[Hot Air] You see the underlying assumption of a Clinton win throughout the FBI’s handling of both investigations. In Comey’s book, "A Higher Loyalty," he writes in detail about the painstaking process, involving hundreds of agents, the FBI went through to investigate Clinton. He notes that concern over the public and political reaction to the investigation ‐ as opposed to merely doing a thorough investigation ‐ in part drove his desire to have such an exhaustive effort. In describing the FBI’s effort, Comey noted in his book that "We’d never convince Clinton haters ... [B]ut hopefully we could persuade a majority of fair and open-minded Americans" that the FBI had done a thorough investigation and made the right call. It was Comey’s desire to protect the bureau’s public reputation that pushed him toward a path that ended with disastrous consequences.
We already knew from Comey’s public comments that he believed Clinton was going to win and that belief was in his mind when he made the decision to send his letter to Capitol Hill. What the IG report newly reveals, via private messages agents sent each other at critical times during the campaign (including messages expressing concern over how Trump was portraying the Comey letter on the day the letter was sent and messages expressing shock and devastation on the day after the election) is how the view that Clinton would win was held by many within the FBI working on both investigations. It’s not that Comey or FBI agents allowed their political beliefs, and concern about a Trump presidency, to drive their decisions. It’s that, according to the report, Comey took political, if not partisan, considerations into account in making decision on how to handle the Clinton investigation by letting his assumption that Clinton would win affect his actions. Bias doesn’t have to be partisan to be destructive.
1. The original article appeared in the WaPo, as noted at the bottom of the Hot Air article.
In the WaPo.
2. The author was Jennifer Palmieri, former Director of Communications for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.
Who rained on her parade?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/18/2018 10:11 Comments ||
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#2
In Comey’s book, "A Higher Loyalty," he writes in detail about the painstaking process, involving hundreds of agents, the FBI went through to investigate Clinton.
Hundreds or agents? Hundreds? Really? Why so many? I'm thinking they could have put a couple of San Diego police detectives on the case, prosecuted it, and Hillary would now be behind bars.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/18/2018 10:41 Comments ||
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#3
For the record, I don't have the alcohol tolerance to live like a Rus. Although I would like to make everyone tea one of these days. Maybe I could use the coffeemaker.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The suffering of 700,000 Yemenis living in Hodeidah will end as soon as their city is liberated by the rapid advance of the legitimate Yemeni forces, supported by the Arab coalition. The coalition managed in a short period of time in capturing Hodeidah airport on Saturday, which is an important strategic step in its mission to liberate the province’s main port.
Seventy percent of Yemen’s imports pass through the port, which has been the Iran-backed militias’ source of income for three years (they have imposed a fee of some $100,000 on each ship seeking to dock and unload its food or oil cargo). Ending the militias’ hold on the port will restore valuable income to Yemen’s budget and ensure that employee salaries are paid after a 20-month halt. The capture of the port will also stop the smuggling of Iranian missiles, 130 of which were used to target Saudi territory.
Most importantly though, the liberation of the port will be a decisive step that forces the Houtihs to return to the negotiations table to discuss a political solution based on the Gulf initiative, national dialogue and Security Council resolution 2216.
Hodeidah is the Houthis’ last remaining city stronghold after the capital Sanaa.
The coalition's humanitarian focus
All signs indicate that the Houthis will have a very hard time retaining Hodeidah. Such a feat is beyond their capabilities as they only have some 2,000 fighters in the city, many of whom are foreign outcasts who are alien to the city. These fighters are surrounded by 700,000 Yemeni residents and 25,000 Yemeni army and resistance members.
The Arab coalition will seek to wage a lightening battle and it will emerge victorious in a short period of time. It will not allow false humanitarian claims made by the UN and its agencies to be politically exploited by the Houthis to prolong the crisis in Hodeidah and the suffering of the people.
The Guardian, quoting UN officials, meanwhile, predicted that civilian casualties may reach 300,000. What sort of nonsense is this?
The Arab coalition is following a humanitarian strategy alongside its military one in order to protect civilians and infrastructure in a manner that would liberate the city with minimal losses.
The coalition was right in waiting three years before launching its military operation. It waited three long years on the UN to intervene and take control of Hodeidah port. It did neither this nor that. It instead allowed the Houthis to capture the port.
The military operation will push the Houthis to the negotiations table, an achievement that was not reached by the UN through its long silence. The liberation of Hodeidah will create enough massive pressure to bring the Houthis to negotiations.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/18/2018 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[8 views]
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[AlJazeera] "China's retaliatory tariffs to hit US lobsters, soybeans: China says it 'doesn't want a trade war', but must 'fight back' after US slaps tariffs on $50bn in Chinese imports."
Nobody knows where a full trade war can go. One possible outcome would be the destruction of PRC. China is unstable and could crumble into a bloody mess. Nobody kills Chinese like other Chinese. Nobody kills anyone like Chinese kill themselves. Even Nazis and Russians were no match.
China has little food security. In an economic, political, or war catastrophe, China cannot feed itself. They've been reduced to cannibalism in living memory.
Meanwhile, the USA is blessed with abundant resources and fantastic farmers and distribution. Our food security is ranked only behind Ireland. (Depending on the list.)
China habitually throws its weight around and also threatens others on the high seas where China is fantastically vulnerable. PRC does not have a single trusted ally. Despite the anti-US rhetoric, no country has more strong alliances than the USA.
The United States is far more resilient internally and externally than is China.
#3
Lobster had a couple amazing years lately. This should help drive down domestic prices
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/18/2018 7:42 Comments ||
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#4
Just imagine all those peasants who moved to the cities to make iPhones and such being frog marched back to the countryside to grow rice which they have forgotten how to do.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/18/2018 10:30 Comments ||
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Lighthizer and Co didn’t negotiate. They simply delivered some ultimatums.
China will unilaterally increase its imports of U.S. goods by at least $100 billion.
China will immediately cease protections and subsidies for any sectors related to its Made in China 2025 central economic plan, as well as eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers on those sectors.
China will accept that it is a non-market economy under WTO rules (which would allow the United States to apply protective tariffs against Chinese exports).
China will accept American restrictions on Chinese investment-led acquisitions in the United States.
China will cease all technological/cyber theft as well as cease any and all policies which aim to force American firms to share technologies with China.
China will accept American quarterly reviews on all trade policies, and pre-commit to cooperation with American findings.
China will submit rosters of goods shipped to third countries so that China may not do end-runs around American import restrictions.
China will abandon all WTO cases it has prosecuted against the United States as regards any of the above issues and preemptively agree to launch no new ones.
#7
The rah-rah attitude of Al Jezeera is somewhat surprising.
In a couple of decades everyone will have to deal with either the United States or China. No one has any illusions about where the better deals will be found.
[BBC] Political bickering has long been a roadblock to getting big things done in the US but a grassroots movement getting few headlines could yet herald a new American age of change.
A green giant in a loin cloth would seem an unlikely indicator for what some describe as a revolution under way in the heart of America.
But the Jolly Green Giant statue on Highway 169 in rural Minnesota wears a 48-inch (1.2m) smile for a reason.
Accompanied by the slogan Dream Big, he typifies a sense of hope and renewal in the nearby city of Blue Earth that is quietly being echoed across parts of the US.
As the country continues its long recovery from recession, there are signs that a much deeper shift is happening at a local level, the seeds of which were sown years ago.
Indicators far more subtle than job numbers suggest a flourishing of entrepreneurship, collaboration and problem-solving, away from the gaze of national media.
After five years spent visiting dozens of towns, The Atlantic writer James Fallows and his wife Deborah have written a book Our Towns which paints a portrait of renewal, a story at odds with the well-documented gridlock of higher levels of government.
Fallows says that in several areas - civic engagement, returning talent, growth of tech start-ups, downtown revitalisation, an openness to immigrants and thriving libraries - local America seems to be flourishing.
[PJ] WASHINGTON ‐ Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA and author of The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies, revealed that he has advised intelligence officials not to serve at the "political level" in the Trump administration during these "difficult times." "National Security in an Age of Lies"......How many volumes in this series ?
"At the political level, beginning about March of 2017 when I got phone calls from people, I said, ’Don’t do it.’ I said, ’Don’t go.’ In most cases, these were people young enough that they are going to get their turn at bat again and I said, ’You won’t survive this turn at bat. You won’t make a difference. You’ll be frustrated and that will be there forever.’ So at the political level, my advice is don’t do it," Hayden said recently during a discussion about his new book at the International Spy Museum. But, but, but how do we publish 'our own' best selling books ?
"Now, that said, God bless [CIA Director] Gina Haspel and the fact that she stayed and so on, but she was not a political appointee. She was what everyone wanted, which was a pure professional. So that’s the advice. I wouldn’t sugarcoat it ‐ yeah, these are difficult times. Keep an eye on your leadership. Make sure they’re protecting you and, if they’re not protecting you, preserve your options," he added.
Hayden elaborated on his statements during an interview with PJM after the discussion.
#2
Hayden has been out of the loop since the beginning of Obama's presidency and didn't seem concerned about the politicization, weaponization and criminalization of the intel agencies to service the Democratic party. Now that America has a president who puts America first, Hayden is suddenly worried about politization?
#3
One would think that in such a time it would be seen as an absolutely necessary duty to provide disinterested professionalism, and the example of disinterested professionalism. Answering the country’s call, respecting the office if not its occupant — that kind of thing.
[The Hill] Former first lady Laura Bush tore into the Trump administration for separating migrant families at the border, calling the "zero tolerance" policy "cruel" and "immoral."
Bush penned an op-ed for the Washington Post, which was published Sunday night as public outcry over the hundreds of children in detention centers intensified.
"I live in a border state," Bush wrote. "I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart."
Bush’s commentary comes as more images and accounts from inside the detention centers have emerged, drawing harsh criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Media reports about the centers described children being kept in "cages" after being separated from their parents, who crossed the border illegally.
Bush wrote that the detention centers were "eerily reminiscent" of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.
#1
Bush wrote that the detention centers were "eerily reminiscent" of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.
Yes, and in both instances we were (and are) faced with the survival of our culture and nation. In the case of illegal immigration, it's an asymmetric war.
#3
Well, she just secured Trump's primary win. I don't think anyone hated her, but a Bush lecturing about border security? Hehe just reminded us why the establishment candidates are jokes.
All their compassion is reserved for foreigners, not a drop is available for Americans.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/18/2018 6:47 Comments ||
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#4
Hubby was loudly booed last week at a public event in his home state. Shes next.
Posted by: Bob Guelph1558 ||
06/18/2018 7:01 Comments ||
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#5
She always seemed to be a gracious / classy first lady, especially compared to what followed.
However, she is also a card carrying member of the elite and has an integral streak of aristocracy as do most all of the uni-party.
#7
Former presidents and first ladies used to keep quiet and be demure and dignified.
Something else Trump Derangement Syndrome has turned upside down.
Since we ain't being dignified and silent anymore... you and your husband helped create this mess. You were silent when Obumble kept fucking shit up and had the EXACT SAME POLICIES!!
So shut the fuck up, bitch. If we want any shit from you to fertilize out garden we will ask you to opine your opinion.
#10
1. Families can be immediately reunited by going back across the border.
2. Other children are routinely separated from their parents every day when the parent (s) are deployed by the military.
3 Many of the children in these centers were not WITH parents when apprehended.
4 Non-immigrant children are separated from their jailed or imprisoned parents every day.
So let’s release all prisoners who have children; deploy only childless soldiers; allow any immigrants, legal or not, to remain free here indefinitely if they have children; release detained children to anyone claiming to be their parent.
#11
#10 Glenmore, this is WAY too logical for the current hysteria. But I, for one, appreciate your insights.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/18/2018 11:47 Comments ||
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#12
I could be wrong but I read this morning that the policies were put in place by Clinton and upheld by Obama. Now Trump gets grief because it's politically convenient.
Between Clinton and Obama was Laura Bush's husband who did nothing to change the policy.
#13
She ought to have investigated for herself before writing it. And then she ought not have written it, except to describe what she had witnessed. Finally, her husband ought to have strongly discouraged her from injecting herself into a political situation.
Were I President Trump, I would now invite both of them to personally inspect a detention center, followed by lunch with him afterward to discuss the history of the policy.
#14
Were I President Trump, I would now invite both of them to personally inspect a detention center, followed by lunch with him afterward to discuss the history of the policy.
Not politically convenient for the anti-Trump crowd any way you cut it, that's for sure!
Were I Trump, I would cite the name of the the law that is causing this to happen so the MSM can't hide behind the statement "there is no such law" anymore.
#17
There are many drivers of immigration (both legal and legal). To name a few: lack of border control, human traffickers, unrest in many countries, the lure of a better/easier life, jobs, benefits, unenforced laws, sanctuary city/states policy, immigration organiziations that promote immigration, immigration lawyers who make a living off of immigration, open borders ideology such as Soros promotes. There are probably other drivers. Washingto seems to want to play the blame game and use Trump for a human pinata.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Hollywood actor Robert De Niro’s recent insult of Trump is not his first. There is actually a famous video of Robert De Niro’s speech after Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... became an American political reality and not a clowning puppet for the leftist American media. De Niro’s attitude is unprecedented in its use of despicable language.
While US President Donald Trump has achieved unprecedented breakthrough in US foreign policy and in opening a gap in the fort called North Korea, the hot-tempered American actor made slanderous remarks and insulted him at the opening of a restaurant in Canada.
The Hollywood actor belongs to a globalist-American-western movement that has decided to master burning Trump’s image and Trumpism in all ways possible even if it entails the use of profane language, like we witnessed in De Niro’s round of insults in Canada and which the audience warmly applauded.
Even the Canadian media outlets desisted from covering De Niro’s sentence which included the word of abuse.
There is a bloc that includes the left and other parties including the "neo-Brotherhood," "neo-Khomeinist" and global feminist groups that oppose Trump, right-wing and political groups and that of course oppose the interests of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and Gulf countries or most of them.
In fact, Trump’s successful steps and policies upset this bloc.
Trump’s response
After returning from Singapore where he held a summit with the North Korean leader, Trump responded to De Niro’s insults and described the latter as being "a very low IQ individual."
Trump attributed De Niro’s low level of intelligence to receiving too many hits to the head by real boxers in various movies.
"I watched him last night and truly believe he may be ’punch-drunk.’ I guess he doesn’t realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high," Trump said.
Then, addressing De Niro in a tweet, Trump said: "Wake up Punchy!"
Apart from Trump’s harsh comment against De Niro’s insult, the question is: For how long will the leftist media or the liberal media stay in this state of denial against Trump and his measures?
I also ask this question from those who feed off this media in our Arab world.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/18/2018 00:00 ||
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[0 views]
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#1
De Niro’s attitude is unprecedented in its use of despicable language.
#2
If you are not one of "them" you could raise the dead, make the blind see again, heal a leper, and they will still crucify you. They will never come around. This is not just about Trunp. Ask Ben Carson or Allen West or Diamond and Silk...
I dunno but it could be that De Niro's unhinged attitude has something to do with the Trump admin. going after the p&dos (Or maybe De Niro got stiffed in a real state deal).
#4
Listen to any 5-Minute Speeches from the floor of the House of Representatives? I heard worse way back in the 1990's: 'Republicans eat dead, poor babies and drink the tears of weeping widows...'
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AlJazeera] "China's retaliatory tariffs to hit US lobsters, soybeans: China says it 'doesn't want a trade war', but must 'fight back' after US slaps tariffs on $50bn in Chinese imports."
[The Hill] Former first lady Laura Bush tore into the Trump administration for separating migrant families at the border, calling the "zero tolerance" policy "cruel" and "immoral."
North Korea
