Clinton Campaign Demands Intelligence on
Possible Russian Efforts to Elect You!
Should I remain in bed, leave my country or fight against the dragon?
( see also the story by Wolfgang Hampel,
' Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say ' )
Betty MacDonald's sister Alison Bard Burnett
Betty MacDonald's mother Sydney with grandchild Alison Beck
Betty and Don MacDonald in Hollywood
Nancy and Plum - and Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
Betty MacDonald's wonderful sister Alison Bard Burnett and Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel are talking about Betty MacDonald, Gammy and a typical Bard family Christmas in an interview never published before.
This Betty MacDonald fan club interview and other new Betty MacDonald fan club items will be published soon.
Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter December includes a very important letter by Betty MacDonald.
Betty MacDonald explains her meaning of Christmas.
We are looking for your favourite Christmas song.
Deadline: December 23, 2017
Don't miss it, please because you can win several new Betty MacDonald fan club items.
To me it's the most favourite Christmas song ever.
This is my favourite city for next Betty MacDonald fan club event.
If you know the name of this city send us a mail, please and you can win new golden Betty MacDonald fan club items.
Good luck!
Don't miss Vita Magica on December 13, 2016 please.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel invited a very famous author.
We bet you'll enjoy Vita Magica very much.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel interviewed Betty MacDonald's daughter Joan MacDonald Keil and her husband Jerry Keil.
This interview will be published for the first time ever.
New Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many interviews never published before.
We adore Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli
Thank you so much for sharing this witty memories with us.
Wolfgang Hampel's literary event Vita Magica is very fascinating because he is going to include Betty MacDonald, other members of the Bard family and Betty MacDonald fan club honor members.
It's simply great to read Wolfgang Hampel's new very well researched stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Eugene Heskett, Donald Chauncey MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Alison Bard Burnett, Darsie Beck, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea DeDe Goldsmith, Madge Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle, Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and others.
Vita Magica was very witty and enjoyable.
We know the visitors had a great time there.
Congratulations dear Letizia Maninco, Wolfgang Hampel and Friedrich von Hoheneichen!
Linde Lund and many fans from all over the world adore this funny sketch by Wolfgang Hampel very much although our German isn't the best.
I won't ever forget the way Wolfgang Hampel is shouting ' Brexit '.
Don't miss it, please.
It's simply great!
You can hear that Wolfgang Hampel got an outstandig voice.
He presented one of Linde Lund's favourite songs ' Try to remember ' like a professional singer.
Thanks a million!
Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli and our 'Italian Betty MacDonald' - Betty MacDonald fan club honor member author and artist Letizia Mancino belong to the most popular Betty MacDonald fan club teams in our history.
Their many devoted fans are waiting for a new Mr. Tigerli adventure.
Letizia Mancino's magical Betty MacDonald Gallery is a special gift for Betty MacDonald fan club fans from all over the world.
Don't miss Brad Craft's 'More friends', please.
Betty MacDonald's very beautiful Vashon Island is one of my favourites.
I agree with Betty in this very witty Betty MacDonald story Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say by Wolfgang Hampel.
I can't imagine to live in a country with him as so-called elected President although there are very good reasons to remain there to fight against these brainless politics.
“The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations. We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as president of the United States.
Additionally, the electors will separately require from Donald Trump conclusive evidence that he and his staff and advisers did not accept Russian interference, or otherwise collaborate during the campaign, and conclusive disavowal and repudiation of such collaboration and interference going forward.”
Don't miss these very interesting articles below, please.
Copyright 2016 Crooks and Liars
Electoral College: Make Hillary Clinton President.
Donald
Trump has not been elected president. The real election takes place
December 19, when the 538 Electoral College Electors cast their ballots –
for anyone they want.
If they all vote the way their states voted, Donald Trump will win. However, in 14 of the states in Trump's column, they can vote for Hillary Clinton without any legal penalty if they choose.
We are calling on “Conscientious Electors” to protect the Constitution from Donald Trump, and to support the national popular vote winner.
Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault, and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic.
Learn more in the video above, then sign the petition to join the more than 4.7 million Americans who support this grassroots effort. Please also visit electoralcollegepetition.com to see how you can get further involved in our movement.
If they all vote the way their states voted, Donald Trump will win. However, in 14 of the states in Trump's column, they can vote for Hillary Clinton without any legal penalty if they choose.
We are calling on “Conscientious Electors” to protect the Constitution from Donald Trump, and to support the national popular vote winner.
Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault, and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic.
Learn more in the video above, then sign the petition to join the more than 4.7 million Americans who support this grassroots effort. Please also visit electoralcollegepetition.com to see how you can get further involved in our movement.
Lately,
it appears Trump has gone back into the field to drag in a whole new
bunch of State contenders.
My favorite is Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, a person you have probably never heard of even though he’s been in Congress since the 1980s and is currently head of the prestigious Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Rohrabacher
is also a surfer and former folk singer who once claimed global warming
might be connected to “dinosaur flatulence.” My favorite is Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, a person you have probably never heard of even though he’s been in Congress since the 1980s and is currently head of the prestigious Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Don't miss the very interesting articles below, please.
I think the future dinosaur flatulence will be the behaviour of 'Pussy' and his very strange government.
Poor World! Poor America!
The most difficult case in Mrs.Piggle-Wiggle's career
Hello 'Pussy', this is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
You took calls from foreign leaders on unsecured phone lines, without consultung the State Department. We have to change your silly behaviour with a new Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle cure. I know you are the most difficult case in my career - but we have to try everything.......................
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel sent his brilliant thoughts. Thank you so much dear Wolfgang!
Hi Libi, nice to meet you. Can you feel it?
I'll be the most powerful leader in the world.
Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say
Copyright 2016 by Wolfgang Hampel
All rights reserved
Betty MacDonald was sitting on her egg-shaped cloud and listened to a rather strange guy.
He said to his friends: So sorry to keep you waiting. Very complicated business! Very complicated!
Betty said: Obviously much too complicated for you old toupee!
Besides him ( by the way the First Lady's place ) his 10 year old son was bored to death and listened to this 'exciting' victory speech.
The old man could be his great-grandfather.
The boy was very tired and thought: I don't know what this old guy is talking about. Come on and finish it, please. I'd like to go to bed.
Dear 'great-grandfather' continued and praised the Democratic candidate.
He congratulated her and her family for a very strong campaign although he wanted to put her in jail.
He always called her the most corrupt person ever and repeated it over and over again in the fashion of a Tibetan prayer wheel.
She is so corrupt. She is so corrupt. Do you know how corrupt she is?
Betty MacDonald couldn't believe it when he said: She has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.
Afterwards old toupee praised his parents, wife, children, siblings and friends.
He asked the same question like a parrot all the time:
Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?
I know you are here!
Betty MacDonald answered: No Pussy they are not! They left the country.
They immigrated to Canada because they are very much afraid of the future in the U.S.A. with you as their leader like the majority of all so-called more or less normal citizens.
By the way keep your finger far away from the pussies and the Red Button, please.
I'm going to fly with my egg-shaped cloud to Canada within a minute too.
Away - away - there is nothing more to say!
I can understand the reason why Betty MacDonald, Barbara Streisand, other artists and several of my friends want to leave the United States of America.
I totally agree with these comments:
This
is incredible! I'll You get what you pay/vote for and Trump is the
epitome of this ideology. America I won't feel bad for you because you
don't need my sympathy for what's coming but I am genuinely scared for
you. 'Forgive them lord for they know not who they do' or maybe they do
but just don't care about their future generations who will suffer for
this long after the culprits have passed away.
Daniel Mount wrote a great article about Betty MacDonald and her garden.
We hope you'll enjoy it very much.
I adore Mount Rainier and Betty MacDonald's outstanding descriptions
Can you remember in which book you can find it?
If so let us know, please and you might be the next Betty MacDonald fan club contest winner.
I hope we'll be able to read Wolfgang Hampel's new very well researched stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Eugene Heskett, Donald Chauncey MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Alison Bard Burnett, Darsie Beck, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea DeDe Goldsmith, Madge Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle, Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and others - very soon.
It' s such a pleasure to read them.
Let's go to magical Betty MacDonald's Vashon Island.
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund and Betty MacDonald fan club research team share their recent Betty MacDonald fan club research results.
Congratulations! They found the most interesting and important info for Wolfgang Hampel's oustanding Betty MacDonald biography.
I enjoy Bradley Craft's story very much.
Don't miss our Betty MacDonald fan club contests, please.
You can win a never published before Alison Bard Burnett interview by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel.
Good luck!
This CD is a golden treasure because Betty MacDonald's very witty sister Alison Bard Burnett shares unique stories about Betty MacDonald, Mary Bard Jensen, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Nancy and Plum.
Do you have any books by Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard Jensen with funny or interesting dedications?
If so would you be so kind to share them?
Our next Betty MacDonald fan club project is a collection of these unique dedications.
If you share your dedication from your Betty MacDonald - and Mary Bard Jensen collection you might be the winner of our new Betty MacDonald fan club items.
Thank you so much in advance for your support.
Thank you so much for sending us your favourite Betty MacDonald quote.
More info are coming soon.
Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty MacDonald interviews have fans in 40 countries. I'm one of their many devoted fans.
Many Betty MacDonald - and Wolfgang Hampel fans are very interested in a Wolfgang Hampel CD and DVD with his very funny poems and stories.
We are going to publish new Betty MacDonald essays on Betty MacDonald's gardens and nature in Washington State.
Tell us the names of this mysterious couple please and you can win a very new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is beloved all over the World.
We are so happy that our 'Casanova' is back.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
and Betty MacDonald fan club research team are going to share very
interesting info on ' Betty MacDonald and the movie The Egg and I '.
Another rare episode (from March 21 1952) of the short-lived comedy soap opera, "The Egg and I," based on best selling book by Betty MacDonald which also became a popular film.
The series premiered on September 3, 1951, the same day as "Search for Tomorrow," and ended on August 1, 1952.
Although it did well in the ratings, it had difficulty attracting a steady sponsor. This episode features Betty Lynn (later known for her work on "The Andy Griffith Show") as Betty MacDonald, John Craven as Bob MacDonald, Doris Rich as Ma Kettle, and Frank Twedell as Pa Kettle.
Betty MacDonald fan club exhibition will be fascinating with the international book editions and letters by Betty MacDonald.
I can't wait to see the new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Enjoy a great breakfast at the bookstore with Brad and Nick, please.
Wishing you a great Tuesday - don't forget please, it's Vita Magica day today.
Take care,
Michael
Another rare episode (from March 21 1952) of the short-lived comedy soap opera, "The Egg and I," based on best selling book by Betty MacDonald which also became a popular film.
The series premiered on September 3, 1951, the same day as "Search for Tomorrow," and ended on August 1, 1952.
Although it did well in the ratings, it had difficulty attracting a steady sponsor. This episode features Betty Lynn (later known for her work on "The Andy Griffith Show") as Betty MacDonald, John Craven as Bob MacDonald, Doris Rich as Ma Kettle, and Frank Twedell as Pa Kettle.
Betty MacDonald fan club exhibition will be fascinating with the international book editions and letters by Betty MacDonald.
I can't wait to see the new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Enjoy a great breakfast at the bookstore with Brad and Nick, please.
Wishing you a great Tuesday - don't forget please, it's Vita Magica day today.
Take care,
Michael
 |
Don't miss this very special book, please.
Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald
Betty MacDonald fan club
Betty MacDonald forum
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( Polski)
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - LinkFang ( German ) Wolfgang Hampel - Academic ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - cyclopaedia.net ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - DBpedia ( English / German )
Wolfgang Hampel - people check ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Memim ( English )
Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )
Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)
Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
Betty MacDonald fan club items
Betty MacDonald fan club items - comments
Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I
Betty MacDonald fan club groups
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund
Betty MacDonald fan club and Heide Rose
Betty MacDonald fan club fan Greta Larson
Politics
Clinton Campaign Demands Intelligence on Possible Russian Efforts to Elect Trump
■
President-elect Donald J. Trump is postponing until January his
announcement about how he will handle his private business interests.
■ The Clinton campaign breaks its silence and demands declassification of the intelligence on Russian election meddling.
■ Mr. Trump takes to Twitter to deny Russian involvement in his victory.
■ Senator John McCain says there is no doubt about Russian hacking, which he called “warfare.”
■ Carly Fiorina for director of national intelligence? She certainly took the president-elect’s line on China.
Continue reading the main story
Trump keeps his critics waiting.
For
those waiting to see Mr. Trump hold a news conference to discuss the
ethical concerns about conflicts with his business, you’ll have to wait a
little longer.
Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT
Continue reading the main story
Transition
officials said on Monday evening that they were postponing a news
conference scheduled for Thursday at which Mr. Trump had said he would
reveal his plans to avoid conflicts of interest with his sprawling real
estate business.
The
president-elect instead will make that announcement in January — likely
before his inauguration and after an extended vacation at his
Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — officials said, confirming a report in
Bloomberg News.
Officials
said the focus on building a cabinet had consumed more of Mr. Trump’s
time than expected. And they said that it was taking time to address how
to address the large, iconic real estate holdings that are part of the
global Trump business.
Clinton campaign demands declassification of election intelligence.
As
the swirl of allegations around Russia’s efforts to elect Mr. Trump
roils Washington, one voice has been absent: Hillary Clinton’s.
John
D. Podesta, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, broke the silence on her
behalf, demanding the declassification of all information about Russia’s
meddling as well as an explanation from the Obama administration of
what it knew and when it knew it.
“We
now know that the C.I.A. has determined Russia’s interference in our
elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump,” Mr. Podesta
wrote in a statement. “This should distress every American. Never before
in the history of our republic have we seen such an effort to undermine
the bedrock of our democracy.”
“This
is not a partisan issue, and we are glad to see bipartisan support in
the Congress for an investigation into Russia’s role,” he continued. “We
believe that the administration owes it to the American people to
explain what it knows regarding the extent and manner of Russia’s
interference and this be done as soon as possible. To that end, we also
support the request from members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to
declassify information around Russia’s roles in the election and to
make this data available to the public.”
Thrown
on the defensive, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said
on Monday that the White House did not announce a major probe of
Russia’s interference before the election partly because many voters
would have seen such an announcement as political meddling.
He said Russia did not hack the electoral process or the counting of votes.
“But
what is also clear is that the results of the hack and leak effort
carried out on the orders of Russia were extensively discussed prior to
the election,” Mr. Earnest said.
Trump continues Russia denial — via Twitter.
With evidence mounting that Russian intelligence promoted his election, the president-elect continued his denial, via Twitter.
That second post is a head scratcher. The United States government formally accused Russia of trying to sow discord in the democratic process through its hacking in early October. It stopped short of saying the goal was to elect Mr. Trump.
And forensic analysis does allow experts to trace the source of a hack.
Oh, and fresh off his shot at Boeing over the cost of an Air Force One upgrade, Mr. Trump took a jab at another expensive military program, the F-35 stealth fighter.
On that one, he will have bipartisan support — just not in congressional districts where the fighter is built.
McCain Weighs In on Russian Hacking Claims
"The Russians have interfered in a
lot of other elections," Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona told
CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "The Russians have hacked into some
of our most secret military information."
By CBS, VIA REUTERS.
Photo by Al Drago/The New York Times.
Watch in Times Video »
Mr.
McCain said on Monday that there was “no doubt about the hacking” by
Russian intelligence services into Democratic campaign accounts, which
he called “another form of warfare.”
Appearing
on “CBS This Morning” with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the next
minority leader, Mr. McCain said the wide-ranging investigation of
Russian meddling in the election would include his committee as well as
the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.
He
said a Senate investigation would be necessary despite President Obama
having already ordered up an inquiry, as that one would not be completed
before the end of the Obama administration. The implication was that
the new Trump administration would not follow through.
“We
don’t want to point a finger, and I don’t want this to turn into the
Benghazi investigation,” Mr. Schumer added, referring to the House
investigation into the attacks on an American compound in Libya, which
he said had been partisan. “This is serious stuff.”
Electoral College voters demand their own briefing.
One
week before the Electoral College meets to ratify Mr. Trump’s election
victory, 10 electors — including a Texas Republican who has turned on
Mr. Trump, and Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Representative Nancy
Pelosi — have demanded their own intelligence briefing on Russian efforts to elect Mr. Trump.
“We intend to discharge our duties as electors by ensuring that we select a candidate for president who, as our founding fathers envisioned, would be ‘endowed with the requisite qualifications.’ As electors, we also believe that deliberation is at the heart of democracy itself, not an empty or formalistic task. We do not understand our sole function to be to convene in mid-December, several weeks after Election Day, and summarily cast our votes.”
Their request:
“The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations. We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as president of the United States.
Additionally, the electors will separately require from Donald Trump conclusive evidence that he and his staff and advisers did not accept Russian interference, or otherwise collaborate during the campaign, and conclusive disavowal and repudiation of such collaboration and interference going forward.”
Carly Fiorina meets with Trump and calls out China.
Ms.
Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, emerged from a
meeting with the president-elect at Trump Tower on Monday to talk tough,
not on Russia but on China, which she called “our most important
adversary and a rising adversary.”
Ms. Fiorina was called in to discuss the job of director of national intelligence, a senior transition official said.
And Ms. Fiorina, once a bitter foe of Mr. Trump’s, was effusive.
“We
talked about hacking, whether it’s Chinese hacking or purported Russian
hacking,” she said. “We talked about the opportunity that the
president-elect has to literally reset things, to reset the trajectory
of this economy, to reset the role of government, to reset America’s
role in the world and how we’re perceived in the world. And I think it’s
why he’s getting such fantastic people in his administration.”
Mr. Trump and Ms. Fiorina clashed bitterly when she ran against him for the Republican nomination. Mr. Trump denigrated her appearance
last year in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying, “Look at that
face!” Ms. Fiorina briefly agreed to be Senator Ted Cruz’s
vice-presidential running mate before he, too, was vanquished by the
eventual nominee.
All appears to be forgiven.
“First
I want to say, he has really cool stuff in his office,” she said. “All
of these athletes have given him all this incredible memorabilia. I was
particular taken by Shaq O’Neal’s shoe, which is huge. I guess it takes a
champion to know a champion.”
Why is Allen West at Trump Tower?
Three
days ago, an image calling for the extermination of Muslims was posted
on former Representative Allen West’s Facebook page.
The outrage prompted an aide to Mr. West, a former Army lieutenant colonel, to claim credit and take the image down.
“Message to our followers: Hello everyone. This is Michele Hickford, editor in chief of allenbwest.com. Last night I posted a meme without Col. West’s knowledge or consent which was inappropriate and crossed the line. I take full responsibility for this. It was wrong. I was wrong. It does not reflect Col. West’s beliefs. I (Michele Hickford) personally apologize for any offense caused — and especially to Col. West. to whom I apologize for adversely affecting his reputation, principles and values.”
The
outrage wasn’t too great to deny Mr. West another audience with the
president-elect on Monday at Trump Tower. Nor was it enough to prompt a
question from the reporters in the Trump Tower lobby, though they did
ask Mr. West about Russian efforts to elect Mr. Trump president.
Reporters: Should there be a bipartisan investigation of Russia hacking?
Mr.
West: “I think there are more important things. We’re about to see a
collapse in Syria, Iraq is falling apart. the Iran nuclear deal is
horrific. China and Russia are expanding. I think that’s where we need
to focus your intelligence efforts.”
It’s official: Goldman president will join the White House.
The Trump transition team officially named Gary D. Cohn, the longtime president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, to be the director of the White House National Economic Council.
After
a campaign full of attacks on Wall Street — and Goldman Sachs in
particular — Mr. Trump will have Goldman’s No. 2 in the West Wing and a
former Goldman partner, Steven Mnuchin, next door at Treasury, if he is
confirmed.
But the transition team tried to find something inspirational in the latest multimillionaire:
“In addition to his incredible business history, Mr. Cohn has an inspiring personal story. Growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he was diagnosed at age 7 with dyslexia.”
That is one of the rare moments where Shaker Heights, an affluent suburb of Cleveland, is mined for inspirational struggle.
Trump looks to House for agriculture secretary.
Mr.
Trump is looking at appointing a rising Republican star from South
Dakota, Representative Kristi Noem, as his secretary of agriculture, a
senior official working on the transition said Monday.
The transition team is vetting Ms. Noem now, and she is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump this week.
Ms. Noem, 45, would be one of the younger members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet — a group that so far consists mostly of older men.
She has been planning to leave Congress at the end of her next term in 2018 to run for governor of South Dakota.
Another
name floated for the agriculture job, Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North
Dakota, is being considered for a variety of jobs, including energy
secretary. Because she is a Democrat — and would likely be replaced in
the Senate by a Republican — the transition official said she could
essentially have “whatever job she wants.”
Rick Perry is considered for energy secretary.
Speaking
of roles, the former Texas governor, Rick Perry, who wanted to
eliminate the Department of Energy but could not remember its name on
live television, has emerged as a leading candidate for energy
secretary.
Although
Texas is rich in energy and Mr. Perry is big on extracting it, he
cannot afford too many “oops moments” if he is named to that post.
The
Energy Department’s primary role is to design nuclear weapons and
ensure the safety and reliability of the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal —
through a constellation of scientific laboratories. The two men who
served as President Obama’s energy secretaries were scientists, one with
a Nobel Prize, the other from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Mr.
Trump is also looking at two other possibilities for energy secretary.
He likes Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of
North Dakota — both Democrats — for the job. Both are under tremendous
pressure from fellow Democrats not to accept a cabinet job.
Jose Canseco for Fed chairman!
McConnell Covered Up CIA Reports That Russian Hacks Were Aimed At Electing Trump
— UPDATED: 12/10/16 12:56am
This conclusion was not something they just pulled out of thin air. Intelligence agencies had arrived at their conclusion in September, and briefed a bipartisan group in the Senate and House about it then, along with President Obama. The President wanted to go forward with a full disclosure of the report, but Mitch McConnell quashed it, threatening to taint any disclosure with the claim that it was being made merely for political gain.
McConnell was willing to let the Russians meddle in the election because his guy was getting the benefit of their work. This is outrageous.
“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators. “That’s the consensus view.”In other words, there was active interference on the part of Russia not simply to destabilize our politics, but to actively elect one candidate over another.
Concerned that a unilateral White House statement would appear as though the administration was tilting the election in favor of Democrats, the White House decided to convene a bipartisan panel of elected officials to review the material in the hopes of issuing a unified statement and warning states about possible compromises to their voting systems.
Instead, officials devised a plan to seek bipartisan support from top lawmakers and set up a secret meeting with the Gang of 12 — a group that includes House and Senate leaders, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of both chambers’ committees on intelligence and homeland security.Look who they sent to that meeting:
Obama dispatched [Lisa] Monaco, FBI Director James B. Comey and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to make the pitch for a “show of solidarity and bipartisan unity” against Russian interference in the election, according to a senior administration official.Yes, that's right. James Comey knew in September about the CIA's conclusions and was part of the team asked to make the pitch to elevate this issue to the American people on a bipartisan basis. In September. So, by the way, did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had a very specific response to the administration's appeal for bipartisanship.
Specifically, the White House wanted congressional leaders to sign off on a bipartisan statement urging state and local officials to take federal help in protecting their voting-registration and balloting machines from Russian cyber-intrusions.
The Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take the threat seriously. Republicans, however, were divided, with at least two GOP lawmakers reluctant to accede to the White House requests.Shall we take a moment to allow that to sink in? Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, sworn to uphold and defend the United States Constitution, chose to threaten the White House with a smear if they disclosed this information to the American people.
According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.
What happened to defending against enemies, domestic and foreign, Senator McConnell? Is this treason?
What makes this really interesting is what we can see in the rear view mirror. The Trump campaign fought tooth and nail to end the Michigan recount, in a state where there is some evidence seals were broken on voting machines there.
We don't know if malware was installed on those machines. We do know many machines in Detroit malfunctioned on Election Day, however. But what we don't know is how that impacted the final counts in Michigan, mostly because they ended the recount.
Yes, we had reports of Russian hacks. We had daily dribbles from Wikileaks, clearly intended to drive a wedge between Bernie and Hillary supporters while painting Hillary Clinton as Satan in a pantsuit.
But there's more. There's always more. You may recall the day that Rep. Michael McCaul inadvertently slipped during an appearance on CNN and said the RNC was hacked by the Russians, too. (Click for video)
Of course, McCaul walked that back right away, claiming it was a misstatement, but now there's a problem. Apparently the RNC was hacked, but no information released. The only information released by hackers was from the DNC hack.
The New York Times reports:
American intelligence agencies have concluded with “high confidence” that Russia acted covertly in the latter stages of the presidential campaign to harm Hillary Clinton’s chances and promote Donald J. Trump, according to senior administration officials.If Rep. McCaul's original claim is to be believed, and there's no reason at this point not to believe it, then it seems pretty clear whom Russia was interested in electing, and it wasn't Hillary Clinton.
They based that conclusion, in part, on another finding — which they say was also reached with high confidence — that the Russians hacked the Republican National Committee’s computer systems in addition to their attacks on Democratic organizations, but did not release whatever information they gleaned from the Republican networks.
Now take those pieces of information and blend them up with this one: Donald Trump, Jr. had a little sit-down with the Russians in October about "Syrian solutions."
Is a pattern emerging here? This is before we consider what Paul Manafort's role in all of this might have been.
The Trump transition issued an incredibly lame statement after this news broke, which said, “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ‘Make America Great Again,’ ”
Rachel Maddow had a pretty strong response to that:
"Um, it was not one of the biggest electoral college victories in history. Also you lost by more than 2 million votes in the popular vote. But the fact that Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction and the intelligence agencies indicated otherwise is indelibly true," she said.
She continued, "The fact that U.S. intelligence agencies say that Russia intervened in our election to elect Donald Trump is an entirely separate matter and if you won't engage with that on the substance, then telling other people to move on while you ignore it isn't going to persuade anyone."
I have been saying for months that the hacks into the DNC computers and attempts to compromise state voter databases were the equivalent of a 21st century Watergate break-in. But now this has taken a deeper, darker, more sinister tone even than Watergate, where at least it was engineered by Americans.
Mitch McConnell, James Comey and others intentionally aided and abetted foreign aggression against American democracy.
What Comey did may be even worse, because he not only permitted foreign aggression to continue undisclosed, but also inserted himself and the FBI into the election in a different way but with the same goal: To tilt the result toward Donald Trump.
At what point do we call this treason? Where are the hearings? Where are the investigations? This needs to be done by a bipartisan commission and it needs to be done now, before that hotline in the White House turns into Putin's vehicle for pulling President Trump's puppet strings.
This is a hair-on-fire moment for all of us.
Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House
CIA officials told senators it is now “quite
clear” that electing Donald Trump was Russia’s goal. In an interview on
Fox News Sunday on Dec. 11, President-elect Trump denied the CIA's
assessment.
(Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)
Intelligence
agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian
government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails
from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary
Clinton’s campaign chairman, according to U.S. officials. Those
officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence
community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt
Clinton’s chances.
“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators. “That’s the consensus view.”
In September, during a secret briefing for congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voiced doubts about the veracity of the intelligence, according to officials present.
The Trump transition team dismissed the findings in a short statement issued Friday evening. “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ‘Make America Great Again,’ ” the statement read.
Trump has consistently dismissed the intelligence community’s findings about Russian hacking.
“I don’t believe they interfered” in the election, he told Time magazine this week. The hacking, he said, “could be Russia. And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey.”
The CIA shared its latest assessment with key senators in a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill last week, in which agency officials cited a growing body of intelligence from multiple sources. Agency briefers told the senators it was now “quite clear” that electing Trump was Russia’s goal, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
The CIA presentation to
senators about Russia’s intentions fell short of a formal U.S.
assessment produced by all 17 intelligence agencies. A senior U.S.
official said there were minor disagreements among intelligence
officials about the agency’s assessment, in part because some questions
remain unanswered.
For example,
intelligence agencies do not have specific intelligence showing
officials in the Kremlin “directing” the identified individuals to pass
the Democratic emails to WikiLeaks, a second senior U.S. official said.
Those actors, according to the official, were “one step” removed from
the Russian government, rather than government employees. Moscow has in
the past used middlemen to participate in sensitive intelligence
operations so it has plausible deniability.
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has said in a television interview that the “Russian government is not the source.”
The White House and CIA officials declined to comment.
On
Friday, the White House said President Obama had ordered a “full
review” of Russian hacking during the election campaign, as pressure
from Congress has grown for greater public understanding of exactly what
Moscow did to influence the electoral process.
“We
may have crossed into a new threshold, and it is incumbent upon us to
take stock of that, to review, to conduct some after-action, to
understand what has happened and to impart some lessons learned,”
Obama’s counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco,
told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
Obama
wants the report before he leaves office Jan. 20, Monaco said. The
review will be led by James Clapper, the outgoing director of national
intelligence, officials said.
During her remarks, Monaco didn’t address the latest CIA assessment, which hasn’t been previously disclosed.Seven Democratic senators last week asked Obama to declassify details about the intrusions and why officials believe that the Kremlin was behind the operation. Officials said Friday that the senators specifically were asking the White House to release portions of the CIA’s presentation.
This week, top Democratic lawmakers in the House also sent a letter to Obama, asking for briefings on Russian interference in the election.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been cautious for months in characterizing Russia’s motivations, reflecting the United States’ long-standing struggle to collect reliable intelligence on President Vladimir Putin and those closest to him.
In previous assessments, the CIA and other intelligence agencies told the White House and congressional leaders that they believed Moscow’s aim was to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system. The assessments stopped short of saying the goal was to help elect Trump.
On Oct. 7, the intelligence community officially accused Moscow of seeking to interfere in the election through the hacking of “political organizations.” Though the statement never specified which party, it was clear that officials were referring to cyber-intrusions into the computers of the DNC and other Democratic groups and individuals.
Some key Republican lawmakers have continued to question the quality of evidence supporting Russian involvement.
“I’ll be the first one to come out and point at Russia if there’s clear evidence, but there is no clear evidence — even now,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the Trump transition team. “There’s a lot of innuendo, lots of circumstantial evidence, that’s it.”
Though
Russia has long conducted cyberspying on U.S. agencies, companies and
organizations, this presidential campaign marks the first time Moscow
has attempted through cyber-means to interfere in, if not actively
influence, the outcome of an election, the officials said.
The
reluctance of the Obama White House to respond to the alleged Russian
intrusions before Election Day upset Democrats on the Hill as well as
members of the Clinton campaign.
Within
the administration, top officials from different agencies sparred over
whether and how to respond. White House officials were concerned that
covert retaliatory measures might risk an escalation in which Russia,
with sophisticated cyber-capabilities, might have less to lose than the
United States, with its vast and vulnerable digital infrastructure.
The
White House’s reluctance to take that risk left Washington weighing
more-limited measures, including the “naming and shaming” approach of
publicly blaming Moscow.
By mid-September,
White House officials had decided it was time to take that step, but
they worried that doing so unilaterally and without bipartisan
congressional backing just weeks before the election would make Obama
vulnerable to charges that he was using intelligence for political
purposes.
Instead, officials devised a
plan to seek bipartisan support from top lawmakers and set up a secret
meeting with the Gang of 12 — a group that includes House and Senate
leaders, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of both chambers’
committees on intelligence and homeland security.
Obama
dispatched Monaco, FBI Director James B. Comey and Homeland Security
Secretary Jeh Johnson to make the pitch for a “show of solidarity and
bipartisan unity” against Russian interference in the election,
according to a senior administration official.
Specifically,
the White House wanted congressional leaders to sign off on a
bipartisan statement urging state and local officials to take federal
help in protecting their voting-registration and balloting machines from
Russian cyber-intrusions.
Though U.S.
intelligence agencies were skeptical that hackers would be able to
manipulate the election results in a systematic way, the White House
feared that Russia would attempt to do so, sowing doubt about the
fundamental mechanisms of democracy and potentially forcing a more
dangerous confrontation between Washington and Moscow.
In
a secure room in the Capitol used for briefings involving classified
information, administration officials broadly laid out the evidence U.S.
spy agencies had collected, showing Russia’s role in cyber-intrusions
in at least two states and in hacking the emails of the Democratic
organizations and individuals.
And they
made a case for a united, bipartisan front in response to what one
official described as “the threat posed by unprecedented meddling by a
foreign power in our election process.”
The
Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take
the threat seriously. Republicans, however, were divided, with at least
two GOP lawmakers reluctant to accede to the White House requests.
According
to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying
intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider
any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act
of partisan politics.
Some of the
Republicans in the briefing also seemed opposed to the idea of going
public with such explosive allegations in the final stages of an
election, a move that they argued would only rattle public confidence
and play into Moscow’s hands.
McConnell’s
office did not respond to a request for comment. After the election,
Trump chose McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, as his nominee for
transportation secretary.
Some Clinton
supporters saw the White House’s reluctance to act without bipartisan
support as further evidence of an excessive caution in facing
adversaries.
“The lack of an administration
response on the Russian hacking cannot be attributed to Congress,” said
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House
Intelligence Committee, who was at the September meeting. “The
administration has all the tools it needs to respond. They have the
ability to impose sanctions. They have the ability to take clandestine
means. The administration has decided not to utilize them in a way that
would deter the Russians, and I think that’s a problem.”
Philip Rucker contributed to this report.
Read more:
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What
do you think the theme for Donald Trump’s appointments has been so far?
Generals, generals, generals? Climate change deniers, climate change
deniers?
Those seem to be the leading contenders, although there’s always the ever-popular Give Chris Christie a job. While
still cooling his heels as governor of New Jersey, Christie made
history when a recent Quinnipiac poll showed him with a 77 percent job
disapproval rating. None of his predecessors had managed such a feat. We
knew he had it in him.
When
I want to be cheered up, I always think about Christie, who’s currently
lobbying for head of the Republican National Committee. (Next week, the
Surface Transportation Board.)
On
the downside, we had the heartbreaking saga of Al Gore, who happily
emerged from a meeting with Trump this week, telling reporters about the
“lengthy and very productive session” he’d had with the president-elect
on climate change. It was, Gore added hopefully, a conversation that
was likely “to be continued.”
Then
Trump turned around and named Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of
Oklahoma, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. From Gore’s
perspective, this would be like the judge in a divorce case naming the
aggrieved husband as marriage counselor.
Pruitt
is best pals with the oil and gas industry, and he knows the E.P.A.
mainly as an entity to be sued. Under his watchful eye, his state has
allowed so much natural gas fracking that Oklahoma now has way more
earthquakes than sunrises.
Why
do you think Trump went to so much trouble to set Gore up for
heartbreak? The most likely answer is that he was only pretending to
listen to what Gore was saying about climate change, while he waited for
the chance to break in and talk about how tremendous, enormous,
historic and stupendous his election victory was. This seems to happen a
lot.
Also,
it’s perfectly possible that by the time Trump sat down with Gore, he
no longer remembered who he was appointing to the E.P.A. Perhaps he
didn’t remember that Gore cared about the environment. The key to this
man’s success, you understand, is failure to recall anything that happened before his most recent meal.
The
selection of a Trump administration has been sort of mesmerizing in its
own awful way. Ben Carson will be running Housing and Urban Development
— Ben Carson, whose associate recently said
he wouldn’t be taking any cabinet job because “he’s never run a federal
agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that
could cripple the presidency.”
And
our new national security adviser is going to be Michael Flynn, a very
creepy retired general whose son/former chief of staff has been
promoting stupendously false stories about Hillary Clinton’s involvement
in a child sex ring at a pizza restaurant.
Trump
says he’s discussed his talent hunt with President Obama, who thinks
“very highly” of some of the people on his list. Who do you think they
are? Probably not the general with the son who tweets about Democratic
child abuse. Maybe retired Gen. James Mattis, who Trump wants to make
secretary of defense? Mattis is a pretty popular choice, possibly
because his nickname is “Mad Dog.”
Do you think if Governor Christie had a nickname, it would help his chances? What about “Growling Gerbil”?
And
then there’s secretary of state. Trump seems to be looking at nine
million possibilities. By next week you may be in the mix. Think about
it. You’re far better qualified than Rudy “Rabid Rabbit” Giuliani. And
unlike David Petraeus, I’ll bet you are not currently serving out
probation after pleading guilty to sharing highly classified government
information with a lover.
Lately,
it appears Trump has gone back into the field to drag in a whole new
bunch of State contenders. My favorite is Representative Dana
Rohrabacher of California, a person you have probably never heard of
even though he’s been in Congress since the 1980s and is currently head
of the prestigious Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Rohrabacher
is also a surfer and former folk singer who once claimed global warming
might be connected to “dinosaur flatulence.” He’s told transition
officials that if he gets the nod, he’ll make the terrifying John Bolton
his deputy, so the nation can get a crazy warmonger plus a guy who
knows how to play old Kingston Trio music.
Also
in the running: Rex Tillerson, the C.E.O. of ExxonMobil. Unlike
Representative Rohrabacher, Tillerson seems to believe that human beings
have had an impact on the climate; he just doesn’t care. (“What good is
it to save the planet if humanity suffers?”)
Another
name being bandied around is Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West
Virginia, who first ran for the Senate with a famous ad in which he shot
a hole in federal environmental legislation.
Do
you see a pattern here? Apparently the next secretary of state will be
somebody who likes smog. Perhaps this is an opening for Chris Christie.
New Jersey has had a lot of environmental problems. Maybe he could
invite Trump to a football game for some bonding. They could talk
foreign affairs, and then pollute something on the way home.
I invite you to join me on Facebook.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.
Trump: Madman of the Year
So,
Time magazine, ever in search of buzz, this week named Donald Trump
Person of the Year. But they did so with a headline that read,
“President of the Divided States of America.”
The demi-fascist of Fifth Avenue wasn’t flattered by that wording.
In an interview with the “Today” show,
Trump huffed, “When you say divided states of America, I didn’t divide
them. They’re divided now.” He added later, “I think putting divided is
snarky, but again, it’s divided. I’m not president yet. So I didn’t do
anything to divide.”
Donald,
thy name is division. You and your campaign of toxicity and intolerance
have not only divided this country but also ripped it to tatters.
This
comports with an extremely disturbing tendency of Trump’s: Denying
responsibility for things of which he is fully culpable, while claiming
full praise for things in which he was only partly involved.
As my mother used to say: Don’t try to throw a rock and hide your hand. Own your odiousness.
But
Trump delivered the lie with an ease and innocuousness that bespoke a
childish innocence and naïveté. In fact, his words disguised cold
calculation.
That is the thing about demagogy: It can be charming, even dazzling, and that is what makes it all the more dangerous.
Demagogues
can flatter and whisper and chuckle. They can remind us of the good in
the world because they have an acute awareness of the ways of the world.
They can also love and be loved. They can reflect our own humanity
because they are human, but their ambitions do not bend toward the good.
Their ultimate end is distraction, which allows domination, which leads to destruction.
Trump is running two post-campaign campaigns: one high and one low, one of frivolity and one of enormous consequence.
One
is a campaign of bread and circuses — tweets, rallies, bombast about
random issues of the moment, all meant to distract and excite — and the
other is the constant assemblage of a cabinet full of fat cats and “mad
dog” generals, a virtual aviary of vultures and hawks.
On Wednesday, The New York Times
reported that Trump had “settled on Gen. John F. Kelly, a retired
four-star Marine general whose son was killed in combat in Afghanistan,
as his choice for secretary of Homeland Security.”
They
also pointed out that Kelly had “dismissed one argument cited by those
who advocate closing the military prison at Guantánamo, saying it had
not proved to be an inspiration for militants.” The prison fell under
his command.
Make
no mistake: the prison at Guantánamo is one of the most glaring and
enduring moral blights remaining from our humanitarianism-be-damned
reaction to the attacks of 9/11.
“This
morning, I watched President Obama talking about Gitmo, right,
Guantánamo Bay, which by the way, which by the way, we are keeping open.
Which we are keeping open ... and we’re gonna load it up with some bad
dudes, believe me, we’re gonna load it up.”
The Times also said that Kelly “questioned the Obama administration’s plans to open all combat jobs to women, saying the military would have to lower its physical standards to bring women into some roles.”
This is disturbing, but Kelly isn’t the only one of Trump’s military picks who has a disturbing attitude toward women.
Last month, The Daily Beast
reported that the office of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s pick for
national security adviser, “told women to wear makeup, heels, and
skirts.” These directives to women were presented in a “January 2013
presentation, entitled ‘Dress for Success,’” which was obtained by a
Freedom of Information request by MuckRock.
The presentation reportedly made sweeping patriarchal declarations —
“makeup helps women look more attractive” — and gave granular detail —
“Wear just enough to accentuate your features.” According to the
presentation, “Do not advocate the ‘Plain Jane’ look.”
So,
in other words, while G.I. Joe is in camouflage, G.I. Jane should be in
concealer. Got it. Indeed, on Wednesday, my colleague Susan Chira pondered in these pages:
“Is Donald Trump’s Cabinet Anti-Woman?” She went through a litany of
anti-woman positions taken and policies advanced by Trump appointees,
leaving this reader with the clear conclusion that yes, it is. She
closed with this: “One of the few bright spots that women’s advocates
see in a Trump administration are proposals championed by Ivanka Trump
to require paid maternity leave and offer expanded tax credits for child
care.” But, as she notes, there is legitimate criticism that even that
is patriarchal because it doesn’t cover paternal leave.
The
question hanging in the air, the issue that we must vigilantly monitor,
is whether the emerging shoots of egalitarianism in this country will
be stomped out by the jackboot of revitalized authoritarianism.
I
feel like America is being flashed by a giant neuralyzer, à la “Men In
Black.” We are in danger of forgetting what has happened and losing
sight, in the fog of confusion and concealment, of the profundity of the
menace taking shape right before us.
That
is our challenge: To see clearly what this deceiver wants to obscure;
to be resolute about that to which he wants us to be resigned; to
understand that Time’s man of the year is, by words and deeds, more of a
madman of the year.
I invite you to join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter (@CharlesMBlow), or email me at chblow@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.
Russians flock to U.S. real estate after Trump victory
Wealthy Russians are looking to spend big on U.S. real estate in the wake of Donald Trump's election victory.
The number of Russians who have expressed interest in buying luxury properties in the U.S. has spiked by 35% over the previous year following the billionaire's win, according to global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.Knight Frank said Russians are interested in vacation homes as well as investment properties. Nearly all are looking to spend between $500,000 and $5 million on a residential property, while 10% are hoping to buy commercial real estate.
"Many of our customers are going go to the Art Basel Miami Beach exhibition and will see real estate there," said Marina Kuzmina, head of international sales at Knight Frank Russia. "A few customers are interested in the opportunity to buy property in development projects of Donald Trump, and we have received requests from U.S. developers wishing to cooperate with Russia."
Some investors see Trump's election as a sign that relations between Russia and the West may soon improve. Trump has praised Vladimir Putin as a strong leader, and the Russian president has made clear that he preferred Trump over his rival Hillary Clinton.
Related: Russian investors cheer Donald Trump's election
Russian purchases of U.S. property accounted for roughly 15% of Knight Frank's international sales as recently as 2014.
Some of the Russian purchases were extraordinary. Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the daughter of billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, made headlines in 2011 when she purchased the then most expensive apartment in Manhattan. The Central Park West condo was bought by a trust under the name of the then 22-year old for $88 million.
Rybolovlev himself bought a $95 million beachfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida in 2008. The seller? Donald Trump.
But demand fell of the cliff after western countries imposed sanctions on Russia over its involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. The sanctions, coupled with falling oil prices, put a huge strain on Russia's economy and sent the ruble plummeting.
Now, Russian buyers appear to have returned with force.
Mr. Tigerli in China
Copyright 2016 by Letizia Mancino
translation by Mary Holmes
All rights reserved
Yes Betty, either or it seems he wanted to fly only with
Singapore Airways.
Boeing or Airbus, it’s just the same
isn’t it? Aren’t they both just fat birds with 500 passengers?
Yes, but Singapore Airlines has the
most beautiful airhostesses: delicate, fine, graceful… Mr. Tigerli had looked forward to the flight
so much!
So the little man was disappointed?
You just can’t imagine how disappointed
he was.
But thank God one of the hostesses was a
pretty Chinese girl. Mr. Tigerli purred loudly but she didn’t hear him because
the purring of the Airbus 380 was even louder.
The poor cat!
You’ve said it Betty. Mr. Tigerli was
in a very bad mood and asked me for a loud speaker.
I’m sure you can get one in 1st
Class.
“”Russian Girl” had even heard you over
the roar of the Niagara Falls” I said to Mr. Tigerli. “You are a very
unfaithful cat. You wanted to get to know Asiatic girls. That’s how it is when
one leaves one’s first love”.
And what did he say to that?
“Men are hunters” was his answer.
Yes, my dear cat, a mouse hunter. And
what else did he say?
Not another word. He behaved as if he
hadn’t heard me.
The Airbus is very loud.
I told him shortly “Don’t trouble
yourself about “Chinese Girl”. There will be enough even prettier girls in
China. Wait till we land in Guilin”.
Did he understand you?
Naturally Mr. Tigerli understood me
immediately. Yes, sweetheart, don’t worry. They will find you something sweet
to eat.
And he?
He was so happy.
No problem going through the immigration
control?
Naturally! Lots of problems. How could I explain to
customs that the cat had come as a tourist to China to buy shoes?
Fur in exchange for shoes…
Don’t be so cynical Betty!
Cat meat in exchange for shoes?
He came through the pass control with
no trouble!
Is this Mr. Tigerli?
 |
Betty MacDonald's Vashon Island is a paradise.
info to: Sandra Lorinda Traci Petr Dana Jana Michaela Rebekah Swiss Charrd Tru John Darsie Darsie Toby Jeanine Carol Justin Lila Daniel Mo Nika Steve Neal Jitka Jitka Tami Pete Laurie Maia Nancy Kelly Pam Mary Jan and all our other friends
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
info to: Sandra Lorinda Traci Petr Dana Jana Michaela Rebekah Swiss Charrd Tru John Darsie Darsie Toby Jeanine Carol Justin Lila Daniel Mo Nika Steve Neal Jitka Jitka Tami Pete Laurie Maia Nancy Kelly Pam Mary Jan and all our other friends
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
Take an illustrated day trip through Washington state’s largest city with artist Candace Rose Rardon.
gadventures.com
Linda White yes,if my health allows.I have a few problems but is something I have always wanted to do,especially as I reread her books.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 6:37pm
Linde Lund Dear Linda I'll keep you posted.
Like · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 6:42pm
Bella Dillon · Friends with Darsie Beck
I still read Mrs Piggle Wiggle books to this day. I love her farm on vashon.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 10:32pm
Lila Taylor Good morning...Linde Lund
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 18 hrs
