I personally "like'

[Thomas Eckhardt]

On Wed, 11 Jan 2017 08:10:26 -0500
  Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
> how over just a few days, the fact that Russia hacked
> into the DNC and did stuff to *try* to influence the US 
>election
> is now an accepted historical truth, it seems, even on 
>the Plist...
> Beliefs *can* change when reality bites.
> 
> Raise your hands if you don't believe that or simply 
>delete.

Facts are but the Play-things of spin doctors and unnamed 
intelligence officials.

I prefer primary sources to Twitter feeds.

 From Annex B of the report 'Background to “Assessing 
Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: 
The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution', page 
13:

"Estimative Language

Estimative language consists of two elements: judgments
about the likelihood of developments or events occurring
and levels of confidence in the sources and analytic
reasoning supporting the judgments. Judgments are not
intended to imply that we have proof that shows something
to be a fact. Assessments are based on collected
information, which is often incomplete or fragmentary, was
well as logic, argumentation, and precedents.”

https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf

Read that Rumsfeldian sentence again:

"Judgments are not intended to imply that we have proof
that shows something to be a fact."

Still, many treat the report as proof that Russia hacked 
the DNC. As was intended by its authors.

Me, I prefer to stay a member of the reality-based 
community.

-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l