+3 votes
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in Politics & Government ✌ by

There is apparently a recent article in the NY Times (my computer unable to open the link), where the reporter cites a Carnegie Mellon study finding that "the U.S. waged 81 election-influence operations between 1946 and 2000, compared with 36 by the Soviet Union and Russia," including CIA assassination plots.

So one of my own questions about this investigation is, could this be just another way to harass Trump? Again I DON'T LIKE TRUMP; but I like dirty tricks even less.


5 Answers

+3 votes
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Best answer

I think Mueller is trying to look busy, with very little to show for his year-long efforts, particularly regarding collusion.

This New Yorker article hits the nail on the head, in my opinion:  what Russian efforts there were at meddling, were clumsy and unlikely to fool anyone.  And Mueller's in absentia indictment of 13 Russians, who are safely ensconced in Russia, and who will never stand trial for these charges, is a laughable token gesture.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-fundamental-uncertainty-of-muellers-russia-indictments

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O'Tink, my computer cannot open the link !@#$%^&&:D...

Is your opinion there a fair summary of the article?

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I think it's fair.  Here is a paragraph:

"It is true that the indictment tells us nothing about connections between the Russian efforts and the Trump campaign, and the Trump victory. It is also true that Moscow is laughing, at least in part because the Kremlin had no grand plan to elect Trump. To understand what happened in 2016, we have to understand, among other things, how Russians perceived their own efforts. Perhaps the hardest thing for humans to do is to imagine the world as it is imagined by others. We tend to confuse acting in accordance with the goals and values of the society in which we live with rationality; we tend to confuse intelligence with thinking in accordance with those goals and values. And, of course, we are always inclined to see events as predetermined—and we are almost always wrong. An event as shocking as Trump’s election demands that the forces that may (or may not) have contributed to his victory be rendered suitably monstrous in retrospect.Trump’s tweet about Moscow laughing its ass off was unusually (perhaps accidentally) accurate. Loyal Putinites and dissident intellectuals alike are remarkably united in finding the American obsession with Russian meddling to be ridiculous. The intellectuals are amused to see Americans so struck by an indictment that adds virtually nothing to a piece published in the Russian media outlet RBC, back in October; I wrote at the time that the article showed the Russian effort to be more of a cacophony than a conspiracy. The Kremlin and its media are, as Joshua Yaffa writes, tickled to be taken so seriously. Their sub-grammatical imitations of American political rhetoric, their overtures to the most marginal of political players, are suddenly at the very heart of American political life. This is the sort of thing Russians have done for decades, dating back at least to the early days of the Cold War, but those efforts were always relegated to the dustbin of history before they even began."

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This paragraph rather resonates with me, it makes sense somehow...ima use it as my tentative perspective for the time being, at least!

+3 votes
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I don't really kniow, Virginia, as news seem to be controversed.

Chappate had a certain idea:

image


And some say that the Russian Mafia seems to have too much power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-organized_crime_institutions_in_Russia

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-17200833/putin-s-russia-now-a-mafia-state


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I get the distinct impression that Chappate doesn't much care for Trump.  :D

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Marianne, usually I have admired the BBC coverage; however that link? It says Russia is a "Mafia state," which is a negative term, but the examples they give to justify the name-calling, are they really more extreme than what we see here in the USA...? Pot calling the kettle black?

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Yes, Virginia, let us say that it is a mixture.

I'll have to come back to the subject later on; I am moving, and I might be 1 to several days without Internet connection.


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Wishing you well on your move, Marianne!

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To celebrate your new home, Marianne:)

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+4 votes
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I do not know if Russia wish Trump as president. I do not remember if Putin supported Trump.

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I think Russian trolls tried to cause trouble for the American elections by making bait posts on social media. Their efforts, however, were clumsy. 

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It is my opinion.

+4 votes
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Personally? I think the whole thing is a dog and pony show. We've been meddling in Russia's and other countries affairs for many years now as they have been with other countries, I would think right off and have that the Russians would rather have seen Hillary in office as she would be easier to manipulate than Trump. But maybe I'm wrong.

I think this whole deal is just some kind of legal showing for the left and nothing harsh enough to worry about.

It is what it is out there, like it or not.

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Rooster, your evaluation is very helpful to me with this question, because I have been wondering whether to take the Russia stuff seriously or not. Thank you.

+4 votes
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I guess this puja made Trump win.



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Ha!   So it was the Indians and not the Russians who meddled with the American elections.

Oh, wait... maybe the Indians and the Russians colluded and worked together.  :D

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Thank you, Dan!  :D

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