The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– WH Speaker Jay Carney Says “Short Russia”; Russia Says “Goodbye Carney” (ZeroHedge, May 30, 2014):
Having failed dismally in his global macro forecasts, the White House’ press secretary Jay Carney is stepping down…
- *OBAMA SAYS SPOKESMAN JAY CARNEY STEPPING DOWN
- *OBAMA SAYS JOSH EARNEST TO BECOME PRESS SECRETARY
Perhaps it is time for him to take a role on Wall Street? His accuracy makes him a shoe-in.
– “Ukraine In Very Dangerous Situation”, No Lethal Assistance Coming Says White House (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):
First it was the Russians who repeated they are “deeply concerned by the deaths in the Ukraine,” and now it is the turn of the White House, through its speaker, Jay Carney, to chime in as well:
- RUSSIA DIRECTLY, INDIRECTLY SUPPORTING PROVOCATIONS: CARNEY
- UKRAINE HAS TO RESPOND TO PROVOCATIONS IN UKRAINE, CARNEY SAYS
- U.S. `ADMIRING’ OF RESTRAINT UKRAINE GOVT HAS SHOWN: CARNEY
- U.S. WILL KEEP PRESSING RUSSIA ON DE-ESCALATION, CARNEY SAYS
- UKRAINE IN VERY `DANGEROUS’ SITUATION, CARNEY SAYS
And yet, despite all the priase, Ukraine is on its own.
- U.S. NOT CONSIDERING LETHAL ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE, CARNEY SAYS
- CARNEY REITERATES U.S. DOESN’T SEE MILITARY UKRAINE SOLUTION
In other words, as we said last week, if it is Ukraine’s gambit, that its allies will come to its rescue upon a lethal escalation and provocation, “it will be sorely disappointed.” It seems Ukraine is about to figure this our first hand.
– White House Admits CIA Director Brennan Was “Secretly” In Kiev (ZeroHedge, April 14, 2014):
Late last night we asked if, as the Russian media had reported and only the Russian media, CIA director John Brennan had secretly visited Kiev over the weekend: “Brennan landed in Ukraine on Saturday under an assumed name and held a “series of secret meetings” with the country’s “power bloc” Interfax reported, citing an unidentified official in the Ukrainian parliament. The person who said this to Interfax in a phone talk added that John Brennan came to Ukraine not under his real name. According to some yet unconfirmed information, the decision to suppress protesters in Slavyansk, a city in Ukraine’s east, with force was advised to Ukraine’s authorities by Brennan.”
Read moreWhite House Admits CIA Director Brennan Was ‘Secretly’ In Kiev
– Has The World Gone Mad (Again)? (ZeroHedge, March 18, 2014):
A few select headlines from the day that made us, well, wonder…
- OBAMA’S GOAL IS FOR RUSSIA TO STEP BACK IN CRIMEA, LEW SAYS (hope and change?)
- CHINA SHOULD LOOSEN RESTRICTIONS OVER HOME PURCHASES: SEC. NEWS (but, but, but the reforms?)
- DONETSK GOVERNOR (AND BROTHER) HAD MOAT DUG OUT ON RUSSIAN BORDER (and filled with crocodiles?)
- BEIJING TO SPEND 20M YUAN TO CHANGE WEATHER TO CUT SMOG: DAILY (winning the war on weather and hence the economy)
- PUTIN SPOKESMAN SAYS UKRAINE FORCES MUST CHOOSE SIDES: BBC (hhmm, tough decision)
- FLAHERTY SAYS DECISION TO LEAVE POLITICS WAS NOT RELATED IN ANY WAY TO HIS HEALTH (just being pissed off)
- CARNEY SAYS LOW RATE ENVIRONMENT IS CONDUCIVE TO COMPLACENCY (and water is wet and we’ll keep doing it)
- IRS INFORMS EMPLOYEES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION DATA BREACH (shame really)
- UKRAINE FAILS TO SELL DEBT AT DOMESTIC AUCTION: FIN MIN. (but TSLA did – shoulda sold stock)
- BANK OF CANADA’S POLOZ SAYS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT RECENT ECONOMIC SOFTNESS IN CANADA IS ALL DUE TO THE WEATHER. (wait what?)
- ESTONIA’S PRESIDENT ILVES SAYS EU RESPONSE “SHOULD NOT BE ABOUT THE PRICE OF GAS” (what else is there?)
- U.S. TREASURY CORRECTS TICS DATA RELEASED EARLIER TODAY (#Ref/0)
- KERRY SAYS PUTIN SPEECH “DIDN’T JIBE WITH REALITY” (YouTube reality?)
- UKRAINE MAY SEEK COMPENSATION FOR CRIMEA ASSETS: PETRENKO (we don’t recognize it unless you pay us?)
- MERKEL SAYS NO CHANGE IN RUSSIA G-8 STATUS FOR NOW (nope, they’d have to really cross the red line)
- RUSSIA FELT ROBBED BY BREAKUP OF SOVIET UNION, PUTIN SAYS (uh oh)
- CYPRUS OPPOSES MORE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA: FOR’N MINISTER (RIK) (just capital controls is good)
- SUGA: WILL DEAL APPROPRIATELY WITH PUTIN’S PLANNED JAPAN VISIT (umm what?)
- PUTIN: RUSSIA WILL NEVER SEEK CONFRONTATIONS IN WEST, EAST (fingers crossed?)
- JAPAN HALTS TALKS WITH RUSSIA ON VISA ISSUANCE (and nobody cared)
- WHITE HOUSE CARNEY “I WOULDN’T IF I WERE YOU” INVEST IN RUSSIA (what do you think of TWTR?)
- JAPAN DISPLAY STARTS TRADING 15% BELOW IPO PRICE IN TOKYO (shoulda IPO’d in USA)
- VIETNAM DELAYS SOME BAD DEBT CLASSIFICATION UNTIL APRIL 2015 (will all be fixed by then)
- SUGA: ABENOMICS WILL WITHOUT DOUBT LEAD TO ECONOMIC REVIVAL (yep no dooubt about it)
Has the world gone totally mad?
And then there’s this:
- Fed Tightening May Begin Sooner Than Thought: Hildebrand in FT (not holding our breath)
– White House Proclaims “Exceptional” Obama Deserves Credit For Any Syrian Deal (ZeroHedge, Sep 12, 2013):
It will likely come as no surprise but the political one-up-manship continues as the Obama White House try to rescue themselves from a face-melting Putin Op-Ed… As Politico reports, WH press secretary Jay Carney stated: “If we were to see a situation unfold where Assad were to give up his chemical weapons to international supervision that would be an enormous accomplishment … would be due to the decisions made by the Russian leadership but also the decisions made by the United States, by the president, to take the approach he has taken in response to the horrifying use of chemical weapons on his own people.” Feeling the need to make one more jab at the Russians, Carney added, “The United States, in part because it is an exceptional nation, is called upon the lead in situations like this.” Indeed, that’s what it felt like eh? Under control the whole time…
President Barack Obama would deserve some credit if the Syrian crisis is ultimately resolved with the Assad regime relinquishing its chemical weapons, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday.
Read moreWhite House Proclaims ‘Exceptional’ Obama Deserves Credit For Any Syrian Deal
– 22 Nauseating Quotes From Hypocritical Establishment Politicians About The NSA Spying Scandal (Economic Collapse, June 12, 2013):
Establishment politicians from both major political parties are rushing to defend the NSA and condemn whistleblower Edward Snowden. They are attempting to portray Edward Snowden as a “traitor” and the spooks over at the NSA that are snooping on all of us as “heroes”. In fact, many of the exact same politicians that once railed against government spying during the Bush years are now staunchly defending it now that Obama is in the White House. But it isn’t just Democrats that are acting shamefully. Large numbers of Republican politicians that love to give speeches about “freedom” and “liberty” are attempting to eviscerate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The government is not supposed to invade our privacy and investigate us unless there is probable cause to do so. Apparently many of our politicians misunderstood when they read the novel 1984 by George Orwell. It wasn’t supposed to be an instruction manual. We should be thanking Edward Snowden for exposing the deep corruption that is eating away at our own government like cancer. Now the American people need to pick up the ball and start demanding answers, because without a doubt we are going to see establishment politicians from both major political parties try to shut this scandal down. Establishment Democrats and establishment Republicans both love the Big Brother surveillance grid that the U.S. government has constructed, and they are both making it abundantly clear that they will defend the NSA to the very end.
The following are 22 nauseating quotes from hypocritical establishment politicians that show exactly how they feel about the NSA spying scandal…
– White House Explains: Obama Didn’t Know What He Knew When Everyone Else Knew What He Should Have Known (ZeroHedge, May 20, 2013):
Yesterday, when we reported that as a result of new disclosures regarding the timing of who learned what, but most importantly when, in the White House regarding the IRS persecution (if not prosecution) of conservative groups, we made it quite clear that the narrative enacted by the White House, which could simply be summarized as “we’ll make it up as we go along“, was nothing more than damage control in total disarray. Because once caught lying, the best solution usually is to stop lying and tell the truth, tying up all those loose ends that eventually lead to Watergate-type outcomes unless addressed early on. No such luck here.Instead, the White House has doubled down on its crash and burn storyline and in doing so is merely guaranteeing that the very same conservatives, and all others who would rather not have a very political IRS on their back, who have smelled blood are not going to let go until someone at the very top takes responsibility for what, together with the AP-fiasco, is rapidly becoming Obama’s Nixonian scandal.
Sure enough, here is The Hill with the White House’s official explanation for what happened: “White House officials were notified of a Treasury Department inspector general report on the IRS but elected not to tell President Obama about it.” In other words, neither the IRS chief was aware of what is going on at the IRS (recall the countless “I don’t knows” and “I don’t recalls”) and apparently, neither was the president briefed on what everyone beneath him at the White House knew weeks in advance of the premeditated IRS leak. And in fact, it turns out it was someone else’s executive duty to make the decision what the chief executive of the nation is and isn’t allowed to know in the first pace. So, maybe we are confused, but just how is Obama the “president” again?
For more on how when the White House finds itself in a hole, it merely keeps on digging and digging, we go to The Hill: