing the Green Party (GP) in one fell swoop, heralding the death of the DP and the rise of the GP from its ashes in 2020 to become the dominant coalition for the liberal movement in the future. Yeah, and THAT is why the DP/DNC is freaking out, because it is not just a lost election they are facing, they are facing a candidate, Trump, who will, by all indication, justifiably prosecute Hillary, whose corruption will take down the entire DP with it, coupled with, a sleeper candidate, Stein, who wins major states. THAT will be a rout of epic proportions... a perfect storm, if you will. Their House of Cards will come crashing down. Yup, if Trump wins, and Stein wins blues states, the DP/DNC will be dead in 4 years. That is my prediction. And, I will truly rejoice, if that happens. Hence I have been saying that "The enemy of our enemy is our friend" .... so, I fucking love Trump, for that reason alone, because he just very well might prosecute Hillary, and I will support him for merely making that promise. Yeah, I realize he might not, but hey, if he is at least TALKING ABOUT IT and promising it, in the debate, then yeah, I fuckin' the guy. Became a single-issue voter the day that Comey betrayed his oath office --- PROSECUTE HILLARY.

Because...

A fair and honest election is the linchpin of our democracy, and this goes far beyond her treason with her email server to obviously hide her Clinton Foundation wholesale selling out of our nation, Hillary's rigging of the primary makes her the single greatest threat to our republic today.

—

“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
― Harry Truman

Submitted by Caerus on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:46am

Good to see bobswern posting here!!!!!!! eom

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:40am

It is increadibly hypocritical

On that we agree.

But that doesn't mean that we aren't starting a cyberwar.
The defining characteristic in Washington these days is hubris.
Consequences are for little people.

Also, look at our military actions. They were often announced ahead of time.
They would do it under two scenarios:

1) When it's already underway
2) When the decision has already been made

The Democrats have built this up to the point that a "we taught them a lesson" moment is necessary.

Submitted by gendjinn on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 1:01pm

Seconded in its entirety!

The Troubles educates you on all the tricks. Gotta look at the byline and see if it's one of the Lisburn Press Center Stenographers.

People curious about America's current dirty wars should read Jeremy Scahill (and watch his doc) but read up on the Troubles. Everything you need to know about dirty tricks in a guerrilla war - urban & rural. Especially how the govt of the day denies the bleeding obvious, but then later is proven to have lied. There is nothing new under the sun - Lethal Allies.

Submitted by WaterLily on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 2:12pm

Hi bob

Do you have a link to that Intercept article? No rush -- but I'd like to bookmark it for future use when all of my social media connections start peeing their pants over Russian hackers again ...

Submitted by Meteor Man on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 2:26am

Hillary Tried To Ban This Video

I've been busy recently and may have missed this video getting posted here. It includes a comment from Global Research:
http://www.globalresearch.ca

And a comment from Diana Johnson, author of Queen of Chaos:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26571366-queen-of-chaos

The video embed failed. Follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=RHCuyUCgwlM

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Submitted by reflectionsv37 on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 2:33am

Why am I hearing the words of Hermann Goering?

“Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship…

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

Personally, I don't buy this bullshit that Russia is behind these hacks and trying to influence our elections. It smells too much like propaganda to me. Although I can see the world interested in not having Hillary the warmonger as our next president.

I've often predicted that the day will come when the world decides it's had enough of American exceptionalism. That day may not be so far away. With China supporting Russia on Syria and the Philippines turning away from the US and beginning to embrace China, maybe that day is rapidly approaching. Throw in some damaging cyber attacks on other countries for the sole reason of discrediting the information on Hillary provided by Wikileaks, and we may see more countries turning away from the US. I certainly won't be surprised! The US should remember you reap what you sow. Perhaps it's time for the worlds bully to get a bloody nose.

—

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
George W. Bush

Submitted by dkmich on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 1:49pm

The empire is dying - we can only hope.

I think the globe is sick of us too. China is sending advisors in to help Russia in Syria. There is no way this country wins anything against the two of them. Pluto has been talking about them pairing up to take us down one way or another for months. She thought they would use currency to do it, but maybe it will be our call

I too think this is all noise to discredit the leaks to assure a Ciinton win. There are trillions of dollars at stake, and they aren't taking any chances. When it was only us screaming fraud, it was CT. The more leaks that come, the louder they get. The louder they get, the more of a challenge they are to Hill and the powers that be. Can't have that.

STL said the left wing bloggers are owned. BobSwern said the same thing. There isn't a doubt in my mind because I watched it happen.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Deja on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 12:36pm

Pluto is one smart cookie!

I definitely learn when I read what Pluto writes.

As for the left blogosphere being bought, I too watched it happen. Now we can't unsee the Matrix for what it is. Sometimes I wish I could!

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 12:58pm

Sorry, slow on the uptake here — what does “STL” stand for? n/t

Submitted by sojourns on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 3:45am

Great...

asshole Clinton isn't even elected and she has started a war.

They've no idea who actually did it.

A pathetic effort to legitimize a lie; starting a cyber war.

—

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Submitted by Steven D on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 8:48am

I will just asume Hillary

asked for a bombing campaign against Syrian (i.e., Russian) targets (think missile defenses) and Obama said No, but I'll announce this instead.

—

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:35am

Hillary already stated in a speech

back in August that as President, she will be prepared to use military action against cyber attacks. My God, this woman wants war with Russia so bad she will use any excuse to start one.

“As president, I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack,” the Democratic presidential nominee said. “We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses.”

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by native on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:08am

Bellicose bully-talk.

It's irresponsible and dangerous braggadocio, whether she intends to back up her words with action or not.

—

native

Submitted by Bonnie on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 3:00pm

30 secs of HRC speech in August...

Couldn't find the original to embed, but here it is on the twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanetteJing/status/785863906925375488

gulfgal's exactly right - HRC wants war with Russia and seems to relish the idea of going nuclear.

To state what we all already know: even if it were proven that the propaganda about Russia hacking the DNC has any merit at all, intergovernmental hacking is standard operating procedures these days. Not cause for war.

Also strongly second SnoopyDawg's recommendation to read Doctorow's piece on Russia's preparations for war in response to the rapidly deteriorating 'relationship' with the U.S. The people of Russia are being prepared for war, materially and emotionally (while their government continues to hope for peace). The people of America are being distracted and divided by the most stupid events ever (while their government continues to race toward war).

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/10/15/warnings-new-world-war

—

When we find true agreement, we will access the powers of true change.

Submitted by ZimInSeattle on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:14am

It's all just propaganda to establish a pretext for war.

Stop the insanity. Vote Stein. #JillNotHill

—

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020

Submitted by glitterscale on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:15am

This is the US as it USED to be but is no more:

if you are going to declare any sort of war against a foreign government, even a cyberwar, then you need to justify it. You can't just do it. There needs to be some sort of public debate.

—

glitterscale

Submitted by sojourns on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:26am

The War Powers Act

needs to be scaled back if not eliminated. Anymore, presidents use it as carted blanc authority to send out the forces, be it troops or drones. All they need do is wait for the CIA to stir it up and let the adventures begin. (though they never end)

—

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:49am

The local rag's editorial page (Minneapolis StarTribune)

has fallen hook, line and sinker for 'It's the Russians wot did it'.

So, rather than talk about what the Wikileaks releases reveal, they're all in for a retaliation of some sort.

Talk about 'in the bag for Clinton'!

(Edited)

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by native on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:52am

Putin on ideology - difference between Americans and Russians

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JVR0zAiyw0]

—

native

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:05am

thx., that is very interesting to listen to. :-) /nt

Submitted by native on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:54am

Yes, and I wish more Americans

would be paying attention to what Putin actually says, in his own words, instead of relying solely on the opinions of American pundits and teevee personalities. IMO both he and Foreign Minister Lavrov are very intelligent, thoughtful men - far cry from being the demons they are portrayed to be.

Here's Lavrov trolling US elections. It's hilarious...!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H7aKGOpSwE]

—

native

Submitted by Not Henry Kissinger on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:35am

Fascinating.

Man, I wish we had that guy working for us.

Lavrov too.

—

Submitted by Big Al on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 9:53am

And who's this gonna hurt.

The Serfs. Russian serfs, American serfs, all serfs. Like sanctions that kill, or any war.
The only solution is revolution.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:14am

all our brains, AL, that's what is gonna be hurt,

when I woke up this morning and turned on TV (heh, I do that sometimes), I saw RT's news banner on the bottom announcing that cyberwar threat by the US, I just thought how pathetic the propaganda has gotten. RT and all US TV channels are involved in that game. I turned off the TV and turned on the laptop to read here. So now we are going to be exposed to the same shit here. I went off to the Friday Night Photo diary and enjoyed people talking nicely about plants who feed the butterflies and such. Boy, do I believe we have to disconnect and do our own thingies in our gardens.

Have a good week-end.

Submitted by Big Al on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:21am

It is hard to take sometimes mimi.

Particularly when it seems there's nothing we can do. It's like we're powerless but then again, we shouldn't be.
But same here, I'm finishing my first cup of coffee contemplating what to get into today. Last minute fall projects galore around my house so I'll just keep busy, maybe write a rant somewhere along the line. Stormy weather here in the northwest.
You have a good weekend too mimi.

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:15am

Have to agree with you.

I am convinced revolution is the only way.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by Hawkfish on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 10:09am

This is why I keep my own financial records

Cyberwar sounds cool right up until the money in your bank vanishes

I use the latest patched versions of desktop Quicken (2007). The data is all local and backed up automatically to another local drive.

—

We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Submitted by rmwarnick on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 11:21am

Most CIA "covert" operations are preceded by a press release

Since when?

—

"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

Submitted by Shockwave on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 12:37pm

When you live in a glasshouse...

We are far more vulnerable to cyberwar than Russia since we depend on computers much more than them.

And we may not have the best programmers;

These are the 10 best countries for computer programming — and the US didn't make the list

...
#2: Russia
With so much on the news about Russian hackers, this country's strong performance in HackerRank's challenges probably doesn't come as a surprise. Russia is the most dominant country when it comes to algorithms, which is the most popular type of challenge on the site.

#1: China
Just barely edging out Russia, China came in at no. 1 for the best performing computer programmers on HackerRank overall. When it comes to specific types of challenges, China is the best performing country in data structure, mathematics, and functional programming.

—

The political revolution continues

Submitted by reflectionsv37 on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 8:54pm

Not at all surprising!

We started outsourcing all those good paying software development jobs 15 years ago. Little wonder we've fallen so far behind. Who in their right mind is going to pursue a career in a field that almost all US countries are trying to ship overseas. The US is it's own worst enemy.

—

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
George W. Bush

Submitted by MrWebster on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 3:17pm

Amazing. Start a war to get Clinton elected. Shades of Bush.

This is the mass psychology of exceptionalism at one level. We can do something, and if other countries do it, they are evil for doing it. For christsake, we hacked into Merkel's phone calls and well, that is okay. We may yet end the human world with a nuclear war rather than global warming.

Submitted by Citizen Of Earth on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 3:42pm

US/Russia Tensions worst since 1973

Oh great we are back at cold war stance with the other Nuclear Power. Thanks Obama/Hellery. Bombs away.

Russia envoy: Tensions with US are probably worst since 1973

—

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Submitted by earthling1 on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 4:01pm

I stopped using a bank years ago

Credit union for me.

—

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Submitted by earthling1 on Sat, 10/15/2016 - 4:05pm

America is going bass ackward

Somebody's got to say it.

—

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Submitted by Song of the lark on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 12:23am

Sony hack and US retaliation.

While I agree that the US is a soft target for cyber attacks it should not be forgotten that the US response was not only increased US sanctions but the whole of The NORK web was shut down for half a day.Half confirmed by Representative McCaul (R-Texas) House cyber security committee member. There is also some possibility that China also did the hack since North Koreas fledgling web is routed through a Chinese company. Possibly done as a freneme message to the Norks to knock it off.
My point here is that the US has to immense capability in cyber hacking. DARPA and later others controlled and guided the early web. NO SUCH AGENCY was there from the beginning with unlimited budgets. We hacked everybody and we are the best on the planet. So Russia I say bring it.

Submitted by riverlover on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 4:03am

When a goodly portion of the US power grid goes down

cyberhacking (more computers) will not be necessary.

—

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 10/16/2016 - 9:24am

♪ ♫ Cyber Team America, N-S-A, f—k yeah! n/t

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 10/17/2016 - 2:52pm

You missed the point

Let me make it more clear:

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones