What do you think is really going on? Let's get a little political here.

I assume you've all heard of the recent Vermont power grid "hacking" story. A few days ago a Vermont utility company found a russian virus on some guy's computer and (part of) the press extrapolated the fact, turning it into a so-called proof of a Russian conspiracy to hack the US power grid... That title was a fucking clickbait, and I just knew it. But not just your average buzzshit clickbait, a serious fucking one this time. When you read the article it became clear: pure bullshit. No evidence whatsoever, all that happened is that they found a regular virus on a random guy's computer, which happens a million times a day everywhere in the world. A few hours later they retracted, a lot of other sites and agencies stated that there was no such thing as a power grid hack attempt. Those media outlets jumped to conclusions to serve their own agenda, it seems.

Now regarding the "hacking" of the US election. Several US government agencies are claiming it's real. Are we being lied to? Are the FBI and homeland security and others all following orders of a higher instance or do they have actual evidence?
So far, they haven't shared much with the general public. Last week they released a document, which I read, but if you read it too you will find that it's absolutely empty of evidence. All it states is "we found some IP addresses in the logs" and "we found a bit of code that was used before". That amounts to nothing at all.

So why do they keep going on about this?
Do you think these agencies have insights they cant share with the public? could they have informants within the russian goverment? that's one of the few things I can think of that they would never be able to reveal. Or maybe it is just more political bullshit... but what's the point? Trump will take office soon and all this Russia crap isn't working. Apparently Trump has something to say on the subject that he will reveal on tuesday or wednesday. I wonder what that may be.

 

[Foxi4]

Boy, oh boy - inauguration day can't come soon enough. Great podcast, by the way.

 

[Xzi]

inauguration day can't come soon enough

Can't get enough of that Scott Baio star power, eh? I wonder if the song Trump chooses to play as he steps in will cut out halfway through due to copyright claim.

 

[coinblock]

Why are we even getting political on a gamer site?

'Cause it looks like OP has an agenda to push and wants to call out the doubters.

 

[solarsaturn9]

'Cause it looks like OP has an agenda to push and wants to call out the doubters.

So anyone who wishes to engage in political discourse has an agenda to push?

 

[Jonna]

For the same reason that we have off-topic chat of any kind.

The proper question is, why is it on the front page?

 

[solarsaturn9]

Yeah, an admin beginning a post on a gaming site by calling disagreement with their political opinion/thread title "pure bullshit" sure is some great discourse. Would wade in this swamp again, A+++ post

I didn't read through all 24 pages of posts and psychoanalyze every participant. Clearly, they have their opinion but that doesn't mean they have an agenda.

 

[coinblock]

I didn't read through all 24 pages of posts and psychoanalyze every participant. Clearly, they have their opinion but that doesn't mean they have an agenda.

Yeah except OP literally began the discussion from a position of authority while stating that everyone who disagrees with him is wrong.

 

[Xiphiidae]

The proper question is, why is it on the front page?

Topic was started by an Admin, I suppose.

 

[BlackWizzard17]

I honestly believe tbey did hack the polls. No way someone like trump could have became president, besides weren't they the ones who hacked S0ny ps3 back in 2011.

 

[Xzi]

I honestly believe tbey did hack the polls. No way someone like trump could have became president, besides weren't they the ones who hacked S0ny ps3 back in 2011.

Absolutely anything can be hacked, it's simply about having (or finding) the expertise. Russia or China (or S Korea) would be the most likely perpetrators based simply on internet traffic. With Russia the assumption is usually that Putin is going to be involved somehow, with China it's probably some guy trying to steal your payment details and all your accounts. You only hack the DNC/RNC with one motive, and it's not to make money, it's to influence an election.

That said, the bigger influence on the election was probably Comey in violation of the Hatch Act. Not that it couldn't all be connected. Comey is said to have broken the silence in response to the joint intelligence statement that Russia was involving themselves in the election (BEFORE the election).

 

[Costello]

'Cause it looks like OP has an agenda to push and wants to call out the doubters.

ahhh yes the conspiracy theories everywhere. What am I, according to your theory, a right wing jew serving nazi propaganda? a chinese spy brainwashed by the KGB? that's just so much fun

I shouldn't have to justify what I want to post on my home page. This is a critical subject to everyone and the number of views and replies and votes is proving me right. As I have said before, if this doesn't interest you, feel free to part ways. Skip this thread, leave the site, be my guest. The only interest I have is that of my website.

I do have political views myself, which I have stated numerous times in the past, I have nothing to hide whatsoever. I am a french guy who supports Bernie and I fight everything Trump stands for (climate change denial, creationism, racism, bigotry, homophobia, tax evasion, etc) but I firmly believe in democracy. And if there is one thing I will always fight for - it's the truth. The US have already lied to us in the past, most recently with Irak, so it is legitimate to have doubts when bold claims are made without evidence.

But you will notice that I have never used the site and will never use it to channel my personal political beliefs. Have you ever seen a "go bernie" thread on the home page? I could have done so during the primaries. But that's not what this website is for. This thread is merely a poll that aims to find out whether people really believe the media and the government with this particular issue. We aren't making a statement, we're asking a question. If you've read the previous posts in this thread I have repeatedly asked to see evidence (not asking anyone to produce any evidence, I was just asking if we may have overlooked a particular detail, a particular fact, or something?). And even then as I stated in my first post, while I personally remain skeptical, I still believe it's possible they may be telling the truth because they have evidence they are forced to withhold from the public for various reasons.

Also, it seems to bother you that I called the vermont power grid hack story "pure bullshit". Why not call it the way it is? It is pure bullshit - and that's not an opinion, that's factual. Every other site has called that story "fake news" and the original article was retracted because it was indeed fake news. What more do you need?

 

[Costello]

The proper question is, why is it on the front page?

the fact that this thread has had 470+ replies and almost 9000 views in less than 24 hours answers that.
expect to see more of those in the future... it's simple - we post what we believe people will be interested in discussing.


I would also like to state that I am proud to see how this thread has been kept civil (for the most part) and that we've seen a lot of intelligent responses - yes I have read all 24 pages. This goes to show once more that GBAtemp isn't just a bunch of kids pirating games as I have heard say so often. This place is full of bright individuals, young and old, and time will continue to prove it.

 

[Chary]

Here's Assange on record saying that none of the DNC information Wikileaks had was from Russians. Interesting.

 

[Costello]

Here's Assange on record saying that none of the DNC information Wikileaks had was from Russians. Interesting.

he had already said it during a phone interview with the same guy a couple of weeks ago (which I listened to)

glad there is now another video interview
strangely the facebook wikileaks page hasn't said anything about it, they are normally very prompt to post those things

 

[Jonna]

the fact that this thread has had 470+ replies and almost 9000 views in less than 24 hours answers that.
expect to see more of those in the future... it's simple - we post what we believe people will be interested in discussing.


I would also like to state that I am proud to see how this thread has been kept civil (for the most part) and that we've seen a lot of intelligent responses - yes I have read all 24 pages. This goes to show once more that GBAtemp isn't just a bunch of kids pirating games as I have heard say so often. This place is full of bright individuals, young and old, and time will continue to prove it.

I will say I'm both surprised and happy that this has reached 24 pages without devolving into a ridiculous chaotic mess of insults flying into the air and landing on random posters. I agree with your assertion that this is great to see in the member-base, way to go, every one!

Having this on the front page is disappointing to me. It is your website, and you are completely free to do what you want, and I can go take a flying leap off a cliff-side with no one on here to know or care in the slightest. The issue is that you also have a certain goal to keep to in maintaining a website, if you'd like the website to continue as it should, and your members that you rely on to keep the website afloat have their expectations when they visit their website - or else you run risk of gaining a negative reputation, be that mild or severe. Personally, this isn't something I think is that much of a problem if it's only once in a very long time, but your posts you've made have said to expect more of these. I believe that many of us come to this website for the sake of what the website is, and it's a break from the constant nagging and attention provided by the media and every other information outlet thrown in your face. It feels like that annoying ad about x celebrity news or y political article or z health-issue-propaganda, but the owner of the site is actually recommending it.

Again, your website, your way of running it any way you please. But please don't start discounting and throwing away some of us legitimate users who are here for the purpose of what your website is advertised for. As with respect to any administrator of any forum, if this is something you'd prefer to speak privately, I have no issue with speaking over PM's.

 

[coinblock]

ahhh yes the conspiracy theories everywhere. What am I, according to your theory, a right wing jew serving nazi propaganda? a chinese spy brainwashed by the KGB? that's just so much fun

What you are is triggered by my post, it appears- as you've deleted the one you're replying to and gave me a warning for expressing such an offensive opinion. It looks like you need a safe space to beat up on that straw man you've got there.

"But you will notice that I have never used the site and will never use it to channel my personal political beliefs" "We aren't making a statement, we're asking a question."

This thread is doing both. You're trying to equate one crappy Washington Post story about the Vermont power grid to the entire issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, in a front page post on a gaming website, while taking shots at those who disagree with you from your position of authority as admin.

If you've read the previous posts in this thread I have repeatedly asked to see evidence (not asking anyone to produce any evidence, I was just asking if we may have overlooked a particular detail, a particular fact, or something?).

There's ample evidence and agreement from U.S. and independent security experts that Russian shenanigans played a significant role in influencing the result of the election, one much more subtle than just blatantly hacking the voting machines (which no credible state or organization is accusing them of). But you're starting off this "discussion" by trying to dismiss any criticisms of Trump surrounding his many Russian connections, the guy who asked Russia to interfere in the election to help him, on national TV. So, will any amount of evidence that users post here even matter?

You seem to have your mind made up already, singing the praises of Greenwald, Assange, and WikiLeaks, all of whom, but especially the last two are some of the largest Russia apologists around... Or at least WikiLeaks has been since 2010, after failing to deliver on a promise on Russian leaks. They've also noticeably refused to release any "leaks" on Trump, and have no problems doctoring their document dumps to protect Russia's interests. Hmmm... I wonder who's feeding them hacked docs from the DNC?

You're even using RT as a source- which is literally the definition of state sponsored propaganda, written by Kremlin staff for God's sake! Incidentally, Assange also has a show there, and Greenwald is a regular guest. They criticize one government and embrace another which is arguably far worse.

The most confusing thing I've seen this entire election is gymnastics from so many folks who claim as you do, to stand for progressive causes, jumping at the chance to attack "establishment" U.S. politicians, while ignoring or trying to gloss over the imperialistic ambitions of an authoritarian dictatorship like Russia. Their "dezinformatsiya" spread through the internet is a real danger to democracy all over the world and should not be written off as "Democrats are just mad because they lost".

I hope you don't just delete this.

 

[Xiphiidae]

There's ample evidence and agreement from U.S. and independent security experts that Russian shenanigans played a significant role in influencing the result of the election

Perhaps, but there's no hard publicly verifiable evidence that the Russian state itself played a direct role in influencing the result of the election. We only have hearsay, and I would rather not put blind trust in US Intelligence agencies. Regardless, your entire point rests on "hacking Podesta = hacking election". Why is "influencing" the election by revealing critical information so bad? Would you rather people not make make judgements based on the fact that the DNC rigged the primaries against Sanders? At any rate, information was revealed to people, and people made up their own minds based on the information that was presented to them.

You seem to have your mind made up already, singing the praises of Greenwald, Assange, and WikiLeaks, all of whom, but especially the last two are some of the largest Russia apologists around... Or at least WikiLeaks has been since 2010, after failing to deliver on a promise on Russian leaks.

Again, perhaps, but at the end of the day, why is this important? All of the information released by Wikileaks is true; all they are guilty of is revealing information to the public. If transparency and exposing corruption is so horrible to you, then I don't know what to tell you.

Incidentally, Assange also has a show there, and Greenwald is a regular guest. They criticize one government and embrace another which is arguably far worse.

When the US is vying for your head, not many places other than Russia would be willing to allow you to have a show there, I imagine.

The most confusing thing I've seen this entire election is gymnastics from so many folks who claim as you do, to stand for progressive causes, jumping at the chance to attack "establishment" U.S. politicians, while ignoring or trying to gloss over the imperialistic ambitions of an authoritarian dictatorship like Russia. Their "dezinformatsiya" spread through the internet is a real danger to democracy all over the world

Because the US doesn't have any imperialistic ambitions right? US interventionism and the corruption of the DNC aren't threats to democracy, right?

Again, this is same old "The Russians, the Russians!" Not everyone who is critical of Clinton and the DNC, or supports Wikileaks, or supports Trump, is pro-Russia or pro-Putin.

 

[Costello]

What you are is triggered by my post, it appears- as you've deleted the one you're replying to and gave me a warning for expressing such an offensive opinion. It looks like you need a safe space to beat up on that straw man you've got there.



This thread is doing both. You're trying to equate one crappy Washington Post story about the Vermont power grid to the entire issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, in a front page post on a gaming website, while taking shots at those who disagree with you from your position of authority as admin.



There's ample evidence and agreement from U.S. and independent security experts that Russian shenanigans played a significant role in influencing the result of the election, one much more subtle than just blatantly hacking the voting machines (which no credible state or organization is accusing them of). But you're starting off this "discussion" by trying to dismiss any criticisms of Trump surrounding his many Russian connections, the guy who asked Russia to interfere in the election to help him, on national TV. So, will any amount of evidence that users post here even matter?

You seem to have your mind made up already, singing the praises of Greenwald, Assange, and WikiLeaks, all of whom, but especially the last two are some of the largest Russia apologists around... Or at least WikiLeaks has been since 2010, after failing to deliver on a promise on Russian leaks. They've also noticeably refused to release any "leaks" on Trump, and have no problems doctoring their document dumps to protect Russia's interests. Hmmm... I wonder who's feeding them hacked docs from the DNC?

You're even using RT as a source- which is literally the definition of state sponsored propaganda, written by Kremlin staff for God's sake! Incidentally, Assange also has a show there, and Greenwald is a regular guest. They criticize one government and embrace another which is arguably far worse.

The most confusing thing I've seen this entire election is gymnastics from so many folks who claim as you do, to stand for progressive causes, jumping at the chance to attack "establishment" U.S. politicians, while ignoring or trying to gloss over the imperialistic ambitions of an authoritarian dictatorship like Russia. Their "dezinformatsiya" spread through the internet is a real danger to democracy all over the world and should not be written off as "Democrats are just mad because they lost".

I hope you don't just delete this.

Finally, finally I got an intelligent response out of you... I just wish it weren't so violent and aggressive. And don't take the piss when a mod removes a post of yours, that's how it works here. You posted something insulting that got removed; that is all there is to it.

I would like to invite you to read my posts. What I have been saying several times already is that the evidence I have personally read from the mainstream media is too thin right now (almost non existent) and considering recent history, it is natural to expect stronger evidence to substantiate bold claims. Is there any shame in that? Is it a crime to question?

Incidentally, the link you posted above from CrowdStrike is exactly what I have been begging for all along, so I have to thank you for that It is the first technical article that I read that actually means something to me and could begin to shift my personal opinion (and I am not saying my opinion matters to anyone else but me). Sadly while the article is quite convincing technically, it doesn't offer any evidence as to a connection between these russian hacking groups and the russian government. I am not saying it isn't possible or that it isn't likely - it sounds likely in fact - just that I haven't personally seen enough, and not for lack of searching. And the fact that Assange is saying "our source isnt russia" doesn't mean much to me, it could have been a third party controlled by Russia without Assange knowing.

To conclude, you seem to think I have made up my mind but that is not the case in fact. You may have noticed that I voted for the "there's a slight chance it might be true" option and like I said I needed to know more. I am more than happy about how this thread turned out. Additional information was brought to light, debates stayed civil, let's keep it open for a little while longer.

 

[GamerzHell9137]

Aren't all elections rigged?

 

[Hanafuda]

https://sharylattkisson.com/eight-facts-on-the-russian-hacks/