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Was Paul Manafort's sentencing today a 'sign' of things to come? Semiotics 101. by rinselberg
Started on: 03-14-2019 03:32 AM
Replies: 9 (175 views)
Last post by: rinselberg on 03-14-2019 05:16 PM
rinselberg
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Report this Post03-14-2019 03:32 AM Click Here to See the Profile for rinselbergClick Here to visit rinselberg's HomePageSend a Private Message to rinselbergEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post

Kevin Downing, defense counsel for former Trump presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort, outside of the US District Court building in Washington DC. Manafort, already facing 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud, was sentenced on Wednesday to an additional 43 months in prison on federal conspiracy charges. Photo credit: Stefani Reynolds for THE HILL(.com)


So that's all well and good--or maybe not, depending on your Point Of View--but what caught my eye and engaged my curiosity is the poster sign that is being held up for the cameras near the upper right corner of this photograph.
 
quote
THIS IS A SIGN (exclamation point).


That seems perfectly obvious. Or is there something more than meets the eye? Is there a clue from the field of Semiotics? Semiotics or Semiology, as described online at Encyclopedia Britannica(.com) :
 
quote
Semiotics, or Semiology was defined by one of its founders, the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, as the study of “the life of signs within society.” Although the word was used in this sense in the 17th century by the English philosopher John Locke, the idea of semiotics as an interdisciplinary mode for examining phenomena in different fields emerged only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the independent work of Saussure and of the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce.
https://www.britannica.com/science/semiotics


Is the context of any help, in terms of disambiguating whether this sign is better understood as a political expression, or as an uncomplicated, self-referential reference of a mostly whimsical attitude? A kind of "Truth in product labeling" stricture taken to the umpteenth level beyond sanity? Is it a modern day echo of Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement that emerged towards the end of the 1950s, as part of an artistic and cultural warmup act that ushered in the voltage-amplified societal soundscape that was to differentiate the decidedly more eclectic 1960s? Is it Politics, or a more straightforward and reflexive "Object d'art" ?


An examination of the video footage reveals that the person who is holding up that sign turns it around, to reveal the exact same message on the other side. Is that dispositive in any way? When I saw that it moved "my needle" on it away from Politics and towards Art, as the definitive genre. Yet I can hardly be certain.


What about a closer look at the person with the sign?

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

I see a puckishly attired individual, perhaps male, perhaps female, with some kind of purple-hued getup--a Halloween costume style wig or head covering of some other kind--with a color coordinated purple bowtie and purple-framed sunglasses. All matching the purple border around the poster sign itself.


Politics? Art? Political art? Artful politics?

"You make the call."

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 03-14-2019).]

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Rickady88GT
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Report this Post03-14-2019 06:28 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Rickady88GTSend a Private Message to Rickady88GTEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
This not a sign. It is a total waste of money. Millions spent to discover a tax cheat.
How many members of Congress would we have left if they were "investigated" like Trump has been? But guess what, Trump is still standing, and he is clean.
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rinselberg
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Report this Post03-14-2019 09:14 AM Click Here to See the Profile for rinselbergClick Here to visit rinselberg's HomePageSend a Private Message to rinselbergEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
First reaction here, to the remarks from Rick.

Consider the forfeitures that have been imposed upon Paul Manafort as a result of the federal cases that were brought against him by the Special Counsel. I just saw, the other day, $25 million that Manafort is on the hook for. If the feds can't get it from Manafort's bank accounts and other liquid assets, they can seize the real estate and homes that Manafort acquired.

I don't think that covers the entire cost of the Special Counsel's investigation, as it stands right now, but based on what I've read, I think it covers a very sizable fraction of it.

I do concede that if the full investigative firepower of the Special Counsel's office were to be focused on any member of Congress, there is the likelihood of uncovering tax-related and other kinds of financial transgressions, but I think that Manafort comes in on the high end of that range, in terms of the magnitude of the financial irregularities that would likely be uncovered in this (hypothetical) scenario.

It's also important to realize that Manafort's tax evasion schemes and other white collar or banking-related crimes are just a part of what the Special Counsel has investigated and prosecuted.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 03-14-2019).]

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Tony Kania
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Report this Post03-14-2019 09:43 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Tony KaniaSend a Private Message to Tony KaniaEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I am seriously shocked that there is another TDS thread. Shocked I tells ya.

I got called a homosexual yesterday by a road rager. Oh the huge Manatee. I was able to safely make it to the side of the road and have a good cry to get it out of my system. I contemplated contacting authorities to report a crime against the LGBTQ community, but felt that it would be a solid waste of city resources.

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rinselberg
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Report this Post03-14-2019 10:20 AM Click Here to See the Profile for rinselbergClick Here to visit rinselberg's HomePageSend a Private Message to rinselbergEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
I am recording that as a vote for the Politics-world interpretation, over the Art-world interpretation.

That makes Politics 2, Art 0. Not counting my own vote, which was (and remains) "Art."


CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 03-14-2019).]

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williegoat
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Report this Post03-14-2019 10:24 AM Click Here to See the Profile for williegoatClick Here to visit williegoat's HomePageSend a Private Message to williegoatEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Semi truck + Robotics = Semiotics! Now THAT is a sign of things to come!

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Report this Post03-14-2019 11:52 AM Click Here to See the Profile for williegoatClick Here to visit williegoat's HomePageSend a Private Message to williegoatEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post

williegoat

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quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

I see a puckishly attired individual, perhaps male, perhaps female, with some kind of purple-hued getup--a Halloween costume style wig or head covering of some other kind--with a color coordinated purple bowtie and purple-framed sunglasses. All matching the purple border around the poster sign itself.

Politics? Art? Political art? Artful politics?

"You make the call."


CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

Looks like Rod Stewart to me.

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

Art has different hair.

[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 03-14-2019).]

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Report this Post03-14-2019 12:38 PM Click Here to See the Profile for BlacktreeClick Here to visit Blacktree's HomePageSend a Private Message to BlacktreeEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
Somebody wanted to be on TV (or the modern equivalent thereof), and got their wish. Big deal.
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rinselberg
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Report this Post03-14-2019 12:50 PM Click Here to See the Profile for rinselbergClick Here to visit rinselberg's HomePageSend a Private Message to rinselbergEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post
 
quote
Originally posted by Blacktree:
Somebody wanted to be on TV (or the modern equivalent thereof), and got their wish. Big deal.

Politics 2, Art zero 1
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rinselberg
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Report this Post03-14-2019 05:16 PM Click Here to See the Profile for rinselbergClick Here to visit rinselberg's HomePageSend a Private Message to rinselbergEdit/Delete MessageReply w/QuoteDirect Link to This Post

rinselberg

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Same s**n, different day.

But he changed the color coordination of his accessories. All purple has given way to an orange and green look. I say "he." I think the individual is looking more masculine than feminine in this photograph.


Photo credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 03-14-2019).]

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