[2022-11-07]

This story just doesn't compute with me. A young guy (21) seemingly had access to all this information, and shared it despite being Portuguese (based on his last name) so seemingly not ethnically tied to Russia, shared it openly on Discord with his gaming club, a full document dump literally hundreds of pages not just screenshots or summaries, but not before faking some of the information, coordinated by a group that has members in Ukraine so seemingly they don't love Russia, the NYT knows more than Biden simply by having honed in internet stalking tactics, everyone and his Mom gave media interviews on request, and the one picture the media could find of him he's standing in the shadows like Batman.

EDIT: I don't why I'm replying to everyone, yall are too much. I'm not conceding but I'm "deleting" my account so I'm not tempted to keep defending myself.

[nobody9999]

Why does it have to make sense? kids (and a 21 year-old is certainly not a full-grown adult) do stupid things all the time.

For example, as James Zhong claimed[0]:

>He recalled converting some of his Bitcoin into $700,000 in cash. He stated he did this so that he would have a “case full of money like in the movies.” He hoped the visual appeal of the cash would impress a female into having sexual relations with him. He stated his plan did not work.

Maybe this kid did it to impress his Discord buddies? Maybe he did it for shits & giggles. Presumably, we'll find out more as time goes by.

>despite being Portuguese (based on his last name)

My last name is English, but I'm not from England. I was born in the US, the child of an American citizen too. How could that possibly happen?

I've met at least half a dozen native-born Americans with the name 'Teixeira'. Why do you assume he's a foreign national? By that logic, this guy[1] must be a "furriner" too, eh?

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35549013

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Teixeira

[2022-11-07]

Your link is a about a bitcoin case, so unless I missed something this guy wasn't doing it for money (I don't condone it, but money is a reasonable motive for committing a crime).

And I said based on his last name he doesn't appear to be ethnically Russian. Why are you going on about foreign nationals?

[nobody9999]

>Your link is a about a bitcoin case, so unless I missed something this guy wasn't doing it for money (I don't condone it, but money is a reasonable motive for committing a crime).

My point was that they were both kids when they did these stupid things (with Zhong, I'm not talking about stealing bitcoin -- he thought that it would "cool" to have a suitcase full of cash and that it might impress some college coed to fuck him -- hell I even quoted it for you).

Besides, What does your assessment as to what's reasonable have to do with what Jack Teixeira thought was a good idea?

>And I said based on his last name he doesn't appear to be ethnically Russian. Why are you going on about foreign nationals?

Because it's pretty obvious this guy isn't a spook/source for any foreign government. Which was implied by your noting the source of his last name?

And even if he was a spy for Russia or Brazil or Portugal or Grand Fenwick, for that matter, what does his name have to do with it?

why would it matter whether his name is 'Teixeira' or 'Smith' or 'Brin' or 'Nahasaheemapetalan'?

Actual spies like Whittaker Chambers[0] and Alger Hiss[1] didn't have "russian" names. Please.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittaker_Chambers

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alger_Hiss

Edit: Fixed tense as to Hiss'/Chambers' names -- as they're both dead.

[2022-11-07]

> suitcase full of cash and that it might impress some college coed to fuck

I think the sex in that story is a red herring. If you have a suitcase full of 700 grand you don't need to impressive anyone to have sex. If you have a bunch of illicit bitcoins converting that into cash also makes sense without bringing sex into it. Money makes sense as a motive.

> What does your assessment as to what's reasonable have to do with what Jack Teixeira thought was a good idea?

A crime like this needs a motive.

> this guy isn't a spook/source for any foreign government

We're on the same page. What I'm saying is if this guy was a spook the story would start to make sense. But it doesn't look like he is.

> what does his name have to do with it?

I'll go out on a limb and say the average person who's last name is Putin has more loyalty to the Russian government than someone who's last name is Teixeira.

> Actual spies [...] didn't have "russian" names

It's funny. In a parallel thread I'm being accused of thinking Cold War spy stories are real, and here's two men whose entire Wikipedia articles read like spy thrillers.

I'm not checking if this guy is a spy, just that some sort of evidence of Russian sympathies would make this all easier to swallow.

[nobody9999]

>I think the sex in that story is a red herring.

I think stuff too, sometimes. Does it hurt when you do that? It definitely does when I do.

[VLM]

People who don't understand the system think leaking classified data is either James Bond nonsense or its like Trade Secrets where once the cat's out of the bag and its public it doesn't matter.

Say you're arguing about the top speed of an aircraft carrier or some BS, the topic doesn't actually matter. The top speed is classified but you know what it is and its documented in writing you know what it is. You google for the public answer of the top speed. Some wise ass engineer on Quora uses basic fluid dynamics and hydrology principles to calculate it must be darn near Z knots and you know for a fact its exactly Z knots you plagiarize the guy or quote him, BAM if the NYT has an axe to grind about it, you're now a felon. That's how classified data works. Its content based not process based. You can't avoid prosecution using a google search or chatGPT log or a torrent file or a link to wikileaks as a magic shield, the legal structure doesn't work that way, sorry kid.

Another way to get caught is "wikipedia paraphrases the classified document I have including exact numbers and everything ... obviously my classified document must have been declassified a long time ago, no danger in quoting my original, right?" Nope, insta-felony.

Now usually if you avoid getting documented in the NYT, if you are just quoting some nonsense you downloaded from the internet that everyone has a copy of anyway, the punishment is not quite as severe as if you sold files to Russia in exchange for coke and hookers.

If everyone on the planet already knew about it except the American public who paid for it, usually not get into much trouble, but you will get into trouble.

It's an interesting security problem to guard against. If you want to F up the American War Machine almost for free, post a bunch of 'stolen' classified docs on some Portuguese (or whatever) web server and wait for the Americans to prosecute themselves for quoting the posts.

I had a clearance in the Army and no matter how many times they teach the class there's people who just don't get it, even if everyone in the world knows about ... Israeli nuclear weapons, for example, you personally are not allowed to talk about it once you're read in. Everyone on the planet can talk about it and every civvie can have a print out of those docs on their desk, but if you have a clearance you cannot talk about it.

[kipchak]

For your last paragraph, wouldn't this also apply if you formerly had a clearance per SF-312?

[remarkEon]

Yes.

(Not OP, but the answer is yes)

[dogma1138]

This makes more sense than some Cold War spy thriller story.

The amount of times people leaked classified information to win an argument on the Warthunder forums and discord alone proves that intelligence agencies have nothing on borderline teens that want to score points on the internet.

[2022-11-07]

Name the most nonsensical camp b-rated Bollywood spy thriller you've ever seen, one where actors land on their feet after getting blown 50 feet into the air. It still makes more sense than this.

[nobody9999]

>Name the most nonsensical camp b-rated Bollywood spy thriller you've ever seen, one where actors land on their feet after getting blown 50 feet into the air. It still makes more sense than this.

Why does it it need to "make sense" -- to you (or me, for that matter)?

I'm sure it made sense to this kid, at least on some level(s). I remember when I was 21. I did all kinds of stupid shit -- often for no reason other than I felt like it at the moment -- even when I regretted it later.

I'm probably lucky I didn't have a security clearance or I might have ended up just like this kid.

And I keep using that word: kid. And it absolutely does mean what I think it means. A 21 year old is (with very few exceptions) not yet an adult[0]:

   Although the brain stops growing in size by early adolescence, the teen years 
   are all about fine-tuning how the brain works. The brain finishes developing 
   and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the 
   forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature. 
   This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making 
   good decisions.

[0] https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-...

[tough]

I mean put it like that just sounds like a CIA plant or whatever

[standardUser]

"Thug Shaker Central, where about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teenagers, came together over a shared love of guns, racist online memes and video games"

Based on the above, maybe one of them was an alt-right type? A lot of the right wing in this country supports Russia.

[antibasilisk]

I think you're overcomplicating it, from the accounts given of his behavior in other articles it seems like it was just a massive egotrip for him. He enjoyed the attention and clout he got from seemingly 'predicting' what was going to happen.

[standardUser]

“A social-media account overseen by a former U.S. Navy noncommissioned officer—a prominent online voice supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine—played a key role in the spread of intelligence documents allegedly leaked by Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, reposting files from obscure online chat rooms,”

[antibasilisk]

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make

[standardUser]

Is it not two different people? The dumbshit who shared the info with his friends, and then someone else in the group leaked it to the public. At least that's the impression I got so far.

[pfisherman]

The whole thing is cockamamie and muddled by design. Is this a real leak that someone wants people to think is phony? Is this a phony leak that someone wants people to think is real? It is both?

We are not supposed to know, and that is the point.

[miguelazo]

It’s amazing how much Russiagate has rotted peoples brains that they even considered “Russia” as a suspect. As if the motives/outcomes of the disclosure align with their interests whatsoever, not to mention the Discord origin. Newsflash: if it were Russia, they would have just kept it quiet and killed the moles.