Obama Pick For V.A. Is Former Procter & Gamble Chief

Robert  A.  McDonald

Pick for V.A. Is Former Corporate Chief (The New York Times, June 29, 2014):

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday intends to nominate Robert A. McDonald, a former chief executive of Procter & Gamble, to be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs, a White House official said Sunday, betting that a global corporate officer can turn around a government health system that has been rocked by allegations of mismanagement and cover-ups of long patient waiting times.

White House Calls IRS Investigation A ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (Video) – Lois Lerner Emails: Nothing Digital Ever Dies

Just ask the NSA:

Congressman Asks NSA To Restore Two Years Of ‘Lost’ Lois Lerner IRS Emails



June 20, 2014

Related info:

Lois Lerner Emails: Nothing Digital Ever Dies (Digital Journal, June 19, 2014):

In 2007, while co-writing a magazine piece with Silicon Valley author and entrepreneur Michael S. Malone on best Information Age practices for politicians, I coined a phrase Malone instantly dubbed “the Cannon Codicil.”

Postulating that electronic messages, like diamonds, last for forever, Cannon’s codicil simply holds that “Nothing digital ever dies.”

Although inspired by the water torture Democrats were then inflicting on Karl Rove over his missing Republican National Committee emails, mostly I was being metaphysical. But now, with the Internal Revenue Service claiming it has lost tens of thousands of emails from Lois Lerner and six of her IRS subordinates, the question in Washington is whether such a thing is technologically possible.

Read moreWhite House Calls IRS Investigation A ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (Video) – Lois Lerner Emails: Nothing Digital Ever Dies

Slavyansk Clashes Kill 20 Rebels, Injure Dozens Of Civilians; White House ‘Extremely Concerned’ Unrest Is Spreading

Slavyansk Clashes Kill 20 Rebels, Injure Dozens Of Civilians; White House “Extremely Concerned” Unrest Is Spreading (ZeroHedge, May 5, 2014):

Ongoing military operations in Slavyansk have left at least 20 rebels dead and dozens more civilians injured according to Interfax.

  • *SLOVYANSK CLASHES KILL 20 REBELS, MANY CIVILIANS WOUNDED: IFX

As RT reports, fatalities are on both sides with little progress reported one way or the other. The White House says it’s “extremely concerned” by the deteriorating situation in southern Ukraine. Perhaps more important for the average American citizen, Klitschko has decided to postpone his planned wedding to Hayden Panettiere due to the conflict… now it’s getting serious!!

As RT reports,

There were fatalities among both Kiev loyalists and local militia members after government troops renewed the crackdown on the defiant eastern Ukrainian protester stronghold of Slavyansk. Over a dozen of people have been killed, including some civilians.

Read moreSlavyansk Clashes Kill 20 Rebels, Injure Dozens Of Civilians; White House ‘Extremely Concerned’ Unrest Is Spreading

Russia Voices ‘Disgust’ At New US Sanctions, Warns ‘Won’t Go Unanswered’

Russia Voices “Disgust” At New US Sanctions, Warns “Won’t Go Unanswered” (ZeroHedge, April 28, 2014):

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as come out swinging after US issued a new round of sanctions against citizens and companies of the nation:

  • RUSSIA WON’T LET SANCTIONS GO UNANSWERED: INTERFAX
  • RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RYABKOV VOICES “DISGUST” AT WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT ON NEW U.S. SANCTIONS -INTERFAX

As we await the European Union’s reaction (which the US has said is imminent… hopefully)…

Read moreRussia Voices ‘Disgust’ At New US Sanctions, Warns ‘Won’t Go Unanswered’

White House Former Chief Of Staff Joins Hedge Fund Launched By Former JPM Prop Traders

White House Former Chief Of Staff Joins Hedge Fund Launched By Former JPM Prop Traders (ZeroHedge, April 24, 2014):

“The amount of experience he has is ridiculous,” says former JPM prop trader Galuti, adding “- in a positive way,” as he explains why former Clinton Commerce secretary (and Obama chief of staff) Bill Daley has joined the small Swiss-based hedge fund. The revolving door of favors continues as Daley, who The FT reports will be based in Chicago and oversee US expansion (as well as provide macroeconomic and political advice), joins an ever-growing number of former Obama administration officials to have taken jobs in the financial sector.

As The FT reports, Bill Daley, the former White House chief of staff, is to join the hedge fund Argentière Capital, which was founded last year by leaders of JPMorgan’s disbanded proprietary trading division.

Mr Daley, who was also Commerce Secretary under President Bill Clinton, joins a number of former Obama administration officials to have taken jobs in the financial sector.

He will be based in Chicago and help spearhead the fund’s US expansion, as well as provide macroeconomic and political advice.

Read moreWhite House Former Chief Of Staff Joins Hedge Fund Launched By Former JPM Prop Traders

Flood Of Students Demanding Loan Forgiveness Forces Administration Scramble

Flood Of Students Demanding Loan Forgiveness Forces Administration Scramble (ZeroHedge, April 22, 2014):

“Loan forgiveness creates incentives for students to borrow too much to attend college, potentially contributing to rising college prices for everyone,” is a study’s warning over government plans that allow students to rack up big debts and then forgive the unpaid balance after a set period. As WSJ reports, enrollment in student debt forgiveness plans have surged nearly 40% in just six months, to include at least 1.3 million Americans owing around $72 billion. The administration is looking to cap debt eligible for forgiveness, as President Obama’s revamped Pay As You Earn scheme has seen applications soar and is estimated to cost taxpayers $14bn a year. The ‘popularity’ of the student loan bailout plan surged after Obama promoted it in 2012, and now the administration must back-track as costs have massively outpaced government predictions.

20140422_debt

We have been aggresively focused on the government’s blowing of the student loan bubble…

Read moreFlood Of Students Demanding Loan Forgiveness Forces Administration Scramble

Here Come The Boots On The Ground: US Troops Heading To Eastern Europe

Here Come The Boots On The Ground: US Troops Heading To Eastern Europe (ZeroHedge, April 22, 2014):

It seems the truce “deal” is well and truly dead…

  • 600 U.S. TROOPS HEADING TO EUROPE FOR EXERCISES: PENTAGON
  • U.S. AIRBORNE TROOPS GOING TO POLAND, LITHUANIA, LATVIA,ESTONIA
  • U.S. MILITARY EXERCISES ARE IN RESPONSE TO UKRAINE CRISIS:KIRBY
  • MORE MILITARY EXERCISES ‘COMING THROUGH’ NATO: PENTAGON

The question now, of course, is – what will Putin do in response to this action?

As for where these troops may be arriving from the answer is simple: that other US military intervention success story – Afghanistan.

From Reuters:

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 – the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces – as the longest war in American history winds down, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

Read moreHere Come The Boots On The Ground: US Troops Heading To Eastern Europe

This Means War: US To Target Putin’s Personal $40 Billion Stash

Putin-Gold

This Means War: US To Target Putin’s Personal $40 Billion Stash (ZeroHedge, April 20, 2014):

While the White House has continually threatened further sanctions against Russia for non-de-escalation (even as it un-de-escalates itself), the specifics of the additional sanctions have been sparse. German CEO warnings over blowback from economic sanctions… the “nonsense” of replacing Russian gas with US gasthe Russian warnings of “interdependence” and “boomerangs”… all reduce the West’s arsenal of financial sanctions. But, as The Times of London reports, perhaps the US has found a crucial pain point for Putin – a sanctions regime that would target Putin’s personal wealth, which includes a reported $40 billion stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

Read moreThis Means War: US To Target Putin’s Personal $40 Billion Stash

‘Pals’: Biden, Obama Make Selfie Time

‘Pals’: Biden, Obama make selfie time (ZeroHedge, April 17, 2014):

For an administration run by a “straight to TV” teleprompter, it is only fitting that the inspiration for reaching out to the unemployed masses should come straight from the Oscars. No Samsung’s media stunt this time, just America’s figurehead leaders kindly requesting everyone to please wave to the NSA-controlled webcam: after all they are on the other end, and smiling.

 

30 Survey Results That Sound False But That Are Actually True

30 Survey Results That Sound False But That Are Actually True (Economic Colllapse, March 23, 2014):

You will be shocked at what some Americans actually believe.  For example, close to 90 percent of us believe that we are eating a healthy diet, and yet more than third of the population is officially obese.  65 percent of all Americans say that they are dissatisfied with the government, and yet nearly a third of us would be willing to submit to a “TSA body cavity search” in order to get on an airplane.  As you will see below, Americans are angrier and more frustrated with government and with their lives than ever before, but we also exhibit almost unbelievable levels of sloth and apathy.  Some of the numbers below are quite funny, and others are absolutely stunning.  But they all say something about who we have become as a nation.

The following are 30 survey results that sound false but that are actually true:

Read more30 Survey Results That Sound False But That Are Actually True

CBS Reporter Reveals White House Press Conferences Are Entirely Scripted Nonsense (Video)

– Video of the Day – Reporter Reveals White House Press Conferences are Entirely Scripted Nonsense (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March 20, 2014):

“I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano;
A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one.”

– The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene I

As readers of this site are already very much aware, the entire world around us is micro-managed with intense propaganda by what Professor C. Wright Mills called ”the power elite.” This culminates into an existence within a manufactured, nonsensical world that investment legend Seth Klarman referred to as The Truman Show.

Well The Truman Show that is the USA has been exposed once again. According to this CBS reporter from Arizona, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney receives all questions to “press briefings” ahead of time. In many cases, the reporters themselves even possess the scripted answers to their questions before the conference starts. Yes, as suspected, it’s all just one gigantic stage and you are the clown in the audience.

Watch and weep serfs.

Russian Sanctioned By White House Responds On Twitter To ‘Comrade Obama’

Russian Sanctioned By White House Responds On Twitter To “Comrade Obama” (ZeroHedge, March 17, 2014):

Moments ago we listed the Russian Putin “advisors” impacted by the latest Obama executive order freezing those assets over which the US has access. Among them was deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Russia’s ambassador to NATO. As a reminder, in 2011 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Dmitry Rogozin as a Special Representative on anti-missile defence and negotiations with NATO countries on this issue. On 23 December 2011 Dmitry Rogozin was appointed deputy premier of Russian Government in charge of defense and space industry. As responsible for the defense industry he leads the creation of the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the Defense Industry (Russian DARPA). Moments ago Rogozin replied to Obama’s “freezing” of his, among other, assets.

Which, as reported on Friday, probably is the case for many Russians oligarchs, who were expecting this move by Obama long ago. Worst case, a whole lot of New York City duplex penthouses are about to hit the market. And then this follow up tweet:

Read moreRussian Sanctioned By White House Responds On Twitter To ‘Comrade Obama’

Russia-Ukraine Agree ‘Truce’ Until March 21st; White House Warns Putin Stop Playing ‘Russian Roulette’

Russia-Ukraine Agree “Truce” Until March 21st; White House Warns Putin Stop Playing “Russian Roulette” (ZeroHedge, March 16, 2014):

President Putin has started a game of Russian roulette and I think the United States and the West have to be very clear in their response,” states Sen. Foreign Relations Committed Chair Robert Menendez among a slew of Sunday morning talk-show rhetoric from US politicians with the White House’s Dan Pfeiffer adding “President Putin has a choice about what he’s going to do here. Is he going to continue to further isolate himself, further hurt his economy, further diminish Russian influence in the world, or is he going to do the right thing?” As the “sham referendum” continues, Reuters, however, reports that Ukraine’s acting defense minister believes Russia and Ukraine have agree a truce until March 21st.

Sunday Morning Talk-Show Rhetoric… (via AP)

If Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t back down in Crimea, he will face penalties from the West that will hurt the Russian economy and diminish Moscow’s influence in the world, the White House said Sunday.

Read moreRussia-Ukraine Agree ‘Truce’ Until March 21st; White House Warns Putin Stop Playing ‘Russian Roulette’

Obama Continues To Shield CIA And Bush-Era Torture, Refuses To Hand Over Key Documents About CIA Torture To Senate Investigative Panel

Flashback:

Former UK ambassador: CIA sent people to Uzbekistan for extreme torture, to be ‘raped with broken bottles,’ ‘boiled alive’ and ‘having their children tortured in front of them’


White House still refusing to hand over key documents about CIA torture to senate investigative panel

the_13_people_who_made_torture_possible
These are the people behind the Bush torture program, but Obama continues to “look forward” despite the ugly implications of keeping Bush’s secrets locked away. (File)

Amid Senate Skirmish, Obama Continues to Shield CIA and Bush-era Torture (Common Dreams, March 13, 2014):

What’s in the more than 9,000 pages of top secrets documents held by the White House that the Senate Intelligence Committee and investigators looking into the Bush administration’s torture program are not allowed to see?

After an unprecedented public skirmish between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA surfaced this week over an investigative panel’s look into the agency’s torture program, President Obama said Wednesday that he and his White House would not “wade into” the controversy.

But according to new reporting by McClatchy, the White House is not only not “uninvolved,” it is actively keeping documents from the Intelligence Committee that it has repeatedly asked to see. As the news agency reports:

Read moreObama Continues To Shield CIA And Bush-Era Torture, Refuses To Hand Over Key Documents About CIA Torture To Senate Investigative Panel

White House Set To Extend Obamacare Deadline By 1 Year

White House Set To Extend Obamacare Deadline By 1 Year (ZeroHedge, March 5, 2014):

With the world distracted by Putin and ICBM launches, The White House, according to the WSJ, is about to extend Obamacare deadlines by another year:

  • *U.S. MAY GRANT 1-YR EXTENSION ON HEALTH LAW REQUIREMENTS: WSJ
  • *WSJ CITES INDUSTRY OFFICIAL ON INSURANCE COS., HEALTH CARE LAW

Allowing insurers to keep selling policies that do not meet standards for another year. It seems, if you like your healthcare policy, you can keep it for one more year… (most importantly past the Midterms)

Via WSJ,

The Obama administration plans to allow insurers to continue selling policies that don’t meet the federal health law’s requirements for at least another year, an insurance industry official confirmed Tuesday.

Read moreWhite House Set To Extend Obamacare Deadline By 1 Year

Dozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again

Dozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again (ZeroHedge, Feb 20, 2014):

The Ukrainian health minister just state that at least 64 have died since February 18th; protesters claim the number is over 100 – either way, this is horrific (and we suspect, once the Olympics is over, will get worse). As Martin Armstrong outlines below, Ukraine is the pawn on the chessboard. The propaganda war is East v West.

  • WHITE HOUSE URGES UKRAINE PRESIDENT TO IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW SECURITY FORCES FROM DOWNTOWN KIEV, RESOLVE CRISIS BY POLITICAL MEANS
  • WHITE HOUSE SAYS OUTRAGED BY IMAGES OF UKRAINIAN SECURITY FORCES “FIRING AUTOMATIC WEAPONS ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE” (more YouTube justifications)

And Russia proclaims US/EU calls for sanctions as “Blackmail”

Via NY Times,

Read moreDozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again

Retired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government

FYI.


White-House

Retired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government (Think Progress, Feb 1, 2014):

Tea Party leader, retired Army general and former Fox News contributor Paul Vallely in a recently published video told a Tea Party group that, if given the troops, he would lead a coup against the U.S. government.

Vallely has called made his comments in a discussion with an Arizona-based Tea Party group last December, a recording of which the website Right Wing Watch recently acquired. “I had a call this afternoon from Idaho, the gentleman said, ‘If I give you 250,000 Marines to go to Washington, will you lead them?’” Vallely, who was Fox News’ senior military analyst during the Iraq War, told the group. “I said, ‘Yes, I will, I’ll surround the White House and I’ll surround the Capitol building, but it’s going to take physical presence to do things.”

Read moreRetired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government

Obama To Bypass Congress In 2014, Rule By Agency Decree

Obama to bypass Congress in 2014, rule by agency decree (Daily Caller, Jan 26, 2014):

White House officials say President Barack Obama will aggressively use his control of federal agencies to impose his progressive agenda on the economy and society throughout 2014.

He’ll largely ignore GOP legislators, except to push them to accept an amnesty for at least 12 million Democrat-leaning illegal immigrants, according to several White House officials who outlined the strategy to The Washington Post.

Read moreObama To Bypass Congress In 2014, Rule By Agency Decree

White House Warns Obama Ready To ‘Bypass’ Congress On 2014 Agenda

White House warns Obama ready to ‘bypass’ Congress on 2014 agenda (Guardian, Jan 26, 2014):

White House officials are setting the scene for a confrontational state of the union address on Tuesday night, claiming that President Barack Obama is preparing to “bypass” Congress with executive action on divisive issues such as economic inequality.

However, in a flurry of last-minute appearances, advisers also hinted at a growing sense within the administration that the president’s chances of securing more ambitious legislative reform before November’s midterm elections may already have passed.

Read moreWhite House Warns Obama Ready To ‘Bypass’ Congress On 2014 Agenda

White House Warns Obama Could Go Around Congress

White House warns Obama could go around Congress (AP, Jan 26, 2014)

President Barack Obama will work with Congress where he can and circumvent lawmakers where he must, his top advisers warned Sunday in previewing Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.

Obama faces a politically divided Congress on Tuesday and will use his annual address to demand expanded economic opportunity. Absent legislative action, the White House is telling lawmakers that the president is ready to take unilateral action to close the gap between rich and poor Americans.

Read moreWhite House Warns Obama Could Go Around Congress

U.S. Supreme Court May Move To Rein In President Obama’s Trampling Of The Constitution

obama-angry

Supreme Court May Move To Rein In President Obama’s Trampling Of The Constitution (ZeroHedge, Jan 13, 2014):

 It would appear that there is even a limit for the Supreme Court as to what they will allow President Obama to get away with:
  • *OBAMA’S RECESS APPOINTMENTS QUESTIONED BY U.S. SUPREME COURT

As Bloomberg reports, justices across the ideological spectrum questioned whether President Barack Obama complied with the Constitution when he appointed three members of the National Labor Relations Board during a Senate break.

Via Bloomberg,

U.S. Supreme Court justices suggested they may curb the president’s power to make temporary appointments without Senate approval, as the court took up a constitutional standoff between the White House and congressional Republicans.

Read moreU.S. Supreme Court May Move To Rein In President Obama’s Trampling Of The Constitution

$292 Million Down The Drain: White House Fires Main Obamacare IT Contractor

$292 Million Down The Drain: White House Fires Main Obamacare IT Contractor (ZeroHedge, Jan 10, 2014):

Proving once again that if you want something done wrong, and preferably at massive cost overruns, then just leave it to the government, moments ago news broke that the main IT contractor behind the embarrassment that is healthcare.gov – CGI Federal – has been fired. Who could possibly foresee this? Well, anyone who had actually done some diligence on the clusterfuck that is CGI Federal, and which as WaPo profiled some time ago, “is filled with executives from a company that mishandled at least 20 other government IT projects, including a flawed effort to automate retirement benefits for millions of federal workers, documents and interviews show.” Make that 21. “A year before CGI Group acquired AMS in 2004, AMS settled a lawsuit brought by the head of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which had hired the company to upgrade the agency’s computer system. AMS had gone $60 million over budget and virtually all of the computer code it wrote turned out to be useless, according to a report by a U.S. Senate committee.” Sounds like the perfect people to hire in order to make a complete disaster out of the Obamacare portal – almost as if by design.

But the best news? Obama’s little tryst with CGI Federal cost US taxpayers only $292 million. As Vanity Fair revealed recently, “According to congressional testimony, CGI stands to be paid $292 million for its work on healthcare.gov.” And since the CGI replacement will eventually redo everything from scratch, this is $292 million that Obama may have as well burned.

We jest, but the incest between the Obama administration and CGI will one day be probed. According to recent revelations the ties run deep:

Read more$292 Million Down The Drain: White House Fires Main Obamacare IT Contractor

$10 Million NSA Contract With Security Firm RSA Led To Encryption ‘Back Door’

$10m NSA contract with security firm RSA led to encryption ‘back door’ (Guardian Dec 20, 2013):

• Flawed formula enabled agency to crack into products

• RSC and NSA decline to comment

As a key part of a campaign to embed encryption software that it could crack into widely used computer products, the National Security Agency arranged a secret $10m contract with RSA, one of the most influential firms in the computer security industry, Reuters has learned.

Documents leaked by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show that the NSA created and promulgated a flawed formula for generating random numbers, to create a “back door” in encryption products, the New York Times reported in September. Reuters later reported that RSA became the most important distributor of that formula by rolling it into a software tool called Bsafe that is used to enhance security in personal computers and many other products.

Read more$10 Million NSA Contract With Security Firm RSA Led To Encryption ‘Back Door’

White House Favors Former Bank Of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer To Be Fed Vice Chair

FYI.


The Markets Should Celebrate Stanley Fischer As Number Two At Fed, A Perfect Ten Strike (Forbes, Dec 11, 2013):

I know and admire the wisdom of Stanley Fischer, apparently to be appointed Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Fischer will add a serious complement of experience to maintain stability of the nation’s monetary policy as he understands only too well the absolute requirement of avoiding another meltdown. This appointment will strengthen the positive attitude of financial markets as Fischer is a strong asset for Yellen, and influential with other local Fed presidents as well as Finance Ministers and Central Bankers around the globe. Just recently, Larry Summers and a passel of other influential economists saluted Fischer with keenly read papers at the IMF to honor his influence in economic circles. And I know that Fischer has a very high regard for the former Treasury Secretary.

I believe his record as MIT Professor supervising Ben Bernanke’s thesis on the depression in 1979, his time at the IMF as chief economist, a few years at Citigroup and then a spectacular success steering the Israeli economy to superior economic growth at the Bank of Israel will be seen as a valuable counterpart to Janet Yellen’s huge challenge of easing us out of quantitative easing.

For No. 2 at Fed, White House Favors Central Banker in the Bernanke Mold (New York Times, Dec 11, 2013):

WASHINGTON — Stanley Fischer, the former governor of the Bank of Israel and a mentor to the Federal Reserve’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, is the leading candidate to become vice chairman of the Fed, according to former and current administration officials.

Former Bank of Israel Gov. Fischer near Fed vice chair nomination: Reports (CNBC. Dec 11, 2013):

The White House is close to nominating Stanley Fischer, the former governor of the Bank of Israel, as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, various media outlets reported on Wednesday.

Fischer, 70, headed the Israeli central bank until earlier this year. He is a former head of the economics department at MIT, former number two official at the IMF and former chief economist at the World Bank.

Among his students during his 20-plus years teaching at MIT were outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and former presidential advisor Greg Mankiw.

Read moreWhite House Favors Former Bank Of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer To Be Fed Vice Chair