Still bullshitting about the Russians: Daily Bullshit, March 20-22, 2017

Updates

  1. March 22, 9:00 pm:
    • The (Republican) chairman of the House Intelligence Committee reported that some ‘incidental collection’ of Donald Trump’s and his transition team’s communications had occurred.[1] (Golden Showers)

Brexit

Jenny Gross, “U.K. to Trigger Article 50 on March 29, Starting Formal Brexit Process,” Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-to-trigger-article-50-on-march-29-1490010383


Scottish independence

Kylie MacLellan, “Scottish leader softens stance on possible independence vote timing,” Reuters, March 20, 2017, http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-scotland-idUKKBN16Q0HK


Golden Showers

I guess I’m going to be trying to wrap my head around the idea that some Republicans now think Barack Obama did not do some particular evil something[2] for a while. And no, I still don’t have evidence that Russians, whether in collusion with Donald Trump or his campaign or not, interfered in the 2016 election. An investigation[3] is not evidence and the fact that we do not even know what prompted that investigation undermines the confidently-made and self-justifying assertion that the existence of this investigation “directly undercut Trump’s longstanding claims that any talk of Russian involvement in the election was a story ginned up by Democrats for political gain or to excuse Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016.”[4] Such an assertion seems to rely on an assumption that the intelligence community is politically neutral and above-board in its motivations, which—I’m sorry—I just don’t buy. Really all I have here is a lack of information. Which is bullshit.

Lalo Alcarez, La Cucaracha, March 20, 2017, Los Angeles Times, fair use.
Lalo Alcarez, La Cucaracha, Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2017, fair use.

Max Greenwood, “House Intel Committee ‘satisfied’ with info DOJ gave in wiretapping probe,” Hill, March 17, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/324599-house-intel-chairman-applauds-doj-for-turning-over-wiretap

Andrew Prokop, “A crucial week for Trump’s presidency just started with the FBI confirming its Russia investigation,” Vox, March 20, 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/20/14980448/trump-fbi-comey-investigation

Jennifer Williams, “All of Trump’s wiretap claims have now officially been debunked by the FBI and NSA,” Vox, March 20, 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/20/14982752/trump-wiretap-claims-officially-debunked-fbi-comey-nsa-rogers

Stephen Collinson, Tom LoBianco, and Manu Raju, “House Intel chairman: Trump’s personal communications may have been collected,” CNN, March 22, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/index.html


Uber

I am not a venture capitalist. I don’t even remotely think like a venture capitalist. Which should give me pause before I utter that I think surely the venture capitalists must be becoming concerned now. This isn’t just about Uber’s president quitting. It’s about management in turmoil.[5] But apart from sheer greed and utter stupidity, there’s a lot I don’t understand about venture capitalists.

Reuters, “Uber’s turmoil continues as president Jeff Jones quits,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, March 20, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-president-jeff-jones-quits-turmoil-1.4032107


  1. [1]Stephen Collinson, Tom LoBianco, and Manu Raju, “House Intel chairman: Trump’s personal communications may have been collected,” CNN, March 22, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/index.html
  2. [2]Jennifer Williams, “All of Trump’s wiretap claims have now officially been debunked by the FBI and NSA,” Vox, March 20, 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/20/14982752/trump-wiretap-claims-officially-debunked-fbi-comey-nsa-rogers
  3. [3]Jennifer Williams, “All of Trump’s wiretap claims have now officially been debunked by the FBI and NSA,” Vox, March 20, 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/20/14982752/trump-wiretap-claims-officially-debunked-fbi-comey-nsa-rogers
  4. [4]Jennifer Williams, “All of Trump’s wiretap claims have now officially been debunked by the FBI and NSA,” Vox, March 20, 2017, http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/20/14982752/trump-wiretap-claims-officially-debunked-fbi-comey-nsa-rogers
  5. [5]Reuters, “Uber’s turmoil continues as president Jeff Jones quits,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, March 20, 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-president-jeff-jones-quits-turmoil-1.4032107

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.