[hrothgar]

y66, on 2019-September-30, 05:32, said:

It is barely comprehensible to me that someone would use a survey that was taken before the items you mention became public as evidence of a lack of public support for impeachment. But here in the water cooler?

Its barely comprehensible to anyone with half a brain
There was a reason that the first question that I asked after the previous poll was being cited was "What were the dates"...

[Winstonm]

Posting what I consider a helpful comment (to people like me, not very computer savvy) from the emptywheel blog.

Quote

September 30, 2019 at 4:55 am

I am sorry if I am repeating “old info”, but I’d just like to share some data concerning the “Server” being in Ukraine. I haven’t worked directly with Crowdstrike personally, but I have worked in cyber security since before it was called cyber security and have commissioned or performed cyber forensics for more than 20 years.

When a company like Crowdstrike is asked to investigate a server that is suspected of compromise, they have two primary objectives. The first is to ensure that they capture *all available detail* from the host in question and the suspected event. The second is to get their client back in to production operations as quickly as possible. The first part is “preservation of evidence”. The second is good business practice.

To preserve evidence in the case of a server/host compromise, a good forensics company would take a forensic copy of all local storage that the host was equipped with. By “forensic copy” I mean a bit-wise copy. (Computers store our data as 1’s and 0’s (these are called bits). For convenience, we group these, usually in to blocks of 8 bit and we call these bytes). Once the forensics company has bit-wise copies of all the server storage, they will then check the firmware of all connected devices. This would include the motherboard[s] (e.g. the BIOS), as well as the firmware of hard drives, optical drives, etc. (since these can also be compromised). Once all the *hardware* and *firmware* has been determined to be “malware-free”, then the client can be told that the server can be thoroughly wiped, re-loaded and put back to work.

Sometimes, of course – for example when the client has spare machines sitting idle – they may elect to preserve the hacked system. But in most cases the client is trying to run business operations and needs their hardware back pronto. Imaging can take a matter of hours.

Once the images have been taken and copied, they can then be downloaded into a “sandbox” environment operated by the forensics company. “Sandbox” means “a secure container”, such that if the downloaded content includes malicious code, then that malicious code can’t get out.

The forensics company can now dissect the “server” at their leisure. What they have is a complete and perfect “photograph” of the machine. They can lift out any single file, part of a file, small portion of a sector of a disc… and they can examine it, literally bit by bit. They can place chunks of code in a separate container and run it, to see if it does anything malicious. They can look at the length of the program file, the date it was written, they can look at all the individual characters inside it and from this determine if the file has been modified in any way.

They can do these an a dozen other things to determine what the threat was, how it got access, what it touched and looked at and so on. In many cases, they will recognize “patterns” in the malicious code – like a hand-written signature – that makes it possible to figure out the group or individual that perpetrated the attack.

In many cases the FBI actually prefer when a respected 3rd party does this work; the private companies have the resources – and often have a commercial arrangement with the impacted party – to work quickly. The FBI gets the full analysis for zero cost and in less time. They also have access to a forensic copy of the data if they need it.

Pretty much EVERYTHING the President has claimed about the DNC Server hack has been fabrication on his part. (I concede that he was correct when he stated they were hacked).

All he is trying to do here is to deflect attention away from being caught, red-handed, breaking the law. And then being stupid enough to release evidence that confirms he broke the law.

But for the record, the “Server in Ukraine” story is a complete and total fabrication.

[Winstonm]

A couple of comments. First, I think this NYT writer, Peter Wehner, is overly optimistic:

Quote

The Republican Party is the party of Donald Trump, through and through. As such, it has become morally disfigured. The party finds itself deep in a dark alleyway. It can eventually find its way back. Renewal and regeneration are always possible. But that will require the Republican Party and its future leadership to repudiate much of what it now embodies

.

I think before the Republican Party repudiates Donald Trump the American people must first repudiate Trump. That is not nearly as easy as it seems as this point.

Quote

As the psychologist I spoke to put it to me, many Republicans “are nearly unrecognizable versions of themselves pre-Trump. At this stage it’s less about defending Trump; they are defending their own defense of Trump.”

“At this point,” this person went on, “condemnation of Trump is condemnation of themselves. They’ve let too much go by to try and assert moral high ground now. Calling out another is one thing; calling out yourself is quite another.”

It's really difficult to take the blame unless you have taught yourself a hard life lesson: rigorous self-honesty. But underneath that is the truly horrible thought that maybe we as a people really are this base, this racist, this cruel, this dishonest, and this corrupt. After all, the constant comment about serial killers is about how normal they look.

If we look at our Republican neighbors, shopowners, storekeepers, and politicians, are we looking at moral keepers of America's values or are we looking at the placid faces of the serial killers of American democracy, the unforgiving and lascivious stare of serial rapists of our planet's future, and the half-hidden cold eyes of masked and hooded harbingers of hate and intolerance?

Only a total and thorough repudiation of Trump will answer that question.

[Winstonm]

Well, isn't that special?

Quote

NEW YORK — Rep. Chris Collins, President Trump’s first congressional supporter, is expected to plead guilty to insider-trading charges on Tuesday, following allegations last year that the New York Republican schemed with his son to avoid significant losses on a biotechnology investment.

Delicious irony. For those who do not know, Collins is pleading guilty to funneling insider information to his son so that they could take advantage of the stock movements that Collins knew about but were unknown to the public - the same type of familial corruption of which the frothy right is accusing Biden and his son.

Drain the swamp Trump admininstration.

[johnu]

Mike Pompeo Joined Trump On Call With Ukrainian President: Report

Quote

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the July 25 call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a senior State Department official.

The revelation could implicate the State Department more closely in the House of Representatives’ ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump over his request to Zelensky during the call that Ukraine investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

So the Secretary of State heard the Manchurian President shake down the Ukrainian president and as a minimum, went back to his office and forgot about the whole thing. Giuliani says the Pompeo was aware of his actions in Ukraine. Is there anybody in the Executive branch who isn't corrupt?

[cherdano]

Here is another point I find amazing. Obviously everyone rightfully made fun of Trump's cranky conspiracy theory about the DNC server being in Ukraine etc. But I think it makes total sense to bring it up as a trial balloon to see how Zelensky would react. It's a clearly improper request, but also in a sense quite harmless, as it's just a fake story that Zelensky couldn't do anything about. But Zelensky going along with is the indication for Trump that he can make his main ask - he won't be called out for this request if Zelensky was happy to go along with the previous one.

I don't buy the Trump-as-a-genius-who-plays-7d-chess. But he clearly has some special skills, and "getting away with improper things while leaving him plausible deniability" might be his most important. And in this phone call we can see both his skill but also how his game has lost a step or two or four - it's all too blatant and he has too much to lose and there are too many people listening in.
But how would Trump know he is overplaying his hand given that never in his life he has been hold accountable for anything, ever? It's the day after the Mueller testimony deflated many Democrats' hopes for momentum behind impeachment.

[cherdano]

Here is another amazing thing. Imagine Obama telling a foreign leader in a phone call to work with Eric Holder on investigation XYZ, and then Eric Holder (ok, "sources in DOJ") claiming he was not told about that phone call until three weeks later. This would have been the biggest scandal of the Obama presidency (Is Eric Holder a flat-out lier? Or is the Obama White House to utterly incompetent that they don't inform one of the most senior members of cabinet that the president told a foreign leader that they should work with him on investigation XYZ??) Yet it's not even the 5-th most scandalous thing about the phone call and its handling by the White House staff.

[Winstonm]

It appears the dam has given way and the stench is overwhelming.

[andrei]

cherdano, on 2019-September-30, 16:12, said:

Imagine Obama telling a foreign leader

“Tell Vladimir after election I will have more flexibility” Obama?

[hrothgar]

andrei, on 2019-September-30, 16:40, said:

“Tell Vladimir after election I will have more flexibility” Obama?

Andrei, as usual you are unable to understand simple facts:

No one denies that Obama and Putin engaged in negotiations.
The issue with Putin and Trump is that Trump has repeatedly told Putin that he doesn't care if the Russians interfere in US domestic elections.

It also appears as if your grasp of written English is pretty piss poor.

Cherdano's original post was not criticizing the fact that Obama and Putin had talked, but rather, was commenting on the fact that Trump's attorney general was referenced on these calls and is now trying to deny that he was ever in the loop.

[johnu]

cherdano, on 2019-September-30, 14:52, said:

I don't buy the Trump-as-a-genius-who-plays-7d-chess.

The Criminal in Chief does play 1 dimensional tic-tac-toe

[johnu]

johnu, on 2019-September-30, 14:48, said:

Mike Pompeo Joined Trump On Call With Ukrainian President: Report

Quote

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the July 25 call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a senior State Department official.

The revelation could implicate the State Department more closely in the House of Representatives’ ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump over his request to Zelensky during the call that Ukraine investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

So the Secretary of State heard the Manchurian President shake down the Ukrainian president and as a minimum, went back to his office and forgot about the whole thing. Giuliani says the Pompeo was aware of his actions in Ukraine. Is there anybody in the Executive branch who isn't corrupt?

There is news coverage of Pompeo being asked about the Whistleblower complaint where he acts dumb and says that the complaints are merely second hand allegations, even though he had firsthand knowledge of the call.

But it's not as if Pompeo is doing nothing.

Mike Pompeo is investigating Hillary’s emails according to bombshell Washington Post report

Quote

While claiming that the impeachment inquiry into alleged misconduct by Donald Trump is a “witch hunt,” the administration is focusing attention on investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to a bombshell report published by The Washington Post on Saturday.

“The Trump administration is investigating the email records of dozens of current and former senior State Department officials who sent messages to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email, reviving a politically toxic matter that overshadowed the 2016 election, current and former officials said,” the paper reported.

That's keeping your eye on the ball

[Winstonm]

johnu, on 2019-September-30, 17:27, said:

But it's not as if Pompeo is doing nothing.

Mike Pompeo is investigating Hillary’s emails according to bombshell Washington Post report


That's keeping your eye on the ball

That's like Theo Epstein trying to figure out why the Cubs missed this year's playoffs by looking into the pitching staff of the '87 Red Sox.

[y66]

From Amanda Carpenter via Matt Yglesias:

Quote

Relevant now.

Kamela Harris to William Barr: "Has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?"

[Winstonm]

y66, on 2019-September-30, 18:28, said:

From Amanda Carpenter via Matt Yglesias:

I'm struggling with the word "has".

[cherdano]

andrei, on 2019-September-30, 16:40, said:

“Tell Vladimir after election I will have more flexibility” Obama?

Thank you for proving my point.
Btw, do you believe Bill Barr that he only learned about the phone call in mid August?

[hrothgar]

Haven't listened to it yet, but I had a podcast by 538 titled "Impeachment is getting more popular" for this morning's trip to the gym...

[andrei]

johnu, on 2019-September-29, 13:07, said:

How can these numbers be right? 55% in favor of impeachment? Less than a week ago, andrei posted poll results where the numbers were against impeachment by a fair margin. It seems like only a clear cut and easily understood act of corruption or treason would have changed the numbers so quickly. andrei- can you speculate what might have happened?

Did I really post poll results here? LOL

You are wrong.
As usual.

[andrei]

cherdano, on 2019-September-30, 23:22, said:

Btw, do you believe Bill Barr that he only learned about the phone call in mid August?

Which phone call?

cherdano, on 2019-September-24, 05:22, said:

that Trump made clear in a phone call that they'd wish to see investigations into Hunter Biden in exchange for lifting the block.

That phone call?
I think Barr never heard of it.

[cherdano]

Bye.