Monday, August 29, 2016

Under Russia's New Extremism Laws, Liking My Writings On Ukraine Could Mean Jail Terms

Although my piece was read by a third of a million readers and was picked up in major press reports, the Russian version of “historical facts and events” prevails. Putin’s propaganda machine, both at home and abroad, has overwhelmed what I consider to be the real story of the Crimean annexation with its repeated lies. The first change of postwar boundaries by military force was therefore justified on the basis of one out of five voters voting for annexation and a turnout below fifty percent.
Under the Yarovaya Amendment, it’s entirely conceivable that my Russian readers could go to jail for reading and liking my writings. Because the official Russian line on Crimea and Ukraine differs from the truth, any writer who describes the truth, under Russian law, is now an “extremist.” Putin’s “parallel universe” of “alternate reality” that has shocked world leaders does not reflect the truth, but the Russian people must accept it as truth, or face punishment.



go to Forbes,com

Sunday, August 21, 2016

A Putin October Surprise Would Be Hillary's Fault

If WikiLeaks releases incriminating documents from Hillary’s scrubbed “private” cache, there exists no legitimate “true” document for comparison. Hillary could not prove the leaked document never existed or was altered, unless she squirreled away in some safe place copies of her “private” cache. If so, she could not use them without exposing an unforgivable lie. Hillary’s deleting of the thousands of self-declared “private” emails  may have  given a hostile foreign power the wherewithal to determine the outcome of a presidential election. Hillary has no one to blame but herself. Will the chickens come home to roost in late October?



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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Trump’s Manafort’s Troubling Ukraine Ties Routine for DC’s K Street Bottom Feeders

The brilliance of the mainstream media’s attack on small-fry Manafort is that it diverts attention from the potential granddaddy of corruption schemes. The Clinton Foundation, if there is ever a real investigation, may be shown to have eliminated the K Street middleman. By contributing directly to the Clinton machine, a foreign government or a corrupt foreign oligarch can gain access directly to the heart of government. Just think of the possibilities: Today the State Department, tomorrow the presidency of the United States.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439065/manafort-ukraine-democrats-clinton


go to National Review

Monday, August 15, 2016

Hillary’s Two Years of Financial Hardship in the Top Five Percent

The Times’s fundamental mistake is to claim that the choice of public service means lower income and wealth. Few enter Congress as wealthy individuals. Few leave without joining the millionaires club. Has the Times not figured this out yet? The Clintons are a living example, if they have not noticed.

go to ricochet.com

Do Alternative Estimates Show China Entering A Period Of Stagnation?

Chinese reforms seem unlikely. Premier Xi has declared the state sector the “backbone” of the economy. Party cadres have been instructed to take the teachings of Karl Marx seriously. Private businesses do not hold out hope for equal and fair treatment under Xi’s socialism with a Chinese face. Successful business owners will continue to plan their emigration to Canada or Australia before the long arm of the state and party catches up with them. China’s puzzle has been it rapid growth despite its miserable (144th) economic freedom indexranking. Perhaps China’s performance is starting to reflect the low quality of its institutions.


go to forbes.com