caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/news/the-man-behind-t...-004221154.html The man behind the Trump dossier (now named) was a former British spy and trusted FBI asset Still, U.S. officials said the allegations were not easily dismissed, in part because Steele was a known quantity who had produced reliable information about Russia in the past. “He’s a meticulous professional, and there are no questions about his integrity,” said one U.S. official who has worked with Steele. “The information he provided me [about Russia] was valuable and useful.” A senior law enforcement official declined to talk about the nature of Steele’s relationship with the FBI. But the official confirmed that he was known to the FBI and that the bureau had already obtained copies of his reports months before Sen. John McCain handed FBI Director James Comey a dossier of Steele’s material in December. Asked why a two-page summary of the uncorroborated reports was included as part of last week’s intelligence briefing on Russian hacking, the official said that “it was an intelligence community decision” to do so after officials learned that his reports had been widely circulating among members of Congress and journalists. “It seemed very clear that these were going to see the light of day in the next couple of weeks,” the official said. The conclusion was that “it might be a good idea to tell [Trump] about them before they were publicly released.” The official declined to share U.S. officials’ current thinking about the reliability of the material, saying it is still being investigated. “It’s part of the larger look at the Russian influence campaign,” the official said. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said the decision to include the material in the briefing was justifiable in light of the expectation that it was likely to leak. “Are you going to tell the guy?” Hayden said, referring to Trump. “You almost owe it to him.” Besides the news media, other intelligence services were likely to get their hands on the material. “It’s awkward, but duty kind of dictates that you tell him.” Still, Hayden added, the rules about what intelligence to share — or not share — appear to be shifting in the Trump era. “We’re off the map here,” he said. All that begs the question of what the public should make of Steele’s reports, in light of the “hall of mirrors” atmosphere that surrounds much intelligence reporting about the Kremlin. The format of the reports tracks the writings of professional intelligence reports, with each claim tied to a particular source, even if the sources (per standard procedure) are never identified. Steve Hall, a former top Russia operations officer for the CIA until 2015, said he found aspects of Steele’s reports to be credible, especially as they related to the Kremlin’s plans for hacking the U.S. election. “I find some of it indeed has the ring of truth,” said Hall. But, he added, “other parts of it are problematic.”

The idea that Sean Rodriguez or a Brandon Phillips "rent-a-player" would be blocking Albies long-term seems pretty far-fetched. The Braves are ATTEMPTING to be competitive this year, but they know their window won't begin until 2018 at the earliest, and more likely 2019.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 11, 2017 -> 05:59 PM) I just can't get over the Senator Cotton story that he purposely held back an Obama nomination who had been consistently blocked nad then was dying of leukemia and he still blocked her just because "he knew it would cause Obama pain" https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/07/opinion/...hopes.html?_r=0 There's the classic "inside the Beltway" story...she was to be Ambassador to the Bahamas of all places, Cassandra Butts was her name https://www.yahoo.com/tv/trump-press-confer...-174157523.html A t.v. critic/reviewer takes on the assignment of assessing Trump's first press conference..."A HOSTILE GAS LEAK" Once he began calling on reporters, the salient headline answer would seem to be an admission that “I think it was Russia” that was behind the election-period hacks. Later, on the same subject, Trump gave a slightly incoherent answer about Russian president Vladimir Putin; its meaning slid through his syntax: “He shouldn’t have done it, I don’t believe he’ll be doing it more, now.” And, never one to leave a grudge untended, Trump freshened his oldie about Hillary Clinton: “Does anyone in this room think Hillary would be tougher on Russia than me? Gimme a break.” Dillon’s (Trump lawyer on the conflict of interest "non-issue") news conference interruption was as long and tedious as you’d imagine from any lawyer reading a lot of legal jargon and redundancy (e.g., “he will hire an expert in the field of recognized experts”). It served another purpose: It ate up time, limiting the number of questions Trump would answer. In the conference’s most hostile exchange, Trump refused to take a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta, dismissing him as “fake news.” When the press conference was over, it was left to Jake Tapper to explain the context of Trump’s animosity, and to note that this was nothing less than “an attempt to discredit [a] legitimate news organization.” (note: even FOX NEWS is defending CNN, talk about surreal!) Asked what the impending repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be replaced with, Trump gave the standard Trump-and-Republican Party line of gassy vagueness: “You’re gonna be very, very proud of what we put forth. Obamacare is a complete and total disaster. … it’ll be repealed and replaced … it’ll be almost simultaneous. … It’s very complicated stuff. … We’re gonna take care of health in this country. … We’re going to have a plan that is far less expensive and far better.” In other words, no specific answer. From today’s press conference, it looks as though the Trump Show that debuted during the campaign will continue, with minimal tweaks, into a new season. Same format, same content.

Probably means watching Moncada in another uniform, the wrong Sox?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 11, 2017 -> 05:13 PM) Sen. Tom Cotton on Corey Booker https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/819...src=twsrc%5Etfw Not unlike the Japanese after WWII, someone forgot to send the memo that the Civil War was actually over. And at least Atticus Finch had the good sense to be polite.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 11, 2017 -> 11:36 AM) he's also right here: Luckily, he can't launch any ICBM strikes for 9 days. And luckily for Mexico, Carlos Slim will be spared...."great guy, terrific guy, we're going to do business together, lots of potential deals on the table."

Invoking God...will be the greatest jobs creator ever made by God? What? This is insane. Going after Podesta, taking shots at Hillary and the DNC for their security....nothing is surprising when the day began with comparisons to Nazi Germany. That germaphobe comment to deflect from the golden showers? Nobody cares about his taxes? It's only reporters, sure. Stating over and over again he can't have a conflict of interest....no ties to Russia? Cmon. Eric and Donald Jr. will never talk to him and will be sequestered in a soundproof booth? You'd think he was giving a press conference for winning the Nobel Prize in every possible category. America is doomed.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 11, 2017 -> 09:24 AM) Can't help but read this and realize if this is fabricated info it will serve russian interests in that he will continue to believe any info from them over our own intel. On the other hand, if he continues to completely ignore it....the likes of McCain, Graham, Cruz, Rand Paul, Rubio, etc., will hold his feet to the fire. And how exactly would they prove it was fabricated at this point, anyway? There's just way too much smoke out there now to easily get past it by calling it "fake" news.

Trump is going to get massacred in 35 minutes. No way he keeps his cool.

http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article/213...s-at-mini-camp/ Moncada displays skills at mini camp in Glendale.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/world/eu...ussia.html?_r=0 The murky Carter Page and his ties to Russia.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 10, 2017 -> 09:46 PM) Senate GOP blocks Sanders on preventing entitlement cuts http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/sena...ntitlement-cuts Kudos to Susan Collins, I guess?

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Jan 10, 2017 -> 10:39 PM) Where are we gonna find 8-10 mid-tier prospects? I was just joking. With our recent luck, Trout would probably suffer a Bo Jackson-esque injury.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 10, 2017 -> 10:20 PM) I'd say he is. Braves are probably looking to win in 2018 and may think of themselves as a sleeper for 2017. He's not worth much at all to the Sox, except as currency. The question is whether he's worth more to the Braves than to the Pirates, Astros or Yankees. That, I would doubt. But there's a legitimate case to be made for the White Sox contending in 2019 and 2020 if this plays out the way many are hoping. At least for the moment, it doesn't feel like this trade gets done until June/July.

Can't we just re-sign Micah Johnson and package him in a deal with 8-10 mid-tier prospects for Mike Trout?

Conspiracy Theory: Trump and Pence will both be pushed out of the way for Ryan... Well, at least Pence actually LOOKS like an American president, if they were casting for a new t.v. show. In Pence's favor, he had a long period of time during the run-up to the election where he and Trump were disagreeing with each other other nearly every day. Proving collusion or knowledge, this is becoming like an episode of HOUSE OF CARDS, SCANDAL or DESIGNATED SURVIVOR. Except you have to thrown in the weirdness of Mr. Robot and the Golden Showers to represent the full spectrum of the depravity. All that said, I'll definitely take Ryan as an opponent. He's at least predictable and a true believer, like trying to bring down Ayn Rand or Alan Greenspan philosophically. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/0...stern-interview Until the election, we're bringing you "The Trump Files," a daily dose of telling episodes, strange but true stories, or curious scenes from the life of GOP nominee Donald Trump. If you think Donald Trump is a headache for GOP chairman Reince Priebus, who frequently has to clean up after Trump's inflammatory comments, just imagine what former Reform Party chairman Russ Verney had to go through. Verney led the party during the 2000 election, when Donald Trump briefly jumped into the race for the Reform nomination for president. But that didn't stop Candidate Trump from going on Howard Stern's radio show and putting his then-girlfriend and now-wife Melania on air with the host for a bizarre, creepy, and totally misogynistic interview about life and sex with Trump. When Trump called in to Stern's show on November 9, 1999, the conversation turned to Melania ("a potential first lady," Trump said) and her looks. "Let me talk to that broad in your bed," Stern demanded. So Trump summoned Melania, who was apparently scantily clad and conveniently sitting nearby, to come to the phone. With Stern oozing his creepiest charm, things rapidly got weird. After demanding that Melania "put on your hottest outfit" for a Stern-Trump night on the town, Stern asked Melania what she was wearing right then. "Uh, not much," she replied. Stern pressed on: "Are you naked? Are you nude?" Melania laughed. "Almost," she said. "Ahhh, I've got my pants off already," Stern groaned. Dropping his voice, Stern asked about how often Melania and Trump had sex and how good it was. "We have a great, great time," she said, claiming that she and Donald did the deed "even more" than daily. "I can tell you need love," Stern told her. Other topics of the interview included whether Melania stole cash from Trump's wallet, what she wore to the beach, and her "very nice chest for a model." Trump apparently had no problems with Stern's racy questioning of his then girlfriend. "Oh man, she's naked there, isn't she?" Stern asked when Trump got back on the phone. "She is actually naked," Trump said. "It's a thing of beauty." In a version of the interview clipped by BuzzFeed News, Stern begged Trump to have sex with Melania on air to boost his ratings. "Wouldn't that be nice?" Trump replied. Someone in Stern's studio then launched into a crude impression of Melania having sex with Trump. "Please, Donald, don't put it there!" he cried in a fake accent as Stern's crew—and Trump—collapsed into laughter. The New York Post also reported that, during the interview, Trump told Stern he frequently "mentally" felt up Melania in public. But the sex- and harassment-filled radio appearance didn't exactly strike Trump as a bad move. "Is this your average interview, Robin, for a presidential candidate?" he proudly asked Stern's co-host before weighing on the role of hotness in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. "There are those that say that if President Clinton was caught with a supermodel, he would have been everyone's hero. Now, of course, I would never say a thing like that, but there are those that say that." "President Trump will be a reality," Stern said as Trump signed off. "Thank you, Mr. President."

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 10, 2017 -> 09:33 PM) Is there a law that requires he get intelligence briefings prior to the inauguration? If he's involved in treasonous acts then the CIA and FBI should be investigating without informing him. Isn't that what the FISA warrants are supposedly for? This is getting really crazy with the administration change-over...and clock now ticking with less than 10 days. I wonder if Obama a decade now will come to regret both the FBI and Russian angle not getting more attention until it was too late? Of course, history would have judged him as gifting the election to Clinton (although it looked like she really was going to win after the Billy Bush/Access Hollywood shot across the bow), but his efforts to be "overly objective/non-partisan" while the FBI were doing the opposite are ultimately going to end up in the social safety net/ObamaCare he spent two decades fighting for being torn into pieces.

But what is the case for Q being worth MORE to the Braves than to the White Sox? They're not going to be competing in 2017. He's not especially marketable. The Braves won't give us any players who will be helping the White Sox to contend until at least 2018, but more likely 2019. I'm just not seeing the case (because most of the assets outside of Albies and Maitan are pitchers, and obviously Swanson's not going anywhere) for trading for a handful of potential Q's unless the scouting department is 100% on board. And it doesn't make sense for the Braves to try to "jumpstart" the rebuilding by a year or two by gutting their system to do so. The timing should be more looking at the 2019 season (just like the White Sox) with Harper presumably leaving the Nats and the Mets' pitching having left (Harvey) or broken down.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/201...-to-know-214520 Here's What America Needs to Know About Trump and Russia Much better, in-depth story...since this whole issue is back in the spotlight and certainly not going away.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibaba-p...&yptr=yahoo Jack Ma/Alibaba and Trump meeting, Don't Believe the 1 million new US jobs claim for even a moment http://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-doesnt...-005840191.html

Well, as far as this goes, I would argue Prague/Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine are even WORSE, but there's so much money in Moscow and St. Petersburg that it attracts all the worst elements of society. Not to mention Trump chose wives from the Czech Republic and Slovenia, former Russian bloc countries. He DEFINITELY has a type, which is the blonde and Barbie doll/plastic surgery look. Nancy O'Dell fits, too. One also has a feeling that Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton, Trump and a "special" private jet are going to be back in the news quite often in the coming days. Perhaps Trump feels protected or insulated on that front because he knows that he can bring Bill Clinton down with him. Now how that helps him as sitting president/president-elect, the only thing I can think is that he's hoping and praying he can get through the inauguration on January 20th in order to shield himself through executive privilege.

I guess the GOP will also try to discredit this by making ties to "pro-Clinton" groups and use the 'ol political witch hunt line to try to dismiss everything that's attempting to stick to the wall. Someone needs to do one of those Sox "future payrolls" spreadsheets but put together a bulletin or whiteboard (think Sherlock Holmes in Elementary) of all the various Russian ties and attempting to link them all together in a spiderweb of conflicts. http://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-trump...s-russia-531386 Here's a pretty decent summary from about a month ago, but a bit superficial feeling now. You've got Manafort, Tillerson, Cohen, Michael Flynn, etc.

Someone already got forcibly removed from the Sessions AG hearings. Modern-day Atticus Finch, for sure. Two more arrested. That makes for three. Four.

If only Hillary had the courtesy to win like she was supposed to back in 2008, then we'd have 8 years of Obama now!

It's irrelevant unless it was Moncada and Benintendi. But if it was Devers and Benintendi...that would be a bit disappointing.