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Briefcase

Seven possible Comey replacements

TylerDurden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 10 May 2017 17:43 UTC
Christy, Gowdy, Guiliani
Possible replacements for fired FBI director James Comey
While Democrats are demanding a non-political appointee (like asking for a virgin in a whorehouse), speculation has already begun over who will replace Comey as FBI Director...

As Axios reports, here are a few possible replacements...
Rudy Giuliani

The former New York mayor and U.S. attorney is reportedly on Trump's shortlist to replace Comey. A source close to Trump confirmed to NY Mag's Olivia Nuzzi that Giuliani is being considered for FBI director. However, before that tip, Giuliani told Nuzzi and The Atlantic's Rosie Gray: "I am not. I'm not a candidate for FBI director. The president's not gonna ask me, and I'm not gonna be FBI director."

Giuliani was in D.C. last night, having drinks at Trump International Hotel. When asked if he'll be meeting with the president today, he said, "If I am, I wouldn't say."

Chris Christie

The New Jersey governor is not without controversies of his own, but he was one of the first Republicans to endorse Trump in 2016. Earlier this year, Trump appointed Christie to lead his opioid and drug abuse commission.
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Arrow Up

Russian FM Lavrov says Trump admin are business people, dialogue free from ideological bias


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 19:57 UTC
President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the US should seek ways to solve international problems together, despite any difficulties in relations, following a meeting with US President Donald Trump.

"First of all, we have discussed our cooperation on the international stage. It's been confirmed that despite all the difficulties, our countries can and must act together to help solve key problems on today's international agenda," Lavrov said at a press conference at the Russian embassy in Washington, following a meeting with President Trump.


The US and Russia will continue working together on various issues, including the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, Lavrov noted, adding they aim to remove all barriers hindering efficient cooperation.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Up

Trump wants more cooperation with Russia on ME conflicts


Sputnik
Wed, 10 May 2017 19:44 UTC
Trump and Lavrov
© The HillWill it be a meeting of hearts and minds?
US President Donald Trump in a Wednesday meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned possible further collaboration between the two countries in ending conflicts in the Middle East, the White House said in a press release.

Trump also underlined the importance of working together on the conflict in Syria, the release added. "He [Trump] also raised the possibility of broader cooperation on resolving conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere," the release stated. "The President further emphasized his desire to build a better relationship between the United States and Russia," the release stated.

Trump told Lavrov that the United States will continue to play a role in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a press release from the White House said on Wednesday. "The President raised Ukraine, and expressed his Administration's commitment to remain engaged in resolving the conflict and stressed Russia's responsibility to fully implement the Minsk agreements," the release stated.

Lavrov met with President Trump for the first time earlier in the day. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was also present at meeting.
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MIB

The CIA's Cult of Death - A review of Douglas Valentine's The CIA as Organized Crime

Kim Petersen
Dissident Voice
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:31 UTC
Deep State
Do you desire intellectually stimulating, need-to-be-aware-of information as a stocking stuffer in the time crunch just before Christmas? Look no further. Douglas Valentine's The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World fits the bill splendidly.

Taking on the CIA as a subject is a monumental task, as its tentacles delve into myriad facets of empire and society. The CIA operates as a mafioso on a grand scale, an imperial scale. Valentine's depth of knowledge on the subject is very apparent. The CIA is known as a surveillance and information gathering apparatus of the USA that engages in various international intrigues. That view of the CIA is superficial.

The CIA as Organized Crime presents the CIA as much more and in decidedly more sinister shades. Among these shades, the CIA is a war criminal, torturer, assassin, arms smuggler, drug smuggling kingpin, media network, business empire, and more. The CIA is steeped in capitalism, girded in racism, masterminds and carries out "regime change," has hands on the control of information and its communication, is creepily immersed in law enforcement and justice, and has a deeply corruptive influence on foreign governments, the DEA, NSA, military, and Justice Department, as well as on US members of Congress.

Interspersed throughout the book, Valentine interjects essential encapsulations. In this way, his honest, tell-us-like-it-is tone conveys a moral and persuasive power.
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Stock Down

ECB admits Eurozone labor market in much worse shape than official data indicates


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 17:53 UTC
People enter a government-run job centre in Madrid, Spain
© Andrea Comas / ReutersPeople enter a government-run job centre in Madrid, Spain.
The number of jobless or those seeking longer working hours in the eurozone is much higher than official figures suggest, according to a study by the European Central Bank.

According to the ECB bulletin, the eurozone unemployment and underemployment stands between 15 and 18 percent, nearly twice the official figure of 9.5 percent.

"In France and Italy, broader measures of labor market slack have continued to increase throughout the recovery, while in Spain and the other euro area economies, they have recorded some recent declines, but remain well above pre-crisis estimates," the ECB bulletin article said.

"The level of the broader indicator of labor underutilization is still high, and this is likely to continue to contain wage dynamics," it added.
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Propaganda

Call it like it is: Western reporters in Kiev continue to ignore the rise of Neo-Nazism in Ukraine

Bryan MacDonald
RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 17:36 UTC
Members of Ukrainian radical group Right Sector
© Gleb Garanich / ReutersMembers of Ukrainian radical group Right Sector.
Oscar Wilde's work thrived on tangents. After all, a writer gifted with such a repository of wisecracks needed space to deliver them. Thus, he observed things like how "the man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for."

Wilde's flowery and windy prose was so successful that oodles of his contemporaries aped it. As a result, by 1910, Joseph Devlin led a backlash against overwrought discourse through his book How to Speak and Write Correctly. Devlin observed: "for instance, you may not want to call a spade a spade. You may prefer to call it a spatulous device for abrading the surface of the soil. Better, however, to stick to the old familiar, simple name that your grandfather called it."

Just as today's western correspondents in Kiev have all kinds of terms for a particular cancer that has been eating away at Ukraine for some years. Especially since the 2014 'Maidan' coup/revolution, which they all unequivocally supported. The malignant growth concerned is the far right, enjoying a relentless rise since the violent overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich. A change of power, of course, that couldn't have happened without the muscle and fanaticism they provided.
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Arrow Down

Riyadh relaxes restrictions, gives Saudi women more freedom


Sputnik
Wed, 10 May 2017 02:42 UTC
Saudi Arabian women and King Salman
© Independent/Flipboard
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a royal decree on May 4, relaxing the restrictive system. Under the old system, women had to get written consent from a male relative to do basic things like go to work or school, but now women will be able to represent themselves in court, gain access to healthcare and get government jobs without a man's permission. The decree specified that this policy shift does not violate Islamic sharia.

King Salman has directed government agencies to make their websites reflect this change, and has ordered that male guardianship be lifted within three months.

A woman in the conservative kingdom will now be able to "be her own guardian and take care of her official matters without the need for the approval of the guardian," according to Organization of Islamic Cooperation Director Maha Akee, who spoke with Arab News about the change.

She also told Reuters that, "Now at least it opens the door for discussion on the guardian system ... Women are independent and can take care of themselves."

Comment: Saudi Arabia: Welcome to a couple centuries ago! Ranked 141 out of 144 countries in the 2016 Global Gender Gap, SA has lots of room for improvement!

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Dominoes

Double bill: Lavrov meets Tillerson, to meet Trump

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 10 May 2017 00:00 UTC
Lavrov/Trump/Kislyak
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/Getty ImagesMeeting in the Oval Office: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Ambassador to US Kislyak and President Trump
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov begins key 2 day visit to Washington during which he is due to meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US President Donald Trump in a further sign of a concerted attempt to improve relations.

Recently I wrote for The Duran an article that suggested that some sort of deal or understanding between the Kremlin and Trump administration had either been reached in relation to the conflict in Syria or was in the process of being reached. This followed 2 weeks of intense diplomatic contacts between the Kremlin and the Trump administration, which went well beyond the level of such contacts achieved at any previous time since Donald Trump's inauguration.

Comment: According to RT:
Lavrov will discuss cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism, as well as the issues touched on by President Vladimir Putin and Trump during their recent telephone conversation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. ...

The encounter will be one of the highest-level contacts between Trump and the Russian government since the Republican took office in January. Earlier, a senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the agenda of the Trump-Lavrov meeting would entail Syria as well as US-Russian relations and other global issues. ...

In late April, Putin noted that Trump had so far failed to make good on his campaign promises to seek better relations with Russia, adding that the level of trust between Moscow and Washington has even "degraded" since Obama left office. However, last week, Trump and Putin spoke by phone where among other things they discussed the ongoing Syrian conflict.


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Oscar

'Was he fired? You're kidding!" Lavrov meets with Tillerson, feigns surprise


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 14:49 UTC
Tillerson/Lavrov
© ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet in Washington, DC.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pretended to be deeply surprised by news of FBI Director James Comey's dismissal, asking journalists if he was fired, before a meeting with his US counterpart, Rex Tillerson, in Washington.

Journalists gathered at the White House bombarded Lavrov and Tillerson with questions as they posed for photos before going to a separate room for a meeting. One of the questions was whether the recently announced firing of FBI Director James Comey would mar negotiations between the two diplomats. Lavrov appeared surprised at the news, asking the journalists: "Was he fired? You're kidding! You're kidding!"

Lavrov and Tillerson then went into another room, apparently leaving the reporters and photographers quite perplexed. Tillerson, however, did not comment on the question.

US President Donald Trump's decision to fire Comey, whose agency is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and Trump's links to Russia, was announced on Tuesday.

The move was met with harsh criticism from many Democrats who say Trump is trying to derail an investigation that poses a threat to his presidency. White House officials dismissed the allegations, insisting that the decision was not politically motivated.

Comment: Mirth! Has to be the best preamble to serious discussions between to global giants and signals the hope of a good relationship. Mr. Lavrov apparently felt comfortable enough to engage in humor. It also goes a long way in dispelling the sticker-facing and stereotyping of Russia, handily used and abused by the MSM.

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Handcuffs

W. Virginia Capitol: Reporter arrested for asking questions of US health secretary


RT
Wed, 10 May 2017 12:42 UTC
Dan Heyman arrested
© twitterThe controversial arrest of Dan Heyman.
A reporter was arrested at the West Virginia State Capitol for allegedly trying to ask the Health and Human Services secretary a question about the Trump administration's healthcare plan. Authorities say he "aggressively breached Secret Service agents."

Dan Heyman, a journalist with 30 years of experience and currently working with Public News Service, said he was arrested on Tuesday for trying to ask Health and Human Services Secretary Tim Price whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition under the Trump administration's healthcare plan.

"I waited for him to come into the building, and I was recording audio on my phone, and I reached it out to him, past his staffers and the other people who were with him, and I asked him the question repeatedly and he did not answer," Heyman said in a press conference following his arrest. "And at some point I think the Capitol police got an indication... I think they decided I was just too persistent in asking this question and trying to do my job, and so they arrested me."

Heyman was jailed on the charge of "willful disruption of state government processes" and later released on $5,000 bail.

Comment: The reporter says he was just doing his job. The Secret Service was just doing theirs.

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