Our list of allies grows thin! Our list of enemies grows long! Trump thread continued.

[TheClaws]

The above is a quote from The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, said by Lord Elrond. At this stage, with POTUS practically pissing off every ally the US has while cosying up with several dictators, it seems quite apt.

Previous thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3283037-trump-puts-kids-in-cages-because-he-wants-his-wall-how-low-can-he-go-the-authoritarian-shitshow-continues

Daniel Dale
@ddale8
After a judge blocked Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's work requirements for Medicaid, he immediately ended vision and dental coverage for 460,000 people. People showed up for appointments not knowing they no longer had insurance.
'Reports of denied dental care mount after Bevin's Medicaid cuts'
amp.courier-journal.com/amp/760670002?__twitter_impression=true
mobile.twitter.com/ddale8/status/1015594992923021312

Daniel Dale
@ddale8
North Korea accuses the Trump administration of making the “cancerous demands from previous administrations that blocked all dialogue processes.” link: www.nknews.org/2018/07/north-korea-expresses-regret-at-outcomes-of-two-day-dprk-u-s-talks/
nknews.org/2018/07/north-…
mobile.twitter.com/ddale8/status/1015592560851668993

thehill.com/homenews/administration/395926-trump-asks-whether-twitter-will-axe-nyt-wapo-in-purge-of-fake

secondnexus.com/news/trump-criticizes-mccain-hw-bush-montana/?utm_content=inf_677_1164_2&tse_id=INF_85ae91d081ee11e8b766abf5860f5b45

'Prominent Republicans criticized President Donald Trump after he used a moment during his appearance at a rally in Montana to impugn former President George H.W. Bush.

Speaking at the rally, Trump mocked Bush’s slogan “thousand points of light,” which he popularized during his presidential campaign. The phrase later became the titular slogan for Bush’s volunteer organization, which he now serves as honorary chairman.'

edition.cnn.com/2018/07/06/politics/rudy-giuliani-robert-mueller-trump-interview/index.html

I'm a little snowflake,
Cold and white,
Here's my grievance,
It's so trite.

@waltshaub
“This is what McCarthyism evidently looks like on Martha’s Vineyard.” McCarthy was a powerful senator who destroyed careers. Dershowitz’s oppressors are social acquaintances who deny him access to their private homes for hors d'oeuvres. “For me, it’s a red badge of courage.” Ok.
@waltshaub
Replying to @waltshaub and @ddale8
Definition of white privilege: Trump rips children from immigrant parents; black people are being shot by police, pretty much everywhere; but @AlanDersh‘s neighbors fail to give him canapés, he awards himself the red badge of courage, and a major newspaper features his struggle.
mobile.twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1015585343922425858

'So surprised', said no-one.
@JenniferJJacobs
LATEST: Scott Pruitt is devastated by his ouster, I’m told.

He didn’t resign voluntarily, like Trump told us, but under pressure: John Kelly delivered a message from president that it was time to go.

Pruitt was at EPA hq today and said goodbye to staff.
(link: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-06/pruitt-said-to-have-been-told-to-resign-in-call-from-white-house) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

@JenniferJJacobs
PRUITT CHOSE TO RESIGN, Trump said on the record on AF1.

“No final straw.”

“He came to me and he said look I have such great confidence in the administration I don’t want to be a distraction and I think Scott felt that he was a distraction.”
Show this thread

mobile.twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1015354843416981504

www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/5-numbers-to-watch-on-family-separations

on Comey

'Lawyers for President Donald Trump unleashed a blistering attack on former FBI Director James Comey in a confidential memo last year to the special counsel, casting him as “Machiavellian,” dishonest and “unbounded by law and regulation” as they sought to undermine the credibility of a law enforcement leader they see as a critical witness against the president.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, provides a window into the formation of a legal strategy currently used by Trump’s lawyers as they seek to pit the president’s word against that of the former FBI director. Comey’s firing in May 2017 helped set in motion the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, and one-on-one conversations with Trump that Comey documented in a series of memos helped form the basis of Mueller’s inquiry into whether the president obstructed justice.'

Cyber war.

arcdigital.media/pro-trump-russian-linked-twitter-accounts-are-posing-as-ex-democrats-in-new-astroturfed-movement-20359c1906d3

www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/trump-allies-struggle-to-explain-why-child-seperation-detention-not-evil?mbid=social_twitter

Ahahahaha!

I spotted that #WalkAway hashtag a few days ago on something, and thought, "Hello, you're an astroturfing bot campaign, aren't you?"

It just reeked of the voter suppression shit Russia pulled during the 2016 US election.

I suppose I should have checked on the Hamilton 68 dashboard, just to be sure. But looky now, someone's saved me the time and done the whole analysis.

Ta for that article, lionheart.

From that article:

Pro-Trump & Russian-Linked Twitter Accounts Are Posing As Ex-Democrats In New Astroturfed Movement
#WalkAway from this deceptive propaganda campaign
arcdigital.media/pro-trump-russian-linked-twitter-accounts-are-posing-as-ex-democrats-in-new-astroturfed-movement-20359c1906d3

Conclusions
While the “WalkAway Movement” isn’t likely to convince—not to mention convert—many people, it offers important insight for those interested in understanding psychological operations aimed at manipulating and influencing social media users. This includes people who are interested in developing better defenses against manipulation, as well as those who want to develop more effective methods of manipulation.

Perhaps the most important observation is how quickly Russian propaganda outlets and Russian-linked social media accounts took notice of the campaign and started promoting it. While not exactly surprising, this tells us that Russia is still actively monitoring U.S. social media and looking for opportunities to amplify narratives that are aligned with the Kremlin’s goals.

Similarly, the “WalkAway Campaign” also shows that Russian interests are still very closely aligned with far-right U.S. media outlets and pro-Trump social media users, indicating that we will likely see continued cooperation (witting or unwitting) in the future.

I should also repeat the caveat Caroline O. added, as I think this is important to grasp WRT troll- and bot-amplified campaigns:

Even after explicitly stating that not all #WalkAway tweets were sent by bots, people taking part in the “WalkAway Movement” will still claim that this article called them all bots. This strawman is used as a defense every single time I track a bot-pushed hashtag. So let me state clearly for the record: This article is not implying that all of the people tweeting under this hashtag are bots.

Trumpococcus paranoius, dangerously and highly infectious, apparently:

'Dowd told me previously he initially trusted Mueller but came to think he was out to get the president.'

Michael S. Schmidt
@nytmike
Trump’s former personal lawyer, John Dowd, emailed me this morning. Praised legal team for fighting Mueller and had interesting defense of initial strategy to fully cooperate. Dowd told me previously he initially trusted Mueller but came to think he was out to get the president.'

mobile.twitter.com/nytmike/status/1015578852448440321

Well-spotted Perking.

This article is not implying that all of the people tweeting under this hashtag are bots. Although they might as well be.

While the “WalkAway Movement” isn’t likely to convince—not to mention convert—many people, it offers important insight for those interested in understanding psychological operations aimed at manipulating and influencing social media users. This includes people who are interested in developing better defenses against manipulation, as well as those who want to develop more effective methods of manipulation.
When I first registered the proliferation of #WalkAway, it struck me how disingenuous, even crudely obvious, and unconvincing it was. Maybe the generators don't see the need to be more subtly persuasive?

@chrislhayes
The year 2037. Civilization has been snuffed out by nuclear war. Deep inside the bowels of the earth, a reporter approaches an ancient, spectral figure. “Mr. Dershowitz, at last I’ve found you. I’d like to hear more about that summer you were shunned on Martha’s Vineyard.”
mobile.twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/1015646686302097408

I've started collecting examples of vote suppression, so please do continue drawing my attention to them.

I'm sure it will be in full swing come the next UK election, and I'd like to have a library of the techniques we've seen in action, the better to show them up.

That is an excellent idea.

Something else to look forward to next week
When he soils our shores he'll be even more combative and pumped than after Toronto, and giddy about getting to kiss the Putin ring during his one to one schmooze
Bet QE2 and Treeza can't wait.

Josh Dawsey
@jdawsey1
In recent days, Trump has told senior aides he wants to cut United States spending on NATO. He says EU is "worse than China" and is heading overseas in a pugilistic mood. Top advisers are trying to counsel him to be careful. Next week could be interesting.
mobile.twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1015377915826057225

'North Korea shatters Trump's boastful assurances of an easy path to denuclearization'
'Analysis by Andrea Mitchell: The regime's harsh statement illustrates the risk in putting so much stock into last month's ceremonial Singapore summit.'
'.... So far, at least, it appears that early concerns about Trump's Singapore diplomacy were well-founded. In the coming days, it will become clearer how this setback will influence his handling of the next two major foreign policy challenges: next week’s NATO summit, and his meeting with Vladimir Putin days later.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna889596?__twitter_impression=true

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/07/chicago-gun-control-march

......more than 600 fatalities??