Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Something/Someone Old
She might not thank me for categorizing her this way, but I just came across a delightful interview with Dame Maggie Smith. It's hilarious, and well worth watching:
Something New
This is not amazingly new, as it was released on Netflix on March 31st of this year. I wanted to talk about it earlier, but illness prevented.
This is a truly remarkable piece of art. It's the best new show I've seen for a long time (edging out Sense8, about which I also have Something New to say). It is uncompromising in its portrayal of human cruelty and how bullying and lies work--and to the careful viewer it's about a lot more than what it is to be a routinely sexually objectified and slut-shamed young girl (though that would be enough). It's also about how we all inhabit a culture of lies and bullying, and sometimes it seems as if there's no break in those clouds, no kindness or decency or friendship or honesty anywhere. Or, more accurately, how it's difficult to connect to those few lights we encounter, that we need to connect to so that our spirits remain unbroken.
It's brilliantly written and acted and filmed; it represents the cruelty and the pain without commodifying or fetishizing it, and best of all, it distinguishes between the actions and the actor without letting perpetrators, liars, and cowards off the hook. We can see the difficult life of one perpetrator, the pain that person is in, and their essential humanity, without for one second excusing what they did. That, to me, is a triumph in this era of glorifying "grey" narratives that imply that morality itself is naive and that, in a complex world, horrible things just happen and sane, sensible adults just accept that.
This series refuses to just accept that.
My only caution would be: if you are easily triggered, you want to be careful about watching a show which portrays bullying, suicide, rape, and sexual harassment quite plainly and without glamorization, titillation, or obfuscation.
If you feel you can bear it, watch it. The only problem--if you aren't prone to being triggered--is that it will make other shows look shallow and contrived for a good while afterwards.
In other, Newer news, Netflix cancelled Sense8. It had high ratings with both critics and audience, so I'm going to assume that, as with The 4400, the story it tells is just too dangerous. Between the defiantly sex-positive (in multiple combinations, pretty much every joyful combination of people and sexual preference you could imagine) nature of the show and its obvious (if metaphorical) critique of the surveillance state, as well as its insistence on a global, multicultural focus, I guess we just can't have stories like that. Above all, its idea that we are not just ourselves, not just individuals...yeah, we gotta cancel that straightaway.
Apparently some people think Netflix is cancelling it because it IS so LGBT-friendly and sex-positive,
and they're not happy:
"Since news broke last week that popular Netflix show Sense8 wouldn’t be returning for a third season, hundreds of thousands of fans have taken to the Internet to petition on its behalf."
http://www.newnownext.com/sense8-petition-netflix-cancellation/06/2017/
I tend to think it's more because it's telling a different version of the same story The 4400 was telling. Both stories were stopped at the exact same point: the point at which those who were different, the deviants, the rebels, basically declared war. In Sense8, they literally declared war; the title of the last episode was, "If It's War You Want." The 4400 ended with the new breed of human being taking over Seattle, and Maia, who had been a moral core of the show from the beginning, telling her human mother "We're in charge now. It's better that way." And there was Seattle, at the end of the show, essentially in revolution against the United States government.
This story keeps coming up, and keeps getting shut down. I don't think it's just the sex-positive or LGBT-positive elements of Sense8 that are the problem here. But then, Netflix is refusing to say why it cancelled it in the first place.
Maybe they just didn't want to pay anymore for filming in 8 different countries.
Something Borrowed
Apparently, a woman with the unlikely name Reality Winner borrowed an NSA document and sent it to The Intercept. It's hard to say whether she's an idiot who lacks even the most basic notion of security--though her job history should preclude that (h/t StevenD)
"2. She worked for an NSA contractor, Pluribus International Corporation, out of a US government facility based in Georgia. Her employment began on February 17, 2017. She had a Top Secret clearance." Do people who work in military intelligence, even on the private side, with Top Secret clearances, usually lack the most basic understanding of how to transmit information secretly, minimizing self-exposure? I mean, this woman made mistakes *I* wouldn't make, and I'm an out-of-work English professor.
3. She formerly served in the Air Force as a linguist who speaks Pashto, Farsi & Dari. OK, it's possible that the military hires linguists who don't know their ass from a teakettle as far as how the military, including intelligence, approaches security. But look at what her specialties were. She clearly worked for the military on matters concerning the Middle East.
Seriously, is it plausible that she thought she could print a classified document out at work and mail it and remain safe as a leaker?
Further, doesn't The Intercept seem a little cavalier with their treatment of her, given that they didn't even bother to print the thing out in black and white, which would have made it harder for the NSA to track the document back to its recipient?--and given that they went directly to the NSA to get the thing verified, instead of, I don't know, going to Tom Drake or Bill Binney or, hey! maybe even Ed Snowden, for their opinions? However, this cavalier treatment, and subsequent speedy arrest, makes perfect sense if she's an operative, because she'd have no reason to fear being turned in, and they'd have no reason to worry about it. Well, apart from the fact that it trashes The Intercept's reputation forever, in that nobody is ever going to leak anything to them again.
Actually, I take it back. After this, only deliberately planted establishment leakers will go to The Intercept, because everybody else would be afraid of being handed over to the authorities. If The Intercept continues in business after this, they will be a handy benchmark for which stories and which leakers are absolute bullshit.
It's hard to imagine this was done primarily to tar Glenn Greenwald's reputation, but regardless, he'd better distance himself from this crap story and from the publication he's been working for, tout suite. He had nothing to do with writing the story, and has been urging skepticism and caution online, but some of this shit will cling to him regardless, and there's really no reason for him to remain affiliated with an organization that treats its sources like that--assuming she's for real--or with an organization that plays patty-cake with the NSA and the rest of the Deep State--if she's not.
Of course the actual borrowing here is the Deep State borrowing The Intercept's credibility. I sure hope The Intercept doesn't mind it being brought back totalled.
Something Blue
Here's something to salve your soul.
Refresh yourself after having dragged through that fetid swamp of a story with some Maxfield Parrish:
Maxfield Parrish, for those who don't know him, was a commercial artist and illustrator for about 75 years in the last century, beginning in the teens and twenties. He has been both derided as not a real, or truly significant, artist, and also greatly beloved.
Born Frederick Parrish in Philadelphia in 1870, the only child of Stephen Parrish and Elizabeth Bancroft Parrish, he was raised in a well-to-do home with many comforts. His father became a well-known etcher in his own right and fully encouraged the young Fred to draw and paint. Frederick later took his grandmother’s maiden name as his middle name, which he used as his professional name from then on. He graduated Haverford College and then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Art, and the Drexel Institute, where he took classes with Howard Pyle, who recommended him for his first cover commission. At Drexel, he also met a young art instructor, Lydia Austin, who he married in 1895. By 1911, the couple had four children (Dillwyn, Max Jr., Stephen, and Jean).
Throughout the first part of the 20th century, Parrish did many commissions and illustrations. His paintings featured fanciful male figures or pensive female figures in the foreground of a fantastic landscape. By 1931, however, he had decided he was through with figurative painting and devoted the rest of his life exclusively to landscape painting.
Why is he my "something blue?"
Because he created such a brilliant and lovely shade of blue that it was named "Parrish blue" after him.
How He Got So Blue
His paintings/illustrations were unique in their vision of a highly idealized fantasy world, but one that appealed to the masses. He was and still is associated with a particularly vibrant shade of blue that blanketed the skies of his landscapes, although you will only rarely see a glimpse of that color in reality. And it was not easy for him to render. He devised a laborious technique using base of cobalt blue and white undercoating, which he then glazed with a number of thin alternating coats of oil and varnish. The particular resins he used, called Damar, are known to floresce a shade of yellow-green when exposed to ultraviolet light, giving the unique turquoise hue to the painted sky.
Here's where I got the blurbs: https://artsenclave.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/how-maxfield-parrish-got-so...
I fear that may be insufficient to take the taste of our government's latest psy-op out of your mouth. Here. Listen to this, turned way up:
Courtesy of Jeff Lynne, the guy who writes songs that prohibit depression:
"I like football, I like a drink, I like Spain, and if there's one thing I really, really love, it's Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra. Cause you can't beat a bit of ELO."
Comments
The Maggie Smith interview is quite amusing.
She seems so relaxed with herself and then hints at nearly-murderous thoughts. Her late discussion about how she fell into acting is remarkable. I did get a few roles in HS plays, never beyond. I opted out, became a scientist instead. At my 20th HS reunion, the were still alive retired teachers, and many were surprised I had not gone into acting. At that point, art made me less stressed than acting and science seemed a natural fit.
Maybe this is true for many considered lives. There are always doubts about the direction to take, especially when money is not an issue. I say that as someone who worked on NIH pay scales for 30 years and made about $30K per year as average. Between $3900 and $50K/year.
Parrish Blue is wonderful. And hard to construct. In art classes in early years, I was informed there was orange or yellow in a blue sky. And yes, there is. But no one showed me how to replicate that.
Our county board will vote tonight to go with the Paris Accord. Not enough, but another ding to Wild POTUS.
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.
@riverlover Isn't she wonderful and
Isn't she wonderful and hilarious? I cracked up several times during the interview.
I love Maxfield Parrish, and would dearly love to get a good print of that second painting I posted here, of the farmhouse.
Life choices are indeed, um, scary in their ramifications. Up through my mid-30s, I made decisions with a lightheartedness and casual ease that, in retrospect, horrifies me. Like quitting the academic world to go into campaign politics in 2004. Worst decision of my life, basically responsible for my having no career and rendering myself almost unemployable.
I had no idea the NIH paid its people so poorly. How can you live in the DC metro area on 30K?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Doesn't Greenwald "own" the Intercept?
Sane Progressive tied right into you and StevenD on the Intercept leaker. You make very good points about how phony it all feels. Sane Progressive does too. I put these in Ed's diary, but I'm going to leave them here too. She tends to be a bit long winded, but she is well sourced and smart.
She thinks "the hack" of the machines has to do with Arizona and the primary. The point she makes, and it makes total sense, is that Hillary was always the one to benefit from Russia's cheating. She admits she's speculating, but she says she smells a rat. I'd like to know how it is that "THE" Intercept outed a leaker? Assange is asking Greenwald WTF? And Greenwald has "no further comment at this time".
Good morning everyone.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
@dkmich "Smells a rat".
"Smells a rat".
I'm getting to the point that I question the veracity of everything I hear on the corporate media. I never used to be that way. It's kind of a distressing and lonely place to be. Thanks for the sane progressive link, I'll watch later today.
I'm wearing my new, tin-foil hat now pretty much all the time. It's very fashionable, but I stand out from the crowd.
You mean
when you see Boeing or Raytheon ads you don't rush out and buy 767s, GPS guided bombs, cruise missiles and cluster bombs? That's why they advertise on prime time, doncha know?
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
@ghotiphaze Well, yes, I do buy
Well, yes, I do buy them. So does pretty much every U.S. citizen I know. Some, more enthusiastically than others.
@randtntx The really
The really interesting part is how we're given no choice whether to buy them or not. Buy them, or be thrown in one of our horrible for-profit prisons. If you ever get out again, you'll find yourself unemployable and thus will live in poverty or engage in criminal activity or both to maintain the rest of your miserable life. And if you have any family, they will fall into poverty along with you, as well as some disgrace from being related to a criminal.
Well, I guess that's a kind of choice. Pay to have others killed, or destroy your own life.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@dkmich No, Pierre Omidyar owns
No, Pierre Omidyar owns The Intercept, as I understand it. It's just Greenwald's vehicle.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@dkmich Thanks for re-posting
Thanks for re-posting these; there are some videos I think it's really important get maximum exposure, and these are among them.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
And funny, I notice that
the NSA "story" is still right up top on The Intercept, where it seems like stories normally move down the page, so to speak. Maybe that's normal and I'm over analyzing it but it seems strange to me.
Yes, Greenwald needs to disavow that place I think. I also see another story by Ryan Grim talking about some Congresscritter saying there's far more spying by Russia than we can even imagine. I didn't read it.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
@lizzyh7 OK, guys. They are
OK, guys. They are pushing a narrative. In fact, they are pushing THE narrative, fueled by a leaked document that has no substance and presents no evidence, after either burning their source or making a deal with an operative, one or the other.
I hate to say it, but unless something changes I think The Intercept is no longer a trustworthy source.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@dkmich Thanks for posting those
Thanks for posting those here. Her work is very good.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Good morning, all!
How are y'all doing, out there in this fetid framework of empire?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
i'm not sure about the reasons for Sense8's cancelation,
but i suspect it had more to do with what must have been phenomenal production expenses than with anything else. Netflix happily produces or second-runs plenty of stuff that is going to challenge various thisses and thats of various cultural and political elements in the US and elsewhere.
i believe i had a brief exchange with somebody around here (or maybe on dKos, but I'm not sure whether Sense8 came out before I bailed on that place) who knew the creator or the showrunner or the head writer or some such on the show. maybe we can get a few more details from that person, if i can track him down.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
@UntimelyRippd That would be great. I'd
That would be great. I'd love to get some real info on this.
Thing is, I'm pretty sure that our Deep State keeps an eye on the mass media, even the fictional mass media (CIA-funded Zero Dark Thirty is one example; also, hilariously, the Pentagon has invested in cooking shows for some reason--I'm not saying their interference always makes sense.) And, like I said, both The 4400 and Sense8 were cancelled at exactly the point in the story where the rebels move into a state of war/revolution.
Would Netflix stand up to the government if they got a call, or would they consider it simpler just to cancel a series that was expensive anyway?
I'd love to find out whether I'm right or wrong on this.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@UntimelyRippd Thing is, it would be
Thing is, it would be obvious from the beginning that it would be a very high-cost project, seeing as how they're filming on location all over the world rather than using a convenient bluescreen.
I do think it's possible Netflix axed it b/c of cost; just not completely convinced that was why. Awaiting any info you might uncover with anticipation!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Carlin's 1st Rule, "I don't believe anything my gov't tells me.
Zero."
Weird time, folks. Wish he and Bill Hicks were still here to disgrace these Neoliberal comic frauds like Maher, Colbert, Stewart, et al. Good thing Jimmy Dore and Lee Camp are though.
Greenwald is par excellence in this epoch; he's the kind of fearless, cogent and brilliant reporter a democracy requires. And he's of only a very few in that regard. Already NPR this morning doing hit jobs on The Intercept, the arch villain of HRC Neoliberal flunkies. Find it disconcerting that one of their flunkies, Ryan Grim, is now there (when did that happen?). You're right. Seems they're trying to malign the credibility of the Intercept, and Greenwald. I find his work unmatched and credibility unassailable.
Thanks as always for the excellent OT, sister. Don't have the time I'd like to be on our lifeboat more, with baby duties and work consuming me, but just wanted to pop by.
ELO was amazing (and The Move was pretty great too!).
Will be in touch soon about Meetup.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
@Mark from Queens
Now, this is weird. At least a little weird.
Already NPR this morning doing hit jobs on The Intercept, the arch villain of HRC Neoliberal flunkies.
How can they do a hit job on The Intercept while still supporting the crock of shit establishment story The Intercept is currently peddling?
Let me guess. The Intercept is publishing the truth about Evil Russian Hackers, but they're evil too because they burned their source.
No stress/pressure re: Meetup--I know what it's like to take care of a baby! Although not in the full-time way a parent must do it. Just let me know when you get a chance.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Good morning, CSTMS. First, stay well,
no more relapses. ok?
Thanks for the great OT. It is, to me, an open question as to whether we will ever know the truth about a great many things. This particular period has included many such things, and the number and frequency of them seems to be ever increasing. Ah, well. At any rate, Reality Winner is just another drip from the faucet.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
@enhydra lutris Thanks, E.L.! I will
Thanks, E.L.! I will certainly do my best to stay well--I'm now on an echinacea regimen (two weeks on, two weeks off). I'm also going back to the gym next week, probably for good this time. For one thing, as I get older, I really resent the lost time occasioned by illness. For another, few people hate going to the doctor more than me.
As for the truth--Well, actually, the likely truth--as opposed to the certain truth--seems really apparent to me. I have to guard against being too confident and quick in my assertions, because everything looks like such horseshit to me these days! I recently said in comments that I wish the CIA or NSA or whoever is running this shitshow would hire Karl Rove, who at least knows how to construct a plausible lie.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Fetid
very stinky. Like a rat. The poor rats though, to be tarred with such disagreeable characteristics all the time, seems a bit unfair.
The empire is not serving me well at all, nor my family, or my extended family....or anyone I know for that matter. Then I look across the very wide deep ocean and....same thing. The empire is not very supportive of progress. In fact it appears to be downright destructive. Smashing things, blowing things up. Destruction, murder, and mayhem seem to be its specialty. A very odious entity. Worse than fetid. Who thought that this America would turn into that? Who thought that capable, seemingly intelligent adults would choose the path of ruination instead of building, improving, and cultivating a beautiful life for the creatures on this beautiful planet. That endeavor could keep us all enjoyably employed forever. I wish we would just choose that path.
@randtntx Me too.
Me too.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Something Old: Netflix and Net Neutrality
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/06/06/net-neutrality-supporters-plan-july-12-day-action/102543796/
Where have I heard that before? Never mind.
...
Perhaps C99 can buy Newsom a clue about being next governor of California, is there a demand about robots or automation on joe's list? I sorta faded with the last round of comments, but for those in CA who are still interested in supporting one corrupt asshole over another here is your chance to supply some clue. Me, I'd never vote for this guy in a million years, might as well vote Resnick they are the puppet masters.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/05/gavin-newsom-governor-election-silicon-valley-robots
"I'm part of the problem, vote for me!" LOL and pfft UBI, fuck that shit. They will do anything except build affordable housing and pay living wages. Anything to keep their little crony fiefdoms intact. Disgusting.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-pol-ca-california-governor-2018-money/
Meet the Resnicks: http://mondoweiss.net/2013/07/oligarch-valley-how-beverly-hills-billionaire-farmers-lynda-and-stewart-resnick-profit-from-the-iran-sanctions-they-lobbied-for/
huh, oh well that is old news
Newsom hangs out with Coppola now, because why not: Estimated $15.5 million raised at Auction Napa Valley with Francis Ford Coppola as guest chef
Something New: IRS trawling state-run pot database to block marijuana companies from claiming tax deductions
Absurd use of technology, totally absurd. Of course the code is all proprietary, nothing available for expert review and repair. Consultants and contractors galore, what could go wrong. California has a separate group of lobbyists to turn the final screw on cheap or low cost medicine, it's over before it even got started. Sorry about that. I'm sure folks will love their two joints of
MarlboroMarley Red or whatever is available in their special bubble-head area, taxed every step of the way for what now? More billionaire tax breaks if past is prologue.good luck
edit: lol Marley brand mistake, insidious advertising for the win.
@eyo He doesn't have to buy a
He doesn't have to buy a 50K-dollar machine to pick his grapes. Nobody made him do that. Then again, he won't pay each grape-picker 50K/year to pick grapes either, probably.
The fact is the entire system is shit, and its shittiness keeps getting covered up by squeezing the bottom 90% of the US population (and probably 99% of the world's population). If your business can't survive paying each of your employees a living wage, then there's something wrong with the business world you inhabit. Probably many things.
Saying "I'm part of the problem" isn't good enough. Businessmen, if they give a shit, need to get together and challenge the status quo business world, and change it, radically. That's a tall order, but no taller for them than for the workers who are trying to do the same thing.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I really enjoyed your OT
today. Every element of it was interesting. I'm going to have to send a link of it to my favorite millennial who I know will really like it as well.
@randtntx Thank you! I'd love it if
Thank you! I'd love it if more younger people dropped by here.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
George Carlin=
smart man. Funny too, in a horrifying way.
Don't give up on the intercept
Perhaps they've been had, but the majority of their reporting is spot on. They like Wiki publish leaks. Did they do so poorly? Perhaps. The leaker sure did act like a rank amateur.
Check out the articles this week
https://theintercept.com/
I also like their podcast
https://theintercept.com/2017/06/07/intercepted-podcast-the-woman-democr...
Which focuses on Jill Stein this week. Also has Ryan Grimm explaining his article on the Russia hacks. Just out today and I have not listened, but will soon.
Not to steal Alligator Ed's thunder...here's fascinating interview with the DC detective investigating (and now gagged) Seth Rich's murder. 40 min or so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDI0AFOHuNI
Enjoyed Dame Maggie ... quite a woman.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
That could be
Maybe in the same way Dan Rather was had by Karl Rove.
Beware the bullshit factories.
@Lookout It's hard to get over
It's hard to get over this. I'm not trying to be a shit. But, well, there's three possibilities, and only three:
1)They believed the leaker was for real, and she was.
2)They believed the leaker was for real, and she wasn't.
3)They knew the leaker was an operative.
If #1 is true, they burned their source--a very serious business, and one which would make any genuine leaker dismiss them as a possible venue for publication.
If #2 is true, they would have burned their source, but lucky for her, she was an NSA operative or something, and it didn't matter.
If #2 is true, sources would still avoid them as an unsafe venue for publication, because they showed themselves completely willing to burn their source.
If #3 is true, they're playing pattycake with the Deep State. If that is true, no genuine anti-establishment leaker would go anywhere near them.
So where does that leave them, as a publication? Fatally compromised, at least in the sense of being a place that publishes any newly leaked info. And what did they get for it? Another unsupported claim, from the NSA this time, adding hacks of voting machines to hacks of DNC emails and laying it at Russia's door.
They got nothing for their organization other than involvement in a fucked-up media circus that's going to alienate at least as many people as it attracts, and probably more.
This is just an analysis of them as journalists. It's a bad picture.
If I were a person of good will running The Intercept, and this happened, I would do one of two things:
1)Fire all the people who worked on that article.
2)Shut down my business and start something else, under another name, without the people who worked on that article.
I don't see another way to re-establish credibility, particularly given that every Hillbot on the Net is going to be using The Intercept to reinforce Hillary's dumbass narrative, which will, as I said, alienate as many people as it attracts (or more).
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Maybe Intercept needs excuse to get rid of someone
didn't gulfgal98 say it was Grim who posted the original article? I never bothered to look, it's all so distracting, and who gives a hoot about ex-HuffPost writers? I'd also consider #3 and Glenn scored one, if it means getting rid of a plant (not the potted kind).
Someone here made me imagine a tin foil pussy cap, that was funny. I mean if Glenn Greenwald can be made to look stupid, then of course. Brawndo!
Well neither were really that good. I tried to watch both.
I didn't find either of them that good, Sense8 had the budget that might have saved The 4400 but it lacked heart, its pacing was too slow and the perspective hopping so random it disrupted the narrative flow. The 4400 was doomed by the decline in viewership. The network tried to give it a chance by bringing Collier back but it did not work.
Limitless was cancelled while Blindspot was renewed. Keeping an eye on the Cancellation Bear is fun and some shows get canceled purely for internal political and career reasons. Like, why is the new season of The Strain scheduled against Game of Thrones - premiering the same night too.
Check out Netflix's Siege of Jadotville where they make it clear that the US was behind the shooting down of the UN Secretary General. I don't think your implication that there is something sinister behind the timing of the cancellation of these shows holds much water.
@gendjinn Maybe not. But the world
Maybe not. But the world of TV and movies is being fucked with by the Deep State. That is proven fact. The extent of it is the question, and whether it's at work in certain individual cases.
It's certainly possible that the cancellation of both those shows had nothing political in it whatsoever.
Speaking of Cancellation Bear:
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal That song's other
That song's other title is "Suck It Cancellation Bear"
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Definitely heard reports of them funding movies, tv, books...
and the military exercising script approval in return for using their hardware. But actively killing shows - I haven't seen much (if any) of that and I would not be surprised if it happened, just not aware of it.
The problem with slipping down the rabbit hole is you can slip too far. It's a constant problem that groups attempting to subvert the state suffer from (and we're back to Irish history!). The recent responses to the Intercepts NSA reporting - some people here have their idée fixe that there is no Russian involvement and therefore Greenwald is now either a dupe or complicit. For reporting information received. Jesus wept.
@gendjinn Greenwald wasn't the
Greenwald wasn't the one who reported it. And the problem with the information is that there isn't any. It's another report filled with claims and nothing else. It's being reported as new information that's come to light, but it actually is a new set of unsupported claims that has come to light.
Which is a bit strange, given the fact that we already know, from the Vault 7 leak, that the CIA can spoof other countries--essentially making their own cyberattacks look like another country did it. You'd think they could invent evidence. Maybe they don't trust their ability to spoof well enough to fool people like Bill Binney, the guy who made his reputation decrypting the Soviet Union's command system in the 70s. He's already called bullshit on them once.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-hacking-intelligence...
In other words, somebody basically leaked a report that had nothing in it but conclusions the NSA came to. But we already knew that they had concluded that Russia had interfered with the election. They've been telling us that for eight months. What they won't do is show us the evidence that led them to that conclusion. Given that they won't show us the evidence, I'm going to stand with Bill Binney and Ray McGovern over the government. They're more honest.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Hold on. Are talking about the same thing?
The Reality Winner leak to Intercept about NSA conclusions about Russia spearfishing on state officials/board of electors?
Again my main point was that while I was aware of spooks funding books, tv, movies. I was not aware of them spiking shows.
The Russia Gate BS, is just that, but do not make the mistake of thinking that because the Clintonistas egos are so butthurt that they have to invent a "russia hacked uz" fantasy that Russia is not in fact actually hacking the US. I mean c'mon, of course they are, just like the US are hacking them. And the Chinese and so on. What if this is accurate and the NSA wanted it leaked so those denouncing Russiagate denounce this and then are caught out on the hop and discredited? You gotta be Smiley' Peopling this shit, yo
@gendjinn All the
All the superpowers are hacking each other all the time. At least that's what I assume. It's how they do espionage in the 21st century.
But the election was not hacked by Russia, Reality Winner or no Reality Winner. They haven't produced evidence. That's what I was referring to.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I love your writing in these threads so much
that what you say almost doesn't matter! But the threads have so much interesting content. too. Thank you so much.
@HenryAWallace Why, thank you. What a
Why, thank you. What a lovely compliment.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
My pleasure. Well-earned, too.
OK, here's the other thing about "Reality Winner"
Like all the rest of us, she's heard the Snowden story. It only happened four years ago, so it's not like it's forgotten. Therefore, like all of us, she knows at least some of the steps he took in releasing that information without being caught and jailed. It was a careful, laborious, encrypted process for a long time before he finally met his contacts, in another country (and indeed, another hemisphere). If you were a leaker these days, wouldn't Snowden be in your mind, as the most famous and dramatic example of recent leaking?
So what do you do? You print out a classified document at work, fold it up, put it in an envelope and mail it, after emailing the same outfit that you're sending the document to, again on your work computer.
You might as well put a flashing neon sign above your desk.
She's an operative, guys. If she isn't, then this behavior makes her stupider than the Navy guy who took pictures of the inside of his submarine and sent them to his family. Much stupider.
The chances of that level of stupid, even in these times, at a Top Secret level of clearance, is not high.
I also draw attention to the fact that she was hired at the end of February and by May was leaking classified material. And not classified material like the US military murdering journalists or US intelligence maintaining a constant surveillance on its own population, like a modern-day Stasi with better tech. Classified material which is essentially the NSA saying "And voting machines, too! Trust us."
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Except the document says voting machines not affected
I realize that detail had been largely lost in the storm, and that's probably not accidental, but I read yesterday that the leaked document specifically said there was no evidence that any voting machines or vote counting systems were compromised. That seems like an important detail, but I keep seeing now that everyone believes this leak shows actual vote hacking.
I also can't quite believe yet that the deep state actually wants the public to believe that our democracy is dead and our government is too incompetent to hold fair elections anymore. What is the end game to this story? The illusion that voting means something is critical to keeping the population docile, focused on the next election instead of revolution. How do they benefit from undermining that illusion? I don't see why they would want that.
Personally I don't know what to make of this young woman's actions. I don't discount the possibility she's just not as smart as you'd think, had her own agenda in pushing the "Russia did it" narrative, and was careless and foolish in how she did it.
Getting clearance to work with classified materials actually doesn't require a high level of intelligence. I spent two decades as a technical writer and editor, I knew many people who had clearance because they worked at Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, etc. on documentation of top secret weapons systems. I didn't want to go through the background check or work in those environments myself, but it was highly lucrative for technical writers and some of these people were technical geeks who seemed ... um, lacking in "everyday intelligence" or what we might call common sense.
So who knows. "Reality" seemed to be a believer in the Russia narrative, so it remains possible she's just a dumb kid who blundered into a stupid decision, in her zeal to help "resist Trump." A lot of ordinary people who are typically not insane have bought into this idea, and have been kinda losing their minds. Ms. Winner might be one of them. A victim of the Clintons and the dem party's decision to blame Russia for Trump being president.
@CS in AZ Wow. Great catch, CS.
Wow. Great catch, CS. I'm embarrassed they tripped me up; they usually don't do that very well.
So ALL we're talking about is phishing. FFS. It's even less of a revelation than I thought.
It's very hard to believe that this person is an innocent. Unless she's so crazy she thought Hillary and the Democratic Party would save her from the consequences.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Deleted - double post
She indeed would know Snowden
very well, I imagine that's also part of any briefing nowadays for Top Secret. She'd also more than likely be told never to admit or deny what any of the code words released by him mean or that they even are code words. Back in the day when I was cleared, and I did not work with the classified but just conducted the read on brief, some books came out with code words in them. We were ALL told not to confirm nor deny. She'd know very good and well just who Snowden was.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
@lizzyh7 Well, wouldn't even
Well, wouldn't even the stupidest person contemplating leaking notice that Snowden took a lot of complicated steps to keep himself from getting arrested? How stupid can you possibly get?
I think what gets me is the unrelated email asking for a podcast on her work computer at the same time. Like a trail of breadcrumbs.
It just smells, guys. Of course I have no proof, and of course it's *possible* "Reality Winner" might be an innocent who's just incredibly, incredibly stupid. But given her background, how quickly she went from being hired to being a leaker, and how useless her leak was, don't you think it's more likely she's an operative?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Old: Mother and Child in a Revolving Door
Can't see the videos in my browser today, still enjoying the conversation because hearing about popular culture is interesting to me, when it's not infuriating. lol. Sense8 always makes this painting by my uncle fall out of the lint trap. I transcribed the bit from a book about him, "Ben Cunningham: A Life With Color". I don't know why all caps that is how it's written.
DEMATERIALIZATION 1957
peace
@eyo That's really cool! And
That's really cool! And it's not the style of art I usually like (as you can tell by my decidedly lowbrow fondness for Maxfield Parrish!)
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
HI, good day, thanks for the OT, question:
what's the "the Gang of 8 briefing mechanism. But that shouldn't be necessary to get to Q of whether Trump tried to influence Russia probe." (said Burr)
Just tried to listen in on the Select Committee on Intelligence. I think nobody said anything, but Coats indicated he would say something in a closed hearing session.
https://twitter.com/RonWyden/status/872492097630334978
https://twitter.com/vicenews/status/872492119482433536
https://twitter.com/Isikoff/status/872468343353208833
McCain's question were described as "lackadaisical" in one tweet I can't find anymore.
Anyhow, what is that whole thingy good for? You have a hearing whose only purpose is to demonstrate that there is nothing to hear.
They should all go home and retire.
https://www.euronews.com/
aha, gang of eight briefing mechanism
Gang of Eight (intelligence)
Huh, ...when the President thinks "it's essential to limit access to information about a covert action ... ?
So that means Trump admits to participate in a covert action?
Is that for laughs or for tears?
https://www.euronews.com/
@mimi It's a poisonous
It's a poisonous little anti-democratic mechanism in any times. Like the War Powers Act, it pretends to be a good thing while it actually makes it OK not to obey our founding principles.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
yeah, yeah, it's like carbon monoxide
colorless, odorless, and tasteless, but poisonous. See, I got that ... my way.
I am having a bad hair day, bare with me. I hope tomorrow it will be over.
https://www.euronews.com/
oh, I like this article - finally I get it
The Trump Doctrine - Posted on Jun 7, 2017 - By Neal Gabler / Moyers & Company
I don't want to continue to read ... may by you would like to?
https://www.euronews.com/
How come that Mother Jones knows what Comey will say tomorow?
Madame Jones, don't you have any decency?
This Is What James Comey Will Say Tomorrow in His Opening Statement. Read It for Yourself.
I won't read it. Spoiler. Now all the fun is over. Darnit.
https://www.euronews.com/
No, mimi, the fun will come when the Congresscritters question
James the Weasel Comey, a man who has lied multiple time in testimony. Will see the infamous napkins upon which he wrote his memoir or an actual copy of what he said he put in the personal notices?
Here's Heather Nauert at her first
press briefing as State Dept. spokesperson. She can't answer anything off the top of her head, and seems to spend an inordinate amount of time flipping through that huge binder.
[video:https://youtu.be/ubkCS3kCot8]
She should tell them to just Google the answers, or maybe just give them the book.
How did she get that job anyhow?
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
@dervish Jimmy Dore put out an
Jimmy Dore put out an awesome video from the State Department:
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal Love that Jimmy Dore
Love that Jimmy Dore video. I've watched it a couple of times. It's funny that he recommends The Economic Hit Man.