The Same Russian Troll Accounts Tweeting Election Propaganda Were Also Tweeting about UFOs and Ancient Mysteries

8/28/2018

I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for my conclusion that the Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West. As part of that campaign, Russian trolls and bots made more than one million tweets to influence the 2016 election. Twitter recently deleted those tweets in an effort to clean up its service, but NBC News published a spreadsheet containing 200,000 tweets from Russian propaganda accounts sent in 2016 and 2017. A significant, though not overlarge, number of Russian propaganda tweets were about UFOs, ancient astronauts, and ancient mysteries.

Here are a few representative samples of the Russian retweets. I have stripped them of the linked articles to avoid promoting bottom-feeding clickbait and propaganda sites.

“Ancient Hopi Claim Their Ancestors Came From The Inner World.”

“INVESTIGATION INTO OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE REVEALS HE'S AN ANCIENT ALIEN #TrumpsFavoriteHeadline”

“Could an ancient civilisation have existed in Antarctica thousands of years ago? Possibly...”

“Frozen Ancient Civilization Discovered In Antarctica”

“Ancient Texts Reveal: Earth Was Ruled for 241,000 Years by 8 Kings Who Came from Heaven.”

“Scientist Claims The Lost City of Atlantis Was on Mars & Ancient Egypt Traded With Them”

“Ancient Metropolis On Mars In Plain Sight”

“Travis Walton: Aliens Accidentally Killed Me But Took My Corpse Onto UFO To Save My Life”

“NASA Hidden Files:This Giant Cube UFO Keeps Returning To Our Sun. Why?”

“From Alien Contact to Man-made UFOs: 4 Declassified Secrets from the CIA and USA Government”

“UFO Experts Warn of Fake Alien Invasion to Achieve NOW”

“UFO Theory: Why Did Military Claim “Flying Disc” Found At Roswell?”

“#WhenITimeTravel I always where my black suit ,tie and ray bans to mess with the heads of 1950s UFO believers”

“Declassified Report of US Senator Offers Shocking Details of 2 UFOs Taking Off”

“Editorial: Podesta's UFO activities are disturbing. A Clinton White House will have a chief of staff who is crazed or aliens”

“So hey @HillaryClinton you said you'll declassify all UFO documents if you're elected, but can we get a taste now to get thro”

“Secret Deal Between Clinton and Rockefeller About UFO’s to Come Out”

Almost all of the tweets were retweets from fringe sources, with little to no original content. The sources include Coast to Coast AM, Disclose TV, World Truth TV, Prison Planet, Before It’s News, and The Rundown Live, apparently selected from among all possible sources to amplify conspiracy theories about aliens and UFOS alongside more political conspiracy theories and outright propaganda for Trump. (Disclosure: I once appeared on The Rundown Live.) It’s interesting that I wasn’t able to find direct mention of Ancient Aliens, perhaps because the trolls purposely sought to amplify the dodgiest claims from the least reliable sources, or didn’t want to call too much attention to themselves. There was one retweet about the History Channel: “I don't want to be a victim on a future history channel show. So do me a favor and think.” It got retweeted because its author is an NRA member and a Trump super-fan who tweets arch-conservative political statements.

It’s true that the tweets contain myriad subjects unrelated to politics, including tweets about food, football, shopping, the Kardashians, etc. UFOs and ancient mysteries are a small but significant percentage of the tweets. For example, there are hundreds of UFO tweets, but only a handful for astrology, a comparably popular pseudoscientific belief. Like other tweets not explicitly serving as political propaganda, they seemed designed to attract targeted demographics to Russian propaganda accounts. This might also explain why there is another large bloc of hundreds of tweets devoted to The Walking Dead, a program that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, told Forbes was specifically targeted for ads by the Trump campaign because its viewers were the most likely in the television audience to vote Trump. By contrast, TV’s highest rated sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, warranted only a handful of tweets, most involving a controversy over Mayim Bialik’s comments on Muslims and Israel.

There is method in the madness, but it will take someone with more time and resources to quantify the hundreds of thousands of tweets in order to better understand how UFO and ancient mystery stories were used and for what purpose. But a similar research study conducted with this same database of tweets by scholars at Johns Hopkins University regarding vaccine denialism found that Russian trolls were “significantly” morel likely to tweet about vaccines than “average Twitter users,” though how one quantifies an average Twitter user must be open to debate. “These trolls seem to be using vaccination as a wedge issue, promoting discord in American society,” said the authors of the study. I have no doubt that the UFO material served a similar purpose.

104 Comments

Joe Scales@gmail.com

8/28/2018 10:32:26 am

"I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for my conclusion that the Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West."

Really? I mean... REALLY??? How many idiotic, speculative or outright fabricated things get put online each and every day from people all over the world. Is there always some diabolical plot involved by hostile nation states when this is done? Or only when it's convenient to smear your political opposition?

"As part of that campaign, Russian trolls and bots made more than one million tweets to influence the 2016 election."

Okay. How much and how many from all over the U.S.? How much from the rest of the world? What votes did any of it change? Might it have failed, and had unexpected or unintended consequences for either candidate? You don't know Jason. Yet the spin is in because of your need to associate things you don't like. The Fringe and Trump. So Russia, Russia, Russia... over and over, and maybe it'll stick this time. If there was ever a sinister plot from "Russians", man you fell for it big time. Big time. By simply overestimating their power, you give it to them.

Jason Colavito link

8/28/2018 10:41:16 am

I'm not the one who came to these conclusions, nor did I create the database of tweets. If all of the American intelligence agencies, the U.S. Congress, and nearly every major news organization all came to the same conclusion, one even the White House reluctantly conceded was true, this is not my fantasy.

Americanegro

8/28/2018 12:28:22 pm

Nonetheless Joe (re)raises a good point. Similar to my belief that not all mass-shootings are false-flag operations. Some of them are just mass shootings.

"all of the American intelligence agencies"

When people say "all the intelligence agencies" to support their position the truth usually turns out to be "at most two or three or maybe just one or possibly none" and it's usually safe to ignore what follows. But I'll sleep easier tonight knowing that the Coast Guard had a seat at the table.

"As part of that campaign, Russian trolls and bots made more than one million tweets to influence the 2016 election."

"It’s interesting that I wasn’t able to find direct mention of Ancient Aliens, perhaps because the trolls purposely sought to amplify the dodgiest claims from the least reliable sources, or didn’t want to call too much attention to themselves." <-- You understand why that last bit is confusing, right?

"'[Jenny McCarthy] seem[s] to be using vaccination as a wedge issue, promoting discord in American society,' said the authors of the study."

"In the last reported quarter, the number of monthly active U.S. Twitter users amounted to 68 million"

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274564/monthly-active-twitter-users-in-the-united-states/

I don't take the Twitter, so my vote against the Crone of Chappaqua, whom the natives call Stumbles With Fishy Smelling Bird's Nest Down There, was not affected.

Joe Scales

8/28/2018 01:44:31 pm

"I'm not the one who came to these conclusions..."

Are you sure?

"I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for my conclusion that the Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West."

Yeah, thought so. That was your conclusion. I had written a longer note that apparently got lost, but that's the gist of it. That and any affects of alleged "Russian meddling" can't be quantified; despite the quoted study's findings and NBC eating it up to bolster their politically driven narrative.

8/28/2018 01:49:42 pm

You are conflating two different issues. The first is whether the Russians sent out tweets from troll and bot accounts. That is beyond dispute. It is simply a fact. The second is whether it was effective, which is the part you dispute. Regardless of whether you think it worked, the fact that they did it makes in interesting that the Russians took the UFO material they had long used as elements of state propaganda and added it into their mix of tweets.

8/28/2018 02:41:41 pm

The "fact" that anything was done only has importance if it also had relevance and impact. Given the sea of others tweeting, botting or posting the same sort of nonsense from any spot on the globe, does little to affirm any such relevance and/or impact beyond it's more obvious political implications embraced by partisans looking to smear their political opposition.

I don't tell you this as an opposing partisan. I tell you this to keep you from appearing ignorant. Just to be clear. I lose a little faith in you each and every time you adopt political talking points in your writing.

8/28/2018 02:51:50 pm

Joe is right. Nothing about efficacy.

Conclusion 1: "I’ve received quite a bit of criticism for my conclusion that the Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West."

Conclusion 2: "As part of that campaign, Russian trolls and bots made more than one million tweets to influence the 2016 election."

"I'm not the one who came to these conclusions..."

"You didn't build that!" - B. Obama

“There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.”" - G. Ford

8/29/2018 01:30:29 pm

Nick Redfern has a new article about Russian meddling in the UFO movement during the Cold War. https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/08/ufos-russian-meddling-alien-encounters-a-strange-saga/

8/29/2018 02:21:38 pm

In other words... Hey, look over there!

But rather than torture myself reading any support this ghostbuster could muster on your behalf, could you just cut and paste where he makes conclusions and then says they're not his conclusions?

AmericanCool"Disco"Dan

8/29/2018 03:37:01 pm

NIck Redfern will punch you in your facemouth!

8/29/2018 04:22:41 pm

TemplarScribe

9/2/2018 02:28:25 pm

To American(fool) Dan: If you can't see the value of the detailed in in-depth article by Nick Redfern that Jason linked to, then I doubt your reading comprehension, and your impartiality. Nick describes multiple times in the past where the Soviet Union used UFO personalities to insert pro-Russian, pro-Communist concepts into the West's consumption of UFO-contact material, from placing agents in US contactee groups to trying to convert contactees themselves (like Orfeo Angelucci).

Nick doesn't just make this up: he quotes respected researchers and members of the UFO community like the late Jim Moseley (of Saucer Smear magazine), various FBI reports, and even the CIA-backed Robertson panel.

Jason, I feel for you. The more accurate you get in your research and reporting, the more you too will become a target of organized trolling and disinformation campaigns. Keep the hip-waders close at hand.

American"Cool"DiscoDan

9/2/2018 03:02:09 pm

Having dived into Nick Redfern's tube sock and read this nonsense I have to say that unsurprisingly Jason is REALLY not helping his case by citing it. It's a bunch of anecdotes about people who are skeered of Russkies.

I will fight Nick Redfern, any time, any where. Then I shall have him, per anum after punching him in his facemouth.

P.S. I can't tell you the extent to which it boggles my mind that Jason offers up this piece of shit to support(???) his position.

It's a bunch of anecdotes about people who are skeered of Russkies. My guess is that you were quoted in it? Because you sure sound skeered of Russkies.

8/28/2018 02:54:36 pm

Okay, we get it, you adore the big orange racist baby in the White House, because it suits your privileged position. I'm always amazed at how much you have to twist to see the world in the way you want it to be rather than the way it's proven to be.

It's not like this isn't an outright PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR from Russia, or did you not know the history of how we wound up with an Iron Curtain and a Cold War? And propaganda attacks of EXACTLY this sort were always a big part of it. So why is it so hard to believe that OMG, they might actually REPEAT what was ALREADY successful for them?

You are right about one thing, though. I think it had "unexpected consequences" for both Trump and Russia, because I don't think they had any clue they wouldn't be able to control Trump better than this--and Trump sure as hell couldn't even conceive of not being the adored dictator of the land, as his own tweets have proven again and again.

8/28/2018 03:24:44 pm

My privileged position? What might that be V? And yeah, generally I don't entertain the partisans here, but I like you V. You're not boring, nor pretentious. Just incredibly wrong.

8/28/2018 03:32:49 pm

"It's not like this isn't an outright PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR from Russia, or did you not know the history of how we wound up with an Iron Curtain and a Cold War?"

Because Roosevelt was a sucker who put too much trust in Stalin and Molotov and had a Soviet spy living in the White House and Patton was forbidden from doing the right thing.

"And propaganda attacks of EXACTLY this sort were always a big part of it. So why is it so hard to believe that OMG, they might actually REPEAT what was ALREADY successful for them?"

Because we're so different, right?

Mossadegh in Iran
Arbenz in Gautemala
Diệm in Vietnam

Paul 林白樂 Linebager during Vietnam. "In 1969 CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr. wrote that Linebarger was "perhaps the leader practitioner of 'black' and 'gray' propaganda in the Western world""

Grenada
Nicaragua
Panama
Shooting down a civilian airliner
Bombing of and attack on the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia
"Tell "
Killing hundreds of civilians in Pakistan.
Assisting in the slaughter in Yemen.

Of course now we've got Russia illegally invading Syria... oh wait, that's us. Nevermind. But Russia's bad, right?

President Obama: "On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space."

President Medvedev: "Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…"

President Obama: "This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility."

President Medvedev: "I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir, and I stand with you."

Titus pullo

8/29/2018 10:54:48 pm

Cut the bolshevik race baiting please.

T. Franke link

8/28/2018 10:58:30 am

Suggestion, for what purpose the UFO tweets had been made:

IMHO the most likely purpose is to attract people to these sources of information, and the "wanted" people, i.e. more simple-minded people. Somebody who is interested in simple UFO news can be fed with political rubbish, too. So it is a bait.

8/28/2018 12:34:15 pm

Thanks for clarifying that Frank. Where would we be without your trenchant analysis?

"Like other tweets not explicitly serving as political propaganda, they seemed designed to attract targeted demographics to Russian propaganda accounts."

I feel cromulent just knowing you're about.

8/28/2018 03:13:49 pm

Good point, Americanegro!

Averagebear

9/3/2018 11:45:56 am

Hey, American Negro, I really like what you have said in this thread, you are one of the few people who seems to able to use your brain, you remind me of someone I know who served.

Honestly I sometimes wonder where all the level headed and intellegent men are, c'mon guys, we need you. I see you posting here but you need to be heard.

Donna

8/28/2018 11:28:29 am

_Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West. _

Like seriously:)? Polls show about half of US population believes in UFO-s without any destabilizing effect.

8/28/2018 12:11:48 pm

Oh, it's had an effect. Since the then-Soviet campaign started in the 1960s, confidence in science has fallen and it is now commonplace for mainstream people--not just the lunatic fringe--to deny basic scientific conclusions. This clearly isn't the sole doing of propaganda, but it helped the process along.

8/28/2018 01:47:29 pm

I look forward to seeing the proof of that assertion. Otherwise quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

In fact you present a bundle of assertions here.

And what is this "verify" bumbaclottery?

8/28/2018 02:06:15 pm

It isn't possible to quantify the impact of propaganda in most cases because its goal isn't to change hearts and minds. It's just a thumb on the scale, helping to reinforce by contributing to the echo chamber effect and normalizing certain viewpoints through repetition. But "Foreign Policy" magazine laid out Putin's goals vis-à-vis pseudoscience, and we see that surveys of popular attitudes toward science are now close to matching Putin's goals, so the conclusion that seems most likely is that Russian propaganda has at least contributed to the achievement of those goals.

I do wonder, though, at the number of Russophiles here who seem very upset at the idea that Russians tweeted out UFO and conspiracy theory material in much greater volume than comparable pseudoscientific claims.

8/28/2018 02:37:03 pm

You wrote: "Russians tweeted out UFO and conspiracy theory material in much greater volume than comparable pseudoscientific claims."

You wrote: "A significant, though not overlarge, number of Russian propaganda tweets were about UFOs, ancient astronauts, and ancient mysteries" based on a 20% (cherry-picked?) sample.

Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept wrote: "The reality is that from the start of the Trump/Russia story, the U.S. media has repeatedly and frequently – not rarely and periodically – gotten major stories completely wrong, always in the same direction: exaggerating the threat posed by Russia to the U.S., and concocting evidence of Trump/Russia collusion even when such evidence did not exist."

and

"When reporting on that story, I detailed just some of the similarly significant and false stories major outlets have published on this story over the last eighteen months, notably always in the same direction, pushing the same narrative interests:

• Russia hacked into the U.S. electric grid to deprive Americans of heat during winter (Wash Post)
• An anonymous group (PropOrNot) documented how major U.S. political sites are Kremlin agents (Wash Post)
• WikiLeaks has a long, documented relationship with Putin (Guardian)
• A secret server between Trump and a Russian bank has been discovered (Slate)
• RT hacked C-SPAN and caused disruption in its broadcast (Fortune)
• Russians hacked into a Ukrainian artillery app (Crowdstrike)
• Russians attempted to hack elections systems in 21 states (multiple news outlets, echoing Homeland Security)
• Links have been found between Trump ally Anthony Scaramucci and a Russian investment fund under investigation (CNN)"

https://theintercept.com/2018/08/28/cnn-credibly-accused-of-lying-to-its-audience-about-a-key-claim-in-its-blockbuster-cohen-story-refuses-to-comment/

8/28/2018 02:50:11 pm

" I do wonder, though, at the number of Russophiles here who seem very upset at the idea that Russians tweeted out UFO and conspiracy theory material in much greater volume than comparable pseudoscientific claims. "

Russophile? Moi? So I'm "a person who is friendly toward Russia or fond of Russia and Russian things, especially someone who is sympathetic to the political system and customs of the former Soviet Union"? That's how you want to put things? That's your retort?

Perhaps you meant someone else. That or you have lost your mind. Completely.

8/28/2018 03:13:04 pm

Jason, the greatets harm to science is when science teams up with politics.

For Germany, the outstanding example is the "Waldsterben" (dying of the woods). We had a decade of propaganda about it. Science told us unanimously, that our woods are dying because of acid rain, caused by industry and cars. -- Today, you can read even in Wikipedia that it was all nonsense, and that a Waldsterben never really happened. But the Waldsterben died silently, so to say: Until today, I never heard any excuse by any scientist that they were terribly wrong. And the media just stopped talking about it over time. Never any excuse by any journalist that they were wrong. Neither by any politician. Total failure. Really not a situation to build up some trust in any of these institutions: Science, Media, Politics.

And I see many similiarities of the Waldsterben with the man-made climate change. The man-made climate change claim has been promoted in a propaganda-like way, and often abused to promote certain political purposes. Be it true or not, science does not gain by teaming up with politics. An inconvenient truth.

The same is valid for other sciences. I think of the abuse of archaeology as an argument against the Iraq war. And after the war there were many lies about the alleged plundering of the Iraq museum in Bagdad in order to blame the Bush administration. Really unnecessary. It destroys trust.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/jun/10/art.highereducation

Or think of anthropologists who want to tell us that immigration in itself is a good thing because "we are all immigrants". Pure political nonsense, not science.

8/28/2018 03:43:46 pm

"I think of the abuse of archaeology as an argument against the Iraq war. And after the war there were many lies about the alleged plundering of the Iraq museum in Bagdad in order to blame the Bush administration."

ANY argument against the U.S. invasion of Iraq is a good one, and what is this "after the war" nonsense? "After the war" hasn't happened yet.

8/29/2018 09:45:24 am

Americanegro, you miss the point, here. Regardless whether the Iraq war was OK or not OK, nobody should abuse archaeology or any other science (except maybe political science) to argue for or against it.

Your statement "ANY argument against the U.S. invasion of Iraq is a good one" is just a radical statement against rationality itself. It is this sort of radicalism which divides our societies. You speak like a worshipper of a cult. You want to see only one side of the medal, not the other. This is a deeply anti-democratic attitude.

"After the war":

Concerning the case of the Iraq museum, "after the war" means the end of open battles with Saddam Hussein's army. Of course, there were still heavy turmoils for years after the end of war. But also these turmoils came to an end. George W. Bush indeed managed to calm the situation in Iraq. He did this by giving guarantees to major ethnic and religious groups that they will not be surpressed by other groups. For some few years, there really was peace in Iraq. Not more bombing than in other countries of the region, at least.

A chapter was closed.

Then a new chapter opened: Obama withdrew the US troops from Iraq. And some time after that, the Sunnis felt under pressure, and took refuge with ISIS from Syria. If you do not want to blame Obama for this (although he totally failed to match his responsibilities), you could blame the Shia Iraqi government. But you should not blame Bush. He left a stable situation.

By the way: In Syria, Obama applied all the means of toppling a dictator suggested by liberals when Bush went to war in Iraq. As we know today, the Syrian adventure of Obama failed totally, and so did the liberal alternatives to Bush's way. Whereas in Iraq, even after the major mistake of withdrawing the troops, there is still a core left of Bush's great success: The Kurds and the Shia government which are outposts of a relative stability in this region of turmoil. I cannot see a similar success of Obama in Syria. So many innocent men, women, and children had to die in Syria because of liberal nonsense phantasies. So much more than in Iraq. In absolute as well as in relative numbers. But strange: No one blames Obama as Bush had been blamed. Could it be that there is an Obama cult?

So Bush was basically right, but I never would argue for this with archaeology. This is the point.

americancool"disco"dan

8/29/2018 03:07:25 pm

Wow, Sally, the very idea of an invasion seems to give you a hardon. I suppose it's in your blood.

"Your statement "ANY argument against the U.S. invasion of Iraq is a good one" is just a radical statement against rationality itself. It is this sort of radicalism which divides our societies. You speak like a worshipper of a cult. You want to see only one side of the medal, not the other. This is a deeply anti-democratic attitude."

I stand by my statement that "ANY argument against the U.S. invasion of Iraq is a good one" because there are (and were) no good arguments for it. "This is a deeply anti-democratic atitude." FUCK THAT NOISE. The UN gave the Jews the wrong country.

The looting started AFTER the invasion. A rare case of post hoc ergo propter hoc being true.

""after the war" means the end of open battles with Saddam Hussein's army" No. Bullshit. Gratuitously asserted, gratuitously denied. Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

"George W. Bush indeed managed to calm the situation in Iraq."

It was already calm before his illegal invasion.

"For some few years, there really was peace in Iraq."

Yes, there was. Before Bush's illegal invasion.

"Not more bombing than in other countries of the region, at least."

You set a low bar, Herr Oberstuermfuehrergruppenlunatik. So firebombing Dresden was okay because we nuked Hiroshima.

"In Syria, Obama applied all the means of toppling a dictator suggested by liberals when Bush went to war in Iraq."

Obama, under the baleful influence of John "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" McCain with his 10 and a half hours of combat experience IN A CHAIR, ILLEGALLY INVADED SYRIA. Please name the liberals who suggested such an illegal invasion to Bush.

"As we know today, the Syrian adventure of Obama failed totally, and so did the liberal alternatives to Bush's way."

What you call "the liberal alternatives" Sally, boils down to NOT ILLEGALLY INVADING OTHER COUNTRIES. I understand that being German your blood tells you otherwise.

"Whereas in Iraq, even after the major mistake of withdrawing the troops"

Yes, once the boot is on the neck it's always a mistake to remove it.

"there is still a core left of Bush's great success: The Kurds and the Shia government which are outposts of a relative stability in this region of turmoil."

You may be the only person on the planet who considers Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq a "great success". Saddam's Iraq was an outpost of relative stability before Bush's illegal lie-based invasion.

"I cannot see a similar success of Obama in Syria. So many innocent men, women, and children had to die in Syria because of liberal nonsense phantasies. So much more than in Iraq. In absolute as well as in relative numbers. But strange: No one blames Obama as Bush had been blamed."

More casualties in Syria than Iraq? You're living in a dream world, mate. _I_ blame Obama for Operation Frequent Manhood under the terrorist funding warmongering of the finally dead John McCain, just as I have blamed Trump for not getting us out of Obama's illegal invasion of Syria.

8/29/2018 03:44:11 pm

"After the invasion, the U.S. mission in Iraq lasted for eight years until troops were withdrawn in 2011.

The Iraqi government asked U.S. forces to return there in 2014. By mid-2014, large swaths of Iraq were under attack by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, which had easily defeated Iraqi security forces whose capabilities had eroded after the U.S. left.

Airstrikes on Islamic State targets began late that summer; the first U.S. soldiers returned there in fall of 2014 and launched a massive Iraqi military train, advise and equip program throughout Iraq.
...
The U.S. still conducts regular airstrikes against pockets of ISIS fighters in Anbar province, most recently in the vicinity of the city of al Qaim, along the Syrian border.

“I do believe U.S. forces are needed here,” Folsom said. “Even though western Anbar and the entire country has been liberated. What we are trying to do with the [Iraqi Security Forces] is help them consolidate their gains. We are at a critical juncture right now,” he said. “If we don’t continue our work to professionalize them as a military, then we risk as return to the conditions as they were in 2014.”

Twenty-one service members have been killed in Iraq since U.S. forces returned there in 2014, including seven airmen who died last week in a U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk crash. The helicopter was on a routine transit from an outpost at al Qaim that U.S. forces share with Iraqi security forces, Folsom said.
...

A total of 4,411 service members were killed in Iraq during operations there between 2003 and 2011, according to DoD reports. The Pentagon will no longer say how many forces are serving in Iraq, using an unchanged, blanket number of about 5,200 troops when queried."

So, lying about the number of U.S. troops, "advisors" in Iraq. A recipe for success.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/03/20/us-forces-are-needed-here-after-15-years-fight-in-iraq-not-over/

8/29/2018 05:36:18 pm

Americanegro,

if you have no arguments to support your claims, you should prefer to stay silent. I will not become an Obama-believer, only because you are singing his gospel and condemn the devil.

By the way, Iraq before Bush junior's war had been destabalized by a certain Bill Clinton (you remember?) who had 8 years an embargo on the country, and at the end of his 2nd term, Bill Clinton said: Hey, we should have done something with Iraq! But hey, I leave that to my successor. This was Bill Clinton. Now: Saddam Hussein's power crumbled in these 8 years. Tribal structures started to replace the state bureaucracy in Iraq. And Al-Qaida had been in Iraq before the US army came there. The idea of a perfectly stable Iraq (by the means of a dictator killing his own people by the hundredthousands, how moral is this?) is an illusion.

But my time is wasted, you are not interested in arguments. You are a believer.

8/29/2018 06:05:54 pm

"Americanegro,

if you have no arguments to support your claims, you should prefer to stay silent. I will not become an Obama-believer, only because you are singing his gospel and condemn the devil."

Good lord, you ignorant kraut. Patton was right about the mental debility of the Hun. What part of talking about Obama's illegal invasion of Syria and his murder of Ghaddafi and indiscriminate murder of Pakistani civilians do you consider "singing his Gospel"? You idiot.

"By the way, Iraq before Bush junior's war had been destabalized by a certain Bill Clinton (you remember?) who had 8 years an embargo on the country, and at the end of his 2nd term, Bill Clinton said: Hey, we should have done something with Iraq! But hey, I leave that to my successor. This was Bill Clinton."

I'm glad Clinton didn't bomb civilians or embassies of neutral states in Iraq like he did in Yugoslavia and didn't blow up pharmaceutical factories in Iraq like he did in Sudan.

"Now: Saddam Hussein's power crumbled in these 8 years. Tribal structures started to replace the state bureaucracy in Iraq. And Al-Qaida had been in Iraq before the US army came there."

A big SEZ YOU to all of that.

"The idea of a perfectly stable Iraq (by the means of a dictator killing his own people by the hundredthousands, how moral is this?) is an illusion."

And not my problem, not the U.S.'s problem, but you seem to have the Germanic pathological compulsion to invade and kill. I don't share that.

"But my time is wasted, you are not interested in arguments. You are a believer."

I've presented my arguments which you've failed to counter and I believe you're an idiot.

8/30/2018 02:08:20 pm

Americanegro,

you wrote about a dictator killing his people by the hundredthousands: "not my problem, not the U.S.'s problem, but you seem to have the Germanic pathological compulsion to invade and kill. I don't share that."

Did I get this right? Your "blood" tells you just standing by and watching while outraging crimes are committed? How does your "blood" do this? Does it have a mouth?

Well, anyway, Bill Clinton is your hero, he did several times simply nothing, in Bosnia and Rwanda, both times later saying: Oh we should have done something, unfortunately we didn't. Bill Clinton was surely one of the worst presidents the US ever had. But not in your eyes, I have understood this.

Your type of guy would have made peace with Hitler.

And what I wonder the most: Your allusions to my "blood" are simply racist. Are you sure that there is not a German among your ancestors? Really sure? And would it be a problem for you?

8/30/2018 03:02:56 pm

You really can't read, can you Herr Katzenjammer? I criticise someone and you tell me I am "a believer" and they are my "hero"?

You correctly say that I "wrote about a dictator killing his people by the hundredthousands: "not my problem, not the U.S.'s problem, but you seem to have the Germanic pathological compulsion to invade and kill. I don't share that."

Did I get this right? Your "blood" tells you just standing by and watching while outraging crimes are committed? How does your "blood" do this? Does it have a mouth?"

You're standing by and watching while the U.S. murders Yemeni and Pakistani civilians. Should Germany declare war on the U.S.? Or are those murders not your problem?

You're strangely silent on the illegal U.S, invasion of Syria and the U.S. responsibility for the murder of a head of state and turning Libya into a shithole. Not your problem, right?

You Germans stood by while the U.S. furnished Iraq with chemical weapons precursors during its 8 year war of aggression against Iran in which half a million people were killed. I guess it was a case of "not your problem, not Germany's problem."

You keep talking about "hundreds of thousands of people" killed but fundamentally your position is that it's better for the U.S. to kill hundreds of thousands of people than for some dictator to do it.

I've presented my arguments which you've failed to counter and I believe you're an idiot.

8/30/2018 03:14:23 pm

Americanegro, your view of the US engagements is highly questionable. It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands ....

... and thank you for your confession that you are a believer: "and I believe you're an idiot."

*smile*

8/30/2018 03:23:05 pm

"It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands ...."

Might want to consult with one of the other Axis powers on that one T.

8/30/2018 05:09:54 pm

"... and thank you for your confession that you are a believer: 'and I believe you're an idiot.'"

I was trying to be nice. I KNOW you're an idiot.

"Americanegro, your view of the US engagements is highly questionable. It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands ...."

Idiot. We didn't even have to go abroad to kill 600,000 soldiers.

Joe as usual makes a good point. I plagiarized the following from Wikipedia:

"Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is regarded as the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. 16 square miles (41 km2) of central Tokyo were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over 1 million homeless."

That's right, bitch. One hundred thousand killed in ONE NIGHT. USA! USA!

But let's not neglect more recent history. The U.S. Army field reports say 109,032 violent deaths including 66,081 civilian deaths in Iraq from 2004-2009. That's the number they're ADMITTING to.

We can go a little further back to a little place I like to call "Vietnam". Estimates vary so I will present several:

North Vietnam & Việt Cộng Casualties:
65,000–182,000 civilian dead
849,018 military dead (per Vietnam; 1/3 non-combat deaths)
666,000–950,765 dead (per US; 1964–74)

Of course this doesn't count the South Vietnamese civilians killed by the U.S.

"It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands ...."

Let's all take a deep breath and remember what a fucking idiot you are. Go on, tell me again what I believe and who my heroes are.

8/30/2018 05:47:54 pm

Americanegro, Joe Scales ...

... we talked of Obama, Bush jun., Bill Clinton .... and you come with World War II. Seems to be an obsession?

By the way, would you have preferred that Japan had won the war? And if not, how would you have made Japan surrender? Any clue? Any plan? Any better idea? You have even not any awareness of the problems, but are quick at putting forward premature judgements.

Maybe Bill Clinton reaches the number, if we count the victims of the Rwanda genocide which he just let happen ... but ok, this is a nonsense way of counting, too, I will not make this "point".

8/30/2018 06:21:04 pm

"... we talked of Obama, Bush jun., Bill Clinton .... and you come with World War II. Seems to be an obsession?"

Seems that you, an idiot, said something that was stupidly wrong and got called out on it.

"By the way, would you have preferred that Japan had won the war? And if not, how would you have made Japan surrender? Any clue? Any plan? Any better idea? You have even not any awareness of the problems, but are quick at putting forward premature judgements."

That's just bullshit from an idiot. WHAT "premature judgements"? Answer that, idiot.

Vietnam wasn't World War II, idiot, and killing a hundred thousand people IN ONE NIGHT IN THE CAPITAL CITY certainly didn't "win the war" but we fucking did it even though you, idiot, said "It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands". USA! USA!

Getting back to Vietnam, which I remind you is STILL NOT WWII, throw a couple hundred thousand Cambodians and Laotians killed into the total as well.

You want to talk about Bush and Iraq? 109,032 violent deaths including 66,081 civilian deaths between 2004 and 2009 is what the U.S, military ADMITS to. Apparently they only started counting in the second year of the war.

You really are a fucking idiot and you keep digging that hole.

8/30/2018 07:00:50 pm

Americanegro ....

last time I heard numbers of Iraq from Bush haters, there was talk of 1,000,000 deaths. Now you have reached "109,032 violent deaths including 66,081 civilian deaths between 2004 and 2009 is what the U.S, military ADMITS to".

Thanks that you start with this reduced number.

Look, who killed these people? US troops? Marines doing mass shootings of 66,081 civilians? No. Surely not. They were mostly killed by car bombs etc., and the car bombs were not put in place by the US military. Usually, you do not count the victims of your enemy as your own victims. Especially not in case of Iraq war where many actors in the region had an interest that the project of a free Iraq fails, in order to avoid such an example in the region, and where the goal finally was reached: Calming down the situation, expelling the foreign enemies. Considering the cruel alternatives (and that is what you never do), it was worth it.

And by the way, your given dates ("between 2004 and 2009") silently confirm what I said above: That Bush managed to calm Iraq beginning with 2009, and only Obama started turmoil again by withdrawing the troops years later. Thank you, that you silently agree on Bush's success, and on Obama's failure as quite another chapter which is not connected to the previous chapter.

And by the way, have you realized that we talk for a while now, and that I haven't insulted you once, as you did me all the time?

8/30/2018 07:21:40 pm

First, with regard to the murder figure, I can't be responsible for everything you hear, idiot (it's not an insult if it's true). The figure I gave is what the U.S. Military ADMITTED TO, which tells us the actual figure is higher. Remember this ignores murders by U.S. forces in the first year of the war.

"They were mostly killed by car bombs etc.," Bullshit. Gratuitousy asserted, just as gratuitously denied.

You keep describing the Iraq Invasion as a "success". That's exactly what an idiot would say.

Your support for the invasion of a country that did nothing to the U.S. plays into every stereotype of the militaristic German and reinforces the natural tendency to perceive you as an idiot.

I do need to report one error: I mentioned 500,000 killed in the Iraq-Iran War in which the U.S. aided Iraq. The actual figure is 500,000 military dead and 500,000 civilians dead. And no territory won or lost so another rousing success, right idiot?

8/31/2018 01:29:01 am

"By the way, would you have preferred that Japan had won the war? And if not, how would you have made Japan surrender? Any clue? Any plan? Any better idea? You have even not any awareness of the problems, but are quick at putting forward premature judgements."

Without spending a lot of time on how you are the King of Idiots, and without belaboring your zeal for mass murder, here's a partial list of those who thought the war against Japan had been won for all practical purposes and the use of atomic weapons was unnecessary. Even an idiot might recognize a few of the names:

The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey group, assigned by President Truman to study the air attacks on Japan, in their report of July of 1946

Dwight D, Eisenhower, Newsweek Magazine, 11/11/63, Ike on Ike;
Mandate for Change, 1953-1956, D.D. Eisenhower, p. 380

Adm. William Leahy, I Was There, p. 441

Gen. Douglas McArthur, quote in The Pathology of Power - Norman Cousins, pg. 65, 70-71

American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964, Wm. Manchester, p. 512

Assistant Secretary of War John McLoy: Deadline: A Memoir, James Reston, p. 500,

Under Secretary of the Navy Ralph Bird: War Was Really Won Before We Used A-Bomb, U.S. News and World Report, 8/15/60, pg. 73-75.

The Vice Chairman of the U.S. Bombing Survey Paul Nitze: From Hiroshima to Glasnost: At the Center of Decision: A Memoir, pp. 36-37, 44-45

Deputy Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence Ellis Zacharias:
How We Bungled the Japanese Surrender, Look Magazine, 6/6/50, pg. 19-21

Brigadier General Carter Clarke, the military intelligence officer in charge of preparing summaries of intercepted Japanese cables for President Truman and his advisors: The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, Gar Alperovitz, p. 359

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission historian J. Samuel Walker: The Decision to Use the Bomb: A Historiographical Update, Diplomatic History, Winter 1990, pg. 110

Under Secretary of State Joseph Grew: “The consensus among scholars is that the bomb was not needed to avoid an invasion of Japan and to end the war within a relatively short time. It is clear that alternatives to the bomb existed and that Truman and his advisors knew it.” The Atomic Bomb, Barton J. Bernstein (Editor), pp.29-32

Idiot.

8/31/2018 07:20:35 am

Americanegro ...

.. again you change the base of argument, in order to make an "argument".

Above, you talked about the bombing of Tokyo which was not an atomic bomb. Now you cite a series of statements saying that the atomic bomb was not needed to defeat Japan (which is bullshit, by the way, considering that conventional bombing inflicted just the same amount of harm, if not more, you yourself gave the Tokyo example).

Do you have a statement which says that Japan could have been defeated without even conventional bombing and without an invasion? (How can I imagine this: Only attacking ships on sea but never the main land, and thus having victory? Is this feasible?)

No you have not such a paper or statement. Because you are presenting one bullshit "argument" after the other. You are in a deadlock of your argument.

You should try with less emotions while thinking. Discipline of thought is a very German achievement, by the way. With your German ancestry, this should be no problem for you.

Steve StC

8/31/2018 09:39:40 am

I just scrolled all the way down the comments under Joe Scales “Russophile? Moi? So I'm "a person who is friendly toward Russia…” comment.

No reply from Jason Colavito.

So, Joe, I’m pretty sure we have to go with the second option you gave him - Jason, you seem to “have lost your mind. Completely.”

Americancool"disco"dan

8/31/2018 01:31:58 pm

Profanity is the last refuge of the ignorant but sometimes as in the present instance you have to talk to those ignorant fuckers.

I did NOT change the argument, You wrote:
""By the way, would you have preferred that Japan had won the war? And if not, how would you have made Japan surrender? Any clue? Any plan? Any better idea? You have even not any awareness of the problems, but are quick at putting forward premature judgements.""

As as you pointed out you were not talking about the conventional bombing of March 9-10 which killed 100,000 people in one night although according to you "It is at least safe to say that the US does not kill in dimensions of hundredthousands". Idiot.

Now I've posted a long list of statements by people who were there on how the war could have been won. So suck it.

"Now you cite a series of statements saying that the atomic bomb was not needed to defeat Japan (which is bullshit, by the way, considering that conventional bombing inflicted just the same amount of harm, if not more, you yourself gave the Tokyo example)."

Now you argue that because a big attack didn't win the war, only a smaller attack could do the job?

"Do you have a statement which says that Japan could have been defeated without even conventional bombing and without an invasion? (How can I imagine this: Only attacking ships on sea but never the main land, and thus having victory? Is this feasible?)"

Yes, I cited several. The Allies had naval superiority and an effective embargo on Honshu, as cited. Where do you think the Japanese were going to get the fuel for their ships and planes, the oil fields of Tokyo?

I cite people who were there, involved in the war-making and decision-making processes. You cite your own idiotic opinion.

As for your "Germanic discipline of thought" I'll take a bit of fuzzy thinking over Jew slaughter every trip of the train. Since you like to pigeonhole people according to their descent.

8/28/2018 02:50:35 pm

Trump has done significant damage to the reputation and effectiveness of the United States in the international community and civil unrest has increased domestically. Coincidentally, slightly less than half of the population of the United States voted for him. I'm not saying there's an exact match-up, but when the Trump campaign has admitted that they TARGETED PEOPLE WITH THOSE BELIEFS, it's safe to conclude that more of them voted for Trump than against. Ergo, belief in UFOs has contributed in a statistically significant way to destabilization. Of course, people deny climate change, too.

8/28/2018 03:31:36 pm

V... you really ought to think a bit more about what you write. Some of our best presidents were closer to 40% of the popular vote, than 50%. As for the rest... you really need to turn off MSNBC.

Salno

8/28/2018 01:15:59 pm

This is off-topic, but what do you make of this study advocating pre-Columbus contact between South Amercia and Oceania using sweet potato genetics:

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/6/2205

You've commented on pre-Columbus sea travel theories before. So would you say there's something to this case?

Kal

8/28/2018 03:01:15 pm

Mr. Colavito, where have you received such criticism, other than on the comment section of this blog?

Just curious.

Also, it seems you have some commenters that just love the current administration, and cannot believe the Russians hacked anything, which to deny it is like deny climate change, or any other hot button issue.

Believe it. The Russians did indeed mess with both sides in the election in 2016, and bots are easily copied and distributed to make it look like millions of them are out there, when in all possibility it was merely started with hundreds of thousands of emails and spam.

Not just the Clinton server, but the easily compromised server at Trump Tower, and elsewhere, so Dear Leader could prove it was rigged, folks, evidently by him, and by the Russians, without his knowing.

Yeah, without his knowing. Sure. Anyone want to buy a rune stone? Ha.

Also, the pee tape is real.

Sure there could have been some wording in the opinion piece above that aggrandized a position, but so what? What do you think you're all doing? Offering an opinion. Can't say that any of it can be proven.

It is never all or nothing, as nature abhors a vacuum. It is never one side or the other, as to give any one side more credit because of a series of tweets is illogical if not pointless.

The simplest answer is probably true. Russia messed with us, but the right doesn't seem to care, and even likens white collar crimes to nothing short of argument, which is weird.

Funny, if the left did that, they would have laid an egg, and gone ballistic, so to speak.

You go right ahead and make a stance against the current administration as is your freedom of the press right.

Everyone is entitled to some opinion. Insert snark about whether or not 'learned' and 'intelligent' might be two different issues.

No one can know the ruminations of politics, on a blog, out in cyber space.

And I have no dog in this hunt, so I don't care which side wins.

8/28/2018 04:07:12 pm

Kal, where are you institutionalized?

Machala

8/28/2018 03:46:01 pm

Propaganda by definition (https://www.dictionary.com) is:
1) information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

2)the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

3)the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

All countries and political parties put out propaganda of one sort or another. Some countries, like the U.S. Great Britain, China, and Russia are extremely accomplished at it and have embraced the 21st Century technology to propagate their aims. Why are people so surprised that the gullible, the credulous, the faithless and faithful, and those who feel disenfranchised by both government and the rapidly changing society, would be the perfect targets for disinformation and bizarre theories ?

I rather suspect, that it is a case of condoning it, if we do it to others, taking great umbrage, when it's done to ourselves
. " No fair ! They're cheating better than we are !! "

We have only our own laziness and ignorance to blame. We blithely accept verbatim, anything posted on social media, without taking the time to either consider the source, or research it for ourselves, and draw an educated and informed conclusion.

8/28/2018 04:11:51 pm

Not just social media in this Age of Trump, as Glenn Greenwald of the HUGELY PRO-TRUMP The Intercept demonstrates:

"When reporting on that story, I detailed just some of the similarly significant and false stories major outlets have published on this story over the last eighteen months, notably always in the same direction, pushing the same narrative interests:

• Russia hacked into the U.S. electric grid to deprive Americans of heat during winter (Wash Post)
• An anonymous group (PropOrNot) documented how major U.S. political sites are Kremlin agents (Wash Post)
• WikiLeaks has a long, documented relationship with Putin (Guardian)
• A secret server between Trump and a Russian bank has been discovered (Slate)
• RT hacked C-SPAN and caused disruption in its broadcast (Fortune)
• Russians hacked into a Ukrainian artillery app (Crowdstrike)
• Russians attempted to hack elections systems in 21 states (multiple news outlets, echoing Homeland Security)
• Links have been found between Trump ally Anthony Scaramucci and a Russian investment fund under investigation (CNN)"

https://theintercept.com/2018/08/28/cnn-credibly-accused-of-lying-to-its-audience-about-a-key-claim-in-its-blockbuster-cohen-story-refuses-to-comment/

8/28/2018 04:59:54 pm

Greenwald's split with Maddow is intriguing commentary in an of itself of how the very worst in politics trumps true idealism within the entertainment-news industry. Outrage is now wholly manufactured.

8/28/2018 05:29:07 pm

“Virtually every false story published goes only in one direction: to be as inflammatory and damaging as possible on the Trump-Russia story and about Russia particularly,” wrote Greenwald. “At some point, once “mistakes” all start going in the same direction, toward advancing the same agenda, they cease looking like mistakes.”

https://www.google.com/search?q=greenwald+maddow&rlz=1CAACAY_enUS808US808&oq=greenwald+maddow&aqs=chrome..69i57.3608j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

An Anonymous Nerd

8/28/2018 08:08:08 pm

It amazes me just how many folks come here who seem to think they have some sort of personal stake in defending purveyors of the Fringe.

-An Anonymous Nerd

AmericanJackieChiles

8/28/2018 09:37:27 pm

Objection, Your Honor! Relevance?

GodricGlas

8/28/2018 11:22:18 pm

Duly noted. I agree.

Where the hell do they come from?

Burbank?

8/28/2018 11:15:45 pm

Man, this subject, the matter of “Russian Hacking”, has really become a stomache-turning thing for me.

We have all been here for the whole thing. Listen, I’m so non-partisan that there should be another name for it. I’m ex-military, and I come from an era when it was fashionable to just not give a shit whose picture was in the frame with the label “Chief Executive”. I’m just stuck like that, and I have always enjoyed it.

So, we have all been here for the whole thing. We’ve all seen our family members rip themselves apart over all this shit since Trump was elected. I’m like the proverbial “canary in a coal mine” when it comes to trouble, and I was there for that, too, when the trolling by the Ruskies just got started, and I noticed it and engaged them when I could.

Yep, the same red necks that were suddenly activated by Trump’s campaign are the same red necks that just refuse to see and understand what is meant by “Russian Hacking”. I can sympathize with that to a degree.

I knew these fuckers were doing this. I had been directly exposed to and involved with the early stages of it as an online citizen on other platforms.

But, I realized that there was this generational disconnect between those that were able to validate it, and those that were reporting it, or vociferously complaining about it and telling people that they should be up-in-arms about it. All that a 70-plus-or-minus year old professional politician is going to be able to do is scream about; They aren’t going to be able to explain it.

So. I have a question for the doubters:

What is it about the value of American “Hearts and Minds” that you don’t understand as being a valuable asset that can be targeted for disruption?

Jason has done the best job ever at articulating “what” has been hacked. But despite this, you dig in your heels.

Web 2.0. The “Semantic Web”. Yep, that’s been rolled-out and rolling-out for years now. “Hearts and Minds” are a central concern of its implementation.

Certain folks at FaceDance even tried to help us out and make us aware back when they spilled the beans about how FD was using LIWC (sentiment analysis software) to jack with people’s timelines.

But the red necks (including folks in my own family) didn’t get that either. They just hated on FD because they didn’t know how else to understand it,

I did my own experimentation with family and friends to try and gauge their own understanding of the problem and try to confirm my suspicions: “Yeah”, I’d say, or something like this: “They sure did!” “But what was hacked?”; inviting them to explain it.

Mostly what I got was some backlash like, “Russia!” “Trump!” “Hacking!” “Collusion!” “See?!”.

Morons.

Yes, you been “Hacked”, America.

Thanks to Jason for working so fucking hard to articulate how and by what means. ‘Cause I don’t see anyone else bothering, and certain obstinate fools are counting on there being no simply articulated explanation.

Wake up and smell the propaganda, assholes.

Do we really need this extra layer of trouble and bullshit on top of all the other problems we have right now?

And at the hands of a government whose GDP is on par only with that of countries like Chile?

This is a nightmare.

Pthagn.

8/29/2018 06:03:04 pm

Well said !
I am of an age and stage where radio and print newspapers were the common method of obtaining your daily news fix, and television was still black and white and not ubiquitous.
I learned computers ( DOS green screen ) out of self defense and know enough to be dangerous but confess I'm ignorant about how skillful hackers do what they do.
Nevertheless, as someone knowledgeable about, and an old, occasional practitioner of art of disinformation and propaganda, I am both amazed and appalled at the ease with which these hackers can reach a worldwide audience for their nonsense. It is truly scary !

And anyone who doesn't believe that Russian operatives, and Russian pawns ( wittingly or unwittingly ), are responsible for a very large portion of internet sabotage and counterintelligence are living in a naive bubble.

8/29/2018 07:01:40 pm

"And anyone who doesn't believe that Russian operatives, and Russian pawns ( wittingly or unwittingly ), are responsible for a very large portion of internet sabotage and counterintelligence are living in a naive bubble."

How large you suppose? I mean... even a big piece of cake can be a rather minute sample size depending on the size of the cake. And by doing what, retweeting links to clickbait? Perhaps they're getting into the clickbait business. Someone's getting paid, you know, for spreading that nonsense. And that's where the true nefarious purpose of the web lies. It's about business. It's always about business.

8/29/2018 07:18:07 pm

I'm going to invoke the Wolter Rule here and state categorically that anyone who says they "know enough to be dangerous" neither knows enough nor is dangerous.

8/29/2018 08:30:39 pm

AmericanCool"Disco"Dan,
The Wolter Rule reassures me that #1 I am no danger to myself or to others when I operate my laptop or tablet and #2 My Smartphone and Smart TV really are smarter then I am !
Pick apart my cliche ridden English as you will, my point was that I have neither the technical savvy of those, probably like yourself, who are a lot younger, and brought up in the Electronic Generation, nor the type of mind ( what's left of it ) to rapidly grasp 21st Century technology and engineering.
I do however have enough of a background in _other_ aspects of the Information Age that I can smell a red herring, skunk, or troll, without too much trouble.
Unlike our friend Mr. Scales, I am not a Russian apologist - quite the reverse - but I do concur on one aspect, it doesn't matter the origin of spurious dissemination - China, Russia, Ukraine, or U.S. etc. - the base line is: Bucks for Bytes.
Someone gets paid for the benefit of someone or some entity's benefit.
Thanks again for reiterating what I've been trying to tell certain authorities, for years. Re: Anything attributed to Scott Wolter, I'll simply consider the source....

8/29/2018 09:17:40 pm

I'm not sure which is better, being a Russian apologist or a "Russophile". Though the latter moniker was no doubt a reflexive slur given in lieu of an argument, considering the source of the former, I'll assume it was made in good humor and give a tip of my hat in response.

Too bad political blinders limit inquiry here. The 'wid us or 'ginst us crowd can only see an opposing partisan when their platforms are questioned. I think deep down Jason probably appreciates the more measured criticism he gets as opposed to the placating platitudes from others. Or I would hope. Then again, when he reads the ICA he focuses on its conclusions. I instead focus on the disclaimers. You know... like any good skeptic.

8/28/2018 11:41:58 pm

Criticizing Jason for the criticism that he receives makes my Derrida hairdo stand-on-end.

Thanks to whom ever that was. I needed a haircut.

😂

8/29/2018 12:09:00 am

Not really sure what your point is in the long post above, but if it's that you really like the word "I" then message received.

Jason's being criticized for complaining about being criticized for things he said that he says he didn't say. And he's being called out on his obsessive Russia-bashing and Russia-tying-in-ing.

Russia's GDP is six times that of Chile.

8/29/2018 12:27:52 am

Wow!

6X!

Go, Russia! You’ll catch up some day. Too bad you can’t grow bananas.

😂😂

8/29/2018 12:54:06 am

Hey, AN.

I suspect that’s really you.

You have to know that I respect you much, and that I accept your correction on Russia’s GDP.

But have honestly, I suspect it is on par with Chile, despite Wikipedia.

My point is that we gave temporarily become enthralled to them due to this “Hacking”.

Do you have a problem with that?

Do you not understand how it was accomplished?

I don’t want to create a schism between you and I. I sense that we are “brothers-from-another-mother and all.

I appreciate your correction.

Love.

8/29/2018 12:58:30 am

Russia grows bananas in Tashtyp in the Republic of Khakassia. This region was formerly known for its oranges and grapefruit.

8/29/2018 01:01:29 am

Strong work.

I was searching for same.

Going to look now.

8/29/2018 01:04:02 am

Formerly?

That’s weird.

Checking it out now.

8/29/2018 01:10:42 am

AN?

Growing bananas in Siberia is some sick shit.

I appreciate the effort. But, Jaysus. H. fucking Christ-on-a-crutch.

Sincerely

8/29/2018 01:15:24 am

I'm not enthralled. There was no "hacking", DNC files were copied by someone with physical access to their servers.

The Crone of Chappaqua, whom the natives call Stumbles With Fishy Smelling Bird's Nest Down There did more for Russia than Trump ever has, despite comparing Putin to HItler (cackle!) in a most unstateslesbolike manner.

One place where Trump really disappoints me is he refuses to end the ongoing illegal U.S. incursion into Syria.

Remember Ted "The Nantucket Orca" Kennedy reached out to the Soviets for election assistance in the 1980s. https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-the-left-longed-for-russian-political-interference

8/29/2018 01:39:03 am

Good Lord!

You seem to be having trouble with your iPhone, too.

Sorry, Man.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.

Russia is all over this shit.

Thanks, Jason.

😊

TheDiscoKing

8/29/2018 02:18:57 am

“I'm not enthralled.”

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😞😞😞😸😸😸😸😸😸😸😞😞😞😞😞😞😸😸😸😸😸😞😞😞😞😂😂😂😂😂😞😸😸😞😞😞😞😞😞

AmericanWerewolf

8/29/2018 10:10:29 pm

Would you just shut the fuck up or start your own blog you egomaniac douche canoe? What a waste of cyberspace you are. Now fuck off. Jesus, go out and do something for a change. There's actually an interesting world out there. Maybe you'll finally get laid and save us all a great deal of mental anguish. Get a lifestyle for fucks sake. You have all by your lonesome self ruined this blog for everyone else you useless turd. You don't make any sense at all. Now go arouse yourself by watching reruns of America Unearthed and spare us all your nearly unintelligible horseshit. Fini.

Dan

8/29/2018 11:05:46 pm

That’s some sweet, sweet praise, AN.

My ears just drink that up.

Thanks for the up vote!

😘

Oh, P.S. TheDiscoKing is dead.

I’ll just be Dan now.

Thanks again and have a wonderful evening,

👹

8/29/2018 12:05:18 am

Why?

Oh, why will noone play with me?

😞

AmericanWEREWOLF

8/29/2018 11:51:37 pm

I was not addressing you. Figure it out.

8/29/2018 11:58:11 pm

Identify yourself then.

I’ve already figured that the real AN wouldn’t shit on me like that.

So? Who’re you?

Waiting...IIIIIIIII.

8/30/2018 12:05:13 am

You have to realize...and I say this only for your own sake.

I was born in to this game, and those of us that love it realized a long time ago that it is way-more rewarding than World Of Warcraft.

Folks like me live to eat the livers dug directly out of folks like me you.

Words rule!

😊

8/30/2018 12:21:54 am

Are you even getting how much I love this?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCqlpGVcIs

8/29/2018 12:55:59 am

Damn this iPhone

8/29/2018 02:01:17 am

“DNC files were copied by someone with physical access to their servers.”

Whatever.

No one gives a shit about that right now.

Catch up! We’re on to another topic right now.

возлюбленная

8/29/2018 10:07:00 am

Got some more homework for you DK. I know how some folks like to throw out "facts" that are basically their own political observations, but try these facts on for size:

When the DNC claimed they were "hacked" during the 2016 election, instead of engaging the FBI they contacted the president and CSO of CloudStrike, Shawn Henry to investigate. It was his firm's investigation that concluded the DNC had been hacked by "Russians", which was then bought by each and every subsequent review. Shawn Henry is former FBI and was also a NBC news consultant. He also was the one who brought you the Amelia Earhart sitting on the dock of the bay debacle where he accused the Japanese government of imprisoning her until her death. He used his NBC connections to push the story with a payoff in History Channel ratings. Of course it was easily debunked as the picture his investigation... and he was first and foremost an investigator within an organization named for federal investigations... offered as proof was taken from a travel book printed years before Earhart disappeared. Then Henry disappeared (this last bit added for effect, as I'm sure he's still around somewhere... you just don't hear from him no more)

All facts, make of them what you will. But I fear you're right... and folks just don't want to ask the right questions anymore.

Now be careful DK before they make a partisan out of you.

8/29/2018 10:09:23 am

Oh, and just one more thing. When the DNC recently suspected a hacking had occurred, they contacted the FBI. Why didn't they do that before? I wonder...

8/29/2018 07:57:17 pm

This is a conspiracy theory/talking point (pick your term) which I already have debunked here:

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/friends-of-david-wilcock-say-he-resigned-from-gaia-tv-over-bad-pay-poor-working-conditions-and-lucifer

beginning with my post with date and time index "7/10/2018 05:59:32 pm." and continuing on several posts past. I appropriately documented my facts and capably explained my arguments.

-An Anonymous Nerd

8/29/2018 11:13:23 pm

Thanks, Joe!

That is truly interesting.

I just want to level-set with you real quick. I hope that’s alright.

Sincerely, you know that what we are talking about here is not servers and cabled network infrastructure as the target of this “Hacking”, right?

8/30/2018 09:55:55 am

Though confident in what I'm talking about and the undisputable facts set forth above, referring to what "we're talking about" introduces a variable of which there is less certainty. Given that disclaimer, I'll take Hearts & Minds for a thousand Alex...

8/29/2018 02:11:52 am

Henceforth I will be known as “TheDiscoKing”.

GodricGlas is Dead.

K then.

8/29/2018 02:35:38 am

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCqlpGVcIs

8/29/2018 03:08:31 am

“And he's being called out on his obsessive Russia-bashing and Russia-tying-in-ing.”

Ah, hahahahahaha...

Judy dying of laughter.

😂

That’s what J is doing.

It ‘ain’t obsessive, or whatever it is you’re sayin’. That’s just what he is doing.

Go, Jason.

Just keep going forth.

AmericanDiscoKingInTheAgeOfTrump

8/29/2018 04:37:13 am

It's not obsessive because I know I can't, nor do I want to change anyone's mind. I'm here for sport. Jason is currently obsessed with Russia, in this Age of Trump.

If

"I'm not the one who came to these conclusions"

and

"my conclusion that the Russian government has purposely promoted UFO and ancient astronaut beliefs as part of their propaganda efforts aimed at destabilizing the West"

aren't great sport, I don't know what is.

8/29/2018 11:28:58 pm

“I'm here for sport.”

I have a little tiny bit of education, and I can hardly keep up with the posts by J that I really came here for. Like the one at the top right now.

But as far as the “sport” part of this is concerned? I mastered that a long time ago, before I got my tiny degree. I know for sure I’m better at it than you are.

You’re problem, if English isn’t your primary language, is that you can’t keep up with my colloquialisms.

That always cracks me up when dealing with Slavs.

Just so funny.

😃

Dan link

8/30/2018 01:22:28 am

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t1RTgznup5c

8/30/2018 01:40:14 am

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcdmq07u2T8

Lastern

9/2/2018 04:34:10 pm

I think this article from the Atlantic about Russia's information war is an excellent read:

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/russia-is-co-opting-angry-young-men/568741/

9/2/2018 04:49:13 pm

Meanwhile, the nefarious plot to feminize the American male goes undetected...

9/2/2018 05:57:26 pm

Really? I think you can find that YouTube is practically crawling with videos on the alleged "feminization" of the world. I suppose we never went to the moon too?

9/2/2018 08:37:15 pm

If you believe the movie that's coming out now, First Man, ONLY "we" went to the moon. To quote departed-couldn't-be-soon-enough-Dear-Leader, "You didn't build that."

9/2/2018 09:18:35 pm

Oh great... we got another one without a sense of humor. Welcome to the forum. You'll fit right in...

Lastner

9/3/2018 02:27:07 pm

In that case *thumbs up*. :D