back to article Criticize Donald Trump, get your site smashed offline from Russia

It has been an odd day for Newsweek – its main site was taken offline after it published a story claiming a company owned by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump broke an embargo against doing deals with Cuba. The magazine first thought that the sheer volume of interest in its scoop was the cause for the outage, but …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wish I had the literary dexterity to properly lambaste Trump to the degree that he deserves, because the more I think about him the more my vocabulary degrades into four letter swearwords, repeated over and over, and I don't want to stoop to the level of his supporters so I'll just end with a line from the literary genius of others; he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Don't worry ... Trump does it himself

      During the debate, Trump said very little about Alicia Machado. The most memorable line was "Where did you find this?" (It is in a book he "wrote"). Afterwards, Trump went on a Twitter rant. Clearly he did a porn search, found lot of results but did not understand that occasionally the porn industry is not completely honest about who is in their videos.

      During the debate Trump also falsely claims to have been against Iraq war 2 from the start. He also claimed that Hillary's staff started the "Obama not born in the US" lies and the he stopped his birtherism claims on September 2016 because Obama published his birth certificate in 2011. (Trump has a real problem with dates, blaming Hillary for things done by President Cheney Bush.)

      I am sure we can expect a continuous stream of anti-Trump stories direct from the man himself all the way up to the election.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      I wish I had the literary dexterity to properly lambaste Trump

      So do I. As I do not, I read Marina's rants:

      What Citizen Trump can’t stand – the story is of Melania, not him

      Nigel Farage: from Brexit hero to Trump’s little helper. That’s some career path

      Some of the best stuff written on the subject - I give it my kids as a reading material: "Learn how to be insulting on a Gigaton scale without using a single swear word".

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      > the more I think about him the more my vocabulary degrades into four letter swearwords, repeated over and over, and I don't want to stoop to the level of his supporters

      Hasn't it generally been the people protesting Trump's candidacy that are the ones constantly screaming obscenities at peaceful rally-goers?

      1. Hollerithevo

        a.c.

        No, it has not.

      2. Rich 11

        peaceful rally-goers

        Aren't those the ones with the concealed-carry permits?

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Ha ha, no that's not what happens at all.

        But nice try.

        In fact those "peaceful rally-goers" have physically attacked non-violent protestors on numerous occasions. You can actually look this stuff up.

    4. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      " wish I had the literary dexterity to properly lambaste Trump to the degree that he deserves,"

      how brave of you, A.C. - multi-downvotes from me ( but only one was counted )

    5. Oh Homer
      Mushroom

      Don't worry, no eloquence required

      Trump's a white-collar gangster.

      It's that simple.

      Sadly he's far from unique, except in the sense that he's too stupid to know when to keep his mouth shut.

      I'm not sure that makes him any worse than the rest, just more conspicuous. More worrying is the fact that this particular loud-mouthed, white-collar gangster is probably about to occupy the greatest position of power on Earth.

      There can be only one of two outcomes: either his obnoxiousness completely isolates America, crushing American hegemony once and for all, or ...

      Well, you know the rest.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Don't worry, no eloquence required

        "Trump's a white-collar gangster.

        It's that simple."

        I thought he was a deep sleeper agent for Putin. Once elected, he'll dismantle the military and give Putin all the passwords for the innernets.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "get your site smashed offline from Russia"

      They must have pretty minimal DOS protection if traffic from a 3rd world country like Russia causes them problems...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Despair

    If he wins I'm gonna have to figure out where, exactly, I can move to escape all possible fallout (in any sense)

    This ddos is quite sinister, unprovable but suspect as Saville in an orphanage.

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Despair

        I suggest the good doctor hide under the bed. It's traditional in these cases.

        1. Captain Badmouth
          Big Brother

          Re: Despair

          "I suggest the good doctor hide under the bed. It's traditional in these cases."

          What? With all those commies? WTF?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Despair

            Excuse me, there's no room under this bed. My friend Jeremy has his pals over ....

    2. Notas Badoff
      WTF?

      Re: Despair

      I'm using this election as a worst-case benchmark - what proportion of people are simply irremediably stupid/antisocial/uncaring in voting.

      My thought until now has been that about 1/3 of the people will always vote Republican just'cuz daddy did and about 1/3 of the people will always vote Democrat cuz'justice! Thus there really is just a small middle portion of the voters that can actually be influenced.

      Now take away those that will vote based on some cutesy sound-bite like "I'm a uniter, not a divider" and you realize everything hinges on maybe a fifth to a sixth of people who can be influenced *rationally*.

      Hell, there are even people who _will_ vote for a candidate that can't think of a single foreign leader!! And *they* swear they are the *most* rational!

      I think America ought to take out the part of the constitution that says a candidate for president must be native-born. America desperately needs to import brains!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Despair

        I think that so far the American people have proven to not really care about the alleged brainpower of their candidates. Case in point, The Orange Man (c) does not really strike me as an intelligent person. In the past, elected presidents have often been proven to be the intellectual runt of the litter.

        Unfortunately we can safely state that even if you import the top 10 of intelligent, educated, empathic and suitable candidates for the post of president of the US they wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of being elected.

        Equally unfortunately, the situation is much the same in the rest of the world.

        The problem lies not with inferior candidates. It is inferior voters.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Despair

          I wonder who the lone nuts down voting me and you are? Russian hackers who can't figure out my password?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Despair

            Haha, more thumbs down.

            God forbid you aren't delirious enough to think Trump and anyone who supports him is a dangerous loon.

            1. GrumpenKraut
              Pint

              Re: Despair

              > Haha, more thumbs down.

              Never mention the d*wnvotes, they tend to wake up and come after you, irrespective of what you have written.

              Upvote & pint for balance ---------->

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Unhappy

          Re: Despair ; The problem lies not with inferior candidates. It is inferior voters.

          that's my real issue with modern democracy

          1. P. Lee

            Re: Despair ; The problem lies not with inferior candidates. It is inferior voters.

            The candidates aren't inferior, they just have different objectives from the voters and the parties have worked really hard to create such polarisation and institutional inertia, that apathy is the natural response to two bad candidates, neither of whom would change anything. Which is what those with large purses want.

            So people vote for the firework display.

        3. SL1979

          Re: Despair

          This is exactly why I get simultaneously excited and depressed when I think about someone like Neil DeGrasse Tyson running for President. Yeah, he would in all likelihood, be one of the most sensible, logical, rational candidates that I could ever hope for in a contender. However, that being said, most Americans, judging by the lack of critical thinking during this three-ring circus of an election process, don't have any desire for logic, reason, sensibility, moderation, or diplomacy. That's seriously one of the most depressing things about the human race, at this moment in history. We can send a man to the moon, but we can't harness the power of critical thinking when it comes to electing people who are, one way or the other, chosen to represent us. You know, the government that exists to represent our best interests. We've forgotten about the government that was designed, with the intention of said elected officials actually being elected to be representatives of their constituency -- of the people, by the people, and for the people.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Despair

        Based on recent UK experience ... 52%

    3. Voland's right hand Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Despair

      There is no place on Earth which will remain unaffected once a person with his temperament and mental faculties has been given access to the launch codes.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "given access to the launch codes"

        The man carrying 'The Football' will know that the launch codes in the briefcase will have been replaced with a stun gun and a straight-jacket. He'll have strict orders to disable and hog-tie President Trump in any such case.

        Trump would be bundled off, disappeared and subsequently impeached.

        Trump is unstable. The military leadership aren't going to take orders from a nutter. The Pentagon generals probably have plans for a lovely dinner on any given evening; and they'll not have those plans ruined by an unnecessary thermonuclear war.

        There are 'humans in the loop' for a reason.

        1. Tom Paine
          Mushroom

          Re: "given access to the launch codes"

          Well, you *could* be right - I hope to god you are! - but how would you be prepared to bet your life on it? What 7 billion lives?

          Icon for illustrative purposes only.

        2. veti Silver badge

          Re: "given access to the launch codes"

          So, the best you can find to say of Trump is that he wouldn't be allowed to do anything in office, and would lead instead to a military coup in the USA?

          Now there's something to look forward to.

    4. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: Despair

      Cape Breton if Trump Wins.

      http://cbiftrumpwins.com/#intro

      I'm not sure if it's outside the fallout zone. Probably not.

      But it's quite lovely, and 99.44% Trump free.

    5. Tom Paine

      Re: Despair

      Bit of a tangent.

      I've thought about that. Put yourself in the position of a missile command planner working on targets for an all-out attack (whether retaliatory or first-strike). Looking at the UK, for instance: Obviously London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow,.. all the major cities. You can work down the list by order of population. Then chuck in any significant infrastructure and known military sites. You're probably now looking at a map that's mostly obliterated by large red circles. I imagine the only bits left would be some of central Wales, some of Northumbria, the Highlands.

      Now you have 400 more wild-card warheads to try to catch all the military bases, command bunkers, missile silos and whatnot that you *don't* know about.

      (Oh yeah, and consider that Cork, say, or Limerick might make a usable base for any RN vessels or surviving NATO aircraft returning to find the UK a smoking cinder.)

      AFAICT your best bets are sub-Saharan Africa or South America, being sure to keep at least 50 - 100km between you and the nearest city. Prevailing winds would also be a factor (though who knows what the nuclear winter would do to ocean basin / continent scale climates?)

      Then you have to consider not only the standard survivalist stuff about food, fuel, water and other consumables, but also consider the Montana model of rampaging mobs of starving radioactive survivors hunting for signs of people with stashes of food, fuel, water,.. d'you want to rely on hiding? Or defending yourself with force? You're almost immediately into Bond villain levels of insanity; it's just not practical. Much better to make sure you're within a few miles of major targets so you get vapourised nice and quickly before you know what's going on. Sleep well!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Despair

        @Tom Paine. - yep. during my teens the fact that the Cold War was going on didn't make my depression any worse after I noted that where I lived was almost equidistant from 3 or4 RAF bases.Allowing for multiple warheads and misses, I'd probably have been vapourised, so it wasn;t worth thinking about surviving that I just concentrated on mundande stuff. Always a silver lining...

    6. Jeffrey Nonken

      Re: Despair

      I keep thinking about Iceland.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Trump will win

    For the similar reasons that Brexit happened: because a sizeable number of people are getting very fed up being told how little and stupid they are, how their views don't matter, are wrong all the time by people like us - why do always we think we know better? - and 'the media' - an aloof set of deeply arrogant and rigid people who all have the same opinions and who tolerate no disagreement and no deviation - getting spiteful, childish or just plain vicious if anyone dares to question that their narrative is not the only one. It's not even the most common one.

    Trump will win mainly because he's not Clinton, who talks the (perfectly focus group scripted) talk very well, and can sure reel off plausible sounding statements as if they were facts, but has done nothing for anyone ever but herself and her very ill looking husband. Clinton is in it entirely for herself. Trump is in it just for him. They both have deep, fundamental and troubling issues, shall we say.

    Before the downvotes start, this is not an endorsement; it's a prediction.

    I don't envy America's choice one bit.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      Re: Trump will win

      OTOH, there are a lot of Americans who are Republican through and through who are not going to vote for DT simply because it is DT and they regard him as unsutable to be President.

      His rants about a woman who my have appeard in a porn film and dared to speak up against him are pitiful but large parts of (Sad to say this) 'Trailer Trash American' will lap it up. Many of them won't vote for Hillary because she is a woman and they still think that a woman's place is in the home.

      Sad to say, I think he will win and that won't be good for anyone but Trump and his pal Putin.

      Just watch Dr Strangelove for my opinion of him.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Trump will win

        I think Idiocracy is more appropriate

        Even the guys behind the film are dismayed to find their predictions of the far future realised in only a decade.

        1. innominatus

          Re: Trump will win

          Anyone seen Scott Adams' blog (dilbert.com) for a view on why Trump has got this far?

      2. Dr_N

        Re: Trump will win

        "OTOH, there are a lot of Americans who are Republican through and through who are not going to vote for DT simply because it is DT and they regard him as unsutable to be President."

        Don't kid yourself.

        You think America will just roll over and let England win the "Dumbest Vote Result 2016" award without a fight?

        1. BongoJoe

          Re: Trump will win

          United Kingdom != England

          <sigh />

          1. Dr_N

            Re: Trump will win

            "United Kingdom != England"

            In a post brexit world we can (and should) start seeing people using "England" more where as before they would have used "UK" or "GB".

            Fair's fair.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Trump will win

            "United Kingdom != England"

            United Kingdom ~= England

            The other bits are nowhere near as significant in pretty much any context....

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Trump will win

      Stopped reading after Brexit

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Stop

        Re: Trump will win

        Failure to even find out about the view of others is why we are where we are, AC. For all your smugness you're just another contributing factor. Your sort pretty much guarantee Trump's sort.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Trump will win

        "Stopped reading after Brexit"

        You've read nothing since 23rd June? Impressed.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Trump will win

          just to be clear, the Daily Fail doesn't count as reading .....

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Trump will win

        "Stopped reading after Brexit"

        That's strange. I know a few people who stopped reading anything intelligent a long while before voting for it

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Trump will win

      Bit alarmed you spent more of that post lambasting Clinton.

      Not that she's sound- I get the unmistakable air of sociopath - but on a Trump topic and the fact it's Trump means he should get an 80/20 share of any shellacking and unfortunately Hillary remains the only one worth voting for.

    4. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Trump will win

      For the similar reasons that Brexit happened: because a sizeable number of people are getting very fed up being told how little and stupid they are

      Not quite. Everything which they were told about "the interest of British Industry" was phrased literally as "in the interest of the Fat Cats".

      Even if the people were _NOT_ going to vote Exit, the way the advantages were presented to them alienated them straight away. Not surprising, considering that the "Remain" campaign head was more or less an exclusive Fat Cat club. Even if they truly wanted to present an argument geared towards the intended audience, they would have been unable to so as they have no clue what to say as they have never earned an honest living in their entire life. Pretty much every single one of them. They presented THEIR argument all right. With the expected result.

      That is slightly different (and not in a good way) from Clinton vs Trump. Clintons have a record in providing "interests of the industry" (NAFTA, TTIP, etc) which Joe Assembly Line worker associates with Fat Cats getting fatter and him getting poorer. She has, however, turned 180 degrees on that now so at the very least she is not trying to do the Fat Cat argument any more. However, with her record so far that may be worse than trying to present the non-Fat Cat arguments as what she has done is not forgotten and she now looks to be insincere about it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Trump will win

        @Volands righ hand - well said! it pains me how many that were in the Remain camp still don;t get that the problem was mainly that all we ever heard was that the EU and immigration was good for the economy. And so they have been, but the trouble is that what the bulk of us have seen in the UK is the fat cats getting fatter and austerity for the rest of us, and a complete refusal to admit that there can be a negative side to immigration if too many of the immigrants are not well integrated. with the native society.

        Trouble is the Fat Cats want to have the benefits of untrammeled immigration ( cheaper production costs for them) without paying for the necessary to ensure that immigrants are helped to settle in and integrate. It;s that irresponsibility that, IMO caused the Brexit vote to go the way it did. And it look slike a lot of folk throughout Europe feel teh same way to.

        To equate that with the current US election though is, I feel misguided. We were asked a stupid question by someone who should've known better had he been doing his job properly (NB: I may not like Cameron, but I don;t think he's stupid. Misguided, maybe), whereas America is being asked to choose between two people who are,it would seem, merely contesting which is least worst choice to rule the roost. That's rather a different scenario.

    5. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Trump will win

      "this is not an endorsement; it's a prediction."

      I certainly HOPE you are RIGHT! Mega-thumbs-up for the honesty, at least.

      because, the aftermath of another Clint-stone occupying the white house would be *HIDEOUS*. 4 more years of the "Obaka" garbage, *AND* *THEN* *SOME*. Remember, Her Royal Heinous, Mrs. Clint-stone, was too frightening in 2008 to win the primary against OBAKA...

    6. Daniel B.

      Re: Trump will win

      Actually, Trump will lose thanks to the Electoral College. You don't really need a majority vote, you just need enough states to go for one candidate to win. Trump managed to piss off enough states to make a Hillary win a sure thing.

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: Stop Reading after Brexit vote.

        Absolutely. That's one Berkshire town that's too big for its boots.

    7. Tom Paine

      Re: Trump will win

      a sizeable number of people are getting very fed up being told how little and stupid they are, how their views don't matter, are wrong all the time by people like us

      I concur up to a point. That in itself (the whole of the sentence, not just the bit I snipped) is not in itself sufficient to lead to recklessly "what have we got to lose?" type voting, per Trump, Brexit & so on. Those people must also (1) lack the imagination or the cultural memory needed to realise that actually, yes they HAVE got something to lose - quite a lot more than they might think, in fact. I suspect the good people of Sunderland will be gradually coming to terms with that over the next two decades or so. Alternatively, (2) they need to be so lacking in critical thinking skills that they fall for obvious lies. Pick the examples of your choice, there are lots. This factor can be mitigated by teaching critical thining, how to "read" the mass media, the nature of politics and democracy, etc etc at secondary schools -- properly teach, I mean, not a couple of hours towards the end of the fifth year. That could conceivably happen here, with a fair wind and the right politicians happening to get into power for a few years; but can you imagine the ruckus if Congress tried to pass federal laws mandating it on the syllabus in the US? Not a cat in hell's chance.

    8. Bruce Ordway

      Re: Trump will win

      >>What do we have to lose?

      I'm reminded of the time Jesse Ventura was elected governor of my own state, Minnesota.

      There was an enormous sweep of national elections by Democrats right after the Nixon resignation too. The good news for me is that the U.S. has a history of surviving elections skewed by angry, dissatisfied voters.

      I'm wondering how much damage Trump could do? I just don't see him getting enough support from those in government. Sure, I think he's half nuts and would screw some things up... but, how bad?

      I view this election in the same light as I do Brexit. Hoping everything will work itself out, so people will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.

    9. JLV

      Re: Trump will win

      Doubt it. Americans may be a bit self-centered and self-congratulatory, but it is hard to imagine a country with 50% female voters and 38% non-whites

      https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/

      voting in a general, not primary, election for a patrician pretending to be a pleb and fortunately doing his best to limit his appeal to white males.

      I.e. It may be unpopular in El Reg forums to say so, but I don't believe our southern neighbors are that stupid.

      I have a bottle of good single malt riding on a 53/47 Hillary win, so not unbiased ;-)

      I am more curious about the Rep 2020 primary organisation. Will The Cruz show his ugly ass again? Or will the Reps manage to field someone electable, in order to avoid perma-Dem presidencies?

    10. veti Silver badge

      Re: Trump will win

      "this is not an endorsement; it's a prediction."

      Unfortunately for you, that prediction is an endorsement.

      Trump doesn't have a "campaign" in the traditional sense of a platform of policies for which he's trying to build support. His plan has been from the start to spray out contradictory statements, and silly ideas that he can later say were obviously implausible and could never have been meant literally in the first place, with the result that it's impossible to criticise his policies without sounding like an idiot (because in order to do so, you have to take him seriously).

      Instead, he's built a campaign on a narrative in which his eventual triumph is inevitable, because he's the "hero" of this story. (That other Trump tool, Scott Adams, has that much right.) The more often people repeat "He's going to win, I can just see it's gotta happen, even if all rational people brick their pants at the idea", the more likely it becomes that he will win.

      If you genuinely don't want him to win, don't make that prediction.

    11. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Trump will win

      M A G A

      It will be entertaining to see the next 8 years of hand-wringing by all the cucked commentards.

  4. Mystic Megabyte
    Unhappy

    What an shallow fool!

    There must be some way to eliminate DT from the presidential race on the grounds that he is not mentally competent for the job. Putin must be laughing his head off, he'd love DT to be president. He could twist DT around his fingers by just using flattery and taking him to swanky places.

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: What an shallow fool!

      LOL - Mental competency is not a requirement for the presidency any more than it's needed to be elected, or become Prime Minister in the UK. Democracy relies on the theory that you can't fool all of the people all of the time and I believe that this is what will save America in November.

      As for the Newsweek attack - this has the smell of Trumps "hackers in their bedrooms" about it. It's hard to believe that any state sanctioned service wouldn't see this as simply generating more publicity for the other side - it's most likely of Russian origin unless someone is very carefully curating their 'bot net to pull the wool over our eyes.

      Anyway - Kudos to the hackers, it made me read the story which I would not have bothered with otherwise.

      1. Naselus

        Re: What an shallow fool!

        " it's most likely of Russian origin unless someone is very carefully curating their 'bot net to pull the wool over our eyes."

        I wouldn't jump to that assumption. Most compromised PCs in the world are in Russia and China - the general population are bad at updating their PCs, many are still using out-dated operating systems, and the consumer market there is not as bothered about using antivirus/antimalware protection. So any botnet tends to have over-representation from those nations.

        1. veti Silver badge

          Re: What an shallow fool!

          Not really true. I mean, it's true of China, but much less so of Russia. If that were the reason, then the attack should be Chinese-dominated, not Russian-dominated.

          The Russians, from what I've seen, are - as a country - actually pretty good at infosec.

          1. Naselus

            Re: What an shallow fool!

            "The Russians, from what I've seen, are - as a country - actually pretty good at infosec."

            Not really, no.

            There's a divide. Russia has some really great infosec experts - almost all of whom either work at Kaspersky Labs, or are criminals - and a very good offensive state hacking capability (probably fourth or fifth in the world, comparable to the UK or China but behind the US and Israel). They're pretty much world-class when it comes to infosec specialists, and most of the world's most wanted hackers are Russian.

            But the general population have very poor understanding of infosec, few resources to implement it, and a thriving piracy and warez culture. China's in a similar boat, but makes a poor launch point for DDOS due to the great firewall (most Chinese-based DDOS attacks are done via Brazilian and Russian botnets). Brazil is the country that closest matches Russia in this regard, and has a similarly disastrous level of malware infestation.

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: What an shallow fool!

      "He could twist DT around his fingers by just using flattery and taking him to swanky places."

      More likely, manipulate "Her Royal Heinous" Mrs. Clint-stone by donating MONEY to the Clint-stone foundation...

      Trump just does what Trump wants to do. At least he's honest about that.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What an shallow fool!

        > Trump just does what Trump wants to do. At least he's honest about that.

        No. DT is not honest about anything. He will do what he wants to do, but he is telling his supporters what they want to hear, which is a completely different thing. For example he tells that he will bring jobs back to America, while, in fact, he is getting his companies to get work done offshore. He tells that he will spend billions on getting things done, while also reducing the taxes so there will be no money to spend (meanwhile he fiddles his charities so he doesn't pay taxes at all).

        He thinks that getting away with being dishonest is 'being smart'. He has certainly fooled you, along with the rest of his supporters.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What an shallow fool!

      "There must be some way to eliminate DT from the presidential race on the grounds that he is not mentally competent for the job. Putin must be laughing his head off, he'd love DT to be president."

      Pure irony. You suggest the old tried-and-true Soviet method of handling dissidents be applied to Trump (in order to render him non-dangerous, like he was a bomb), and in the same breath suggest the current leader of Russia wants Trump to win as part of some global chess game.

      I'm afraid I can't follow any more of the loops in your pretzel logic, might get a headache. But maybe as a favor you could explain how you justify wanting to commit some politician you disagree with to the loony bin? I don't accept your assertions of Trump's insanity, by the way. No real evidence has come forward of such a thing, unless you take the rantings of Mrs. Clinton at face value.

      Hmmm, maybe you think Trump just "isn't suited' to the job, somehow? But the most evil and corrupt person to ever run for the presidency IS?

      1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

        @Little John

        You may have difficulty, but the rest of us can spot a narcisist when he displays the symptoms so clearly. We do not normally commit narcisists to mental institutions - unless you count the house of commons here or the senate/congress there. Narcisists are skilled at persuation, but not good at signing cheques on pay day.

        Have you considered driving for Uber?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Meh

          Re: @Little John

          I love how you make the entire world (other than me) into supporters of your particular world view. Have you ever stopped to think that might not be true? That many (or even most) people DON'T subscribe to your particular beliefs? Indeed, that they might find your presumptuous attitude offensive? I guess not.

          BTW, note that I have not abused your user name. Tsk.

      2. Rich 11

        Re: What an shallow fool!

        But the most evil and corrupt person to ever run for the presidency IS?

        It amazes me how soon people forget the likes of Nixon.

        1. HausWolf

          Re: What an shallow fool!

          Well, that and war criminal Cheney never ran for President.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What an shallow fool!

      The Republican party need a win- they figure Trump can do it for them. After he's elected they can get rid of him and replace him with a minion of their choosing.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What an shallow fool!

      "eliminate DT from the presidential race on the grounds that he is not mentally competent for the job"

      Seeing as Bush got elected, it seems unlikely that mental competency is even a requirement....

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's interesting to point out that much of the attack sourced from Russia.

    Who's really in charge in Russia? While it's not impossible it was state sponsored, reality is that lot of what goes on is controlled by the criminal underworld, people who'll do anything for a fee. So the real question is "who's paying the fee?"

    AC so I'm not next on the hit list

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Pirate

      Russian govt apparently doesn't like Mrs. Clinton

      "It's interesting to point out that much of the attack sourced from Russia."

      I don't think Russians are pro-Trump, per-se, they're more likely to be "anti-Clinton".

      http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/31/russian-television-shows-what-kremlin-thinks-clinton.html

      "it was enough to watch Russian state television coverage of her accepting the Democratic nomination."

      "Viewers were told that Clinton sees Russia as an enemy and cannot be trusted"

      etc.

      So, if there's a motivation behind any state-sponsored hacking from Russia, this might be it.

      1. Mark 85

        @bombastic bob -- Re: Russian govt apparently doesn't like Mrs. Clinton

        You're probably right. Today's news that many high-ups in various agencies think the Russians were/are behind the DNC hack and then there's Newsweek getting DDoSed. I wouldn't be surprised if they think Trump is their "boy". Judging from recent statements (maybe true, maybe false) the Russians are interested in a Trump win.

        The real question is... why would the Russians want Trump to win?

        1. zebthecat

          The real question is... why would the Russians want Trump to win?

          Pretty obvious that one:

          Trump and Putin have been acquaintences for a while.

          Trump is rowing back on the US's NATO article 5 commitments (collective defence).

          Trump thinks Russia didn't invade eastern Ukraine (even though they admitted it).

          Trump is, by nature, an isolationst.

          All this would give Russia a free hand in foreign policy to carry on its military adventurism unchecked by the US. Trump's comments on article 5 could potentially leave the Baltic states vulnerable to an invasion similar to Ukraine

  6. Unicornpiss
    Mushroom

    If this asshat gets elected..

    ..expect a lot more world chaos and destabilization. Regardless of what you think of the man's core abilities, he is divisive and lacks compassion. (both well documented) This is not what we need in the increasingly difficult times we live in. We definitely need a steadier hand. (I'm pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir in this crowd, but it doesn't hurt repeating it.)

    I'm very, very afraid if this man gets any serious power. I live in the US. The nature of our government is such that it would mitigate a lot of the extremes (to its credit), but look at the damage 8 years of "Dubya" did to our international credibility. (and the economy worldwide) Hillary is no prize, for sure, but she at least has been around the process and has in the background the best advisor anyone could have--her husband, who had his failings, but kept us on a mostly even keel for 8 years and left us with a budget surplus. (true, these are different times now) I don't normally put a lot of stock in religion, but I fear if Trump somehow convinces the unwashed masses to elect him, that we could really be facing the predicted "end times."

    I hope we're not all perceived as being gun-toting hillbillies with rebel flags on our pickup trucks, proclaiming our prideful ignorance as we swill cheap light beer and yell "Yee-haw!" At least a few of us are a bit more cosmopolitan than that, even having never left US soil.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Blank Reg

      Re: If this asshat gets elected..

      If we're lucky he'll just be incompetent. But he'll probably try to go further than that, and if he succeeds he will become a threat to national security.

      If that happens, "nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

      There is an excess of wackos and guns in the US so such an outcome is a real possibility, no matter which one gets elected. Trumps divisiveness has made things much more dangerous.

      For the record I'm neither American, nor own a gun. And I consider the second amendment to be some of the most dangerous words ever put to paper.

    3. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: If this asshat gets elected..

      " hope we're not all perceived as being gun-toting hillbillies with rebel flags on our pickup trucks,"

      That's MISTER gun-toting hillbilly, etc.

      And if "that asshat" (assuming Trump) does *NOT* get elected, enjoy your "socialist paradise", with the rich elitists getting richer, everyone else getting POORER, the "friends of Clinton" getting their political paybacks, other countries taking over our internal affairs, a mass migration of social dependents waiting to suck from the teet of public welfare (and then vote DEMO-RAT as they become insta-citizens), higher taxes on those trying to BECOME "the rich" (because "the rich" already HAVE their money, and don't earn wage income, and are currently taxed at a LOWER rate than high wage earners, because, Demo-rats and weak-willed Republo-crats), and "I feel" instead of "the law" (as in "Obaka FEELS as if he can IGNORE the law, so he DOES via executive order", and Mrs. Clinton will be WORSE than THAT, even).

      Do we REALLY want a gummint that's more like a tin-horn dictatorship than a democratic-replublic?

      (that's what Mrs. Clinton would be like - just think 'Obaka on steroids" and that should be close enough)

      Keep in mind, that like it was in the 80's, when the U.S. economy does WELL, the ENTIRE world benefits. It's the "rising tide lifts all boats" thing. Mrs. Clinton wants to tax CARBON, meaning expensive energy, meaning economic DECLINE. Mrs. Clinton wants to stop domestic oil, meaning that SAUDI ARABIA can charge whatever they WANT for oil, and other countries will have to PAY it [when the USA is buying its own oil, the world's oil prices DROP, meaning better world-wide economy].

      Anyway, Trump's portrayal in the media is nothing like who he really is. Too many "feelers" out there who refuse to THINK, with politically correct chips on their shoulder, waiting to be offended, who will go full "howler monkey" the first time Trump says what he's thinking at the moment [which is pretty close to what _I_ am thinking, most likely, given the same circumstances].

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: If this asshat gets elected..

        > Do we REALLY want a gummint that's more like a tin-horn dictatorship than a democratic-replublic? > (that's what Mrs. Clinton would be like

        I find that particular comment interesting because Trump is more likely to be a dictator in the Mussolini style (including the vanity uniforms).

        But the real worry is that regardless of which one wins there is likely to be extensive civil unrest, possibly a rerun of the Civil War. If Clinton wins then the Republicans will claim the election was fixed and will march on RomeWashington. If Trump wins then, when he fails to deliver that which his supporters thought they were promised (jobs, lower taxes, racial cleansing, the second coming of Jesus, etc), they will march on him (or should that be 'Him').

        1. chivo243 Silver badge

          Re: If this asshat gets elected..

          (including the vanity uniforms)

          Wasn't George Jr, into uniforms? I seem to remember him wearing lots of colorful costumes...

      2. Hollerithevo

        Re: If this asshat gets elected..

        Mr Bob, little hint: lots of CAPITALISED words tend to be the 'tell' of someone ranting. Cheap nicknames, ditto.

        1. bombastic bob Silver badge
          Devil

          Re: If this asshat gets elected..

          "Mr Bob, little hint"

          what, you think I _CARE_ about things like that? [keep in mind, use of capitalization and punctuation for emphasis exists frequently enough in El Reg articles; you could consider that to be "borrowing a style consistent for the web site"].

          besides, I view "hints" like that as a) arrogant, b) condescending, c) an attempt to reduce my effectiveness, d) all of the above. What, other people know better how _I_ should run _MY_ life? It's as bad as "political correctness", which I deliberately do NOT do (and lampoon whenever possible).

          So thanks, but no thanks, for the "hints". Your opinions are noted, but not paid attention to.

          [and thanks for getting personal - a subtle version of the ad hominem attack]

          besides, if Trump does what he says he's going to do, then the U.S. economy will recover rapidly, beginning with new spending on things _LIKE_ R&D and expansion within USA's borders. You know, 'supply side economics', people having more of their own money, LESS money being paid to people to "pay them to stay poor" [i.e. welfare, 'on the dole', etc. - you get what you pay for when you pay people to stay poor], criminal aliens being deported, fewer problems with "underground economy", fewer problems with smuggling, actually ENFORCING the law instead of making excuses NOT to [for political reasons] and NOT "just enforcing it SELECTIVELY" [like Obaka], and so on.

          Yeah, I liked Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister, and also Ronald Reagan when HE was president. I expect similar things with a President Trump.

          And... do you think that _MAYBE_ the RUSSIANS expect these kinds of things ALSO, with a President Trump??? That, and 'win-win' foreign policy. 'Art of the deal' and all of that.

          1. Alistair
            Coat

            Re: If this asshat gets elected..

            BB:

            "Yeah, I liked Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister, and also Ronald Reagan when HE was president. I expect similar things with a President Trump."

            I hope you've enjoyed your trickle. By the way, "Its the trees".

          2. Mr Commenty McComentface
            Facepalm

            Re: If this asshat gets elected..

            "what, you think I _CARE_ about things like that? "

            Bob, trust me, we are abundantly clear that you don't care... about many things.

            If Trump "does what he says"...

            Wall between USA and Mexico and make Mexico pay for it :- How, and without causing International eruptions (yes, I know, Bombastic Bob says "Fuck 'em") and sanctions against USA (sorry, you really don't believe the likes of China and the USSR wouldn't like to fuck up the US????)

            Deport all illegals :- One Civil War coming right up..... that's the likely outcome of trying to deport 11 million people that kinda don't want to go.

            Ban all Muslins :- one solid surefire way to have the Middle East unleash every terrorist in your direction. Muslim or not. Islamic or not.

            Put simply, the man is a dinosaur of the times, and I don't mean one of the cool ones, like 'Raptors or Stegs', but one of the small dopey ones.

            Granted, I'm not convinced HC is much of a better choice, but she's not likely to cause diplomatic incidents or terribly likely to pick a fight with the country next door, and it's people currently living in the US.

          3. JLV
            Thumb Up

            Re: If this asshat gets elected..

            Go and get them, BB.

            On behalf of those who hope that US voters will make the right choice next month, I'd like to congratulate you.

            Your eloquence is doing wonders to lead the undecided in the right direction.

      3. veti Silver badge

        Re: If this asshat gets elected..

        Trump's portrayal in the media is nothing like who he really is.

        It always mystifies me when people come out with this. Like, you have some personal hotline that gives you the real lowdown on Trump's character, that's not dependent on "the media"? Yeah, right, and I've got a nice clean Internet to sell you.

        Unless you're a personal friend of his, and let's be clear, by "personal friend" I mean one who could expect to call him at any reasonable hour and talk to him in person - in which case please say so - then all you know about him is what he and the media want you to know. So please get over your delusion of "insider truth".

    4. John Riddoch

      Re: If this asshat gets elected..

      I did read an article a while back which basically said we're currently living in the chapter entitled 'factors leading to' for a future history book. What we're leading to isn't entirely clear yet (and won't be for some time, in all likelihood) but change is happening for good or ill.

    5. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: If this asshat gets elected..

      Donald and team know he is clueless and intended to push all decisions down to his VP like Bush/Cheney. The promise to any potential VP was that they would the effective power of president, with the bonus that legally responsibility has to remain with Trump. A VP should at least bring in a marginal state, or preferably a demographic that brings in multiple states. The biggest single demographic is women (53% of votes cast in a normal election - more if a woman or a misogenist is a candidate). The Republican's postmortem from their last defeat concluded they needed to get more votes from hispanics. Donald can drive women away by simply talking, there is the wall for hispanics, and as a bonus, Trump was found guilty of not renting apartments to black people. There are young Republican hispanics, and women who could have blunted some of Trump's negatives as VP candidates. Oprah was asked and said no. So did Nikki Haley, Condoleezza Rice, Susana Martinez, Mary Fallin, Susan Collins, Jan Brewer, John Kasich, Joni Ernst, Bob Corker, Lt Gen Stanley McChrystal. Chris Christie dropped out of the primaries early to be Trump's waiter and Donald would have picked him, but the family said no (Christie put Ivanka's father-in-law in prison). Donald wanted to pick Lt Gen Michael Flynn, but the party said no democrats.

      So Donald had to grudgingly announce his final final first choice for VP was Mike Pence - with "You Can’t Always Get What You Want" playing in the background. As an old white man, Pence brings no new votes and as a bonus is about as popular with gays as Rick Santorum.

      Judging by past performance, President Pence would: have schools teach the benefits of smoking (except marijuana), that coal and oil have no effect on climate, that queer bashing is socially acceptable and intelligent design is backed by scientific evidence. He is also against condoms and in favour of NAFTA, guns in schools and aids.

      On Tuesday, he gets to defend Trump and attack Clinton live on television in front of an audience of thousands of committed Republicans and Democrats (undecideds rarely bother with the vice presidential debate).

  7. SL1979

    Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

    Okay, here's the deal. There are things about Trump that should be deeply troubling to, well, EVERYONE! However, for whatever reason, American voters are totally okay with ignoring certain parts of the constitution in favor of others.

    Problem #1: Donald's complete lack of understanding of what the US Constitution is about. He has no clue that his entire platform that he's running on is based on one humongous violation of the first amendment - religious freedom. You can't discriminate against (or deport, or block entry into the US) people of any faith because of their religious beliefs, alone. And yet, his frothing-at-the-mouth supporters all seem to understand what the second amendment is about. Cognitive dissonance, anyone? Selective memory?

    Problem #2: Donald's complete lack of understanding of the fourth amendment, and due process. We don't build back doors into gadgets and encryption ciphers, because we have something called due process, which typically involves obtaining a warrant (and not the FISA Court kind).

    Problem #3: Donald's complete lack of understanding of how the US Government is structured, and how government representatives are not above the law, but rather subject TO the law. We have a system of checks and balances, and three branches of government which are designed to maintain the aforementioned checks and balances. You don't get to become president, and do away with those things just because you're some kind of "rogue, maverick, straight-shooting reformer", as he seems to view himself.

    Problem #4: Donald asking why we can't use the nuclear weapons that we have. Enough said there. This terrifies the shite out of me.

    Problem #5: We know that Trump asked the Russians to hack the US Government's networks. In the real world, if anyone else were to do this, there would be one word to describe this kind of action: TREASON. Why is no one pointing out what a treasonous psychopath this man is?

    Problem #6: Trump's cozy friendship with Vladimir Putin. Enough said there.

    Problem #7: Donald is a psychopathic, misogynistic, malignant narcissistic, xenophobic, racist megalomaniac who thinks that he's always right, even when he's obviously wrong. A little diplomacy goes a long way. Trump has no idea what diplomacy even means, because it doesn't exist in his world. He's also a card-carrying birther, and has operated in quite a few legal gray areas involving things such as his income taxes, his 4 bankrupted businesses, his side-stepping of the immigration process for his wife, his view of illegal immigration (which, by the way, is at its lowest rate in years at the moment), and his hatred for anyone who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

    Problem #8: Donald doesn't have a clue who ISIS actually is, because for the most part, none of us do. How can he expect to fight against an enemy who conducts themselves with subversive, hidden, underground tactics designed to, well, terrorize people by exploiting the element of surprise. This is why you can't fight a war on an idea. Have we learned nothing from the GWB years?

    Problem #9: Did I mention that he's a dangerous psychopath who quite possibly would have access to nuclear arms? Seriously. Nuclear. F*****g. Weapons. And Trump. Nuclear apocalypse, anyone? Thanks, but I'll pass.

    I guess I could go on, but really, I think I've covered most of the important stuff. I'm no Hillary fan either, but compared to Trump, I'll take 1,000 Hillarys over just one Trump any day of the week.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

      "Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops? "

      because the liberal lame-stream media has BROADCASTING and PRINTING instead... [to echo what you've parroted from them in your post].

      (and we've gotten our fill of THAT pile of lies for too long, and it's tiring).

      you also forgot to mention Mrs. Clinton's e-mails, the Clint-stone foundation "payola for political favors" slush fund, how Mrs. Clinton treats the "bimbos" that her husband had sex with, how Mrs. Clinton treats 12 year old RAPE VICTIMS using a "she was asking for it" defense in the 1970's as a young upwardly mobile attorney looking for a stepping stool to advance her career by...

      1. SL1979

        Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

        "because the liberal lame-stream media has BROADCASTING and PRINTING instead... [to echo what you've parroted from them in your post]."

        Um. No. It's not called "parroting" when you're simply stating facts. And I clearly said that I was no fan of Hillary, however given the choice between the two, I'll take Hillary over a hot-headed, psychopathic, man-child who wants to play with the nukes that we have, and asks the Russians to hack our government networks. Really? Try researching the first, fourth, and tenth amendments. You might learn something, instead of just (very typically) blaming the "lame-stream liberal media", whatever that means. Last time I checked, Rupert Murdoch is one of the most right-wing, conservative news moguls on the planet. And he's responsible for slanting everything that Fox News spews forth on the trog-tube way far to the right. Fox is a major, syndicated, television network, in case you didn't already know. But then again, more facts.

    2. Kevin 6

      Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

      Hilary is just as bad if not worst.

      She has a WAY higher chance to start a war with russia based on her previous actions as she has supported plans which have strained US Russian relations. So her given power would more then likely start a war which would lead to nukes being lobbed with Russia.

      Trump IMO just comes off more as a typical hot headed New Yorker who is mostly all talk, and no bite.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

        "she has supported plans which have strained US Russian relations" - such as? Anything that compares with the invasion of Ukraine, the shooting down of MH17, the kidnapping of border guards, cyberattacks in support of rentamobs, etc?

        The EU should be ashamed of it's lack of an effective position against all of it; Hilary may well be nefarious, may well be complicit in some very stupid things (and in fact is actually doing them - changing her "mind" on free trade, for example), but at least she's not cosying up to the would-be new czar / politburo chief.

      2. SL1979

        Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

        "She has a WAY higher chance to start a war with russia based on her previous actions as she has supported plans which have strained US Russian relations. So her given power would more then likely start a war which would lead to nukes being lobbed with Russia."

        How so? I seem to remember the last time that a Clinton was in office, we as a nation, didn't have any wars. We also had an economic surplus at the end of Clinton's term. Sure, he wasn't perfect. We also had NAFTA, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, an oval-office BJ, a stained blue dress, a Lewinsky, a cigar, and some other pretty ethically questionable things going on as far as the White House was concerned, but over all, I don't seem to remember anything with Clinton that came anywhere NEAR the mess that we had to clean up after GWB left the White House. If you don't believe me, pick up a history book. Well, I guess to be fair, the history books are all a tool of the lame-stream liberal media too, right?

        (Can you hear my eyeballs rolling back into my head? Because that's what they're doing right now.)

      3. Unicornpiss
        Alert

        Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

        Perhaps Hillary would have a *slightly* higher chance of starting a war with Russia. Except that for all her failings, I think she understands that war is not the first solution to a problem.

        Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is likely to start wars with pretty much everyone else in the world, except maybe Russia.

        And for Bob's complaining about "liberals", has he ever noticed that without "liberals" and a thing called "liberty" (same root word even), he wouldn't have the freedom to rant? One question Bob: You mention (to paraphrase) that under Hillary's rule that 'elitists and the rich would rule and get richer'. Just exactly in what way do you somehow believe that Mr. Trump doesn't utterly epitomize elitist behavior and getting rich on the sweat of others? Everything from his "me first" attitude, his inherited money, his failed businesses, bending of the law, and his days as a slum lord and scumbag tactics to further his own interests shout that he believes he's better and more entitled than everyone else. Can you not see that this is a simple attempt at grabbing power and prestige and he has little interest in helping anyone but himself?

        Now I'll shut up, as this is supposed to be primarily an IT forum and not a political bar brawl.

        1. bombastic bob Silver badge
          Megaphone

          Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

          "You mention (to paraphrase) that under Hillary's rule that 'elitists and the rich would rule and get richer'. Just exactly in what way do you somehow believe that Mr. Trump doesn't utterly epitomize elitist behavior and getting rich on the sweat of others?"

          well, aside from the potential leading question, it's pretty obvious: when you do business, you hire people to do work. The investors and top-level managers normally make the most money. Otherwise, why take the risks if there is no "big payoff"?

          And here's the rub with socialism and liberalism: when you TAX the high income earners and risk takers at rates that cause their payoffs to be LOWER, they take FEWER RISKS. Risks include business expansion, R&D, new products, new markets, and so forth. When you put a higher cost on the *kinds* of risk-taking that would make the economy IMPROVE, you get "less improvement".

          The world of finance drives the world of business, and the world of business drives the economy. Propping up the stock market [via 'Quantitative Easing'] does NOTHING for R&D nor for new products. In fact, it generally helps the HEDGE FUNDS [like George Soros is so [in]famous for] and those who play games with market fluctuations, PARTICULARLY when the 'quantitative easing' funds are going to KNOWN PLACES [which smacks of insider trading, hint hint].

          Yes, the Federal Reserve AND the Obaka administration were engaging in this *kind* of behavior. I would expect MORE OF THE SAME under a 'Her Royal Heinous' Mrs. Clinton administration.

          So Donald Trump is in the business of MAKING MONEY. His means to do so is REAL ESTATE. He buys and sells and rents property, and constructs buildings, and so on. He hires a LOT of people, who "do the work for him". If you call THAT "exploitation" then you're complaining about the very nature of Capitalism, and nothing I say will convince you otherwise.

          Now, if Donald Trump actually engaged in ANTI-COMPETITIVE and/or criminal activities in order to get ahead, then he would most likely have been investigated by the justice department already. Unfair business practices are actually ILLEGAL.

          As for me, I consider being paid properly for my work "a fair exchange". I expect that Donald Trump's employees would say the same thing. A fair day's wage for a fair day's work. If he wasn't doing THAT, i.e. paying fair wages, you KNOW we'd be hearing about it. The Labor Unions would be the first ones to point it out (it's their "thing" after all).

          So what part of "the sweat off of other people's browes" is NOT fair, if you PAY people to SWEAT?

          I see NOTHING wrong with that. After all, those people ended up with JOBS, because of Donald Trump, his risk-taking, his efforts, and whatever "deals" he artfully negotiated. I'd be pretty happy about THAT, if I were THEM.

          Now... let's consider a TRUE SOCIALIST [and former Nazi collaborator] George Soros. Why do I not hear SCREAMS about what THIS guy is up to, including his relationship with MRS. CLINTON and the DEMO-RAT PARTY???

          1. veti Silver badge

            Re: Why are these things not being shouted from the rooftops?

            @bombastic bob: it takes a very special reality filter to call George Soros, a non-practising Jew who was 14 when his native land was inhabited by the Nazis, a "former Nazi collaborator".

            Please, for all our sakes, get out and get some news from a source that isn't run by and for true believers of your own party. Before you vote.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    AIUI, elected US presidents get to keep the title for the rest of their lives.

    Does this mean that if Trump wins then all those businesses who have paid to use his name (for whatever reason) then get to use "President Trump" instead ? ( no doubt after paying some kind of upgrade charge )

    1. Blank Reg

      I'd be surprised if any business would still want to be associated with him after his disaster of a term is over.

    2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Value of the Trump name

      Bookings falling at Trump Hotels. Donald may have to let blacks visit. Perhaps Putin will allow a Trump Tower in Moscow.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is Trump the only story they posted?

    I find it interesting that of the hundreds of stories that they post each month, they can pick one and point to it as saying that "it" was the reason they were DDOS'd. And then because a botnet had a large number of IP addresses from Russia (discounting that that Russia also has a large number of insecure computers) they can blame it on the Russian government.

    The reality is that they don't know, and their editorial stance is coloring their response. In fact, it is just as likely that the "DDOS" is self-induced and they are trying to spin it to their advantage. There is really EQUAL evidence each way.

    1. SL1979

      Re: Is Trump the only story they posted?

      In all fairness, it's no secret that Putin and Trump have cozied up to each other. And it's also no secret that Trump actually asked the Russians to hack the US Government's networks. You're absolutely right, the DDOS may not be conclusively blamed on Russian hackers, but the circumstantial evidence sure does make for a compelling argument. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck.... The US also has a ton of vulnerable computers as well. I'd be willing to bet that most of them are running some iteration of Microsoft Windows, just like most of the PCs existing elsewhere in the world. Sure, you can run a C&C server for a Russian botnet anywhere in the world. But it doesn't change the fact that the bulk of the attacks came from Russian IP address space. I'd be willing to bet that the bulk of the addresses that were involved weren't all IP addresses of proxy servers, or VPN providers from Russia, either. But we'll probably never really know the truth. So in all likelihood, the sensible thing to do in this kind of situation is probably for us to say, "We just don't know.", and keep digging.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well, well

    So instead of MS shills, now we have Trump shills in the commentard community?

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Well, well

      "So instead of MS shills, now we have Trump shills in the commentard community?"

      based on the ratio of downvotes, I'd say the SHILLS are anti-Trump

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well, well

        > based on the ratio of downvotes, I'd say the SHILLS are anti-Trump

        I can't speak for others, bombastic bob, but the motivation behind my recent downvoting of you is three-fold, none of which have to do with your or my particular political allegiance. The first reason is that you took public delight in downvoting a post, which is _crass_ in the extreme, "how brave of you, A.C. - multi-downvotes from me ( but only one was counted )" you said. The second reason is that I have come to detest your SHOUTY words to the point that I can't read your posts any longer. The third reason is that even when I used to wade past your shouting I disagreed with a lot of your reasoning and didn't have the energy to respond to you point by tedious point - easier to click that arrow to register my disagreement.

        One thing that irritates me about Trump supporters like you (and I suppose this speaks to how polarised things are in the US right now so I guess it's not even your fault really and I should show some compassion) is that if one disagrees with them the claim is made that there is some mad establishment conspiracy at play. Not the case, I'm afraid. I actually understand why many people have been attracted to Trump. Times are hard all round, the establish clearly doesn't care. Inequality is on the up and up. Trump at least seems like some sort of alternative. Thing is, many people (especially Europeans) are able to see past the two party system charade. We can dislike both Democrat and Republican nominees. Try to wrap your head around that and quit your idiotic shouty diatribes, we're not the morons you think we are.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well, well

      "So instead of MS shills, now we have Trump shills in the commentard community"

      This site is stuffed full of Open Source shills. MS not so much...

  11. JJKing

    I wish I had the literary dexterity to properly lambaste Trump to the degree that he deserves

    AC, never argue with an idiot because Trump will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

  12. JJKing

    What a President trump country would look like.

    If you want to look into the future and see what it would look like with Drumpf as President then look no further than the Philippines. It is an 86% catholic country, so religious like the USA but not really yet their lunatic president (lowercase p as he doesn't deserve the respect of the office title) encourages the population to continually break one of the sacred catholic laws, the 7th commandment; THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

    Read about what their president duterte says and does. The latest is that he has compared himself to Hitler. WOW, doesn't he have high standards. Does that remind you of the beautiful wall builder in the USA? I have relatives in the Philippines and they have gotten behind this idiot just like people have gotten behind Drumpf and they way the masses got behind Hitler. Thousands and thousands of Americans sacrificed their lives to defeat what Hitler stood for and yet the same people who would commit the ultimate sacrifice again for the exact same reasons think Drumpf is a top bloke and should be President Of The USA.

    The Germans thought that about Hitler. Filipinos think that about their nutcase whose encouragement has resulted in over 3,000 deaths, several being children, because someone has accused them of taking or dealing drugs. Sounds very much like McCarthyism to me. You are accused and are guilty until you prove yourself innocent (an impossibility to prove that negative) or are murdered.

    Drumpf's election not only affects the United States of America but also the rest of the world and for the next four year or until impeached.

    Thank you.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What a President trump country would look like.

      >If you want to look into the future and see what it would look like with Drumpf as President then look no further than the Philippines.

      Big difference - the terrifying Duterte has real (essentially absolute) power in the Philippines, the effective power of the US president is entirely dependent on the legislatures and civil service. Reagan was unable to function (even basic self care etc) through dementia by the end of his tenure but the country rolled on - arguably quite well.

  13. NonSSL-Login
    Stop

    The Russian Connection

    I suspect that someone somewhere is trying their best to make out that Trump is friends with the Russians, who Americans have been told are every bad, so as to try and people not vote for Trump.

    It's possible the DNC leaks came from Russia but (D)DoS'ing from their own country does not sounds like state sponsored at least. But if I was Clintons team or anti-trump NSA/CIA/whoever, launching an attack from Russia will make headlines that re-enforce that belief.

    Like him or not, that are other forces at work and they are probably not what they are made to look like.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: The Russian Connection

      "Like him or not, that are other forces at work and they are probably not what they are made to look like."

      that there are. some use downvotes to attempt to discredit those who support Trump...

      that would be a) badge of honor for me, and b) "howler monkey" behavior for them [with the flood of downvoting anything even REMOTELY pro-Trump]

      (related to another comment directed at me) As for news media, I happen to like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity [his radio show], a local talk show guy (Carl DeMaio) who's been criticizing Trump for MONTHS on how he's handling his campaign. Worthy of mention, Carl DeMaio is a gay conservative Republican. He gets plenty of flack from every direction, and a sign in my yard [twice] when he ran for mayor, then congress, against 2 different crooked politicians. One of them (former mayor Bob Filner) "got caught". The other is in Con-Grab running for re-election. And yet, THEY won... being filthy dirty Demo-Rat politicians.

      I probably get MORE news than the average person, and not the filtered pap excreted by the lame-stream American media. Seeing people PARROT the lies and opinions of the lame-stream American media as if it were truth or fact is pretty nauseating. And of course, coming to the defense of Donald Trump with the truth about him, and his policies, gets me the downvote bullet hell from the howler monkeys.

      Figures, right?

      Trump wants to:

      a) repeal [and replace with market-friendly methods] Obaka-care

      b) lower taxes and streamline regulations to support businesses and job creation

      c) build a wall at the Mexican border, and deport illegal alien criminals

      d) come up with a 'vetting' process for immigrants from specific Islamic nations (such as Syria) that have significant ISIS presence, to make sure they're not faking it and coming into our country to terrorize us. Temporarily banning all moslem immigrants is ONE proposed idea, but focusing on specific countries (instead) is his latest [moderated] proposal.

      e) have illegal immigrants "go back home and get in line and do it LEGALLY". I think that's the only common sense approach, and I've been saying that for YEARS.

      f) domestic energy production, making the USA 'energy independent'.

      and so on.

      I don't know where people get the idea that he's wanting to run our personal lives like a tinhorn dictator. Trump is a DELEGATOR in his management style. He hires OTHERS to do the work for him, a fact he's been criticized for with phrases like "getting rich on the sweat of others' browes". Only an AUTHORITARIAN would want something like 'controlling individuals and their lives'. That would be Mrs. Clinton and the Demo-Rats wanting THAT. [and they use LIES and MANIPULATION to do it].

      So now back to the Russians: why do they want TRUMP? They dislike Mrs. Clintstone, that's one reason. But what if Trump and Putin have an UNDERSTANDING with one another? Trump seems willing to partner with Putin on areas of national interest, like dealing with ISIS. Putin must LOVE that. It looks good on the front page of the local newspaper in Moscow. Additionally, Trump would improve the U.S. economy, and there are businesses in Russia that are tied with the U.S. economy [I know, I worked with one of them a while back, a think tank out of St. Petersberg]. If the USA does well, then Russia does well. If the USA is strong, then Russia is strong, particularly in the current environment. But weak US foreign policy (like Obaka) is actually BAD for Russia, because NOW they end up having to take a more active role in world affairs, something they really can't afford to do (monetarily AND politically), for their own national interests even.

      sorry if TLDR, need to get back to work, it's Monday.

  14. chivo243 Silver badge

    It matters not

    Who becomes president, what matters is who is controls them. Whose hip pocket are they in? And how deep?

  15. Prndll

    This means nothing

    Obama has pretty much lifted whatever embargo was there. This is a non-issue that just plays at emotional heartstrings. It isn't really about anything more than "looks". Everything (not just Trump related businesses) is gearing up for any and all opportunities for transaction between Cuba and the US. To criticize Trump for this is ridiculous. To suggest that this is Russia being against Clinton is equally ridiculous. This is nothing more than FUD.

  16. Crazy Operations Guy

    We need longer presidential terms

    The problem I see is that presidents never have enough time to perform the fixes they promise. A typical presidency usually goes as:

    Year 0: Try to figure out how the government actually works and understand the complicated mechanism

    Year 1: reform, disband, or marginalize the previous president's major initiative that has turned into a major boondoggle.

    Year 2-3: Spend time trying to figure out how their own solution will fit into government and how it will interact with every other part

    Year 3-4: Start campaigning once again to ensure they have the time to enact their plan while defending all their actions

    Year 5-6: Spend time trying to convince congress and other key members of the parties to vote for this big initiative that will fix everything without having to make too many concessions that would make it a huge problem

    Year 7: Enact new initiative while trying to adapt it to changes in the country and government while trying to work around amendments that've been tacked on to get it to pass. Reports and statistics show the initiative is starting to work and have a positive impact on the country, but will be inefficient for a few years while everything ramps up and settles into its position.

    Than the next president comes in and follows the exact same routine.

    Sometimes I think America just needs to just not have a president for a while, and instead appoint a monarch for 20-25 years so that we can let the dust raised by all of our presidents just settle down for a bit and so we can see what the effects of Presidents' initiative really are when they are allowed to run to completion. I'm sure that The UK/Norway/Sweden/Denmark/etc. have a spare heir that can be loaned over to America for a few decades.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: We need longer presidential terms

      > appoint a monarch for 20-25 years

      The Donald knows of a dynasty that will last 1000 years. A bigly one that is the best.

    2. Korev Silver badge

      Re: We need longer presidential terms

      a monarch for 20-25 years

      You'd be very welcome to borrow Prince Charles.

      1. Captain Badmouth
        Thumb Up

        Re: We need longer presidential terms

        You'd be very welcome to borrow and keep Prince Charles and all the other parasites from the upper classes.

        Fixed.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Comrade Trump

    In what universe would Americans be voting for such a RED candidate?

    Oh, this one!

    [shakes head]

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Comrade Trump

      Yet another "genius" who desperately needs to read up on things that happened *last* century.

  18. Timelord.

    As predicted

    Trump , the American Putin.

    1. James O'Shea

      Re: As predicted

      "Trump , the American Putin."

      More like the American Peron. Melania wouldn't do for a new Evita, though, she's nowhere near smart enough, given that she's looking upwards at Sarah Palin. Maybe when he trades her in for a new model, the new one will be smarter...,. Nah, each one has been sillier than the last.

      Exits, singing "Don't cry for me, Argentina".

      1. Captain Badmouth
        Happy

        Re: As predicted

        "Don't cry for me, Argentina".

        I prefer Roy Hudd's version : "Don't cry for me Marge and Tina".

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I prefer Roy Hudd's version : "Don't cry for me Marge and Tina".

          Wasn't that Tim Brooke Taylor in The Goodies? Standing as Timita, as I recall...

  19. James O'Shea

    Hmmm...

    Did anyone else have problems connecting to El Reg over the weekend? I kept getting 524s, and a note from CloudFlare that there was a timeout at El Reg's end. I sent in a note to the webmaster, and got something back to the effect that there had been a lot of 'bad data'.

    Hmm. Now, just how many articles are there currently on El Reg which might annoy the Orange One? Hmm.

    1. Florida1920
      Joke

      Re: Hmmm...

      Did anyone else have problems connecting to El Reg over the weekend?

      Same here in the States. Usually connected with an F5. I'm sure Hillary Clinton is to blame, though.

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Hmmm...

      "Did anyone else have problems connecting to El Reg over the weekend?"

      none at all, even with MY crappy intarwebs connection.

      maybe your browser cache and/or cookies need purging...

      /me sticks finger down Firefox's throat - there, that's better. have some epicac, too.

      IT'S A CONSPIRACY! [had to do that one, heh]

      1. James O'Shea

        Re: Hmmm...

        bob, m'man...I was getting 524s all weekend. If I moved from one page to another on El Reg, sometimes all would work, sometimes, I'd get a 524, with a message from CloudFlare stating that El Reg had timed out. If I refreshed the page, it would load. I consistently had problems with El Reg. I had them using Safari on a Mac, and using Firefox on a Mac, and using Firefox on a Windows machine, and Chrome on a Windows machine. I got them connected by Ethernet to my home net, I got them connected by wireless to my home net, I got them connected by wireless to the office net when I went in on Saturday morning. I got them when using IPv6 as my primary connection. I got them when using IPv4 as my primary connection.

        I did _not_ have any problems connecting to sites other than El Reg, using the same machines, the same browsers, the same connections. I suspect that experiencing the same problems using four different web browsers on two different machines running two different operating systems and experiencing said problems only with one particular site is probably not going to be because of caches or cookies. This is especially so when, as was noted in my original post, I contacted El Reg's web people and they confirmed that there was, in fact, 'bad data' hitting one of their servers. And, further, the problems have vanished now... and I haven't done a thing to the caches or cookies.

        No, there was an intermittent problem at El Reg over the weekend. If you want I can send you a screen shot of one of the 524s so that you can see for yourself just what CloudFlare had to say. I find it... interesting... that El Reg dares to criticize the Orange One and then... That's just one hell of a co-incidence, laddie.

  20. nilfs2
    Megaphone

    Trump is a media product

    Trump is still relevant because the media wants it that way, he is an infinite source of news, and we all know political polls are as reliable as Trump himself. He's the media's cash cow.

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