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Top 10 Conservative Idiots Minis #2: The Ballad Of Seth Rich Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Minis #2: The Ballad Of Seth Rich Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Please stop asking for a quote on my auto insurance because we both know that ain’t happening! You didn’t really think I was going to leave you hanging for two weeks, did you? Because what kind of host would that make me? Not a very good one if you ask me! So I’m a Ducks fan. Yeah I’m extremely bitter about the ugly loss in Nashville , and we can’t excuse the Nashville fans for murdering ducks and throwing them on the ice. We wouldn’t murder whatever their mascot is and throw it on the ice, would we? No, so stop doing it. It’s not funny. But we also can’t excuse Nick Ritchie going full Inglorious Basterds, either. And if there’s one thing you don’t do – it’s that you don’t go full Inglorious Basterds. That was just wrong. Anyway I’m done with the Predators, Ottawa or Pittsburgh in 4. Enough of the intro, we’re trying to make this one short. But first we have to play the video of John Oliver covering “Stupid Watergate”.
So you know we live in an era where’s there’s just constant fuck ups coming from every single angle of the Trump administration. And we can’t let this go for too long without making fun it. And it’s been a while since we’ve done a mini edition. And really where can you go after doing a 15 round Stupidest State contest with Texas winning it all? It will be hard to top that, but we shall try. But this has just four entries on it, and we will try to keep it short. And by the way – we’re coming back bigger than ever with a new format on June 3rd! New look, same Top 10 taste! So in the number one slot, we have got to talk about Trump’s (1) trip to Saudi Arabia, which was as you can imagine, a total clusterfuck. In the number 2 slot, we’re going to talk about Donald Trump Supporters (2) because, well, they crazy, and there’s a ton of them this week including the guy who got kicked off a United Airlines flight for wearing a MAGA hat, while fundamentalists offer bizarre reasons why The Donald is tanking. In the number 3 slot is Sean Hannity (3) and we have to talk about his cluster fuck involving Seth Rich who was the victim of a horrific murder. Well if you pay attention to Fox News at all, it was a liberal conspiracy! Except it wasn’t. At number 4, since we like to end on the lighter side, we got to talk about the hack of the latest movie in the Pirates Of The Caribbean series! Yes, a movie about pirates got hijacked by actual pirates! That’s so meta! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]Mr. Trump Goes To Saudi Arabia[/font]
Hey everybody! This Tuesday, May 23rd, is World Turtle Day! I wonder how Senate Majority Leader and guy who kind of looks like a cartoon turtle Mitch McConnell feels about that?
Excuse me a minute. So If you’re keeping score at home, at this point in Obama’s first 120 days, he traveled to Ottawa, Canada, London, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Iraq, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. That’s a lot of trips! Which you can all find here. Now contras t that with Trump – who in the first 120 days in his administration has traveled to Mar-A-Lago, Mar-A-Lago, Mar-A-Lago, Mar-A-Lago, Mar-A-Lago, Mar-A-Lago, and just to change things up, a Trump brand golf course in New Jersey. But this week – he made his international debut by going to Saudi Arabia – you know – the country that made religious hatred and beheadings fashionable again – and he did this:
President Trump on Saturday called his first day in Saudi Arabia “tremendous," touting the $110 billion defense deal he signed with Saudi Arabia that day.
In his first remarks to the press after an unusually quiet day spent in the Saudi Arabian royal court, Trump heralded the defense deal he had just signed with Saudi King Salman. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said, according to a White House press pool report. "That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States.”
The White House said the deal will create defense jobs while also reaffirming America's commitment to Saudi Arabia. It will increase Saudi Arabia's defense capabilities, bolstering equipment and services in the face of extreme terrorist groups and Iran, an official said.
"I can't imagine another business day that's been as good for the United States and the Kingdom," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg on Saturday.
Read more: http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/334380-trump-heralds-tremendous-investments-in-us-by-saudi-arabia
In his first remarks to the press after an unusually quiet day spent in the Saudi Arabian royal court, Trump heralded the defense deal he had just signed with Saudi King Salman. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said, according to a White House press pool report. "That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States.”
The White House said the deal will create defense jobs while also reaffirming America's commitment to Saudi Arabia. It will increase Saudi Arabia's defense capabilities, bolstering equipment and services in the face of extreme terrorist groups and Iran, an official said.
"I can't imagine another business day that's been as good for the United States and the Kingdom," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg on Saturday.
Read more: http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/334380-trump-heralds-tremendous-investments-in-us-by-saudi-arabia
Yes, we literally just gave one of the most hostile countries in the Middle East $110 BILLION, yes BILLION with a B, in free weapons and armory! Which country will they invade? Any takers? Will it be Yemen? Or Yemen’s less successful brother Oman? Or it will be Saudi Arabia’s Mexico – UAE? Or will it be Qatar – which in Devin Townsend’s concept album Ziltoid The Omniscient was the centerpiece for the end of the world? Or will it be Syria? Anyone? But here’s the crazy thing about this whole trip. Guess who went with him? Why it’s none other than Toby “Put A Boot Up Their Ass, It’s The American Way” Keith! And if you can guess the all-male concert was a total snoozefest, you are correct! Because no women are allowed out in public in Saudi Arabia!
Donald Trump may not have delivered on all of those manufacturing jobs he promised, but he won’t be arriving at his first overseas visit empty-handed. Instead, our president will show off one of our last remaining American exports: country singers with two first names. When you think great American pop country singers, you probably think Kenny Chesney or Keith Urban. About ten names further down on that list you’ll find Luke Bryan, a man who is occasionally confused with a lesser country act by the name of Toby Keith. And it is Toby Keith—a man who is not, and will never be, Luke Bryan—who will be performing in Saudi Arabia during Trump’s upcoming presidential visit.
Unlike the majority of Toby Keith concerts, which take place at county fairs or un-bookable inaugurations, this performance will occur in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The historic nature of the event—the kingdom has only recently begun to support a select roster of entertainment events and concerts—only makes the sub-par talent more disappointing. It’s depressing enough if a Toby Keith concert is the most fun thing you have planned all weekend—imagine if it’s the most exciting event you’ll be attending all year. According to Saudi entertainment website Lammt, which is promoting the show, the concert will require a formal dress code and will be free of charge. Imagine flying 6,000 miles to Saudi Arabia to play a free concert. Imagine that you live in an ultraconservative society where live shows are few and far between, but you still aren’t willing to pay actual money to see Toby Keith.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/18/toby-keith-to-subject-saudi-arabia-to-an-all-male-welcome-trump-concert
Unlike the majority of Toby Keith concerts, which take place at county fairs or un-bookable inaugurations, this performance will occur in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The historic nature of the event—the kingdom has only recently begun to support a select roster of entertainment events and concerts—only makes the sub-par talent more disappointing. It’s depressing enough if a Toby Keith concert is the most fun thing you have planned all weekend—imagine if it’s the most exciting event you’ll be attending all year. According to Saudi entertainment website Lammt, which is promoting the show, the concert will require a formal dress code and will be free of charge. Imagine flying 6,000 miles to Saudi Arabia to play a free concert. Imagine that you live in an ultraconservative society where live shows are few and far between, but you still aren’t willing to pay actual money to see Toby Keith.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/18/toby-keith-to-subject-saudi-arabia-to-an-all-male-welcome-trump-concert
By the way there is tape of this:
Wow, what a diverse crowd! And Toby Keith didn’t get to play any of his staples, like “Courtesy Of The Red White And Blue”, or any of his songs about drinking like “Whiskey Girl”, or “Beer For My Horses”, or “Beers Ago”, or “Red Solo Cup”, or “I Love This Bar”, or “Drinks After Work” because alcohol is forbidden in Muslim society! Which I’m sure killed him inside. But Trump did do a drive by in a golf cart, because, why not?
President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia took on a decidedly American flavor on Saturday as he rolled through the National Museum in Riyadh in a luxury golf cart with his wife, Melania, and King Salman past a jumbo television screen showing country singer Toby Keith’s concert.
The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner followed in another golf cart, according to a report by The Hill.
All night, the museum live-streamed Keith’s high-profile concert in Riyadh, open only to men, in which he performed alongside a lute player, Bloomberg reported.
Keith performed during Trump’s inauguration festivities earlier this year. Riyadh seemed a less obvious venue, considering that some of his best known hits are about drinking or celebrating the U.S. military. His song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” glorifies the U.S. “war on terror” begun after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/article151819972.html#storylink=cpy
The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner followed in another golf cart, according to a report by The Hill.
All night, the museum live-streamed Keith’s high-profile concert in Riyadh, open only to men, in which he performed alongside a lute player, Bloomberg reported.
Keith performed during Trump’s inauguration festivities earlier this year. Riyadh seemed a less obvious venue, considering that some of his best known hits are about drinking or celebrating the U.S. military. His song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” glorifies the U.S. “war on terror” begun after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/article151819972.html#storylink=cpy
By my favorite thing about this trip – what was Trump doing with the Arab sheiks and that orb? Can we show that?
In reality, Trump had touched the globe as part of an inauguration ceremony for the Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology in Ridyah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Together, the three leaders placed their hands on the globe to start a film about the center.
The newly-opened center has a large TV wall displaying ongoing extremist activity and aims to come together to stop the spread of violent extremism, the Saudi Gazette reports. It will be used to monitor potential threats of terrorism and, through the help of experts, reveal and confront extremist speech.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said his country wants the US to know that they are "not an enemy" and are committed in the fights against extremist groups like Daesh, also known as the Islamic State.
“We are the second army after the US military in the international coalition against terrorism," Al-Jubeir said. "The efforts will be an effective partnership between the Islamic world and the West in general to combat terrorism."
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-orb-globe-saudi-arabia-what-was-it-2017-5
The newly-opened center has a large TV wall displaying ongoing extremist activity and aims to come together to stop the spread of violent extremism, the Saudi Gazette reports. It will be used to monitor potential threats of terrorism and, through the help of experts, reveal and confront extremist speech.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said his country wants the US to know that they are "not an enemy" and are committed in the fights against extremist groups like Daesh, also known as the Islamic State.
“We are the second army after the US military in the international coalition against terrorism," Al-Jubeir said. "The efforts will be an effective partnership between the Islamic world and the West in general to combat terrorism."
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-orb-globe-saudi-arabia-what-was-it-2017-5
Are we sure that’s an orb and not a fidget spinner? Is this Crazy Donnie’s Fancy Fidget Spinners Emporium? Looking for Fidget Spinners? Come to Crazy Donnie’s today! We have all kinds of crazy fidget spinners including this one from Cartier:
What are they doing? Are they summoning the Power Rangers? Trump Rangers!!! GO!!! But I saw some great Photoshops over this, like this one:
And this one:
But then I love that the Church Of Satan had to clarify that what happened on Saturday was *NOT*, and I repeat, *WAS NOT* a Satanic Ritual:
Link to tweet
[font size="8"]Racists In The News[/font]
Remember when that was a scandal? Oh those were the days! And you know after the terrible concert attack in Manchester yesterday, I almost considered not doing this this week, but hardcore conservative conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones – a poster boy for Rageaholics Anonymous, said this in light of the terror attacks:
Jones: Victims are “the same people -- god love them -- on average who are promoting open borders, bringing Islamists in”
ALEX JONES: Trump didn’t just sign a deal for $350 billion over the next decade, the first tranche $105 billion to be paid out in the next year by Saudi Arabia and United States in an arms deal. He transferred to them linkage into a threat fusion center, the biggest in the world that’s been publicly shown. They won’t show the NSA and FBI threat fusion centers, they won’t show the CIA ones either, but they showed this giant center and I covered it earlier tonight, it’s on Infowars.com. So they’re transferred the weapons, they’re transferred the technology, they’re transferred access into the surveillance grid. And less than 24 hours after President Trump finishes that speech, a big bomb goes off at a pop star’s rock concert bombing a bunch of liberal trendies. The same people -- god love them -- on average who are promoting open borders, bringing Islamists in.
Read more: https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/23/alex-jones-criticizes-liberal-trendies-who-were-victims-manchester-terror-attack/216603
ALEX JONES: Trump didn’t just sign a deal for $350 billion over the next decade, the first tranche $105 billion to be paid out in the next year by Saudi Arabia and United States in an arms deal. He transferred to them linkage into a threat fusion center, the biggest in the world that’s been publicly shown. They won’t show the NSA and FBI threat fusion centers, they won’t show the CIA ones either, but they showed this giant center and I covered it earlier tonight, it’s on Infowars.com. So they’re transferred the weapons, they’re transferred the technology, they’re transferred access into the surveillance grid. And less than 24 hours after President Trump finishes that speech, a big bomb goes off at a pop star’s rock concert bombing a bunch of liberal trendies. The same people -- god love them -- on average who are promoting open borders, bringing Islamists in.
Read more: https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/23/alex-jones-criticizes-liberal-trendies-who-were-victims-manchester-terror-attack/216603
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Fuck you Alex. Oh, that felt good. Yeah, fuck you Alex. And fuck you people who still listen to this crap! Seriously, what are we supposed to do? Not have any fun? Just sit and go to work and church? Hell no. That sounds like hell. Never mind that we *LITERALLY ARMED ISIS*, the conservatives would rather just blame liberals like the heartless assholes that they are. But oh if you think Alex Jones’ comments are horrible, it gets worse! Never mind that we just armed the Saudis, and ISIS was getting their weapons and armory from Saudi Arabia (but don’t tell that to the Trumppers, they’ll dismiss it as fake news!), I give you Theodore Shoebat:
Extremist anti-LGBTQ activist Theodore Shoebat posted a video on his website reacting to the terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England last night in which 22 people were killed. Shoebat, who was featured in a radically anti-gay documentary in 2015 along with various Religious Right activists and Republican elected officials, declared that he has no sympathy for those who were killed or injured because they are all “sodomites-lovers” and “sluts.”
“I really have no sympathy for these people,” he said. “The people who died, the people who were injured, the people who were scared out of their minds, who ran away , I really don’t care. The types of people who go to these concerts are the same types of people who are responsible for the degeneracy that you see in society.”
“They go to these concerts dressed up as whores, dressed up as sluts, they’re pro-sodomite, they’re pro-divorce, they’re pro-infidelity,” Shoebat said. “They want evil, they want decay, they want sodomy, they want Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Shoebat then showed photos of “some sodomite lover” who was injured in the bombing as he declared that Ariana Grande “is a nasty, evil woman.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/theodore-shoebat-victims-of-manchester-bombing-were-pro-sodomite-sluts-and-whores/
“I really have no sympathy for these people,” he said. “The people who died, the people who were injured, the people who were scared out of their minds, who ran away , I really don’t care. The types of people who go to these concerts are the same types of people who are responsible for the degeneracy that you see in society.”
“They go to these concerts dressed up as whores, dressed up as sluts, they’re pro-sodomite, they’re pro-divorce, they’re pro-infidelity,” Shoebat said. “They want evil, they want decay, they want sodomy, they want Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Shoebat then showed photos of “some sodomite lover” who was injured in the bombing as he declared that Ariana Grande “is a nasty, evil woman.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/theodore-shoebat-victims-of-manchester-bombing-were-pro-sodomite-sluts-and-whores/
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! By the way, where have I heard the term “nasty woman” before?
Yeah that’s right. What heartless assholes. Both of them. Speaking of heartless assholes, Christian fundamentalists are offering some various and quite fucked up views of why Donald Trump is tanking. Behind door #1 – it’s end times fundamentalist nut job and Doomsday Prepper lifestyle salesman Jim Bakker:
1. Jim Bakker, televangelist
In an interview with Steve Strang of Charisma News on Thursday, Bakker warned of an assassination attempt against Trump, given that “the apocalypse has already begun.”
“There’s going to be an attempt on our president’s life very soon,” he stated. “The world is marching in the streets against our president, and it is a war.”
“This is the first horse of the apocalypse,” Bakker promised. “The apocalypse has already begun.”
According to Bakker, Trump’s opposition is “the spirit of the Antichrist,” fighting back against God’s miracle: the election of Trump. The strongest indicator of end times for Bakker was the cancellation of ABC’s “Last Man Standing” last week. The show starred Tim Allen, an anomalyous Trump supporter in Hollywood. Conservatives have blamed Allen’s political leanings for the show’s cancellation, despite offering no evidence to support their claims.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/right-wing-christians-have-some-insane-theories-about-why-the-trump-presidency-is-imploding/
In an interview with Steve Strang of Charisma News on Thursday, Bakker warned of an assassination attempt against Trump, given that “the apocalypse has already begun.”
“There’s going to be an attempt on our president’s life very soon,” he stated. “The world is marching in the streets against our president, and it is a war.”
“This is the first horse of the apocalypse,” Bakker promised. “The apocalypse has already begun.”
According to Bakker, Trump’s opposition is “the spirit of the Antichrist,” fighting back against God’s miracle: the election of Trump. The strongest indicator of end times for Bakker was the cancellation of ABC’s “Last Man Standing” last week. The show starred Tim Allen, an anomalyous Trump supporter in Hollywood. Conservatives have blamed Allen’s political leanings for the show’s cancellation, despite offering no evidence to support their claims.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/right-wing-christians-have-some-insane-theories-about-why-the-trump-presidency-is-imploding/
Yeah thanks for playing Jim! We have some lovely parting gifts of fear and paranoia for you at the door! Now what’s behind door #2? Why it’s Mississippi pastor Rick Joyner! Tell me discount Jurassic Park founder John Hammond, what say you about this crisis?
2. Rick Joyner, founder MorningStar Ministries
After the Comey memo news broke earlier this week, the Jackson, Mississippi-based pastor took to Facebook to weigh in.
“I think Trump is going to fight,” he predicted. “He’s fighting his own party as much as the other party, he’s fighting in every direction, he’s a fighter, he was made for that… wait and see if he doesn’t prevail.”
Joyner has long attributed Trump’s win to a higher power.
“I believe we have someone even bigger who is setting things up in our country, that it is God himself responding to the prayers of his people, and Trump is being used in an incredible way,” he added.
After the Comey memo news broke earlier this week, the Jackson, Mississippi-based pastor took to Facebook to weigh in.
“I think Trump is going to fight,” he predicted. “He’s fighting his own party as much as the other party, he’s fighting in every direction, he’s a fighter, he was made for that… wait and see if he doesn’t prevail.”
Joyner has long attributed Trump’s win to a higher power.
“I believe we have someone even bigger who is setting things up in our country, that it is God himself responding to the prayers of his people, and Trump is being used in an incredible way,” he added.
Dude… how is Trump being used in an “incredible way”? Besides arming the terrorists and making an ass of himself in Isreal? I mean we don’t even have to point out the irony here. First he touches an orb, now he’s touching a wall.
Which may or may not have caused a giant sink hole to open up at his Mar-A-Lago home away from home:
A large sinkhole has formed in front of Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate belonging to President Trump.
Town officials posted a run-of-the-mill advisory about the sinkhole Monday morning:
"A 4' x 4' sinkhole has formed on Southern Boulevard directly in front of Mar-a-Lago," the traffic alert read. "It appears to be in the vicinity of the newly installed water main. West Palm Beach Utilities distribution crews have secured the area and will most likely need to do some exploratory excavation today."
But where utility workers saw a repair project, the Internet saw a giant opening — for metaphors.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/sinkhole-forms-in-front-of-mar-a-lago-metaphors-pour-in/?utm_term=.44ae558f6a95
Town officials posted a run-of-the-mill advisory about the sinkhole Monday morning:
"A 4' x 4' sinkhole has formed on Southern Boulevard directly in front of Mar-a-Lago," the traffic alert read. "It appears to be in the vicinity of the newly installed water main. West Palm Beach Utilities distribution crews have secured the area and will most likely need to do some exploratory excavation today."
But where utility workers saw a repair project, the Internet saw a giant opening — for metaphors.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/sinkhole-forms-in-front-of-mar-a-lago-metaphors-pour-in/?utm_term=.44ae558f6a95
So is that the miracle Jesus had in mind that preacher #2 predicted? Is this how you “drain the swamp”? Well, most of Florida is technically swamp land. Just saying. But getting back to our main story of Trump supporters what’s behind door #3?
3. Lance Wallnau, motivational speaker
Wallnau, author of God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump and the American Unraveling, believes that women marchers are witches and late-night talk show hosts their “evangelists.”
“It doesn’t matter how good Trump is doing in his first 100 days,” he lamented last week, having dubbed the ongoing Russia investigation “the stupidest, most hilarious thing.”
Wallnau’s solution to the resistance? A mass mobilization of Trump voters.
Wallnau, author of God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump and the American Unraveling, believes that women marchers are witches and late-night talk show hosts their “evangelists.”
“It doesn’t matter how good Trump is doing in his first 100 days,” he lamented last week, having dubbed the ongoing Russia investigation “the stupidest, most hilarious thing.”
Wallnau’s solution to the resistance? A mass mobilization of Trump voters.
That is one of the most insane theories I’ve ever seen. That would be like getting in a fender bender and then causing more fender benders to justify the fender bender you were just in. but logic escapes the Trump supporters. Like this guy who was on a flight on – you guessed it – United Airlines! MAGA!!!!
A United Airlines flight from Shanghai to Newark, New Jersey, made an unscheduled stop at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday due to an unruly passenger, authorities said.
United said the man tried to take another passenger’s seat while boarding in Shanghai. He allegedly refused to move and grew increasingly disruptive.
All passengers had to de-plane at SFO while local law enforcement dealt with the matter.
The man was removed from the plane at SFO before the flight continued on its way to the East Coast. Passengers were delayed more than three hours on the already lengthy flight.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/United-Flight-Makes-Unscheduled-Stop-at-SFO-Due-Unruly-Passenger-423551703.html
United said the man tried to take another passenger’s seat while boarding in Shanghai. He allegedly refused to move and grew increasingly disruptive.
All passengers had to de-plane at SFO while local law enforcement dealt with the matter.
The man was removed from the plane at SFO before the flight continued on its way to the East Coast. Passengers were delayed more than three hours on the already lengthy flight.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/United-Flight-Makes-Unscheduled-Stop-at-SFO-Due-Unruly-Passenger-423551703.html
[font size="8"]Sean Hannity[/font]
We were originally going to make this mini edition 3 entries, but the Sean Hannity / Seth Rich clusterfuck is too crazy and stupid to ignore, so we had to make room for it. We need to get a folk musician here to tell The Ballad Of Seth Rich. And Sean Hannity. I mean just… wow. This what we in the business of armchair journalism like to call “going for broke”. Or when you’re in a gigantic hole, as Sean Hannity currently is, you’re supposed to stop digging. Hannity’s hole is currently half way to earth’s core. He may reach China at this point. We have to talk about the horrifying murder of Seth Rich for a minute. You know he was a DNC employee who was murdered outside his home in Washington DC. But if you’ve seen the Sean Hannity show lately, you know Fox News is trying to push an epic clusterfuck of a conspiracy theory surrounding his death.
A controversial Fox News report about the death of a Democratic National Committee employee last summer — a story that had fueled a conspiracy theory that rocketed across right-wing media, but reportedly embarrassed some of the network’s staffers — was retracted by the network Tuesday afternoon.
The report attempted to tie the death of data analyst Seth Rich — who was shot in what Washington police believe was a botched robbery attempt — to the leak of DNC emails to WikiLeaks, which began publishing them two weeks later. The implication, spelled out most directly by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was that Rich had provided the emails and was assassinated in retaliation or as part of a coverup. The theory was taken up by right-wing sites like Breitbart and Infowars, and pushed by Fox’s Sean Hannity both on the air and on Twitter.
Hannity continued to push the story on Twitter even as Fox News was publishing its retraction.
“On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich,” read the statement. “The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-retracts-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-hannity-vows-press-201903262.html
The report attempted to tie the death of data analyst Seth Rich — who was shot in what Washington police believe was a botched robbery attempt — to the leak of DNC emails to WikiLeaks, which began publishing them two weeks later. The implication, spelled out most directly by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was that Rich had provided the emails and was assassinated in retaliation or as part of a coverup. The theory was taken up by right-wing sites like Breitbart and Infowars, and pushed by Fox’s Sean Hannity both on the air and on Twitter.
Hannity continued to push the story on Twitter even as Fox News was publishing its retraction.
“On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich,” read the statement. “The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-retracts-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-hannity-vows-press-201903262.html
How fucking stupid does this story have to get for it to be retracted by Fox News? I mean this is the network that for 15 years has peddled a war against department stores, conservatives and liberals. Which we covered in Idiots #2-4 in "How Is This Still A Thing". And yes Hannity does fail in his attempt to go full Alex Jones on this story. And I mean even the employees at Fox News are disgusted at Hannity’s attempt at trying to bust open a conspiracy theory of “epic?” proportions.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/22/media/fox-news-staffers-seth-rich-dnc-sean-hannity/
Fox News staffers expressed frustration on Monday that on-air personalities at their network like prime time host Sean Hannity are continuing to peddle a conspiracy theory about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.
"I'm disgusted by it," one Fox News employee told CNN.
The theory resurfaced with a vengeance last week, in part due to an incorrect Fox News story the outlet has yet to retract.* Hannity, along with the hosts of "Fox & Friends," have used their large platforms to push the discredited theory, much to the dismay of the journalists who work at the network. Hannity, who stresses he's not a journalist, posted a flurry of tweets pushing the theory over the weekend. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Fox News contributor who did not respond to requests for comment, floated the theory on the network Sunday.
"It is disappointing because it drags the rest of us down," said a senior Fox News employee, who asked how Fox News leadership could continue to allow Hannity to spread an unproven theory on the network.
Fox News staffers expressed frustration on Monday that on-air personalities at their network like prime time host Sean Hannity are continuing to peddle a conspiracy theory about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.
"I'm disgusted by it," one Fox News employee told CNN.
The theory resurfaced with a vengeance last week, in part due to an incorrect Fox News story the outlet has yet to retract.* Hannity, along with the hosts of "Fox & Friends," have used their large platforms to push the discredited theory, much to the dismay of the journalists who work at the network. Hannity, who stresses he's not a journalist, posted a flurry of tweets pushing the theory over the weekend. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Fox News contributor who did not respond to requests for comment, floated the theory on the network Sunday.
"It is disappointing because it drags the rest of us down," said a senior Fox News employee, who asked how Fox News leadership could continue to allow Hannity to spread an unproven theory on the network.
And then Fox News detracted the whole story after it was proven to be, oh yeah, a giant steaming load of 100% grade A bullshit:
Fox News said it had retracted a story about the murder of Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee staffer who was killed in Washington, D.C. last July and which has provided fodder for Sean Hannity, the network’s longest-serving primetime host. Hannity has in recent days promoted a debunked theory that Rich was killed in exchange for providing internal documents to Wikileaks, prompting statements of outrage from his family.
“On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed,” the network said in a posting online Tuesday. “We will continue to investigate this story and will provide updates as warranted. ”
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/fox-news-retracts-debunked-story-murdered-dnc-staffer-184125665.html
“On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed,” the network said in a posting online Tuesday. “We will continue to investigate this story and will provide updates as warranted. ”
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/fox-news-retracts-debunked-story-murdered-dnc-staffer-184125665.html
But Sean Hannity won’t let it go! He claims to have a “bombshell”. This is why Fake News (*Trump voice*) is such a concern, and Fox News is a huge peddler of fake news bullshit. Maybe even more so than Outbrain, RevContent, and Taboola. But he won’t let it go, and now he’s playing the victim as if he’s the one who didn’t hawk his own bullshit story. And you know his source? None other than king douchebag of the internet – Kim Dotcom!
Kim Dotcom, a New Zealand-based hacker, told Fox anchor Sean Hannity he had evidence to support the Seth Rich conspiracy — and then reportedly tried to hack into Rich’s email.
An in-depth Washington Post story by Dave Weigel, who has been tirelessly documenting the conspiracy that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich was killed because of his contacts with Wikileaks, reports that Rich’s Gmail account, now managed by his father, this week received an email from Mega.com, the website founded by Dotcom:
According to experts and Rich’s family, the emailed invitation from welcome@mega.nz appeared to be an attempt to gain access to Rich’s email. Joel Rich, who maintains his late son’s Gmail account, did not click the link. Meanwhile, Dotcom was promising on Twitter to prove that the younger Rich had been in contact with WikiLeaks — and Fox News host Sean Hannity was telling his 2.37 million Twitter followers to be ready for a revelation.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/kim-dotcom-tried-to-hack-into-seth-richs-email-after-claiming-to-have-evidence-of-conspiracy/
An in-depth Washington Post story by Dave Weigel, who has been tirelessly documenting the conspiracy that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich was killed because of his contacts with Wikileaks, reports that Rich’s Gmail account, now managed by his father, this week received an email from Mega.com, the website founded by Dotcom:
According to experts and Rich’s family, the emailed invitation from welcome@mega.nz appeared to be an attempt to gain access to Rich’s email. Joel Rich, who maintains his late son’s Gmail account, did not click the link. Meanwhile, Dotcom was promising on Twitter to prove that the younger Rich had been in contact with WikiLeaks — and Fox News host Sean Hannity was telling his 2.37 million Twitter followers to be ready for a revelation.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/kim-dotcom-tried-to-hack-into-seth-richs-email-after-claiming-to-have-evidence-of-conspiracy/
And if this whole thing wasn’t more deserving of a Facepalm, guess what? Hannity not only isn’t letting it go, Fox News retracted the story themselves as bullshit (and how often does that happen?), he says “I RETRACTED NOTHING!!!!!”. Like that’s somehow supposed to make it all OK? For those keeping score at home, it’s liberals – 1, Fox News – 0, and Sean Hannity is somewhere between zero and negative infinity.
Fox News’s Sean Hannity ripped his critics and the mainstream media on his nationally syndicated radio program Tuesday, saying, “I am not Fox.com or FoxNews.com, I retracted nothing.”
His reaction came hours after Fox News retracted a story regarding the 2016 killing of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich after massive outcry over sharing conspiracy theories about the 2016 shooting death.
Right-wing news outlets have sought to link — without evidence — the 27-year-old’s death to Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the WikiLeaks release of hacked emails from her campaign and the DNC.
"For those accusing me of pushing a conspiracy theory, you are the biggest phony hypocrites in the entire world," Hannity said Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/334825-hannity-on-seth-rich-coverage-i-retracted-nothing
[font size="8"]Pirates Of Pirates Of The Carribbean: Hackers Troll No Tales[/font]
Can we get some music for this one?
Yeah! So Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales hits theaters this weekend – May 26th, 2017. But did you know that there’s been a battle between Disney and hackers over the movie’s release? Yes it’s quite literally Pirates Of Pirates Of The Caribbean. Subtitle: Hackers Trolll No Tales. And the story and the battle between Disney and the hackers is quite insane. Here’s more.
UPDATED with comments from former hacker: Disney’s upcoming Johnny Depp film Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has been pilfered by ransom hackers seeking payment from the studio. The hackers have demanded an enormous amount of money be paid in Bitcoin. Disney is currently working with the FBI and will not pay.
Although Disney CEO Bob Iger did not reveal which movie the ransom hackers claim to have, he did reveal to ABC employees during a town hall meeting in New York on Monday that the incident had occurred, according to a report. The hackers said they would release bits of the film — in increments — if their demands weren’t met. Deadline learned that it was, indeed, Jerry Bruckheimer’s fifth in the Pirates franchise, which is scheduled for release May 26.
Disney would not comment, but insiders said that the company refuse to pay. This follows the same issue Netflix faced when a ransom hacker spilled out 10 episodes of the next season of Orange Is The New Black when Netflix also refused to ante up.
Hector Monsegur, Director of Security Assessments for Rhino Security Labs and a regular expert on the Science Channel series Outlaw Tech, was a former computer hacker who was arrested and then became an FBI informant. He told Deadline that “attribution is probably the hardest thing the FBI is dealing with here.”
Because the FBI has to track attacks backwards, “It’s nearly impossible because you have various hackers from pretty much anywhere. Also, they are aware of techniques to track them down. So you could have an Egyptian hacker who uses Russian software so it looks like it’s Russian but is actually from Egypt.”
http://deadline.com/2017/05/pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-hackers-ransom-1202094203/
Although Disney CEO Bob Iger did not reveal which movie the ransom hackers claim to have, he did reveal to ABC employees during a town hall meeting in New York on Monday that the incident had occurred, according to a report. The hackers said they would release bits of the film — in increments — if their demands weren’t met. Deadline learned that it was, indeed, Jerry Bruckheimer’s fifth in the Pirates franchise, which is scheduled for release May 26.
Disney would not comment, but insiders said that the company refuse to pay. This follows the same issue Netflix faced when a ransom hacker spilled out 10 episodes of the next season of Orange Is The New Black when Netflix also refused to ante up.
Hector Monsegur, Director of Security Assessments for Rhino Security Labs and a regular expert on the Science Channel series Outlaw Tech, was a former computer hacker who was arrested and then became an FBI informant. He told Deadline that “attribution is probably the hardest thing the FBI is dealing with here.”
Because the FBI has to track attacks backwards, “It’s nearly impossible because you have various hackers from pretty much anywhere. Also, they are aware of techniques to track them down. So you could have an Egyptian hacker who uses Russian software so it looks like it’s Russian but is actually from Egypt.”
http://deadline.com/2017/05/pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-hackers-ransom-1202094203/
You know what this is like? This is like that movie cliché where they go to the president or the head of the CIA or FBI and they say “WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS!!!”. But in fact as the hackers are quickly learning, unlike the ransom demands of terrorists, piracy does not pay. In fact, it probably never will!
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, due out on 26 May, was only 10 days from release when hackers stole a copy from a post-production company in LA.
They demanded a ransom, believed to be $80,000 (£61,700) – peanuts for a franchise that has pulled in $3bn globally. They threatened that, if the ransom wasn’t paid, they would release the film to torrent sites in chunks, carved up like shark bait.
So far, the film world has reacted with a shrug that suggests the digital pirates have scuppered the wrong vessel. It’s a sign that times have moved on. In 2011, BitTorrent accounted for 23% of US broadband traffic. Now, it is 5%. The equilibrium has shifted. There will always be a minority who see torrenting as their birthright; most, though, have moved on to Netflix and the like. Why deal with popups from adult websites and eyeless malware beasties if you can get thousands of films a month in a safe space for less than the cost of lunch?
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
Read more
Family-friendly features are less affected anyway. The Brad Pitt war film Fury was a smash hit on the torrent sites when it was leaked in 2014, yet the remake of Annie, which came from the same cache of films pilfered in the Sony hack, got a fifth of Fury’s downloads. Anything that targets men aged 15-25 still has a life in the torrentlands – other demographics have grown up and moved on.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/shortcuts/2017/may/17/message-to-pirates-of-the-caribbean-hackers-piracy-no-longer-pays
They demanded a ransom, believed to be $80,000 (£61,700) – peanuts for a franchise that has pulled in $3bn globally. They threatened that, if the ransom wasn’t paid, they would release the film to torrent sites in chunks, carved up like shark bait.
So far, the film world has reacted with a shrug that suggests the digital pirates have scuppered the wrong vessel. It’s a sign that times have moved on. In 2011, BitTorrent accounted for 23% of US broadband traffic. Now, it is 5%. The equilibrium has shifted. There will always be a minority who see torrenting as their birthright; most, though, have moved on to Netflix and the like. Why deal with popups from adult websites and eyeless malware beasties if you can get thousands of films a month in a safe space for less than the cost of lunch?
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
Read more
Family-friendly features are less affected anyway. The Brad Pitt war film Fury was a smash hit on the torrent sites when it was leaked in 2014, yet the remake of Annie, which came from the same cache of films pilfered in the Sony hack, got a fifth of Fury’s downloads. Anything that targets men aged 15-25 still has a life in the torrentlands – other demographics have grown up and moved on.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/shortcuts/2017/may/17/message-to-pirates-of-the-caribbean-hackers-piracy-no-longer-pays
So how do you troll the trolls in this case? Well Disney had the best response to this madness, and I think the democrats could take a page when debating with trolls, right wing nut jobs, and your racist uncles everywhere:
When Netflix was hit with a similar threat from a hacker, who goes by the name thedarkoverlord, the company issued a statement confirming it was adamant it wasn’t going to give in to their demands. Like Disney, the company said it was going to work with federal investigators, but made no attempt to try and stop the leak beyond that.
“We are aware of the situation,” a statement from Netflix read. “A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.”
The almost public-facing, laissez-faire attitude Iger and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings have toward the hacks is notable for a couple of reasons. One, people have to assume that things are not as calm behind closed doors. Pirates of the Caribbean and Orange is the New Black are two massive properties for the companies. Disney is going to want to make as much money at the box office as possible, while Netflix isn’t going to want to have to compete with The Pirate Bay for viewers. Secondly, and perhaps most important, both Hastings and Iger have come out in the past against piracy and have commented on how it’s the most destructive force facing their industry.
https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/16/15648504/disney-pirates-caribbean-hack-netflix-orange-new-black
“We are aware of the situation,” a statement from Netflix read. “A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.”
The almost public-facing, laissez-faire attitude Iger and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings have toward the hacks is notable for a couple of reasons. One, people have to assume that things are not as calm behind closed doors. Pirates of the Caribbean and Orange is the New Black are two massive properties for the companies. Disney is going to want to make as much money at the box office as possible, while Netflix isn’t going to want to have to compete with The Pirate Bay for viewers. Secondly, and perhaps most important, both Hastings and Iger have come out in the past against piracy and have commented on how it’s the most destructive force facing their industry.
https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/16/15648504/disney-pirates-caribbean-hack-netflix-orange-new-black
Top 10 Conservative Idiots returns June 7th! See you then!
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