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Russia: We did not hack the US Democrats. But if we did, we're immune from prosecution:
The Russian government has denied having anything to do with hacking the US Democratic party in 2016, although in a court filing this week stressed that even if it did break into the DNC's servers, it is immune from prosecution.
And furthermore the Kremlin claimed America is "one of the most prolific practitioners of cyberattacks and cyber-intrusions on the planet." So, nerr!
"The [Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act] FSIA provides that foreign sovereign states enjoy absolute jurisdictional immunity from suit unless a plaintiff can demonstrate that one of the FSIA's enumerated 'exceptions' applies," argued [PDF] the Russian government this week in a New York court in response to a lawsuit from the DNC.
The DNC claims that it was subject to a "military attack" by Kremlin intelligence, causing Russia to argue back that any act of its military is a sovereign action and so therefore it can't be sued for it.
It's an amazing defense though one the DNC foresaw. It argued in its initial court paperwork [PDF] that "Russia is not entitled to sovereign immunity because the DNC's claims arise out of Russia's trespass onto the DNC's private servers - a tort allegedly committed in the United States.
"In addition, Russia committed the trespass in order to steal trade secrets and commit economic espionage, two forms of commercial activity undertaken in and directly affecting the United States."
Of course this being 2018 and Russia, the Putin administration can't leave it at that, and takes the opportunity to troll the US government by pointing out that the immunity provision is also heavily relied upon by Uncle Sam and its officials abroad.
"The United States benefits significantly from the sovereign immunity that it enjoys (and US officials enjoy) in foreign courts around the world with respect to the United States' frequency acts of cyber intrusion and political interference," Russia's response reads. "As current and former US officials have acknowledged on many occasion, the United States - acting primarily through the National Security Agency (NSA) with the US Department of Defense - is one of the most prolific practitioners of cyberattacks and cyber-intrusions on the planet."
Pot calling the kettle black?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 15 2018, @07:12AM (6 children)
Both sides!!!
I guess this is the slow process of conservatives reintegrating with reality.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 15 2018, @08:32AM (5 children)
Focus on my enemy and agree with me or you’re a bigot racist nazi!!!
Guess this is what we have to put up with until the Larpers grow up.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 15 2018, @11:59AM
"LARP":
Live Action Role-Playing Game. They players physically act out their characters.
Rather like the Renaissance Fair I expect, or the Libertarian Party.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday November 15 2018, @02:42PM (1 child)
Right here in this thread we have on display the stark devolution of "discourse via talking points." Does no one else find this dynamic tedious and unproductive? Does it get anyone to any place that helps anyone?
Branding counter-examples as "whataboutism" is a curt, anti-intellectual wave of the hand to avoid the terrible mental burden of having to think about anything that crosses up the talking points a person is pushing. Actually, bringing counter-examples to a debate is a hallowed mechanism of any argument. It's called perspective. It's so ingrained in the very concept of intellectual inquiry that my alma mater drummed it into everyone with this formulation, "If someone asserts it, deny it; if someone denies it, assert it."
Likewise it's not helpful to dismiss swathes of our interlocutors as "Larpers," "SJWs," or "snowflakes." It's an equally lazy rhetorical dodge as the "whataboutism" hand-waving.
We should all stop doing that kind of thing. It impoverishes everyone.
Can we try returning to arguments based on evidence? Can we let go of rhetorical prejudice for a while, just to see if it gets us to better collective outcomes?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 15 2018, @04:28PM
Whataboutism is when someone brings up "counter examples" in order to distract from the original point. Famously highlighted by the STILL on going "but her emails!"
Getting talked down to hy you? Lol, sounds from your tone that you are finally dropping some of your original pretense. I will listen to any argument as long as it is on topic. If it just aims to steer the conversation away from the topic at hand then prepare to get calles out.
I am not surprised to see you defending such crap, next time pick a better example to soap box on.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 15 2018, @04:31PM (1 child)
Bigoted racist uses insults instead of real points to tear down opponents. News at 11.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 15 2018, @08:35PM
Thanks for proving my point.