[JohnRawls]

Interesting video on at least one technique on how Russian twitter bots are created/managed. I'm sure anyone producing a bot would do similar.

I wonder how many on here are falling for these kinds of bots.

Only thing I disagree with is the assertion towards the end that these particular bots he exposed were for the purpose of Ukraine war disinformation. I'm thinking the more likely explanation is simply that they build up these accounts as sort of sleeper accounts, that get activated when they are ordered to. It just so happened these were activated for Ukraine war disinformation. I'm sure there are tons of these sleeper accounts getting built up with seemingly innocuous posts... to be activated for disinformation eventually.

Funny how these bots are often more believed, than say, professors of history at Yale.

Not sure how people don't know this. The accounts have been around since at least 2014 in different variations and it only got more complicated from there. 2014 and the Syrian was when people already noticed all of this infrastructure.

The complete topic on Russian agitprop and disinfo is pretty massive and impressive actually. There can be even seperate topics on how they infiltrate left and right leaning extremists with two different fields of propaganda. Lets say one for Skinster and one for Rich. With the end idea being the same just with different takes, hence coverging extremists on left and right a bit closer to one pro-Russian message.

[Rancid]

Not sure how people don't know this. The accounts have been around since at least 2014 in different variations and it only got more complicated from there. 2014 and the Syrian was when people already noticed all of this infrastructure.

The complete topic on Russian agitprop and disinfo is pretty massive and impressive actually. There can be even seperate topics on how they infiltrate left and right leaning extremists with two different fields of propaganda. Lets say one for Skinster and one for Rich. With the end idea being the same just with different takes, hence coverging extremists on left and right a bit closer to one pro-Russian message.

That's the problem though. People in general don't know this stuff. How can the general population be informed of this stuff so that they are more resilient to not fall for it?

[JohnRawls]

That's the problem though. People in general don't know this stuff. How can the general population be informed of this stuff so that they are more resilient to not fall for it?

I don't know. Not believe everything on the internet? A lot of news that you get on the internet are bought news. Skinster posts propaganda like 70% of the time from known people who are on RT or Russias payroll for example when its a known name.

Hence I always laugh that people that are usually took the "Pill" are posting outright propaganda. In this regard, mainstream media is more honest and you at least know their biases since they are large institutions. Heck even on average, mainstream media is more honest than 80% that comes from the internet since they are not in to outright lying or fabricating facts but in to warping the message to suit their side. So by default Fox news will be better than lets say Alex Jones or somebody from the Trump camp like Qanon or Pizzagate or whatever.

[Rich]

As for others before that obviously Lybia was our adventure and US was a tag along, not that Qadaffi didn't deserve it.

Yes and the Liberals pathological narcissists as ever insisted on following absurd rules of engagement, where they could bomb to defend populations but not to effect regime change, meaning the war to get rid of Qaddafi took six months and left the country irrevocably divided. People die, lives are destroyed, economies collapse, while Liberals masturbate over how many angels can dance on a pin head under internal law.

[JohnRawls]

Yes and the Liberals pathological narcissists as ever insisted on following absurd rules of engagement, where they could bomb to defend populations but not to effect regime change, meaning the war to get rid of Qaddafi took six months and left the country irrevocably divided. People die, lives are destroyed, economies collapse, while Liberals masturbate over how many angels can dance on a pin head under internal law.

I never said it was our brightest hour Rich. You have the hindsight now but the general idea was that Qadaffi was killing his people because he is a anchient dictator and people want democracy. Obviously the situation got degraded out of control. Europe should have also helped provide stability and prosperity after Qadaffi was killed and we didn't do it. At least for a time until a stable government/political system was formed. Obviously we just thought that it will sort itself out and Lybia has enough income from oil to be stable which hasn't played out.

[Tainari88]

I never said it was our brightest hour Rich. You have the hindsight now but the general idea was that Qadaffi was killing his people because he is a anchient dictator and people want democracy. Obviously the situation got degraded out of control. Europe should have also helped provide stability and prosperity after Qadaffi was killed and we didn't do it. At least for a time until a stable government/political system was formed. Obviously we just thought that it will sort itself out and Lybia has enough income from oil to be stable which hasn't played out.

None of it plays out well because the final goal is short sighted and nation building is not the end goal. it requires too much in the long haul.

So if you leave messes behind you also burn bridges. No one is going to trust your lying ways the next time you come in with crap ideas. That never work.

[litwin]

Putin ordered the government to address the issue of domestic gaming console production. And here it is - the mongol - Muscovite PlaySpace, with an Intel Atom X5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory, priced at $507, while a similar Chinese console on AliExpress costs $150...

"Everything is going according to plan."
Saddam Putsein

[JohnRawls]

None of it plays out well because the final goal is short sighted and nation building is not the end goal. it requires too much in the long haul.

So if you leave messes behind you also burn bridges. No one is going to trust your lying ways the next time you come in with crap ideas. That never work.

Not really. If you have a dictator on one side in your neighboring country killing thousands of protesters per day and imprisoning many more and you are a democratic state then you have dilemma don't you?

[Rich]

I never said it was our brightest hour Rich. You have the hindsight now but the general idea was that Qadaffi was killing his people because he is a anchient dictator and people want democracy.

No, no, no, no, no!

No hindsight was required none what so ever. When I first heard of the rules of engagement, I thought they would just be ignored, I never imagined that the NATO airforces would actually try and keep to them. Its like when you're dealing with Liberals, you just don't now where to begin. It really is like you're dealing with people who've got severe learning difficulties. Its like do I have to explain to you (I don't mean you John personally, I mean you rhetorically) why the civil war needs to be kept as short as possible.

When engaging in war you don't micro-dose you're efforts. You need to go all in as hard as you can and as fast as you can. Particularly in the case of civil wars, very small forces can make a huge difference early on, but given time, both sides recover, recruit, expand and dig in. Any delay can be vastly more expensive in lives, time and treasure down the road.

Of course in a war / conflict situation you need to think about what's right and wrong. Of course you need to think about moral questions, but you need to think about them fast, decide where you're going and then get on with achieving your goals, I've disagreed with these maximalist war aims against Russia since they first were voiced, but the way western leaders have approached them is an absolute joke.

[JohnRawls]

No, no, no, no, no!

No hindsight was required none what so ever. When I first heard of the rules of engagement, I thought they would just be ignored, I never imagined that the NATO airforces would actually try and keep to them. Its like when you're dealing with Liberals, you just don't now where to begin. It really is like you're dealing with people who've got severe learning difficulties. Its like do I have to explain to you (I don't mean you John personally, I mean you rhetorically) why the civil war needs to be kept as short as possible.

When engaging in war you don't micro-dose you're efforts. You need to go all in as hard as you can and as fast as you can. Particularly in the case of civil wars, very small forces can make a huge difference early on, but given time, both sides recover, recruit, expand and dig in. Any delay can be vastly more expensive in lives, time and treasure down the road.

Of course in a war / conflict situation you need to think about what's right and wrong. Of course you need to think about moral questions, but you need to think about them fast, decide where you're going and then get on with achieving your goals, I've disagreed with these maximalist war aims against Russia since they first were voiced, but the way western leaders have approached them is an absolute joke.

What no hindsight? What happened post 1989/1991? Did the Eastern European countries slide in to Chaos? Did the Baltics slip in to chaos? Did Russia slip in to chaos? Did the post Soviet Republics in the Caucusus/Asia slip in to chaos? Did Yugoslavia slip in to chaos?

The long story short here that before Syria and Lybia there was no real example besides perhaps Iraq that slipped in to chaos and not managed to form a government and continue statehood. Iraq although was still more or less under US troops and has a government.

Similar things happened during the Cold War but all the pro-Soviet and pro-American coups and uprisings were supported straight away by one side so they all had continuity.

[Tainari88]

Not really. If you have a dictator on one side in your neighboring country killing thousands of protesters per day and imprisoning many more and you are a democratic state then you have dilemma don't you?

You mean Canada and Mexico might be stuck with a Trump dictatorship coup? And he might get away with killing opposition leaders and protesters.

Look at this video

But no, the US government is not like that. I believe in propaganda day and night because I love the US BLINDLY without any other loyalty but that I associate my entire life with the US killing off Russian Federation and the USA can be fucking SATAN incarnate and I forgive them because I have to love the fucking Yankees and ignore their behavior. I am going to have to keep repeating the same shit over and over to you JohnRawls. It is not good guys vs bad guys. It is warmongering fucks with Empire on the brain and fighting it out for supremacy and a bunch of tiny nations caught in the middle of the shitshow. But you do not want to accept that. Why? Because you have chosen in your head that the US government is the best fucking system the world has ever known. It is not John Rawls. It has been warmongering forever. Warmongering is evil as can be. Bad to the bone evil. But you won't accept it. You drank the Kool Aid.

Trump is an existential threat. But Biden has not cut off funds for that genocide in play in Gaza. Why such blind stuff? You are not American. Let me repeat. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American. You are not American.

You are Estonian. You are Estonian. You forget that all the time. I have zero respect for kissing ass to governments blindly. Zero. All governments are defective. Let me repeat Mr. Simplistic. All governments are defective. PERIOD.

Tainari is wrong. She has to be. Because if she is right? Then my entire blind love of evil is too much for me.

[RealPolitic]

@Tainari88 @JohnRawls

Trump is an extraordinarily dangerous narcissist. If he is elected, then it would be a disaster for the American people and possibly any nearby neighbors of the United States. The reason I say this is because Trump is an autocrat. He will seek to turn the United States into an authoritarian state. This would be extremely damaging to American society. Moreover, autocratic regimes tend to be more aggressive and expansionist than democratic states. Such authoritarian regimes will attack other authoritarian regimes as well as democratic states.

The war in Ukraine, for example, was launched by the autocratic regime in Russia. Part of the reason is that throughout almost all of Russia's history, it has been an authoritarian state and has always been expansionist. Russians today have no idea what democracy is at all. Given it is an expansionist state, the autocratic regime will find it necessary to conquer other nations that it thinks it can get away with conquering in order to gain more power and guarantee it's own survival.

It is a law of international relations that all states want more power whether they be democratic or authoritarian. The reason that all states want more power is because by gaining more power they assure their own security. But it's also true that authoritarian regimes usually have a very different foreign policy in comparison to democratic states.

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88 @JohnRawls

Trump is an extraordinarily dangerous narcissist. If he is elected, then it would be a disaster for the American people and possibly any nearby neighbors of the United States. The reason I say this is because Trump is an autocrat. He will seek to turn the United States into an authoritarian state. This would be extremely damaging to American society. Moreover, autocratic regimes tend to be more aggressive and expansionist than democratic states. Such authoritarian regimes will attack other authoritarian regimes as well as democratic states.

The war in Ukraine, for example, was launched by the autocratic regime in Russia. Part of the reason is that throughout almost all of Russia's history, it has been an authoritarian state and has always been expansionist. Russians today have no idea what democracy is at all. Given it is an expansionist state, the autocratic regime will find it necessary to conquer other nations that it thinks it can get away with conquering in order to gain more power and guarantee it's own survival.

It is a law of international relations that all states want more power whether they be democratic or authoritarian. The reason that all states want more power is because by gaining more power they assure their own security. But it's also true that authoritarian regimes usually have a very different foreign policy in comparison to democratic states.

@JohnRawls is not an American. But he sure does defend the US to the bitter end. It could become some autocratic nightmare and John will still back it while hating Putin man. Irony is too much for the man eh?

He dismisses everything wrong the US government does.

@Rancid is a US citizen and he is voting Biden but is down in the dumps.

RealPolitic let us get down to the nitty gritty eh? The reality is that Trump man can be the Anti Christ at this point. I have never seen so many charges and horrors slip off his back like a greasy duck. Nothing sticks with that man. At this point it is time for a cleansing of epic proportions. The Anti Christ Trump is a possibility.

My husband thinks he is washed up. I happen to think the US is full of Kool Aid Trump drinking Narcissistic coman from Queens supporters and it is time to think about the possibility of a second American Civil War.

Claudia Sheinbaum is going to have to get special visas for the flood of US citizens fleeing America's bad economy and crazy autocratic leadership. Women are being raped and forced to have the babies and raised them with zero government help as they are monitored for loyalty to Trump. People are voting for that nightmare man. Ask them why. They will tell you.

Democracy in action. The autocrats are gonna cancel out the opposition. Oh, the USA has its karma.

It is a Handmaid's Tale again.

For me, Puerto Rican government is one of the worst on Earth. If they can survive any kind of bad government the Americans can too. They can suck up a nightmare of crap for a few years till the man keels over with a heart attack from too many fast food paranoid meals.

Take it easy RealPolitic.

[Negotiator]

Trump is an extraordinarily dangerous narcissist.

And yet amazingly the world didnt end when he was president.

As I keep pointing out, both Obama and Trump would have avoided this stupid war in Ukraine.

And probably, though I'm less sure of that, wouldnt have given Netanjahu a blank check to do whatever he wants in Gaza, either.

I have never seen so many charges and horrors slip off his back like a greasy duck. Nothing sticks with that man.

Thats because this is lawfare, not law.

This is a couple billionaires spending big bucks on lawyers to find ways to stop Trump, and the later try their best, but couldnt construct anything that worked.

In effect, its also free advertisement for Trump. Because anyone with half a brain looks at these charges and sees they are absurd.

[paeng]

Europe being a "tool" in all this is just another stupid Russian propaganda talking point.

In fact, all of this started because Ukrainians desired European integration, that is democracy, the rule of law and economic prosperity. Meanwhile, the only thing Russia could offer was petro-dictatorship.

Europe is the biggest supporter of Ukraine, not only when it comes to humanitarian and financial aid, but also military aid.

You don't need Russia for that, just Stoltenberg of NATO:

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_222258.htm

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly aligned. Together, they subvert sanctions and pressure. Weaken the US dollar-based international financial system. Fuel Russian war in Europe. And exploit challenges to our societies, such as terrorism, disruptive technologies, or migration.

The goal is to protect the U.S. dollar; otherwise, voodoo economics can't continue.

It's similar to Biden seeing Israel as a tool to control the Middle East:

Opposing that is the Reagan/Dubya storyline of "evil empires" and an "axis of evil," and anyone who says otherwise is only spewing Russian or Chinese or North Korean or Iranian or _________ propaganda.

You can even see this in your last point. Who wanted to Russia to join NATO? The U.S. and its allies. Who wants to turn Ukraine into a "Big Israel"? The same "democratic" Zelensky. Who's been buying fossil fuels and gas and even uranium from "tyrannies" like Russia, China, and even Saudi Arabia? The same U.S. and Europe.

Who are you kidding?

[paeng]

Interesting video on at least one technique on how Russian twitter bots are created/managed. I'm sure anyone producing a bot would do similar.

I wonder how many on here are falling for these kinds of bots.

Only thing I disagree with is the assertion towards the end that these particular bots he exposed were for the purpose of Ukraine war disinformation. I'm thinking the more likely explanation is simply that they build up these accounts as sort of sleeper accounts, that get activated when they are ordered to. It just so happened these were activated for Ukraine war disinformation. I'm sure there are tons of these sleeper accounts getting built up with seemingly innocuous posts... to be activated for disinformation eventually.

Funny how these bots are often more believed, than say, professors of history at Yale.

How about professors from U of Chicago? Economists from Harvard? Others from Brown U?

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/

Or maybe Kennan? Officials of the Bush, Sr., and Clinton admins, all of whom warned about crossing red lines concerning Russia?

So much for 'bots.

[paeng]

That's the problem though. People in general don't know this stuff. How can the general population be informed of this stuff so that they are more resilient to not fall for it?

Right. Several U.S. surveys reveal that most American adults can't even locate Ukraine on a map, and that's been going on since 2014.

[QatzelOk]

None of it plays out well because the final goal is short sighted and nation building is not the end goal. it requires too much in the long haul.

So if you leave messes behind you also burn bridges. No one is going to trust your lying ways the next time you come in with crap ideas. That never work.

This post demonstrates why *a female perspective* is so important in world affairs. Men are hunters, so they often ignore (at everyone's peril) the interconnectivity of humans, mistaking them for "soul-less" prey.

The female mind (and some men have a version of this or a profound respect for this)... can see the interconnectivity of humanity and recognizes the bad long-term consequences of brinkmanship and greed.

Men tend to just wave giant styrofoam hands and wait for their turn behind the spear to "prove" their worth to the tribe. Without female (or female mind) guidance, men (the hunters) can descend into partisan mass murderers very quickly, and cause lots of long-term harm to the world.

***

[litwin]

Muscovite motivation for childbearing is extremely low.

[litwin]