July 13, 2018

At the Dog-and-Monkey Café...

P1170888

... could you please get to your point(ilism)?

Open thread. Plus: remember the Althouse Portal to Amazon. Can you find a leash that attaches around the waist for your monkey? I tried but only found a dog leash with a belt at the human end, for hands-free dog-walking, and stuffed-toy monkey that a toddler wears as a backpack and that has a tail that is really the leash to be held by the adult keeping the child from straying too far.

116 comments:

Gahrie said...

http://www.sewsimplymonkey.com/Monkey_Accessories.html

rhhardin said...

A leash on a child gets child protective services called. It's an image problem but you're dealing with women so good sense doesn't count.

rcocean said...

I vaguely remember toddler's having little bunggee cords type things that fit around their waist.

Fernandinande said...

a dog leash with a belt at the human end, for hands-free dog-walking,

My Lpog's ~80 year-old sister-in-law was dragged down a steep driveway by her excited poodle on a tied leash and now she's getting something akin to skin grafts.

rehajm said...

Russian intelligence officers indicted? Like they are American citizens or something? Like they had too many unpaid parking tickets or something? Like they cheated on thier taxes or something?

Cam I defend them in court. I know how to get them off during discovery...

Big Mike said...

From Ace of Spades:

"So the hard left, which is increasingly encompassing mainstream Democrats, now says it's OK to punch a Nazi. But that just raises the question, who's a Nazi? This a serious question. If they're going to be advocating violence, they'd better have the permissabilty to do so well defined. But of course, they don't. Ask them who a 'Nazi' is and the usual slurs come out: racist, bigot, homophobia, white supremacist, ad nauseum. So the more you argue about it with them, the more it comes down to is that a Nazi is anybody with whom the hard left disagrees. Because every disagreement is not because of honest policy differences, but because of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. Yes, I know this is stupid. Yes, I know this won't end well for them if they continue down that path. But they don't see it, and the reason is because there used to be no downside to their provocations. Back in the day, if the progs called a conservative a racist, he would cower, try to explain that he wasn't a racist, and ask for forgiveness if he was a racist and didn't know it. But now, I think that's done. I think most normal Americans are tired of being called racists by the prog PC Gestapo and are simply ignoring them. The progs, starting to realize that their slurs and cuss words are all used up, are thinking, Gee, maybe we should be violent now. That'll show 'em. Again, if they go that route, it won't end well for them. But there appears to be nothing stopping them from goose-stepping into the abyss."

Ann Althouse said...

"My Lpog's ~80 year-old sister-in-law was dragged down a steep driveway by her excited poodle on a tied leash and now she's getting something akin to skin grafts"

What is the point of a leash if you are not able to control your dog? I can't walk "our" Labrador retriever because he sometimes lunges and I am forced to drop the leash or I will be pulled over. So I'm just not controlling the dog, which is the whole point of a leash. I understand the safety interest to the person with the dog who wants to be able to let go, but what about everyone else, who are the reason why dogs are put on leashes?

Heartless Aztec said...

This Monkey from Amazon is a ton of fun. Scares the snot out if everyone. Our Chiuahua - Yoshi (Little Dragon) - loves chasing it down.

Flingshot Slingshot Flying Screaming Monkey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OEUUG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GlnsBbRZ16KNP

rcocean said...

Presumably, the leash exerts *some* control over the Dog. And its certainly superior to just letting the dog run free in some dangerous places or situations were it needs to be controlled.

Obviously, if you can't control your dog with a leash, maybe you need another Dog.

rhhardin said...

Hitler's criticism of the Jews, from arguing with them in the public square, was that you could beat them in an argument and come back the next day and they won't admit it but argue the same things all over again. Mein Kampf.

Remember, Hitler was the Nazi.

rcocean said...

He mansplained.

rhhardin said...

The leash is to convince the dog that he has to obey the command, i.e. for correction of something he knows he has to do and isn't doing.

Strictly speaking.

It's used in training. Without training, it's a contest of strength.

rcocean said...

Hitler was a Vegetarian.

So if you hate Nazi's - eat red meat.

Original Mike said...

Dems who drafted bill to abolish ICE now say they'll vote against it

"We know Speaker [Paul] Ryan is not serious about passing our 'Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act,' so members of Congress, advocacy groups, and impacted communities will not engage in this political stunt," Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Adriano Espaillat of New York told The Hill and other news outlets. "If Speaker Ryan puts our bill on the floor, we plan to vote no and will instead use the opportunity to force an urgently needed and long-overdue conversation on the House floor."

“so members of Congress, advocacy groups, and impacted communities will not engage in this political stunt," by VOTING FOR OUR OWN BILL!!! Pocan is my representative. How embarrassing.

rhhardin said...

Transition to off-leash is done by convincing the dog that you can still get to him even without a leash on him. Trtaditionally, this is what the throw chain is for.

Michael said...

Reason alone to go to Chicago.

Lucien said...

I caught the latest podcast by Glenn Loury and John McWhorter, and McWhorter has developed full-blown TDS.

Really something to see.

Big Mike said...

Can you find a leash that attaches around the waist for your monkey?

No, because a monkey would be out of it just a tick under light speed. I suspect that the only thing that would work would be a harness something like this one. Note that you'd have to be very careful to fasten it when the monkey can't reach around and unsnap it.

h said...

THe WaPo commentariat is pretty sure that today's indictment of Russians for spying is the final nail in Trump's coffin. It seems to me like its more of a criticism of the Obama administration for failing to counteract this spying (remind me: who was head of the FBI's counterintelligence office?) and of Hillary CLlinton for setting up an insecure email server.

Ralph L said...

Does Madison have bark parks? Nissan makes a Titan that should be able to get Zeus there. You bought the wrong car.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...


"What is the point of a leash if you are not able to control your dog?"

When I was a kid, an old guy who lived down the street from us owned a handsome Great Dane named Tiger who seemed friendly enough. His owner said to me one day when I was petting him, "Would you like to walk Tiger?" I said sure, and he put Tiger on the leash for me. And that dog promptly tried to break into a run, pulling me - a scrawny 9 year old - down the street. It was scary. I was holding onto the leash with both hands, stumbling over cracks in the sidewalk, fearful of letting the leash go because I didn't want to be responsible for letting him run away. When I had been pulled and yanked to the end of the block, the owner called Tiger and the dog turned around and started to run back and I let go of the leash. When I reached their yard, the old bastard laughed and said "He's a bit more than you can handle, young lady, isn't he?" Looking back on it, you've got to wonder about an old guy who thought it was funny to watch his Great Dane pull a neighbor's kid down the sidewalk.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Lucien said...

I caught the latest podcast by Glenn Loury and John McWhorter, and McWhorter has developed full-blown TDS."

That's a shame. McWhorter used to be a bit more sensible.

Big Mike said...

I saw that Mueller has indicted a bunch of Russian intelligence agents, pretty much for doing a job that Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Jim Comey, and, especially, Barack Obama made all too easy. Is Mueller an idiot, or what? If I was Sergey Naryshkin, Director of the Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (Russian foreign intelligence service), I'd indict a bunch of American agents tit for tat. Better yet, it being an open secret in Washington that many CIA agents are under deep cover, in his shoes I'd indict a bunch of them just to embarrass both the FBI and CIA.

Yancey Ward said...

Ah, it is Seurat! I wondered yesterday if that was Seurat you had put up, but can see it now with the monkey and the dog. I forget the title of the painting- saw it over 25 years ago at the Institute with my oldest sister, but it left an impression.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I really dislike this pointilism style.

It is blurry, fuzzy and just how the world looks when I have misplaced my glasses.

Yancey Ward said...

If I were the Russians, I would ask one of the officers to show up in court and again demand discovery. All of the evidence to date suggests the DNC wasn't hacked for the e-mails, it was a leak from inside the DNC- all of it.

Having said that, I don't doubt for a second that the Russian intelligence agencies hack US political organizations and businesses- we do the exact same thing to Russian organizations. it is in the job descriptions. These indictments, without actual arrests are internal political operations. In other words, bringing indictments like this aren't in the aid of US interests, but in aid of the interests of the Democrats, and thus an abuse of power.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Obviously, if you can't control your dog with a leash, maybe you need another Dog

Or.... learn how to train your dog and how to control your dog. The leash is just a reminder of who is boss, not the means of control.

Some dogs are much harder to train and take patience, skill, firmness and time. The lack of control generally lies with the owner.

Yancey Ward said...

Here is the painting. An acquisition from almost a hundred years ago!

Yancey Ward said...

Aha! I now remember why I was so impressed with the painting at the time (around 1991 or 92)- it is painting used in Ferris Bueller's Day Off!

Bay Area Guy said...

Quote from DAG Rosenstein re new indictment of upper echelon Russian Trolls:

"There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result."

Let me repeat that in italics:

There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.

Let me repeat that in bold:

There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.

Does everyone get the point? Yes, Russians may have been trying to "sow discord" in the 2016 election. But Trump wasn't part of it, and none of this discord changed any of the results.

Time to move on.

Yancey Ward said...

BAG,

Mueller and his team have tried carefully to ensure that every indictment related to hacking and Russians involves people that will never appear in court demanding discovery. His team erred by indicting companies that could hire and send legal representation. I gather from today's indictments that Mueller fixed at least that last problem by not indicting the GRU itself, or the Russian government. Still, I wonder what happens if the Russian government hires legal representation and goes to court claiming they are the true defendant in this case?

tim in vermont said...

Whatever happened to those spies rounded up in the whole Uranium One mess? The ones who had gotten close to Hillary? Oh, that’s right, even though they didn’t have immunity, and had been busted. dead to rights, they were all sent back to Russia before we could really question them to closely. As Secretary of State, Hillary figured that it was in the best interests of the United States that these spies be sent home pronto!

Uranium One smells like a Strzok operation, BTW. His resume says that he was involved in the most “sensitive” counter espionage matters.

Fernandinande said...

What is the point of a leash if you are not able to control your dog?

That's a good point, but in the story I mentioned their standard poodle is just too big for a little, somewhat demented, old lady, but holding the leash in your hand lets your arm absorb yanking forces, and I think she'd have been less likely to get pulled over and completely lose control if she'd been doing that (though I guess the dog was somewhat controlled because it couldn't run very fast when it was dragging her...). The Lpog herself has some issues with our ~50 pound dogs because of her fucked-up shoulders. I can yank 'em around pretty well when needed but I'd much rather hold a lease in my hand, though a tie-on leash sounds fine for smaller dogs.

Yancey Ward said...

In other words, I would not be surprised to find the Russians doing exactly what I recommend- showing up in court with a legal team. It would make great sense to do so since it is rarely possible to get inside intelligence operations because counter-intelligence work almost never goes to court in the first place, and for very good reasons. Even when actual operatives are arrested within the US, the cases that go to court carefully route around to charges that don't have sensitive evidence at all, but instead rely on US based CIs and plants (see the cases involving Carter Page, for example).

Kate said...

I love the filmed stage version of "Sunday". I will always recognize this dog and monkey because Mandy Patinkin calls them up from the floor in a whimsical bit of stagecraft. He attaches the leash to the prop monkey and hands the other end to a posed actor.

Darrell said...

The FBI never examined the DNC servers, so the indictments are based solely on the hearsay of ClownStrike, er, CrowdStrike.

h said...

Yancey Ward: If you are correct, and if a Russian shows up in court and demands discovery from Mueller, and if that discovery ends up revealing information damaging to US security, that will simply be another reason to impeach Trump, since his administration released the secret information that damaged US security.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Yancey,

It's just a stupid and futile gesture by Mueller. The equivalent of when some third world country dictator "indicts" the Director of the CIA.

But I will wait and see how it plays out. For now, THERE IS NO RUSSIAN COLLUSION. Repeat often. And, repeat often what President Obama said on October 18, 2016 before the election:

Reere is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America’s elections, in part because they’re so decentralized and the numbers of votes involved,” Obama said.

“There’s no evidence that that has happened in the past or that there are instances in which that will happen this time,” he continued. “And so, I ‘d advise Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.”

THERE IS NO COLLUSION, THERE IS NO RIGGING OF THE ELECTION, THERE WAS A HACK AT THE DNC, AND THERE WAS AN EFFORT BY THE FBI TO FRAME TRUMP.

I thank that sums it up.

rcocean said...

So it took Mueller a whole year to do this?

And why did we need a special counsel to do this? It seems the FBI should have been able to do this on their own.

And we get another oddly timed announcement. Right during the Strozk testimony and right before the Page testimony.

wildswan said...

I read the whole indictment and the hacking tactics used are tactics that are taught in Hacking 101 except maybe the use of bit coin. When you train as an IT administrator you are taught to counter just exactly these tactics - spearphishing, use of stolen passwords, malware embedded in Word documents. You can read all about it in Hacking for Dummies. And there are logs which an IT administrator can turn on which record and catch such operations. In other words, if the DNC had had the most minimally trained IT security people this would not have happened. And pushing the whole operation off onto an entity (Guccifer 2.0) created with only one cut-out just seems so amateur. The Russians don't seem to have been too worried about the FBI or the CIA catching them.

The indictment distinctly states that during most of the period covered by the indictment. The Russians estimated Trump's chances at 25% and they were trying to weaken Hillary with the Bernie Sanders supporters by showing DNC bias all through the period before the Democratic convention, July 25th to 28. The Republican convention at which Manafort played a part happened July 18-21.

So this indictment offers no evidence whatsoever of collusion with the Russians by the Republicans or by Bernie Sanders or even by Hillary Clinton.

It was said in July of 2016 that the Russians were trying to damage Hillary, the person they supposed to be the front-runner, not to assist Trump. And this indictment says the same thing. Apparently, the Russians saw the e-mails showed bias against Saunders and published them because that fact, that FACT, would damage Clinton.

The indictment validates the content of the DNC e-mails.

The FBI or the CIA should have easily detected this whole plot and stopped it. Again - the methods the Russians used are those you learn to guard against if you study to be an IT Windows administrator, except bit coin. In fact since the operation was against Hillary you wonder why they didn't. if you look at Peter Strzok's face while he testifies you can see the disdain for the legislature and yet Strzok's job was stop the sort of thing Mueller is talking about. He wasn't much of an agent. At least not for the USA as we know it.



Andrew said...

There's been a theory on Twitter for awhile that Mueller is actually a "white hat," working a sting operation that will vindicate Trump and implicate the Democrats. I used to hold out hope that could be true. But it's seeming more and more unlikely. Has anyone else heard that theory, or still subscribe to it?

I'd love for Trump and Mueller to build up the conflict, until it all comes to a head. And then Mueller would release the report with the words, "Russia collusion was a false flag operation carried out by the leaders of the Democratic Party." Or something comparable. But such a scenario now looks like a pipe dream. For awhile, I thought it might be a real possibility.

Nevertheless, I think Trump will just continue to prevail over his enemies. For Trump, "chaos is a ladder." (And I don't mean by using that quote that Trump is a villain. Quite the contrary. More like Sun Tzu.)

Bay Area Guy said...

@wildswan,

Damn fine assessment. Thank you.

I would only add that, Yes, the Obama DOJ and FBI from June 2016 (the hacking) until Jan 2017 (Trump's inauguration) didn't seem to quick to investigate and prosecute this criminal hacking.

Perhaps during that time frame, the FBI counter-intelligence unit was pre-occupied (cough, Strzok, cough) with other matters.

Actions (and non-actions) speak louder than words.

MadisonMan said...

Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin

This is my do-nothing Rep. My theory is that he co-sponsored the abolish ICE bill so he could go to his screaming lefty supporters and say he has done something. Really, this guy is the worst.

Howard said...

Been digging out fence post concrete all morning. Digging bar, mini-jack hammer, post hole digger. Thirst inducing.

Just came up with a refreshing hydration drink: 14-ounces fresh spring water, 2-tablespoons keylime juice, 1-tablespoon maple syrup, 1/4-teaspoon ascorbic acid, 1/4-teaspoon baking soda. Nice bubbles, a little sweet for absorption, a little tart and bitter to dissolve the minerals and create light carbonation. Would probably be better with 1/4-teaspoon dolomite to get Ca and Mg as well.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

@ Yancy Ward

If I were the Russians, I would ask one of the officers to show up in court and again demand discovery. All of the evidence to date suggests the DNC wasn't hacked for the e-mails, it was a leak from inside the DNC- all of it.

Having said that, I don't doubt for a second that the Russian intelligence agencies hack US political organizations and businesses- we do the exact same thing to Russian organizations. it is in the job descriptions. These indictments, without actual arrests are internal political operations. In other words, bringing indictments like this aren't in the aid of US interests, but in aid of the interests of the Democrats, and thus an abuse of power.


7/13/18, 12:02 PM

bolded*

narciso said...

This is what provoked the mass exodus that year that led to the camps at gitmo


https://babalublog.com/2018/07/13/13-de-marzo/

Big Mike said...

Blogger rcocean said...
So it took Mueller a whole year to do this?


No. He was waiting for just the right time, like immediately prior to Trump’s summit with Vlad Putin.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Agreed- excellent wildswan.

Also, if hackers had success hacking into the RNC, would there be an investigation? I doubt it. If nothing changed expect the outcome of the election, with Trump losing instead of winning, I doubt any of this would matter. The DNC would possibly take note that they made themselves vulnerable with lousy IT and passwords, and perhaps learn a thing or two about hacking, and moveOn.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Remember, it's illegal to leak damaging information on a Clinton.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

expect = except

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Anyone can dig for dirt on a Republican. You can even lie about any republican. (see Harry Reid)
DON'T YOU DARE OPPO-RESEARCH A CLINTON.

madAsHell said...

Comey had his "Higher Loyalty" book which made no sense, and now Strzok seems to have the emotional palette of a 12 year old playground bully. It sounds like LAYER Lisa Page did her best work on her back.

I used to think that FBI agents were well-vetted. Not so much anymore.

tcrosse said...

If the Russians are off the hook for throwing the election to Trump, that's OK. Hillary has come up with a host of others to blame.

Jersey Fled said...

Andrew McCarthy wrote a good piece about a month ago concluding that NO ONE could ever be convicted of hacking the DNC server because 1) the FBI did not do a forensic search of the server at the time, but instead relied on a private investgation by a third party paid for by the DNC, and 2) the server was not impounded by the FBI such that we do not know that the server has not been tampered with subsequent to the alleged hacking.

In other words, there is no evidence that would stand up in court that the server was even hacked. Therefore no evidence of a crime.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Dems who drafted bill to abolish ICE now say they'll vote against it

The left hate Russia and adore the FBI. The left hate immigration and customs enforcement, and they love the FBI.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The Russians make the perfect scapegoat, don't they?

Nonapod said...

"I used to worry that they [the Republicans] wanted to turn the clock back to the 1950s. Now I worry they want to turn it back to the 1850s." - Hillary Clinton on Brett Kavanaugh nomination

So, basically Hillary is heavily implying that the Republicans want to bring back slavery.

I really hope she runs for president again and wins the nomination. And I hope she continues to betray and undermine the DNC. She's the best thing that ever happened to the Conservative cause.

Original Mike said...

”This is my do-nothing Rep. My theory is that he co-sponsored the abolish ICE bill so he could go to his screaming lefty supporters and say he has done something. Really, this guy is the worst.”

I sure hope Ryan’s talk of bringing the bill up for a vote is not just bluster.

BUMBLE BEE said...

SO, As Wildswan noted, I restate my case. A) Hillary, Strzok and slut got caught, B) They totally failed their avowed mission to STOP PRESIDENT Trump, C) Strzok and Team Obama didn't thwart a "hack" of unsecured DNC. F*cking losers all round. How much money this clusterf*ck is going to cost! Just to cover lying democrats' ass. Hand Inga and Chuck the bill.

eddie willers said...

I love the filmed stage version of "Sunday"

And of course his love interest (Bernadette Peters) is named "Dot".

Sondheim's most clever play.

Big Mike said...

Deputy AG Rosenstein: "When we confront foreign interference in American elections, it's important for us to avoid thinking politically, as Republicans or Democrats, and instead to think patriotically as Americans.”

Ah, Rod, I have news for you. Over on the Republican side we have been, and still are, thinking patriotically as Americans. You’re too deeply embedded in Washington culture. Out in the real world we get that Russians do what Russians do.

Here’s the thing that I recognize, and I am by no means alone. The 2016 Democrat nomination was rigged — ask Donna Brazile about it. On the Republican side, the press did their damnedest to see to Trump’s nomination with free airtime and hardly any time for his opponents to push back on camera, they’ve admitted as much. The general election was rigged to assure Hillary Clinton’s coronation. So I guess two out of three isn’t bad?

Jim at said...

It seems to me like its more of a criticism of the Obama administration for failing to counteract this spying (remind me: who was head of the FBI's counterintelligence office?) and of Hillary CLlinton for setting up an insecure email server. - h

Of course it seems that way to you. You're sane.

gadfly said...

From the indictment (via Vox):

The conspirators spearphished individuals affiliated with the Clinton campaign through the summer of 2016. For example, on or about July 27, 2016, the conspirators attempted after hours to spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton’s personal office. At or around the same time, they also targeted seventy-six email addresses at the domain for the Clinton campaign.

Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher. Was it typical Trumpian bluster, at a time when hacked emails and Clinton’s email server had been huge news stories? Or was there something more sinister going on?

The new Mueller indictment doesn’t provide a definitive answer. But it sure looks like when Trump asked Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, Russian intelligence heard him.

Matt Sablan said...

"Or was there something more sinister going on?"

-- Given that your quote acknowledges they'd been trying for months... I'm going with "Nothing more sinister going on."

Jim at said...

But it sure looks like when Trump asked Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, Russian intelligence heard him.

Only to a fool.

To the rest of us, it looks like a bunch of dumbasses associated with the Clinton Campaign got caught with their pants down and Trump had nothing to do with it.

tim in vermont said...

Or was there something more sinister going on?

It was a joke. He was pointing out that Hillary did not bother to secure her email as SoS and that the Russians had probably read them. He wasn’t speaking to the Russians, he was speaking to the American people. I know that that is incredibly difficult for you to understand, since your hatred of Trump blinds you to every innocent possibility. I always thought that you were a Republican, but now it seems like you have become a Democrat in all but name. That’s fine. The GOP is winning over enough Democrats to make up for the loss of closed minded old dotards.

tim in vermont said...

I bet that it had never occured to Russia to try to hack Hillary’s private server that was in her bathroom in Chapaqua, and that, I guess, Bill being Bill, she frequently had to. wipe “with a cloth.”

This stuff coming from the Democrats would be more convincing if it hadn’t have been for the wholesale destruction of evidence (BleachBit?) by Hillary and the DNC servers that were not allowed to be examined. These guys should subpoena teh DNC servers in their own defense.

Matt Sablan said...

My favorite part is Podesta actually asked his IT guy: "Should I click this suspicious link?" And his IT guy said *YES*.

Poor guy probably will never find a job again.

mockturtle said...

"I used to worry that they [the Republicans] wanted to turn the clock back to the 1950s. Now I worry they want to turn it back to the 1850s." - Hillary Clinton on Brett Kavanaugh nomination

Maybe she means his confirmation will precipitate a civil war. ;-)

Big Mike said...

My favorite part is Podesta actually asked his IT guy: "Should I click this suspicious link?" And his IT guy said *YES*.

Do you really believe this story? I'm pretty dubious.

Matt Sablan said...

I believe it; Podesta is not dumb. I don't agree with him, but he's savvy enough. I'd believe some lazy IT guy didn't think about it enough. Apparently, it was phrased something like: "Google says I should change my password, should I?" more than "Should I click the link in this suspicious email?"

So, the IT guy should have known to ask to walk over and see what Podesta was talking about. But, he got lazy, and just said: "Yeah. Change your password," without thinking.

At least, that's how I square the circle.

mockturtle said...

Speaking of monkeys, a childhood friend's family kept a pet monkey and it had free run of the house. It was creepy and disgusting. But then I've never found monkeys cute.

Bob Boyd said...

In response to the Stormy Daniels incident in Columbus, a group of Ohio legislators have introduced a bill which would allow non-relatives to have limited physical contact with employees who regularly appear naked.
Under the proposed change, anyone with a valid drivers license will be able to bury his face in a stripper's tits. They're calling it the Motor-Boater Law.

Rabel said...

"For example, on or about July 27, 2016, the conspirators attempted after hours to spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton’s personal office."

Interesting wording - "first time."

Assuming that is a reference to Hillary's server, it implies that were were other attempts, but doesn't answer the question of whether or not this one attempt or any further attempts were successful. I didn't see any other reference to this in the indictment.

Howard said...

You people can't take your eyes off the Tijuana dog and pony show.

Howard said...

Althouse is the organ grinder.

gadfly said...


@Big Mike said...

Is Mueller an idiot, or what?

No sir. There is only one idiot starring in this late, late show who thinks he has it all - you know, the self-anointed "stable genius."

FullMoon said...

Obviously, if you can't control your dog with a leash, maybe you need another Dog.

Nope, just a different collar.

YoungHegelian said...

@Matthew Sablan,

I believe it; Podesta is not dumb. I don't agree with him, but he's savvy enough. I'd believe some lazy IT guy didn't think about it enough.

I have clients who are brilliant men, some of them even in scientific fields, who when it comes to IT mysteriously become as dumb as a box of rocks. I have no idea how it's humanly possible to do, but they do it all the time. This is stuff that's part of their business, something they use every day, but they never really get a handle on it. I'm not talking about knowing it in a "deep geek" way. I'm talking about stuff like "Don't put your desk leg on the network cable, 'cause it'll crimp it" kind of stuff.

HRC's posse seemed to cultivate this sort of learned ignorance, this "I'm too big to be bothered" air. The fact that her campaign let something as important as voter modeling be left to one guy with no one else going to the mat to demand that the data, the software, & the modeling assumptions be shared with the team at large tells me that the team at large really didn't want to sully their hands with that sort of "geeky stuff".

Dust Bunny Queen said...

@ Mockturtle

I had a friend whose family had a monkey too. The little guy was always wearing diapers. When I asked...it was because it is almost impossible to potty train or house break a monkey. They shit and piss everywhere so have to have premie diapers. It was a real little brat too. Mean and undisciplined.

How long? 20 to 40 years for some monkeys. No THANKS!!! Gross!!! thought my pre teen self.

Original Mike said...

Blogger gadfly said...”Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher.”

It’s a lot harder to decipher when you mischaracterize the comment. I don’t know if you’re dishonest or just sloppy.

FullMoon said...

Spear phishing?

Surely I am not the only one who gets notices from banks I have no account with, Fed ex holding an important package for me, PayPal account emergency? All wanting user name and password info.

On the other hand, Japanese, Brazilian and Russian ladies wanting to meet me are no doubt legit. My reputation precedes me.

eddie willers said...

Speaking of Sondheim's play Sunday in the Park with George 1986 (Stephen Sondheim) - Subtitulos en Español is a link is to the entire play on youtube.

I guess they can get away with it since it has Spanish subtitles but with the original English sound. The video is good and the audio is excellent.

At least stay until the twelve minute mark when Bernadette Peters ("Dot") winds up and explodes Sondheim's tongue twisting, breath expiring finish to the opening song, Sunday in the Park with George.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

@ Bob Boyd 4:00 pm

Motor Boater Law! OMG and LOL!

Hagar said...

The hackers say that security around both Hillary!'s server and the DNC's was so lax that breaking into them did not qualify as "hacking."

I have twice heard Mike Morel, former acting director of the CIA, state on national TV that he assumes every "competent security agency" in the world have copies of Hillary's emails, and when General Hayden was asked about that statement, he went ah,hm, well, yes, he would have to agree that was probably so.

"Competent security agency" would presumably also include their own agencies, no?

Ralph L said...

maybe you need another Dog

It's a rentdog.

FullMoon said...

To distribute the stolen emails, the Russian operative created a fictitious group named DCLeaks, claiming it was made up of U.S. "hacktivists." They made up fictitious people and a Facebook page to promote the leaks online. The computer that operated the Twitter account for DCLeaks was the same computer used for some of the fake social media campaigns intended to stir up protests in the U.S.

Correct. Who has been doing all the protesting? Gullible left wingers. Same as it always was.

langford peel said...

So this is the Valerie Jarret and Michelle Obama cafe?

tcrosse said...

Notice that people who own Pit Bulls will tell you how gentle and affectionate they are, right up until they go for somebody's throat. If they really wanted a gentle and affectionate dog, they'd get a cocker spaniel.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

If they really wanted a gentle and affectionate dog, they'd get a cocker spaniel.

Nope. Cocker Spaniels are nervous, nippy and bitey little bastards. You want affection, cuddles and loyalty, plus a good working dog too.

Golden Retriever.

Big Mike said...

HRC's posse seemed to cultivate this sort of learned ignorance, this "I'm too big to be bothered" air. The fact that her campaign let something as important as voter modeling be left to one guy with no one else going to the mat to demand that the data, the software, & the modeling assumptions be shared with the team at large tells me that the team at large really didn't want to sully their hands with that sort of "geeky stuff".

@YoungHegelian, you highlight two attitudes that seem to have been pervasive throughout the Obama administration: lack of proper attention to information security (and privacy), as witness the numerous data breaches that happened during that administration; and a child-like belief in poorly validated mathematical models. And if you “validate” your model on the same data you used to create it, then calling the model “poorly validated” is being more generous than deserved.

Michael K said...

You want affection, cuddles and loyalty, plus a good working dog too.

Golden Retriever.


I had a wonderful golden but she had terrible bad breath. I tried a number of things to try to reduce it but it was so bad it was hard to keep her close.

I have now had four basset hounds since her and, while no one could ever get any work out of one, they are wonderful pets and no bad breath in any so far.

wild chicken said...

Golden Retriever


Ah, yes. Is it still a good breed, or is it all whack like German Shepards?

James K said...

They shit and piss everywhere so have to have premie diapers.

They'll piss on you if they get annoyed. I was in Costa Rica last year and there are monkeys all over the place in trees. We were warned not to agitate them unless we wanted to get "rained on."

Michael K said...

Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher

So, English is not your first language ?

I did wonder a bit.

Michael K said...

"You can read all about it in Hacking for Dummies."

I just finished rereading "The Cuckoo's Egg" for about the fourth time. It never gets old even though it is dated.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I go through comic strips I have "clipped" every now and then, and was struck by just how much this (non-political) Boffo strip by Wisconsin's Joe Martin applies to recent events on Capitol Hill.

Mark said...

It bears repeating that an indictment is not evidence. Not evidence of anything. An indictment is simply a piece of paper written by a prosecutor who tells some hapless grand jurors, "Vote yes on this," and they do.

narciso said...

well this pigs breakfast really stinks:


https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/07/13/rosenstein-delivers-indictments-for-12-russians-then-buries-in-lock-box-of-doj-national-security-division/#more-151777

Mark said...

In addition to some token defendant showing up to make Mueller prove his case -- which he cannot because there is no admissible evidence -- I can easily see Russia deciding to indict Mueller and Rosenstein.

FullMoon said...

Yeah, hacking email takes super dooper team of Russian spies.


A young New Jersey woman has been charged with hacking the email of Selena Gomez, prosecutors in LA said Friday.

Susan Atrach, 21, of Ridgefield Park, was charged Thursday with five felony counts of identity theft, five felony counts of accessing and using computer data to commit fraud and one felony count of accessing computer data without permission

FullMoon said...

Mark said...

In addition to some token defendant showing up to make Mueller prove his case -- which he cannot because there is no admissible evidence -- I can easily see Russia deciding to indict Mueller and Rosenstein.

7/13/18, 6:33 PM


Great idea ! Russia indicts a bunch of CIA, FBI and Justice guys. Then Putin and Trump work out an exchange deal where they turn over the suspects to each other.

Hope Trump or Putin bring it up at their meeting.

Paco Wové said...

"I don't doubt for a second that the Russian intelligence agencies hack US political organizations and businesses"

I work for a big multinational corporation. According to our IT guys, we are under constant, relentless attack 24/7.

Clyde said...

gadfly said...

Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher. Was it typical Trumpian bluster, at a time when hacked emails and Clinton’s email server had been huge news stories? Or was there something more sinister going on?

The new Mueller indictment doesn’t provide a definitive answer. But it sure looks like when Trump asked Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, Russian intelligence heard him.


Dude, I know you're a humorless Democrat shill, but what part of "it was a fucking joke" do you not get?

Drago said...

gadfly: ”Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher.”

Original Mike: "It’s a lot harder to
decipher when you mischaracterize the comment. I don’t know if you’re dishonest or just sloppy."

There is a very very good reason gadfly is known widely as "The Poor Man's LLR Chuck".

Recall that LLR Chuck explicitly wrote that he was here to smear Trump.

Gadfly is merely a pathetic shadow of an incompetent LLR Chuck.

Hence the "quality" of gadflys missives...

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

The good news is that there are many tens of thousands more Russians Mueller and his Band Of Merry Democrat Hacks can indict without a strong possibility of ever having to actually prove anything.

However, what happens when even one hires a competent firm and avtually shows up to contest this charge?

That is Muellers and dem hack teams greatest fear.

Freeman Hunt said...

I learned to walk a dog in the bad, old days when you got a six foot leash attached to a choke chain. Dog pulls, sharp tug on the leash. Dog stops pulling pretty quickly. I'm always amazed the see people being dragged along by dogs. Don't let a dog do that unless you're on a sled!

Big Mike said...

Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher. Was it typical Trumpian bluster, at a time when hacked emails and Clinton’s email server had been huge news stories?

As I recollect the episode, he was not encouraging a foreign power to hack Hillary's Emails; he was assuming that they had already been hacked and thoroughly analyzed for intelligence value. As were any of us with a lick of sense about IT security.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Trump was encouraging someone to find her-> bleach=bit deletions.

Gahrie said...

I learned to walk a dog in the bad, old days when you got a six foot leash attached to a choke chain.

Choke chains are considered inhumane today.

Mark said...

Unless you get a dog that just doesn't get it and keeps pulling and pulling no matter how much they are choking themselves.

tcrosse said...

Trump’s brazen comment urging a foreign power to hack his opponent has always been difficult to decipher. Was it typical Trumpian bluster, at a time when hacked emails and Clinton’s email server had been huge news stories?

If Hillary had handled her communications in accordance with State Dept regulations, she wouldn't have had that fucking problem. So whose fault is that ?

Michael K said...

I know you're a humorless Democrat shill, but what part of "it was a fucking joke" do you not get?

What if it wasn't a joke ?

Every intelligence service in the world has a complete copy of Hillary's emails.

We seem to be the only ones who don't.

narciso said...

Raises a good question:

http://dailycaller.com/2018/07/13/dershowitz-on-muellers-indict