Biden and Ukraine exposed

[TitanTiger 20,472]

I didn't put this together, but this illustrates the leaps of logic and mental gymnastics it takes to put any serious credence in this Hunter Biden laptop story right now.  Obviously if someone can come up with more evidence to verify the authenticity of the emails and the laptop being Hunter's in the first place, we can revisit.  But for now...

 

So just so I have the latest email scandal straight:

Hunter Biden, who lives in Los Angeles, decides to fly 3000 miles across country to drop off three MacBook Pros at a computer repair shop run by a blind guy who charges the insanely low price of $85 for data recovery. Hunter gets off the plane and drunk-drives to the repair shop in Wilmington desperate for service, because everyone knows there are no computer repair shops anywhere in LA.

He staggers into the shop reeking of booze, drops them off, signs a contract for repair and then disappears, because he's so close to his easily-reachable dad that his dad is totally responsible for everything Hunter does, but so not-close that it wouldn't occur to anyone to contact his dad to relay a message to Hunter that his computers are ready for pickup.

The repair shop owner recovers the data but instead of doing what data recovery people normally do when computers are abandoned, which is to wipe the data clean and sell the hardware, he reads literally thousands of Hunter's *private* emails; a few of those thousands of emails vaguely mention a possible meeting arrangement between his dad and a Ukrainian guy. (For what? it's not mentioned.)

Repair Shop Guy is so alarmed that he contacts the FBI. The FBI arranges to pick up the hard drives, but Repair Shop Guy chooses to take the completely normal step of copying those drives. Once he realizes the FBI isn't doing anything with them (Hmmm... wonder why), he calls up the most credible ex-Mayor on Earth and hands him their contents.

That totally credible ex-Mayor is also so alarmed by these emails that instead of immediately going public or talking to Barr's DOJ, he sits on them for months and then chooses to release them 3 weeks before the election.

The responsible media then asks to independently verify their validity through a forensic analysis of the emails' metadata, but said ex-Mayor does what all normal people trying to prove facts and truth do, and chooses to totally ignore all of these requests.

Meanwhile Repair Shop Guy is living in fear that the DNC is going to put a hit on him like they did to Seth Rich, a political science major with no IT server management background, because Seth somehow managed to hack and transmit thousands of other people's emails to Wikileaks, leaving no evidence of it behind. And everybody knows, if you want to do a hit on someone you should turn to Democrats because they're so tight, disciplined and leakproof.

Is that where we are now?

 

A couple of side notes here as I have worked in the IT industry for many years now and understand at least this much:

1.  $85 for data recovery IS insanely low.  I've never heard of a place that would do it this cheaply anywhere.  For comparison's sake, Best Buy charges $200 for just a basic data recovery operation where you've accidentally deleted some files or reformatted the hard drive by mistake.  They charge $50 just to look at the drive and tell you if anything is recoverable.  From there the prices go up to a range of $450 to $1450 depending on other factors like file system corruption, or serious physical damage to the drive/computer.  If you want to DIY this, the starting price for a good, reputable program that would let you scan and recover an entire hard drive once would be $99.  If you want to have the ability to do multiple recoveries, it's $400 a year.

2.  For all the folks asking why Biden isn't talking about it or making forceful denials and whatnot (which is exactly what people who float bull**** stories out like this want - for it to keep being talked about), they are completely ignoring a much more concrete and meaningful action that Giuliani is refusing to do:  submit the hard drives and emails therein to an independent forensic analysis that would read the metadata and give us much needed insight into whether they are authentic.

[Leftfield 2,593]

48 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I didn't put this together, but this illustrates the leaps of logic and mental gymnastics it takes to put any serious credence in this Hunter Biden laptop story right now.  Obviously if someone can come up with more evidence to verify the authenticity of the emails and the laptop being Hunter's in the first place, we can revisit.  But for now...

 

So just so I have the latest email scandal straight:

Hunter Biden, who lives in Los Angeles, decides to fly 3000 miles across country to drop off three MacBook Pros at a computer repair shop run by a blind guy who charges the insanely low price of $85 for data recovery. Hunter gets off the plane and drunk-drives to the repair shop in Wilmington desperate for service, because everyone knows there are no computer repair shops anywhere in LA.

He staggers into the shop reeking of booze, drops them off, signs a contract for repair and then disappears, because he's so close to his easily-reachable dad that his dad is totally responsible for everything Hunter does, but so not-close that it wouldn't occur to anyone to contact his dad to relay a message to Hunter that his computers are ready for pickup.

The repair shop owner recovers the data but instead of doing what data recovery people normally do when computers are abandoned, which is to wipe the data clean and sell the hardware, he reads literally thousands of Hunter's *private* emails; a few of those thousands of emails vaguely mention a possible meeting arrangement between his dad and a Ukrainian guy. (For what? it's not mentioned.)

Repair Shop Guy is so alarmed that he contacts the FBI. The FBI arranges to pick up the hard drives, but Repair Shop Guy chooses to take the completely normal step of copying those drives. Once he realizes the FBI isn't doing anything with them (Hmmm... wonder why), he calls up the most credible ex-Mayor on Earth and hands him their contents.

That totally credible ex-Mayor is also so alarmed by these emails that instead of immediately going public or talking to Barr's DOJ, he sits on them for months and then chooses to release them 3 weeks before the election.

The responsible media then asks to independently verify their validity through a forensic analysis of the emails' metadata, but said ex-Mayor does what all normal people trying to prove facts and truth do, and chooses to totally ignore all of these requests.

Meanwhile Repair Shop Guy is living in fear that the DNC is going to put a hit on him like they did to Seth Rich, a political science major with no IT server management background, because Seth somehow managed to hack and transmit thousands of other people's emails to Wikileaks, leaving no evidence of it behind. And everybody knows, if you want to do a hit on someone you should turn to Democrats because they're so tight, disciplined and leakproof.

Is that where we are now?

 

A couple of side notes here as I have worked in the IT industry for many years now and understand at least this much:

1.  $85 for data recovery IS insanely low.  I've never heard of a place that would do it this cheaply anywhere.  For comparison's sake, Best Buy charges $200 for just a basic data recovery operation where you've accidentally deleted some files or reformatted the hard drive by mistake.  They charge $50 just to look at the drive and tell you if anything is recoverable.  From there the prices go up to a range of $450 to $1450 depending on other factors like file system corruption, or serious physical damage to the drive/computer.  If you want to DIY this, the starting price for a good, reputable program that would let you scan and recover an entire hard drive once would be $99.  If you want to have the ability to do multiple recoveries, it's $400 a year.

2.  For all the folks asking why Biden isn't talking about it or making forceful denials and whatnot (which is exactly what people who float bull**** stories out like this want - for it to keep being talked about), they are completely ignoring a much more concrete and meaningful action that Giuliani is refusing to do:  submit the hard drives and emails therein to an independent forensic analysis that would read the metadata and give us much needed insight into whether they are authentic.

Ok if I respond for Trump supporters here?

Thank you.

[TitanTiger 20,472]

4 minutes ago, Leftfield said:

Ok if I respond for Trump supporters here?

Thank you.

"You and your liberal tactics like logic and stuff."

[SocialCircle 570]

3 hours ago, homersapien said:

Yeah, sure.  Every other monster in history has had "strengths and weaknesses", including major leaguers like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot,  as well as minor leaguers like Ted Bundy,  Jeffry Epstein, Vladimir Putin, etc. 

Similarly, Trump is an immature, narcissistic, sociopathic, lying, con man.  He is devoid of empathy and would gladly sacrifice other people - not to mention our country - to profit financially and/or politically.  He's just another minor league monster.

Accordingly, I don't think his "strengths" merit much consideration in the overall context of who he is and what he's done throughout his life.  That you feel otherwise suggests a fault in your perspective.

You made my point. Thanks!

[SocialCircle 570]

2 hours ago, TitanTiger said:

I didn't put this together, but this illustrates the leaps of logic and mental gymnastics it takes to put any serious credence in this Hunter Biden laptop story right now.  Obviously if someone can come up with more evidence to verify the authenticity of the emails and the laptop being Hunter's in the first place, we can revisit.  But for now...

 

So just so I have the latest email scandal straight:

Hunter Biden, who lives in Los Angeles, decides to fly 3000 miles across country to drop off three MacBook Pros at a computer repair shop run by a blind guy who charges the insanely low price of $85 for data recovery. Hunter gets off the plane and drunk-drives to the repair shop in Wilmington desperate for service, because everyone knows there are no computer repair shops anywhere in LA.

He staggers into the shop reeking of booze, drops them off, signs a contract for repair and then disappears, because he's so close to his easily-reachable dad that his dad is totally responsible for everything Hunter does, but so not-close that it wouldn't occur to anyone to contact his dad to relay a message to Hunter that his computers are ready for pickup.

The repair shop owner recovers the data but instead of doing what data recovery people normally do when computers are abandoned, which is to wipe the data clean and sell the hardware, he reads literally thousands of Hunter's *private* emails; a few of those thousands of emails vaguely mention a possible meeting arrangement between his dad and a Ukrainian guy. (For what? it's not mentioned.)

Repair Shop Guy is so alarmed that he contacts the FBI. The FBI arranges to pick up the hard drives, but Repair Shop Guy chooses to take the completely normal step of copying those drives. Once he realizes the FBI isn't doing anything with them (Hmmm... wonder why), he calls up the most credible ex-Mayor on Earth and hands him their contents.

That totally credible ex-Mayor is also so alarmed by these emails that instead of immediately going public or talking to Barr's DOJ, he sits on them for months and then chooses to release them 3 weeks before the election.

The responsible media then asks to independently verify their validity through a forensic analysis of the emails' metadata, but said ex-Mayor does what all normal people trying to prove facts and truth do, and chooses to totally ignore all of these requests.

Meanwhile Repair Shop Guy is living in fear that the DNC is going to put a hit on him like they did to Seth Rich, a political science major with no IT server management background, because Seth somehow managed to hack and transmit thousands of other people's emails to Wikileaks, leaving no evidence of it behind. And everybody knows, if you want to do a hit on someone you should turn to Democrats because they're so tight, disciplined and leakproof.

Is that where we are now?

 

A couple of side notes here as I have worked in the IT industry for many years now and understand at least this much:

1.  $85 for data recovery IS insanely low.  I've never heard of a place that would do it this cheaply anywhere.  For comparison's sake, Best Buy charges $200 for just a basic data recovery operation where you've accidentally deleted some files or reformatted the hard drive by mistake.  They charge $50 just to look at the drive and tell you if anything is recoverable.  From there the prices go up to a range of $450 to $1450 depending on other factors like file system corruption, or serious physical damage to the drive/computer.  If you want to DIY this, the starting price for a good, reputable program that would let you scan and recover an entire hard drive once would be $99.  If you want to have the ability to do multiple recoveries, it's $400 a year.

2.  For all the folks asking why Biden isn't talking about it or making forceful denials and whatnot (which is exactly what people who float bull**** stories out like this want - for it to keep being talked about), they are completely ignoring a much more concrete and meaningful action that Giuliani is refusing to do:  submit the hard drives and emails therein to an independent forensic analysis that would read the metadata and give us much needed insight into whether they are authentic.

https://amgreatness.com/2020/10/16/giuliani-hunter-bidens-attorney-contacted-computer-repairman-after-ny-post-story-broke-wanted-hard-drive-back/
 

[TitanTiger 20,472]

8 minutes ago, SocialCircle said:

https://amgreatness.com/2020/10/16/giuliani-hunter-bidens-attorney-contacted-computer-repairman-after-ny-post-story-broke-wanted-hard-drive-back/

Not only do I find Guiliani untrustworthy and in need of independent verification of anything he says, American Greatness is a terrible source.  It's borderline extreme right and has a mixed record on factual accuracy:

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/american-greatness

I'm not saying it can't be accurate, but he (and you) are gonna have to do better than this to show it.

[Leftfield 2,593]

6 minutes ago, SocialCircle said:

https://amgreatness.com/2020/10/16/giuliani-hunter-bidens-attorney-contacted-computer-repairman-after-ny-post-story-broke-wanted-hard-drive-back/
 

So your rebuttal to a list of questions that poke planet-sized holes in a story from a couple of Trump stooges is to post a link to an article where one of those same stooges doubles down? This seemed like a good idea to you?

What color is the sky in your world?

[AUFAN78 3,894]

10 hours ago, TitanTiger said:

If you are even attempting to be a legitimate journalistic enterprise, and you have reason to doubt the authenticity, veracity and chain of custody of a story and the elements therein, you absolutely have a responsibility not to just report on it anyway as if "well, it *might* be true we just don't know."  Just throwing a farrago of questionable trash out into the media stream, hoping that people will just talk about it even if they criticize it, is exactly what those who like to use this tactic want.  They don't care if it goes away in a week or so, if you poke holes in it and so on.  The end goal isn't a slam dunk, smoking gun that brings the other guy down.  It's just to create a shitstorm of doubt based on vapor and whispers.

The NY Post can keep posting stuff from the laptop til the cows come home and they probably will, because they are honestly just a frog hair better than a tabloid as it is.  Their journalistic standards are so low already, they barely reach curb-height.  But the fact remains that there are MAJOR problems with the authenticity of the emails they are printing, MAJOR problems with veracity of ownership of this laptop, MAJOR problems with the owner of the repair shop's story and the timeline(s) he's offered, and so on.  Until you fix those things, just publishing more from the same questionable source isn't truth telling.  It's just contributing to the well-worn Bannon tactic of throwing a truckload of s*** against the wall to see what sticks - and even if none of it sticks, everyone is so caught up in the mess itself they don't have time to even sift through it all before the next wave comes.  And THAT - not finding the truth about Hunter Biden - is what they are aiming for.

We just went through three and a half years of the same with Russia. Was it true? Was there journalistic integrity in reporting? In the end the answer is no. 

So suddenly, you question journalistic standards?  

 

[TitanTiger 20,472]

Just now, AUFAN78 said:

We just went through three and a half years of the same with Russia. Was it true? Was there journalistic integrity in reporting? In the end the answer is no. 

So suddenly, you question journalistic standards?  

I don't recall offering much on the Russia stuff.  Generally speaking, when I don't comment it's because I'm not confident enough in my understanding of the subject at hand to say something definitive.  But there are far less moving parts to this story, I have a pretty good degree of technical understanding of the events here, and there are obvious problems with the story.  Given that understanding and familiarity with the subject, I completely understand why more reputable outlets wouldn't give it credence yet.

[Leftfield 2,593]

6 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

We just went through three and a half years of the same with Russia. Was it true? Was there journalistic integrity in reporting? In the end the answer is no. 

So suddenly, you question journalistic standards?  

 

There's also a monumental difference between a story that immediately falls apart upon basic scrutiny, and a years-long investigation that stalls because of lack of evidence but the lead investigator still remarks "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so..."

[AUFAN78 3,894]

3 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I don't recall offering much on the Russia stuff.  Generally speaking, when I don't comment it's because I'm not confident enough in my understanding of the subject at hand to say something definitive.  But there are far less moving parts to this story, I have a pretty good degree of technical understanding of the events here, and there are obvious problems with the story.  Given that understanding and familiarity with the subject, I completely understand why more reputable outlets wouldn't give it credence yet.

I agree. You didn't which is the point. There were plenty of technical points disproving the Russia story. 

We didn't know if the Russia story was correct. In the end it wasn't. But you seem hell bent this one isn't without investigation. Again, the point.

Your understanding of so called other reputable outlets is laughable when considering they had no problem reporting on the debunked Russia story. Again, the point.

Objectivity is important, that's all.

[AUFAN78 3,894]

9 minutes ago, Leftfield said:

There's also a monumental difference between a story that immediately falls apart upon basic scrutiny, and a years-long investigation that stalls because of lack of evidence but the lead investigator still remarks "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so..."

Horse S#!T

[TitanTiger 20,472]

Just now, AUFAN78 said:

I agree. You didn't which is the point. There were plenty of technical points disproving the Russia story. 

We didn't know if the Russia story was correct. In the end it wasn't. But you seem hell bent this one isn't without investigation. Again, the point.

Your understanding of so called other reputable outlets is laughable when considering they had no problem reporting on the debunked Russia story. Again, the point.

Objectivity is important, that's all.

Not understanding enough about the Russia matter to offer definitive opinions on it has no bearing on the fact that I DO understand enough about this current matter to do so.  I not only don't have the requisite understanding to offer comments on all things to satisfy your oddball need to draw false comparisons, I have neither time nor inclination to do so.  The two issues are separate and one has no bearing on the other as far as my objectivity goes.

[AUFAN78 3,894]

6 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Not understanding enough about the Russia matter to offer definitive opinions on it has no bearing on the fact that I DO understand enough about this current matter to do so.  I not only don't have the requisite understanding to offer comments on all things to satisfy your oddball need to draw false comparisons, I have neither time nor inclination to do so.  The two issues are separate and one has no bearing on the other as far as my objectivity goes.

I totally understand your "never Trump" opinion and have no problem with it. I simply pointed it out. 

[TitanTiger 20,472]

[Leftfield 2,593]

17 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

Horse S#!T

I'd laugh, but sadly this is one of the best arguments you've ever put forward.

[AUFAN78 3,894]

3 hours ago, Leftfield said:

Ok if I respond for Trump supporters here?

Thank you.

Precisely how i pictured you. Is that your sister with you?

[TitanTiger 20,472]

Further issues with this story...Guiliani's inconsistency on how the laptop was obtained.

On Thursday, Giuliani was on The David Webb Show on SiriusXM and said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74p90XdQr-U&feature=emb_logo

“The process was that the laptop was left by Hunter Biden, in an inebriated… heavily inebriated state with the merchant,” claimed Giuliani on the show. “The merchant fixed the laptop, tried to reach Hunter Biden and Hunter Biden never came back for it.”

“The document that I have signed by Hunter Biden says that after 90 days the hard drive is abandoned and it becomes the property of the merchant. Sometime after it became his property, he became very suspicious that maybe he had evidence of a crime sitting in his office,” he went on. “So he listened to it and he found that he did.”

But on Friday, the NY Post had Giuliani saying this:

https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/

“The shop owner couldn’t positively identify the customer as Hunter Biden, but said the laptop bore a sticker from the Beau Biden Foundation, named after Hunter’s late brother and former Delaware attorney general.”

One has a definitive claim that an obviously drunk Hunter Biden dropped it off, the other says they weren't sure who dropped it off but it was surmised that it was Hunter's laptop because of the Beau Biden sticker.  One makes a big deal about the form Hunter allegedly filled out giving up ownership of the laptop after 90 days if not picked up, the other makes no mention of this key bit of legal rights talk.

The latter thing is more of an omission than a change in story.  But the former is a definitely shift in the story.

 

[homersapien 11,362]

5 hours ago, SocialCircle said:

You made my point. Thanks!

(Work on that perspective thing. )

[AUFAN78 3,894]

10 hours ago, TitanTiger said:

Further issues with this story...Guiliani's inconsistency on how the laptop was obtained.

On Thursday, Giuliani was on The David Webb Show on SiriusXM and said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74p90XdQr-U&feature=emb_logo

“The process was that the laptop was left by Hunter Biden, in an inebriated… heavily inebriated state with the merchant,” claimed Giuliani on the show. “The merchant fixed the laptop, tried to reach Hunter Biden and Hunter Biden never came back for it.”

“The document that I have signed by Hunter Biden says that after 90 days the hard drive is abandoned and it becomes the property of the merchant. Sometime after it became his property, he became very suspicious that maybe he had evidence of a crime sitting in his office,” he went on. “So he listened to it and he found that he did.”

But on Friday, the NY Post had Giuliani saying this:

https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/

“The shop owner couldn’t positively identify the customer as Hunter Biden, but said the laptop bore a sticker from the Beau Biden Foundation, named after Hunter’s late brother and former Delaware attorney general.”

One has a definitive claim that an obviously drunk Hunter Biden dropped it off, the other says they weren't sure who dropped it off but it was surmised that it was Hunter's laptop because of the Beau Biden sticker.  One makes a big deal about the form Hunter allegedly filled out giving up ownership of the laptop after 90 days if not picked up, the other makes no mention of this key bit of legal rights talk.

The latter thing is more of an omission than a change in story.  But the former is a definitely shift in the story.

 

Yep. Impossible it's real. 

[TitanTiger 20,472]

18 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

Yep. Impossible it's real. 

Yeah, because this entire time I've gone out of my way to declare that it's definitely untrue and there's no way it could be real.

 

[AUFAN78 3,894]

More interesting takes on Hunter. Of course they'll be dismissed by clueso and company. 

Without backup from a more reliable outlet, Breitbart isn't going to suffice in this forum as a sole source of unproven allegations.  Find a reputable news source for this and we can put that link in here and compare it to what that tabloid says.

[AUFAN78 3,894]

21 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

More interesting takes on Hunter. Of course they'll be dismissed by clueso and company. 

Without backup from a more reliable outlet, Breitbart isn't going to suffice in this forum as a sole source of unproven allegations.  Find a reputable news source for this and we can put that link in here and compare it to what that tabloid says.

How about this one?

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-emails-chinese-energy-firm-burisma-executive

[AUFAN78 3,894]

5 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

How about this one?

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-emails-chinese-energy-firm-burisma-executive

Or this? https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/inside-hunter-bidens-murky-history-of-business-dealings-in-china/

Look this stuff is troubling. I understand why you dismiss it. Fine. Others don't and would like the truth. 

[AUFAN78 3,894]

30 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

More interesting takes on Hunter. Of course they'll be dismissed by clueso and company. 

Without backup from a more reliable outlet, Breitbart isn't going to suffice in this forum as a sole source of unproven allegations.  Find a reputable news source for this and we can put that link in here and compare it to what that tabloid says.

And for the record, the article was pulled from Real Clear Politics a highly reputable site.