As James Clapper, the former director of National Intelligence, put it, Watergate “pales” in comparison to the current political scandal surrounding the White House. For the past six months, the U.S. media has followed the story of Russia’s interference in the 2016 Presidential election—and the question of possible collusion between figures close to Donald Trump and the Kremlin—with vigor, intensity, and the deployment of an extraordinary amount of newsroom resources. In advance of Trump and Putin’s first meeting, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, I decided to ask Russia’s sharpest and most experienced political journalists and investigative reporters what they thought of this coverage.
The Russian media is under nearly omnipresent pressure from numerous entities: political operatives in the Kremlin, who tightly monitor what is said in the press about Putin and the myriad arms of the Russian state; media owners, who neuter coverage and readily get rid of overly ambitious reporters and editors; and financial constraints, namely a small advertising market and a tiny number of readers willing to pay for independent journalism. The result is that the space for independent, muckraking journalism has shrunk further. Yet, even given these many constraints, Russia is nevertheless home to a coterie of talented and self-motivated journalists, who produce work that is courageous and illuminating.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: First things first .... the above New Yorker article says the following ....
.... It appears that the primary sources for many Washington-based reporters are U.S. intelligence agencies, which unanimously concluded that the effort to disrupt the election was directed by Putin and emanated from Russia.
There was no unanimous conclusion .... All 17 Intelligence Agencies Did Not Say Russia Hacked Election, New Update Reveals (Heavy)
Aside from that .... Joshua Yaffa's analysis (and the Russian journalists that he interviews) are spot on in explaining how Putin/the Russian government/ etc. operate. After-all .... I have been saying the same thing forever. In short .... they are not the well oiled machine that many in the West like to believe they are. This is a must read for those who want to understand Russia, and why it is hard for Russians (like myself) to believe that the Kremlin is good enough (and sophisticated enough) that they could actually "hack and influence" an American Presidential election if they want to.
3 comments:
This is confusing. Are the Russians/Putin confused, chaotic, and bumbling dolts or are they sophisticated technical supermen who even the Mossad are jealous?
WNU,
I haven't changed my opinion of Putin's abilities or the rank he occupies in his thinking, but I will repeat also something I've said, at heart he is an opportunist which though is a strategy with drawbacks has stood him well for the last 8 years. Now though comes the reckoning for that strategy and can he make it last and pay off beyond the horizon?
I would add that the echo chamber of this story was throwing around terms like "hacking" without really knowing what they were saying.
The only real hacking crime was Podesta s emails. Russia involvement in that is still unfounded.
The rest available in the ciansafbi report is dubious. No one can honestly believe that a positive article about Trump in RT would sway voters.
jimbrown,
But I have it on reliable anon sources that RT gave a free teddy bear for every Trump vote.
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