Here’s a task for our intrepid Trail Mix Internet researchers: See if you can figure out what is actually happening with the Russia sanctions Congress overwhelmingly passed, reluctantly signed by Trump weeks ago, for which a deadline passed a month or so ago.
I haven’t been able to find anything worth linking that clarifies what the Trump Administration is doing about this. Some stuff about studying this or that, imposing this or that, but good luck figuring out what is really happening.
A full and faithful execution of all these sanctions is just not happening. It seems like every pronouncement comes with a hidden caveat.
You’d think there’d be more outrage from Capitol Hill lawmakers, even from Republicans, who championed these sanctions as we see what appears to be nothing more than lip service from the White House.
Of course, the issue here is whether Trump is rewarding Putin for throwing the election. Hey, why else would you obstruct justice to thwart investigations. This is what collusion is all about.
Excellent question, Craig…it motivated me to write to pearce and ask him about the sanctions, again. It is as if the twin towers fell on the internets and no one noticed or cared in DC because they benefited from the election heist.
I remember the happiest time for trump was the secret and surprise visit from his boss’s entourage into the Oval Office…no American media or photos allowed, ruskies-only meeting. Totally UN-American. trump hiding in plain site like comey in the drapes and congressional repugs do not seem to care.
“It seems like every pronouncement comes with a hidden caveat.”
boss, shouldn’t that read “It seems like every pronouncement comes with hidden caviar?”
and only the beluga, ossetra, sevruga from the sturgeon of the caspian and black seas of course.
u.s. sanctions in this case are with a wink and like being beat with a wet noodle
drip drip drip
Bloomberg: Trump’s Deutsche Bank Records Said to Be Subpoenaed by Mueller
Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on President Donald Trump’s business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens.
Mueller has issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest lender, forcing the bank to submit documents on its client relationship with Trump and his family, said a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified because the action has not been announced.
“Deutsche Bank always cooperates with investigating authorities in all countries,” the lender said in a statement to Bloomberg, declining to provide additional information.
Deutsche Bank for months has rebuffed calls by Democratic lawmakers to provide more transparency over the roughly $300 million Trump owed to the bank for his real estate dealings prior to becoming president. Representative Maxine Waters of California and other Democrats have asked whether the bank’s loans to Trump, made years before he ran for president, were in any way connected to Russia. The bank previously rejected those demands, saying sharing client data would be illegal unless it received a formal request to do so. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Deutsche Bank management is ready to share information about the lender’s dealings with Trump and is hopeful that doing so will help end the series of inquiries from Democrats, said an executive at the bank who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
[…continues….]
John McCain tweets that he is only 74 “followers” away from busting Three Million, asks for help “reaching this big milestone”.
Next thing you know, McCain’s follower list plummets to 2,976,412 or around in there……now at 2,972,404
Went up to 2,972,606
No follow-through on sanctions? Follow the money. There’s an article in Greenpeace (that will not copy over) about Ukraine, oil, Tillerson, opening up the Arctic for drilling.
Or, maybe, follow the dead Russians. Many have fallen out of windows, etc., since the election.
“What Russian Sanctions Have To Do With Arctic Drilling In Five Steps” It’s on Greenpeace.org if you’d care to read it.
Currently we know that SFB, his family and mob are all under investigation for if not being russian agents are pretty close to it. It also looks like a charge or two of money laundering will hit them too.
The next question is how many and who in the Congress are also russian agents or pretty close to it. This is where the Mueller investigation might have more kick. If he can bring down enough congressional types those open seats will take a toll. Maybe enough of a toll to add to the removal of republicans from the Congress to flip it Dem and enough Dems to impeach SFB and the guy who is afraid of women.
No dunce caps today on the trail…excellent insights from all. Your last point, BB, the next zapato to drop? The congrussians. The sex allegations? A convenient way to work with majority number in the senate. The nork threat drumbeat, louder and louder everyday? How do the norks get all of the rocket fossil fuel and technology? Ruskies, China, neighbors to the nork!
May as well ask Where’s Waldo? The only difference is that one can actually find Waldo.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/12/04/will-russia-be-banned-from-the-winter-olympics-ioc-to-decide-tuesday/?utm_term=.0aaefec3b23d&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1… I would love to see that happen and be a fly on the wall when SFB found out.
From cnn Nov. 2, sanctions reference by HRC, article refers to russian sanctions implementation in January 2018…slomo by sos.
More from the cnn links —
The State Department had come under sharp criticism from lawmakers from both parties who questioned why the Trump administration had missed the deadline and whether the delay reflected reluctance from the White House to further sanction Moscow.
“Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has authorized the department to issue guidance to the public specifying the persons or entities that are part of or operating on behalf of the defense or intelligence sectors of the government of the Russian Federation,” Nauert said. “What that means is that Secretary Tillerson has signed off on this and it is now being held on Capitol Hill.”
White House facing scrutiny for Russia sanctions delay
Nauert said that the State Department was also reaching out to “key US industry stakeholders and our allies and partners” to explain the list.
nauert, former faux news hack that trump wants to swap for suckabee. So the sanctions are being ‘held’ on Capital Hill! Are they being held hostage? Tightly? Forcibly?
Speaking of Russia … the last King of Romania, Michael, died at age 96. I know the feelings about royals here but this man’s life paralleled the story of modern day Europe: imposed monarchy –> Nazi occupation –> communist takeover –> overthrow of communism. He was born into a life that he had no choice in choosing & actually exhibited courage & love of his country. His father was a worthless cad. His grandmother was the renowned beauty/uber celeb Marie of Edinburgh, whose life alone is worth a miniseries or two. Royalty has many rotten apples but Michael wasn’t one of them.
While researching the webs, I found the following regarding a poll about trump being an idiot — I will let you know that New Mexico does not allow idiots to vote.
In the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, the term began to take on the more familiar meaning, namely a person of low intelligence. This meaning is fraught with ableist history, as “idiot” was used as a diagnostic term indicating severe intellectual or developmental disability. Dr. Henry H. Goddard was the first to translate the French Binet-Simon intelligence test, a precursor to I.Q. tests, into English, and used the metric to classify “mental age”: An adult with a mental age less than 3 years old was labeled an “idiot”; between 3 and 7, an “imbecile”; and between 7 and 10, a “moron.” Originally, an I.Q. was determined by dividing mental age by actual age and multiplying by 100: An idiot was anyone with an I.Q. below 30. (Goddard, by the way, was an early advocate for special education but also favored eugenic practices and believed that the idiot should be removed from society by institutionalization or sterilization.)
Thankfully, such medical nomenclature has fallen out of favor. Yet, the term is still on the books in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Ohio, which officially do not allow “idiots” to vote.
There is no law against an idiot, imbecile or moron to hold the highest office in the land.
We ask what has happened to sanctions signed by this President. This is a man who lives by the creed that things are important until they aren’t important to him any more.
bw, thanks for that 11/2 cnn link of hrc. it might be effective if media would do running clocks on some these “missed” deadlines sitting on the twit’s desk….this one now is about 2 months late if not more:
The State Department — 25 days after guidance on the sanctions were due — issued direction on which Russian individuals and entities will be subject to sanctions under the newly passed legislation. The lack of guidance had drawn bipartisan scorn.
“He hasn’t implemented it. So what is the lesson from that?” Clinton said at an event in Washington. “The lesson is you can get away with attacking America, sowing discord and divisiveness, effecting our election and this President and administration are not going to hold you accountable.”
Yet, the term is still on the books in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Ohio, which officially do not allow “idiots” to vote.
hmmm, obviously not enforced
sj, too bad the king could not save the Jews and Gypsies from nazi extermination, he tried.
a new tourist must-see in la?
the guardian:
For your viewing pleasure, downtown LA’s new Museum of Failure has gathered together some of history’s most ill-conceived ideas.
There’s the Shared Girlfriend, a $45-a-day rental sex doll that the Chinese company Taqu launched in September – and recalled just two days later, due to a government backlash – which sits right across from a small shrine to some of the current president’s shortest-lived ventures. There’s Success Distilled, AKA a bottle of yellow-tinged Trump Vodka (2006-2011); a box set of Trump: The Game, the only version of Monopoly in which you can actually get fired; and a pair of textbooks from Trump University, including Play to Win in Business and Life and Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea Into a Money Machine.
“The Trump exhibit could have been much bigger,” says the clinical psychologist and Museum of Failure founder Samuel West. “There’s so many more. What’s interesting is that, whatever you think of him, yea or nay, Trump is a phenomenon. He’s stumbled from failure to failure in business – not evaded failure, but met it full force. He’s a fantastic example that failure is often in our heads, and you can fail extensively without it having to paralyze you.”
Although the president’s no-fail attitude could be attributed to his endless financial cushion, West founded his museum last summer in Helsingborg, Sweden, with this same inspirational spirit of destigmatizing mistakes, no matter how epic. Operating on a shoestring, Swedish government-funded budget, the museum opened with 60 artifacts of marketing missteps and what West calls “corporate hubris”, which attracted 15,000 visitors in its three-month run, no small feat in a town with a population that hovers just under 125,000 people. The Museum of Failure, ironically, was a runaway success.
The Los Angeles version, open within the A+D Architecture and Design Museum through 4 February, has all the Swedish museum favorites: Blockbuster (“a cautionary tale of not adjusting to disruptive technology”, says West); the tone-deaf Bic for Her pens; and the unfortunately named Ayds appetite suppressants that started to flounder with the onset of the Aids epidemic in the 80s.
[…..continues…]
patd, I have corrected my last sentence on my 9:02am comment.
There is no law against an idiot, imbecile or moron to hold
the highestany congressional office in the land.There’s the Shared Girlfriend, a $45-a-day rental sex doll that the Chinese company Taqu launched in September – and recalled just two days later, due to a government backlash
I had to reread, I thought it said Takata, like the exploding air bags!
bw, my observation solely regards the voters of aforesaid state. not sure those whom they elected even make the bar of the lowest measure.
Well, do any of us really know who we are voting for? Do the royals really have our best interests at heart while still holding off-shore, secret bank accounts? Our global leadership — a sick and interbred stew of billionaires without boundaries, sexual perversions and hacking trolls rolling in bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Mother Nature on fire in California.
The natural world reacting to all of the unnatural leaders plunder.
My you are on a roll this morning BW. Enjoying the read. “Hidden caviar” LOL
Wow, that bank subpoena is huge, that’ll really drive him bonkers, maybe even fire Mueller
In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines for organizing $10 billion in sham trades that could have been used to launder money out of Russia. (Reuters)
Where’s Jay Sokolov?
Very interesting reading this morning! Great job mixers all! So happy that Mueller is starting to “follow the money” and that the bank is cooperating is a big deal! If trumplestiltskin tries to fire Mueller now it will look like an admission of guilt but I don’t know what anyone could do about it. Better minds than mine would have to weigh in on that. So bw, Pat, Craig et al, what would the ramifications be at this point?
On a humorous note, “A Nigerian governor has created a new role for his sister – as commissioner for happiness and couples’ fulfilment.“
In spite of the nepotism, Mr Okorocha seems to have some hutzpah. Maybe our government leaders could take a page out of his book…and who couldn’t use a commissioner of happiness these days 😀
“However, Mr Okorocha has warned she – and all his other commissioners – need to take their new roles seriously to help the regional authorities achieve their “vision”.
‘We shall not tolerate any sharp practice or corruption of any type,’ he told those gathered at Monday’s ceremony, according to Nigeria’s Daily Post newspaper. “Neither shall we accept indolence or laziness.”
ed Brayton at patheos today pointed out this tweet from sarah last month:
When you’re attacking FBI agents because you’re under criminal investigation, you’re losing
2:12 PM – Nov 3, 2016
juxtaposed to this one yesterday from the twit:
After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.
8:00 AM – Dec 3, 2017
then asked if her tweet applied to her boss and went on to say:
Or all the other times he has slammed the FBI while being under criminal investigation? I hope she’s asked about this at her daily press briefing. I want to hear her incoherently try to explain all the magic, special, lucky reasons why it’s totally different when Trump does it. Sally Yates had the best response, saying, “The FBI is in ‘tatters’? No. The only thing in tatters is the President’s respect for the rule of law.”
reuters:
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to ask a New York state judge on Tuesday to throw out a defamation lawsuit by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump’s television show “The Apprentice” who accused him of sexually harassing her.
Zervos filed her lawsuit in January, three days before Trump’s inauguration. The lawsuit contends that Trump’s denials of Zervos’s accusations amounted to false and defamatory statements and that being “branded a liar” by Trump has harmed her and her business.
Trump’s lawyers, led by Marc Kasowitz, have said in court filings that the lawsuit should be dismissed, arguing that Zervos is making false, self-contradictory and politically motivated accusations and that the president’s remarks were “non-actionable fiery rhetoric.”
They have also argued that the U.S. Constitution bars civil lawsuits in state courts against a sitting U.S. president.
Justice Jennifer Schecter is expected to rule some time after Tuesday’s arguments on whether to allow the case to proceed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
In March, Zervos, who accused Trump of groping her during meetings in 2007, subpoenaed Trump’s presidential campaign for any documents concerning similar allegations against him. Trump has denied any such accusations.
If the case went ahead, it could lead to Trump being compelled to hand over any documents from his campaign related to any accusations of sexual impropriety made against him. Trump could also be required to testify.
The lawsuit cited as examples of defamation numerous posts from Trump’s Twitter account, including one from Oct. 15, 2016, which said, “Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made up nonsense to steal the election.”
Zervos’s lawyers, including Gloria Allred, have cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Clinton v. Jones, which allowed former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against Bill Clinton to proceed in 1997 while he was still U.S. president.
The decision led to Clinton’s impeachment after he lied under oath about his sexual relationship with another woman, Monica Lewinsky.
Trump’s lawyers have said that Clinton v. Jones only applies to lawsuits in federal courts, not state courts.
Zervos met Trump after becoming a contestant on NBC’s “The Apprentice” in 2005. She has accused Trump of kissing her against her will at his New York office in 2007 and later groping her in a hotel in Beverley Hills after she met with him about a possible job.
[…continues…]
too bad more coverage isn’t being given to this, but kudos to billy for bringing it up.
huffpo:
Bush added that he recently went back to an October 2016 article that detailed the personal accounts of 20 women accusing Trump of sexual harassment and misconduct, including groping, unwanted advances and kissing them without their permission.
“To these women: I will never know the fear you felt or the frustration of being summarily dismissed and called a liar, but I do know a lot about the anguish of being inexorably linked to Donald Trump,” he wrote. “You have my respect and admiration. You are culture warriors at the forefront of necessary change.”
how soon will there be a special election with conyers “retiring today” [NOT waiting to end of term to NOT run again] ? or this still up in the air?
You know who’s loving the Deutsche Bank news? Preet Bharara.
You know who’s probably pooping his britches? Kushner.
Someone needs to create a Twitter account for the Russia sanctions. (Maybe that will get under Donny’s skin.) Thrn they can follow critters & hashtag metoo since they are being held on the Hill.
The whole story is all going to come down to money. Isn’t that just the most boring end to it all? Too bad it’s not covering up ETs or something new, but nope… What a bunch of weak, sad Trumpettes.
I wonder if this will cause Yertle to retract his retraction about Roy Moore? A turtle with political whiplash. There’s something you don’t see every day.
So, Jerusalem is Donny’s shiny, new attempt to distract. C’mon media, keep your eye on the ball.
#45 just regurgitated his spiel about not wanting a Liberal Democrat blah blah blah re: Senate Election because they are soft on crime. Here’s the thing …. if citizens are content with their lot they usually don’t resort to crime unless they are mentally disposed that way or desperate. Seems if folks had the worry about health care, fair taxation, good schools, drivable roads removed they’d be happy to vote for the candidates who offer this. It’s unfortunate for Republicans that they have to deal with human beings.
Money, money, money makes the world go ’round.
Conyers steps down over the allegations, Moore runs and Trump supports him. Distinction between the parties? I’s say so. Stark distinctions.
It’s a rich man’s world…
Jennifer Rubin agrees.
OK, so can Dems now run on this issue?
The Russians are banned! The Russians are banned!
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/russia-olympic-team-barred-from-2018-winter-games-for-doping_us_5a26e692e4b0f104475e4687?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
List this under things that will make Donnie’s head explode.
PG’s approval ratings have never been lower
All his supporters must live in Alabama
pogo, and that was from a conservative right winger writer!
I would say the goper gropers have the lewd and lurid lead for now.
McCain Followers:
2,966,510…..
time via msn:
Vice President Mike Pence‘s press secretary is denying a report saying Pence offered to replace President Donald Trump as the Republican presidential candidate after the publishing of the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
“Regarding The Atlantic’s tired, false claim about the VP during the campaign — we denied this in the article and deny it again today. Didn’t happen,” Pence press secretary Alyssa Farah wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.
Earlier Tuesday, The Atlantic published a profile of Pence outlining the vice president’s political rise and embrace of religion. The magazine reports that in October 2016, Trump aides were concerned that Pence was considering “going rogue” after The Washington Post published a 2005 tape in which Trump boasted about his ability to “grab women by the pussy” because he’s “a star.”
“Within hours of The Post’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee,” The Atlantic reported. It goes on to say that GOP officials were considering running a ticket with Mike Pence in the lead and Condoleezza Rice as the new vice presidential nominee, and that then-RNC chairman and future White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told Trump to “either drop out immediately or lose in a historic landslide.”
[…continues..]
Wow who did PG’s hair today
and Suckabee lovely as ever and so truthful
sturge, here’s fortune‘s take on the un-following of the senator: John McCain Lost Thousands of Twitter Followers This Week Over Tax Reform
John McCain is losing followers left and right—but, probably, mostly on the left.
Thousands of Twitter users have unfollowed the Republican Senator from Arizona over the past day in the wake of McCain’s vote last week to help pass the Senate GOP’s massive tax reform bill. On Monday afternoon, McCain’s office tweeted a message calling for more Twitter followers, as the senator’s account only needed 74 more followers to reach 3 million.
The seemingly lighthearted solicitation backfired, though, as “#UnfollowMcCain” began trending among Twitter users who were angry over the politician’s vote in favor of tax reform (after much posturing from McCain in the lead-up to the vote).
Just over one day after McCain’s initial tweet about needing only 74 followers to reach 3 million, the senator’s account is now nearly 20,000 followers away from that same goal. Twitter automatically rounds up high-profile users’ follower counts, so McCain’s account currently shows 2.98 million followers, but the actual count at any given moment (currently 2,980,243) is revealed by hovering a mouse over the number.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, reaching three million Twitter followers is not a milestone of any real significance for McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year and is not seeking reelection. However, the symbolic protest clearly struck a chord for thousands of Twitter users looking to voice their displeasure over McCain’s latest political move.
making book
from boingboing: Oddsmakers in the UK say Trump has a 50/50 shot of being impeached in the next 12 months
In light of the recent news about Michael Flynn becoming a stool pigeon, UK bookmakers are adjusting the odds on the likelihood that Trump will be impeached.
🙂
If a guy like Roy Moore even has a chance at winning a senatorial seat…..even in Alabama…….then it really is just some kind of grotesque game, isn’t it…….
The robber barons never sleep.
My cousin is too dang close to that fire. 🙁
blueINdallas,
I hope your cousin is OK. And all the people & animals in harm’s way.
http://www.tom-cox.com/2017/12/the-girl-who-came-out-of-mist.html
One of my favorite writers. A lovely tale.
As Mueller gets close to his money, donnie is on a dark and destructive path. The IOC slap to putie and his olympians? Expect the korean peninsula to blow-up during the winter games in Seoul. Vindictive donnie insistent on delivering tax cuts for the wealthy and WWIII to the ME before Christmas. Burning down the house…I hope the generals are keeping close tabs on him.
Spent yesterday and today getting ready for our first freeze by bringing the container plants close to the house to cover. Ms. Bologna enjoying the last of the warmth of the sun. It has been a warm autumn, but winter is arriving. There are still two hummingbirds wintering here.
The Grim Reaper has been busy: besides the King of Romania, John Anderson & Christine Keeler bid adieu. Quite an odd threesome.
Curious if anyone here supported John Anderson in 1980.
Yep
Blonde – Your cactus is going to be blooming amazing.
Add one more to the Reaper’s tally. The “French Elvis” Johnny Hallyday has died.
another interesting issue argued in the defamation case against the twit
usatoday: Ex-‘Apprentice’ contestant battles Trump in court
[…]
Both sides in the Zervos case said there has been no definitive ruling whether a sitting U.S. president may be sued in a state court over allegations that do not involve official White House duties.
Kasowitz cited a footnote in the Supreme Court’s Clinton-Jones decision to support his argument that the Zervos case must be dismissed or postponed until Trump’s presidential term has ended.
The footnote stated that “any direct control by a state court over the president … may implicate concerns that are quite different” from the issues in the Jones case.
When Schecter asked whether he believed that she would be unable to preside over the lawsuit, Kasowitz responded, “not with respect to the President, your honor.”
Schecter noted that the footnote “leaves the question open,” without deciding the issue.
“What better court to hear a defamation case against a born and bred New Yorker,” who some of the allegedly improper statements just a few miles from the courthouse, argued Wang.
Wang added that Zervos’ legal team would accommodate Trump by scheduling sworn depositions from him around his White House schedule — or even holding them in between presidential golf outings at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate.