Now That Trump's President... (not any more!)

That was brutal

  On 11/17/2016 at 4:55 AM, ignatius said:

 

  On 11/17/2016 at 4:28 AM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 11/16/2016 at 5:56 AM, ignatius said:

yeah.. follow up on it.. there's a top post that's "ELI5" (explain like i'm five) that lays it out pretty

Link plz

 

I am totally out of the loop with this stuff. The 2016 election really warped my already conflicted feelings / cautious support for wikileaks etc

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

 

this post is pretty good at laying it out (there's been updates about WL since that post though and the situation may have changed - see link in LimpyLoo's post)

 

https://np.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/5d37lj/wikileaks_latest_insurance_files_dont_match_hashes/da1vfvv/

 

there's several threads about the topic. this is the one i read some of.. 

 

https://np.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/5d37lj/wikileaks_latest_insurance_files_dont_match_hashes/

 

 

  Quote

An ELI5 answer, as none seems to have been made:

When I am going to give you a file, I can tell you in advance "when you get this file, here is some maths you can do that will prove without doubt it's the same file I intended you to get".

Further, there are ways of sending messages that mathematically prove that all of the messages come from the same person: they are literally impossible practically near impossible to fake.

Wikileaks have done this consistently in the past. It's meant that files being released have been mathematically, cryptographically certain to be the original files they had prepared for release. They have regularly digitally signed things as proof that Wikileaks is not compromised and is still operating with cryptographic certainty.

It's worth noting that when we talk about "Wikileaks", in reality we are talking about Julian Assange. He runs the show. When that twitter account says "here's a mathematical proof of what's coming", we know that this is a file Julian is handling himself. When Wikileaks signs something we know it is Julian that has signed it.

This is a precaution. It means if anything should happen to him - and why shouldn't it? He is after all the subject of some rather intense surveillance and a lot of people would prefer him dead - then, well, people can't then pass off another file or another communique pretending this was what he had intended to release.

There are numerous timelines of events knocking around "proving" this means Assange is either in the hands of the CIA or is dead, but what this conversation in crypto is concerned with is the fact the maths around these files don't work any more.

That means the files that have been released are not the files that were planned for release. They have been altered or are completely different.

OK, there are possible technical explanations for that, but Wikileaks hasn't done the "look, we're still here, it's really us" thing for a month either. And they've never fucked up like this before, either.

I'm not sure about the theories going on about police raids at the Ecuadorian embassy, the prisoner transport plane (in some versions, a CIA renditions aircraft), that flew from London to North Carolina a few days after Kerry arrived in London and Assange was cut off, the various reading between the lines of Swedish prosecutors and Ecuadorian diplomats dancing in hallways or any of those things.

Here is what everybody can mathematically be certain of:

1. The files are not the ones that were planned for release by Wikileaks.
2. There is no cryptographically secure evidence knocking around for over a month that Wikileaks is still in Julian Assange's control

It's up to you to decide for yourself what to believe or how to react to this. The maths are the maths. Everything else is speculation.

EDIT: You're right, it's theoretically possible to create two files with matching SHAs with different contents, but practically it's going to be hard in a "NSA can't do it in under a decade" kind of realm, and it hasn't even been attempted in this case, hence the conversation.

 

 

Thanks, I stumbled upon that one, I'll read it in detail later. There's a megathread I saw as well I'm going to give a look at when I have time. Fascinating and alarming development though. 

Trump's foreign policy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpJir8AEYAc

flol

I'm really burned out by all of this. And apathy is setting in. It's not back in the same perpetual circus coverage as it was in the earlier election cycle. Days of speculative news and op-eds and coverage with very little substantive news.

Democrats have their work cut out. I can only hope the next candidate is worthwhile. I'd want Warren but I'm afraid she has too many attributes and minor issues that the GOP would harp on. Tammy Duckworth would be badass though. 

Also, I dunno who else I might speak for here, but as an American with a 8-5 job and a wife and kid and mortgage, etc I'm not of the cynical leftist "let him burn it to the ground and rebuild" ethos regarding this upcoming administration. the system is imperfect and DC is corrupt but there's plenty of progress to be made and too much at stake to drastically, violently, and chaotically destroy and rebuilt. He needs to work his ass off. We need a transition to this clown we elected. 

last post in this thread from me

"George Soros, in a way, is Donald Trump without the humility".  

It was worth my 13 minutes.

Produced by Leslie Cockburn

ouch

also,

Subscribe for more political humor, anti-PC, and common sense videos about Donald Trump and the alt-right!

  On 11/17/2016 at 6:06 PM, joshuatx said:

I'm really burned out by all of this. And apathy is setting in. It's not back in the same perpetual circus coverage as it was in the earlier election cycle. Days of speculative news and op-eds and coverage with very little substantive news.

 

Democrats have their work cut out. I can only hope the next candidate is worthwhile. I'd want Warren but I'm afraid she has too many attributes and minor issues that the GOP would harp on. Tammy Duckworth would be badass though. 

 

Also, I dunno who else I might speak for here, but as an American with a 8-5 job and a wife and kid and mortgage, etc I'm not of the cynical leftist "let him burn it to the ground and rebuild" ethos regarding this upcoming administration. the system is imperfect and DC is corrupt but there's plenty of progress to be made and too much at stake to drastically, violently, and chaotically destroy and rebuilt. He needs to work his ass off. We need a transition to this clown we elected. 

 

last post in this thread from me

there's nothing that isn't worrisome about this administration.. every policy.. the lack of actual understanding of the job.. all the social issues.. the already pretty big uptick in reportings of racism and bigotry.. i'm pretty fucking scared about a muslim registry type thing happening. wtf. and just emboldened racists coming out of the woodwork. 

The Muslim registration won't happen, nether will a Muslim ban, and the wall won't happen either. It's all controversial talk to get his base all excited. Even if Trump tries, congress will block it in the blink of an eye. His voters' butts are lubed up and when he won't ravage the area they'll probably protest in the streets. It's a matter of time.

  On 11/17/2016 at 9:00 PM, clarktrent said:

The Muslim registration won't happen, nether will a Muslim ban, and the wall won't happen either. It's all controversial talk to get his base all excited. Even if Trump tries, congress will block it in the blink of an eye. His voters' butts are lubed up and when he won't ravage the area they'll probably protest in the streets. It's a matter of time.

he'll get some small support in congress. there are a handful of assholes there who will think it's a good idea. the wall is too expensive and dumb. i don't think it'll happen. they will throw some money at the border though. 

mostly i think the paul ryan agenda will get pushed. attempts to dismantle medicare while disinformation is spread to the public about why this should happen and why it's oabamacare's fault.  that republican power structure.. fractured as it is.. will jump all over the next 4 years to make their agenda reality. 

Yeah, seriously

The fact that a Muslim registry seems like a reasonable policy to them

I mean fuck..those sorts of 'solutions' were the seeds of most of the horrors of the 20th century

"Things would be great, were it not for those people"

Where "those people" is an overly-broad category like "Jews" or "Muslims" or "Communists" or "Capitalists" or "The Bourgeoisie" or take your pick, really

Fuck, a registry. It's coming, guys. 

Regarding Hillary and Assange--what's the evidence that she wanted him dead? Is there some actual evidence of this? 

  On 11/17/2016 at 9:45 PM, apriorion said:

Fuck, a registry. It's coming, guys.

 

Regarding Hillary and Assange--what's the evidence that she wanted him dead? Is there some actual evidence of this?

It's gonna face a lot of fucking resistance

And--along with a few other fascist policies in the works--is probably gonna get Trump impeached

(A handful of the analysts who predicted Trump's victory are also predicting his impeachment, FWIW)

https://youtu.be/cskp137K104

  On 11/17/2016 at 9:45 PM, apriorion said:

Fuck, a registry. It's coming, guys.

 

Regarding Hillary and Assange--what's the evidence that she wanted him dead? Is there some actual evidence of this?

She said "can't we just drone him?"

But I mean she's pure light, she's virtually MLK himself

So if she wants him dead then surely he must deserve it

  On 11/17/2016 at 9:00 PM, clarktrent said:

The Muslim registration won't happen, nether will a Muslim ban, and the wall won't happen either. It's all controversial talk to get his base all excited. Even if Trump tries, congress will block it in the blink of an eye. His voters' butts are lubed up and when he won't ravage the area they'll probably protest in the streets. It's a matter of time.

I'm not so sure about that - he gave a voice to racism to come out of the shadows and be counted (literally) - what would stop politicians from saying what they really think now that the standard has been lowered?

"United Sneks"

this is a sassy good watch. great use of expletives. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/11/16/trump-administration-will-ban-lobbyists-enact-five-year-lobbying-ban-after-leaving-government/

If this is serious and something that is actually going to happen it is tremendous news

eh, it's only from serving on his administration. not all lobbyists. so not near as exciting.

It's good that they realize people are paying attention to who they are trying to appoint and reacting to it though.

meh 

"On its face, the lobbyist ban appears stringent, but it could be easily skirted if a lobbyist were to deregister to be eligible to join the administration. One sign indicates that it may already be happening: A close aide to Pence who is a Washington lobbyist, Josh Pitcock, filed paperwork with the Senate on Monday to terminate his status as a federal lobbyist. Pitcock advised Pence during the presidential campaign, and has lobbied for the state of Indiana since 2013, earning $280,000 a year to lobby on a wide range of issues including health-care marketplace exchange rates and resources for the state’s response to the Zika virus, lobbying records show. Pitcock did not immediately return a request for comment."

..

FLOL

lulz.

lobbyist ban is comical at this point since he just hired what are essentially lobbyists