COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, August 11, 2016

It’s raining e-mails for Hillary - Pay to Play

The FBI Asked DOJ to Investigate the Clinton Foundation — Despite 3 Strong Reasons, They Were Denied





The Department of Justice’s public integrity unit has declined to launch an investigation into the Clinton Foundation, even after the FBI recommended an investigation take place.
According to CNN, new emails released by Judicial Watch “raise questions about the Clinton Foundation’s influence on the State Department and its relations during her tenure.”

The Appointment of Rajiv Fernando

In 2011, Rajiv K. Fernando, a Chicago securities trader, was given a seat on the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB).
According to the State Department, ISAB is no joke:
[The] International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) provides the Department with independent insight and advice on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, nonproliferation, international security, and related aspects of public diplomacy…Board members are national security experts with scientific, military, diplomatic, and political backgrounds.
As a securities trader, Fernando was not familiar with nonproliferation, arms control, or disarmament, nor was he a national security expert by any means. He had, however, donated money to the Clinton Foundation.
Image Credit: Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images
Image Credit: Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images
ABC reports that Fernando donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the foundation. Additionally, he helped raise $100,000 for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid.
Emails reveal that some State Department officials began to panic when ABC started asking questions regarding Fernando’s appointment to ISAB.
Wade Boese, who was Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, said in an email that Clinton herself didn’t add Fernando, but that long-time aide and legal advisor Cheryl Mills did:
“The true answer is simply that S staff (Cheryl Mills) added him…Raj was not on the list sent to S; he was added at their insistence.”
After ABC continued to push, Rajiv Fernando quickly resigned.

Uranium One

The New York Times reports that from 2009 to 2013, three “transactions” occurred which gave Russia control over a Canadian company called Uranium One. The company held uranium-mining stakes across the world, which made it an extremely valuable asset for Russia.
Following the transactions, Russia essentially had control of “one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States.”
Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Here’s where it gets interesting. During the entire Uranium One process, the Clinton Foundation, as well as former-President Bill Clinton, were raking in cash from dubious donors.
The chairman of Uranium One donated $2.35 million to the foundation (which the Clintons initially failed to disclose, violating a deal with the Obama administration), and Mr. Clinton was paid an astonishing $500,000 to give a single speech in Moscow just after Russia announced it would seek to have a “majority stake” in Uranium One.
Image Credit: Mikhail Metzel / Staff / Getty Images
Image Credit: Mikhail Metzel / Staff / Getty Images
To be fair, as The New York Times and The Washington Post note, there’s no evidence of a quid pro quo. There’s only a pattern of peculiar activity, and seemingly peculiar activity isn’t proof of any nefarious dealings.

Middle East Allies?

During Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, she aggressively promoted fracking, a practice by which water and a chemical mixture are blasted into shale rock in order to extract natural gas.
Despite strong pushback from many on the left who oppose fracking, Clinton moved forward with initiatives designed to promote the practice in the Middle East, and elsewhere.
During a speech at Georgetown University, Clinton enthusiastically said:
“This is a moment of profound change…Countries that used to depend on others for their energy are now producers. How will this shape world events? Who will benefit, and who will not?…The answers to these questions are being written right now, and we intend to play a major role.”
According to The Daily Caller, the Clinton Foundation has received “$100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders.”
“Hydraulic fracturing of shale has turned the United States from an importer of oil and gas to an exporter, which threatens oil producing states, but particularly oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and the gulf states.”
In short, Hillary Clinton has heavily promoted fracking in nations that produce and export energy. However, she appears to be opposed to fracking in the United States.
In March, Clinton told a debate audience:
“By the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place.”
Image Credit: Pete Souza / The White House / Getty Images
Image Credit: Pete Souza / The White House / Getty Images
The Daily Caller quotes Richard Rahn of the Institute for Global Economic Growth, who believes Clinton’s rather dramatic shift is due to monetary ties to the Middle East:
“The Clinton’s always do everything in a calculated manner. ‘Ok, I go after fracking, why not go ahead and make my environmental friends happy, but at the same time reap the benefits from foreign source income by making my Sheikh’s happy?'”
As with the previous peculiar transactions, there is no real evidence to suggest a quid pro quo, but unusual patterns and behaviors suggest that an unwritten and unspoken arrangement may be taking place.
A seat at ISAB for a donor who had no expertise in the field; approval of a uranium company stake purchase coinciding with a massive cash flow; taking two different positions on fracking as the Clinton Foundation receives money from Middle Eastern leaders who would benefit from such a reversal.
Bereft of physical evidence, such behavior still appears extraordinarily unusual. Regardless, Loretta Lynch’s DOJ isn’t interested in an investigation.

49 comments:

  1. Well, I'd like to be interested in how somebody got appointed to some international board of which I've never heard, to do something of which no one will ever hear, much less remember, But

    Trump has, 4 or 5 times now, in the last day, called the President of the United States "The Founder of ISIS."

    What were you saying, again? . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. At least, we're not talking about his call, two days ago, for the Assassination of the Democratic Candidate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And, no, he wasn't joking.

      Delete
    2. And, you know how I know he wasn't joking? Because, as long as we've been watching him, He's Never Told a Fucking Joke.

      Now, you're thinking, right? And, now, you're realizing that you have Never heard Trump 'intentionally' say something funny, much less "joke around." I rest my case.

      Delete
    3. Back in 2008, when reporters were asking her why she didn't drop out, she reminded them that Bobby Kennedy was shot in June.
      ...but that was no big deal, essentially saying:

      "Obama may get shot, that's why I'm not dropping out"

      Two different Worlds, Trump and Hillary live in two OPPOSITE World's, thanks to "the news."

      Delete
    4. ...and stooges like Rufus that convince themselves they can believe in anything.

      Delete
    5. "who" (or maybe "that" in the case of The Rufus)

      Delete
    6. .

      And, no, he wasn't joking.

      :o)

      Your partisan credulity knows no bounds.

      .

      Delete
  3. The editorial board asked,
    “You don’t buy the party unity argument?”
    to which she responded:

    "I don’t, because again, I’ve been around long enough.

    You know my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere around the middle of June.

    We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.

    Um you know I just I don’t understand it.
    There’s lots of speculation about why it is."


    http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/that-time-when-clinton-refused-to-drop-out-of-the-race-because-obama-could-be-assasinated/

    ReplyDelete
  4. "And, you know how I know he wasn't joking? Because, as long as we've been watching him, He's Never Told a Fucking Joke."
    ===
    Eyes Wide Shut

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ahh, okay. It was just a joke. Now, Trump's going to win the election. Happy Days are here again. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rasmussen had Brain Freeze up by only 3 today.

      Moderate legal opinion out this way is that Brain Freeze out to at least be in prison, and, actually, hung for treason.

      Delete
    2. ought to at least be in prison, had a minor brain freeze there, brought on by justified outrage....

      Delete
    3. .

      Ahh, okay. It was just a joke. Now, Trump's going to win the election. Happy Days are here again. :)

      It being a joke or not won't change things.

      Trump still deserves criticism for his 'bad' joke. Worse, the joke wasn't funny. And worst, Trump is too stupid to know that shooting someone isn't something you joke about, not today, not in the middle of a presidential race.

      The man is clueless.

      .

      Delete
  6. Had a meeting with my lawyer today, and she certainly is no hard core Republican, in fact I suspect she mostly votes Dem, but she sincerely thinks Hillary should be in prison, in fact hung for treason.

    So, there you have it from a moderate part of the legal community out this way.

    I pointed her to 'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves and firmly implanted the equation in her mind -

    Hillary = Livia Drusilla

    She seemed very interested in this when I told her about it, and the book, and the old Public Broadcasting drama of 'I, Claudius' which was top rate.....

    ***********

    O'bama IS the founder of ISIS.

    He founded it when he took the troops out way way way way too soon.

    And USA has been fucking mildly around ever since while the Christians, among others, are being genocided....

    Rufus is extremely slow to learn, and comprehend.....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, Greta is just now reporting that the Government (O'bozo and Company) has been lying to us regularly about progress against ISIS.

    I can hardly believe this.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tell us this ain't so, Rufus.

      Delete
    2. I just heard the phrase 'totally divorced from reality' used in relation to these reports....

      Say, did you see O'bozo's daughter smoking a joint out at Martha's Vineyard, or somewhere similar, earlier today ?

      Delete
    3. Wait, what the hell, I thought O'bozo used to preach against joint smoking....

      WTF ?

      Delete

    4. The term 'new Pentagon Papers' is now being used in reference to said reports....also 'cooking the books'.....and 'the books are being cooked'.....

      What say you, Chef Rufus ?

      Delete
  8. 59% Say Release Her Medical Records....

    What Is Wrong With Her ? ..... DRUDGE


    I will try to find the learned medical opinions on the subject of what is wrong with Brain Freeze that I read early this morning, and post it.....she's definitely not 'all there'.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BINBO !!

      Crooked Hillary or Unhealthy Hillary ?

      (perhaps both ?)

      http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/08/crooked_hillary_or_unhealthy_hillary.html

      What about neurosyphilis ?

      Oropharyngeal cancer - "the hole in the tongue" ?

      Parkinson's Disease ?

      Traumatic Brain Injury ?

      Maybe all of the above ?

      And so much more.....

      Delete
    2. The 'investigation' into The Clinton Foundation has been deep sixed.....

      The Democrat Party at the top levels is now nothing but an Open Cess Pool.

      Delete
    3. Sorry, it's Trump's fault for MAKING them be too busy covering him to have time to deep six Hillary.

      Delete
  9. If I remember correctly El Chapo once said he would whack Trump. Just a few months ago the novelist Brad Thor said publicly on the Glen Beck show that Trump should be killed. Where is the outrage? I saw the clip y'all are getting in a tizzy over and I didnt hear the word shoot or assassination in any of it.

    By the way, HRC and Billy boy don't make suggestions of inuendos. People who get in their way just disappear. They don't talk about it, they just do it. Where is the outrage? As Ash would say, your silence is telling, don'tcha know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quirk expects Trump to be held accountable, nay, pilloried, so Quirk can call him stupid, while

      HILLARY GETS A PASS AND APPLAUSE FROM THE "PRESS"

      It's just the way things are supposed to be.

      Delete
    2. .

      Gee, Doug, I didn't know you were keeping score.

      What's the insult count right now?

      .









      Delete
  10. We're driving out into the countryside to watch the stars fall.

    They do this every year.

    This year is supposed to be a really good year.

    Some guy named Mr Perseid puts on the show....for free too......

    Cheers !


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember my dad and I watched the show in the middle of the night under the crystal clear skies in the Grand Coulee parking lot one night about this time of year way back in probably about 1971. I remember seeing about 5 really bright long streaks in the sky closely in parallel with each other cutting across the whole sky.

      Amazing show. I'll never forget it. Awesome place to view it, also.

      Delete
    2. While waiting for wife -


      How Hillary & Obama Brought Us ISIS

      The brutal accuracy of Trump labeling Clinton and the president the "cofounders" of ISIS.

      August 12, 2016

      Joseph Klein

      What we do know for sure is that there was no serious threat posed by any organized ISIS fighting force when Obama took office in 2009. It was President Obama’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011, rather than follow the military’s advice to leave a residual force behind, which turned the smoldering embers of the once defeated al Qaeda-backed insurgency into the raging out-of-control conflagration that the newly constituted ISIS, under al Baghdadi’s leadership, created in the entire region. In that sense, ISIS became a newly spun off start-up under Obama’s watch, which launched successfully and expanded because of the power vacuum that Obama’s misguided policies created.

      http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263829/how-hillary-obama-brought-us-isis-joseph-klein

      The Donald has it exactly right.

      And if you need another authority, you can turn to Idaho Bob, who has been saying the same thing for years, long before The Donald arrived on the scene.....

      Delete
    3. This Perseid guy must really have the big bucks, to be able to throw stars around like that.....

      Delete
    4. Grand Coulee would be a great place from which to watch....

      Delete
  11. US troops had a term for the Obama withdrawal from Iraq -

    'The Obama Bug-Out'

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hugh Fitzgerald: Of Korans and Constitutions

    August 11, 2016 1:13 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald 24 Comments


    Khizr Khan

    “Have you even read the United States Constitution?” Khizr Kahn asked at the DNC, holding up his pocket version and offering to loan it to Trump. “Look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law.'” This was declared by many in the Clinton claque to be the most damning indictment of Trump’s awfulness, coming from an aggrieved father, dignified in his righteous anger, and what’s more, an immigrant from Pakistan, who knew more about the fundamental document of our secular religion than Trump the Smirking Plutocrat.

    Still, one had to wonder, what exactly is in the Constitution that Khizr Khan thought relevant to Trump’s remarks about Islam? I’ve looked for the appearance of the word “liberty” in the Constitution, and I suspect that Mr. Khan had in mind its appearance in the Fifth Amendment, which declares that no one can be deprived of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” I assume that Khizr Khan believes that clause would apply to Trump’s remark: “When I am elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we understand how to end these threats.” I suspect that Mr. Khan is counting on the Supreme Court to use the “equal protection of the laws” clause of the 14th amendment, which applies to the federal government through the 5th amendment’s Due Process Clause, to strike down any discrimination based on religion (for what Trump’s remark meant was equivalent to a ban on Muslims). Such discrimination is, however, not forbidden, though subject to the highest standard of constitutional review. Discrimination on the basis of religion, like race, involves “suspect classifications,” and triggers strict scrutiny. This means that the government must show a “compelling state interest” to justify the discrimination. National security, or the prevention of major loss of life, are both examples, it could be argued, of such a “compelling state interest.” Those supporting such a ban on Muslim immigration at least have a constitutional case to make that Khizr Khan’s aggrieved rhetoric obscured. Perhaps Trump should have replied to Khizr Khan and said something about “strict scrutiny” and a “compelling state interest,” which would at least dispel the smug conviction of so many that a ban on Muslim immigration “of course is unconstitutional.” That’s what most people think. It’s not nearly that simple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But the second, and much more important chance, that the Trump camp passed up was this: Trump ought to have appeared a day or two after Khan’s appearance, holding in his hand a “pocket Koran,” which could be the full Koran, or, more usefully, an abridged version, containing the 100-odd “jihad verses.” Trump would hold up that version of the Koran, saying: ““Have you even read the Koran, Mr. Khan? Why don’t you look for the words ‘Jihad’ and ‘Jizyah’ and ‘Kafir’? What do you make, Mr. Khan, of such verses as 9:5 and 9:29? I’m sure you’ve read them. You know, there’s the one about “slay the idolaters whenever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” And the other one – “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” I’m sure you know those, Mr. Khan. Oh, and by the way, folks, I ordered a few hundred copies of this abridged version of the Qur’an, which you should have found on your seats this morning, but if not, just ask my staff for a copy. It makes for interesting reading. And I’m sure your readers and viewers would like you to tell them more about them.”

      What, after all, would Khan reply? That he’s never heard of those verses? Or that he has, but they are being “taken out of context”? Or would he simply try to shut that discussion down: “Never mind about the Koran, I was talking about the Constitution. The Koran is irrelevant.” But most Americans will not be convinced by such a reply and, their curiosity piqued, will want to find out for themselves just what is in this Koran that Khan wants to keep from having discussed. Now that these words – “jihad,” “jizyah,” “kafir” – and specific verses would have been pushed by Trump into the wider public consciousness, even the most partisan of journalists will have to talk about them, and ideally, will feel compelled to discuss not just the particular verses — 9:5 and 9:29 — quoted by Trump, but others in that abridged Koran, and will have to start reporting on that list of “jihad verses” that has been thrust into his hands.

      But Trump didn’t do this. He missed an opportunity to help himself and educate the public. Perhaps, even now, there’s still time to hold up that pocket Koran. If not Trump, then could someone else come riding to the pedagogic rescue?

      https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/08/hugh-fitzgerald-of-korans-and-constitutions

      Delete
  13. Huma's hubby is still at it -

    Anthony Weiner still sexting other women, says Sydney Leathers


    By Mara Siegler

    August 11, 2016 | 5:20pm


    Modal Trigger Anthony Weiner still sexting other women, says Sydney Leathers
    Sydney Leathers, Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin Photo: Getty Images

    More On:

    anthony weiner

    Anthony and Huma still haven't seen 'Weiner'


    Carlos Danger wants to sell you a hot dog


    Anthony Weiner out of his job at powerhouse PR firm


    Anthony Weiner told to stay away from Hillary Clinton fundraiser


    Sydney Leathers — the woman who horndog Anthony Weiner sexted as “Carlos Danger,” torpedoing his mayoral campaign in 2013 — has accused the pervy former pol of being up to his old tricks again, with yet another woman.

    Leathers on Thursday posted a scathing review of the recent documentary “Weiner” — which covers the sexting scandal — on Beltway blog Washington Babylon, and in Leathers’ “thumbs down” notice, she writes that Weiner’s “behavior will continue. In fact, I am certain his behavior continues to this day because a woman who claims to be one of his current sexting partners has reached out to me for advice.”....

    http://pagesix.com/2016/08/11/anthony-weiner-still-sexting-other-women-says-sydney-leathers/

    For those of you that don't know, 'Huma' is Hillary chief advisor and constant companion, Anthony is still Huma's hubby, and is the guy that displayed his dick on you tube, and only Rufus could vote for Hillary, the main scamp of this perverse crew.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Think of it all as USA putting its scummiest face forward for all the world to see.....we are laughing stocks....

      Delete
    2. And don't forget O'bozo's little daughter out there smoking a joint for all the world to see too....a wonderful example for our nation's youth....

      Are we at the point yet where we deserve to crash and burn ?

      Delete
  14. POLL: CLINTON +1....DRUDGE

    http://cesrusc.org/election/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Strikes in Syria

    Bomber, fighter, attack, ground-attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Syria:

    -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 15 ISIL oil tankers.

    -- Near Manbij, 15 strikes struck 14 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle bomb.

    -- Near Palmyra, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

    Strikes in Iraq

    Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

    -- Near Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed five ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL rocket cache, two ISIL-used tunnels, and two ISIL fighting positions.

    -- Near Hit, a strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL vehicle storage area, and an ISIL mortar cache and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

    -- Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

    -- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, five ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL-used tunnels, two ISIL vehicle bombs, 22 ISIL rocket rails and 22 ISIL rockets and denied ISIL access to terrain.

    -- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

    -- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.

    ReplyDelete