President Trump Tweets Strong Support for EPA Head Scott Pruitt: “Scott is doing a great job!”…


Making left-wing ‘splodey heads one tweet at a time:

(Tweet Link)

Intellectual Froglegs – Liberal Farm


Joe Dan Gorman presents the latest anti-derp headline news:

 

NAFTA Watch – No “Agreement on Major Issues” After Three Days of Discussion Between Principals…


After three days of discussions between U.S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo they were not able to develop any consensus on the major issues within the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA.

The likely outcome of the upcoming Mexican national election on July 1st brought the principals together for non-scheduled talks, as U.S. President Trump instructed Ambassador Lighthizer to explore whether the three nations could find common ground on the ‘big picture’ issues behind the largest schism.  The auto sector and rules of origin is the epicenter of the biggest difference between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. auto-sector NAFTA position is that North American content of vehicles made in NAFTA countries be increased to 85 percent from 62.5 percent.  The Canadian and Mexican position is for lower North American content.

Canada is not arguing for higher Canadian content.  Mexico is not arguing for higher Mexican content… Instead both Canada and Mexico are arguing for higher imported content (China and Asia).  Honestly, I cannot fathom why more people don’t see the inherent ridiculousness of NAFTA against the reality of Canada and Mexico arguing for more Chinese imports.

The reason Can/Mex are arguing for more imported material content is because both of their trade economies exploit the NAFTA loophole that allows European and Asian parts to be shipped into Can/Mex, assembled, and shipped into the U.S. market without duty.

It’s bizarre; yet this is the reality.

NAFTA is so completely flawed, it is against Canada and Mexico’s financial interest for them to agree to a North American trade agreement that is structured around North American trade.

When you ask a pro-NAFTA advocate why Canada and Mexico are arguing for less Canadian and Mexican manufacturing in their NAFTA position the advocate cannot answer with any intelligence…. because their pro-NAFTA entire premise is ridiculous, and based on structural falsehoods.  Very frustrating.

Depending on which ideological broadcast or print media you review, there is a massive disconnect in their projected framework of optimism that a deal can be reached. Canadian media are desperate to find hope that any deal can be reached. Mexican media is ambivalent; and U.S. media is mostly driven by the position of multinational corporations who demand the exploitative nature of NAFTA be retained.

My gut, and the ongoing deep reviews of nuance therein, still lean heavily toward the inability of any deal to be possible because the underlying dynamic is so structurally flawed. It is against U.S. interests to stay in NAFTA. It is against Mexico and Canada’s interests to exit NAFTA. There is a massive amount of media manipulation between those polar opposite positions.

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Princess Rainbow Sparkles continues selling the Canadian position based on ‘feelings’ and ’emotion’…

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BREAKING: Dept of Justice Grants House and Senate Intel Committee Full Access To Review FISA Application…


Until today the only people allowed to review the full Title-1 FISA application were Trey Gowdy, Adam Schiff, Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Rep John Ratcliffe.

In an interesting development, the Department of Justice has responded to HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes notifying him the DOJ will allow all members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees full access to review the unredacted FBI/DOJ FISA application used to gain a Title-1 surveillance warrant against U.S. citizen Carter Page.

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/375730245/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-7BQe9fJzvsXo7bSB3dRh

According to CNN: ‘Separately, Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said the department on Monday will supplement its document production to the House Judiciary Committee by producing another 1,000 pages of materials in response to a subpoena issued by committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.’

This is an interesting development for several reasons:

♦This will be the first opportunity for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes to see the underlying highly classified documentary evidence that underpins his FISA Memo. Previously only one majority member (Gowdy), and one minority member (Schiff), from the HPSCI was permitted to review the heavily classified and unredacted FISA application.

♦Allowing the full House and Senate intelligence committee to review the FISA application is the first step in getting the application declassified. It would be enormously interesting if the public could see the full application as submitted by the FBI and DOJ. There is a significant public interest in knowing exactly how strong the underlying evidence was for the FISA Court to grant such extensive surveillance authority.

♦There has been some discussion of a possibility the FISA application held by the Department of Justice, and used to structurally create the Nunes memo, may not be the same FISA Title-1 application held by the FISA Court per Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer. Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has requested the FISA Court application. That issue remains unresolved.  (link)

If, and this is a big “if”, there are actually two versions, the consequences are astronomical. Almost immediately Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, James Comey and Andrew McCabe would be indicted.

Lastly, the willingness of the DOJ (Sessions, Rosenstein) to allow expanded access to the FISA application, at the same time the IG has expanded his investigation therein, would indicate IG Michael Horowitz and Federal Prosecutor John Huber have completed their review of the evidentiary weight therein…. and this release exactly backs up what we previous noted:

Horowitz was not announcing this investigative avenue from a position of only just now starting to gather evidence; he already has the evidence. He was announcing the context for him to drop a report summarizing findings of content from the investigation; a report that has nothing to do with the original launch of the OIG investigation.

In essence he announced the need to write a report based on investigative material he has already gathered. Horowitz already has the FISA material, he needed a reason to include it.

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/375057764/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-NYmo48DEK5qpIU5c62Yb

 

…. Or, Huber/Horowitz could also be setting a trap.

“WHY” – The first video highlights the historic backdrop of DOJ/FBI FISA court abuses:

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“HOW” – The second video highlights the specific example of how the DOJ and FBI used false information to the FISA Court to secure a fraudulent ‘Title-1’ surveillance warrant:

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“WHO” – The third video highlights who the primary players were within the scheme:

World Trade – Who is Really Hurt in a Trade War?


The US share markets opened lower on today as renewed fears of a trade conflict between the United States and China continued to top the excuses for a correction. This even surpassed the lower-than-expected March jobs data which they traditionally have focused on with respect to interest rate hikes. As always, there seems to be zero research into any of these fundamental issues that people hang their hats on to explain corrections or rallies. World trade, even in nominal dollars, peak in 2008. To think that a trade war will somehow reverse the trend is rather absurd.

 

 

When we look at world trade as a percentage of GDP in China, it has been declining since 2005 and will continue to decline into 2020 even in nominal terms. I really hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but (1) there has been a significant decline in world trade, and (2) China has been turning inward building its domestic economy.

Trade as a percent of GDP for the United States peaked in 2011. Trump has misread the trade perspective and has only focused upon domestic jobs. If we were to allocate trade according to the parent company, the United States dwarfs most everyone else. The USA also shows that trade is about 26.57% of GDP while in China it is now about 37.05%. This continues to demonstrate that the USA has the primary economy that is holding up the world. Canada is 64.3%, Japan 31.23%, Mexico 78.11%, United Kingdom is 58.02%, France 60.46%, Germany6 is 84.26% and Norway is 67.40% with Sweden coming in at 83.70%. The European Union as a whole stands at 82.62% and the Middle East as a whole stands ar 85.74%.

The higher the number the more dependent they are on world trade. The lower the number, the more resilient they are with a stro9ng domestic economy. All the bearishness on selling the dollar because of a trade war is exactly opposite of what the numbers show who will suffer.

Report: President Trump Will Skip Self-Congratulatory White House Corespondent Awards Dinner…


President Trump will not be attending the White House Media Awards event again this year.  According to Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump, who has feuded with several media personalities and organizations, will not attend the White House Correspondents’ Association annual black-tie dinner for the second straight year, the president of the group said on Friday.

[…]  “The White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year’s dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment,” Margaret Talev, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said.  (link)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Announces ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy For Border Enforcement…


WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions today notified all U.S. Attorney’s Offices along the Southwest Border of a new “zero-tolerance policy” for offenses under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a), which prohibits both attempted illegal entry and illegal entry into the United States by an alien. The implementation of the Attorney General’s zero-tolerance policy comes as the Department of Homeland Security reported a 203 percent increase in illegal border crossings from March 2017 to March 2018, and a 37 percent increase from February 2018 to March 2018—the largest month-to-month increase since 2011.

“The situation at our Southwest Border is unacceptable. Congress has failed to pass effective legislation that serves the national interest—that closes dangerous loopholes and fully funds a wall along our southern border. As a result, a crisis has erupted at our Southwest Border that necessitates an escalated effort to prosecute those who choose to illegally cross our border,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“To those who wish to challenge the Trump Administration’s commitment to public safety, national security, and the rule of law, I warn you: illegally entering this country will not be rewarded, but will instead be met with the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice. To the Department’s prosecutors, I urge you: promoting and enforcing the rule of law is vital to protecting a nation, its borders, and its citizens. You play a critical part in fulfilling these goals, and I thank you for your continued efforts in seeing to it that our laws—and as a result, our nation—are respected.”  (read more)

(PDF LINK)

Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Larry, Once More…


NEC Director Larry Kudlow defending President Trump’s trade policy:

NEC Director Larry Kudlow Discusses Trade Confrontation…


National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on Bloomberg News to discuss U.S-China trade confrontations, the use of tariffs, and the potential for negotiations between the two nations:

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Obviously – with the ongoing issues surrounding NAFTA, and China’s exploitation of the fatal flaw therein, in combination with President Trump confronting the dragon behind the false Panda mask, the fight for MAGAnomic America-First policy execution is entering a new phase….

The multinational interests who benefited from the prior U.S. global trade approach are increasingly desperate. There are trillions at stake.

Kudlow

John Brennan’s Contributions to Fraud Upon FISA Court…


Most of the ‘vast-Russian-conspiracy‘ media presentations seem to start with a discussion of intelligence gathering beginning in July of 2016. The GOP convention to nominate Donald Trump was July 18-21st of 2016.

Adding to the July 2016 origination narrative FBI Director James Comey stated the counterintelligence operation against candidate Trump began in July 2016.   However, not a single MSM entity has looked at the FISA-702(16)(17) abuses by the FBI and DOJ-NSD outlined by the FISA court and NSA well before July 2016.

It is a matter of unclassified public record the FBI and DOJ-NSD were allowing “contractors” to conduct searches of the FBI and NSA databases, and extract raw intelligence, throughout 2015 until April 28th 2016 when NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers shut down all access and initiated a compliance review.

Any objective review of that time period indicates (strongest likelihood) the search activity was political ‘opposition research’ for the 2016 presidential election.  With hindsight of the FBI and DOJ’s political intents, ‘opposition research’ was almost certainly the motive.

Surrounding the nomination that stunned the geo-political world almost every foreign government was trying to figure out who and what Donald J Trump was all about; and more specifically: how would his run for the presidency impact their specific interests.

2017- WASHINGTON NYT — American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence.

[Paragraph #5] The information collected last summer was considered credible enough for intelligence agencies to pass to the F.B.I., which during that period opened a counterintelligence investigation that is continuing. It is unclear, however, whether Russian officials actually tried to directly influence Mr. Manafort and Mr. Flynn. Both have denied any collusion with the Russian government on the campaign to disrupt the election. (link)

The New York Times should win a Pulitzer for undermining their own ‘Russian Conspiracy’ headline narrative within the fifth paragraph. [It’s a trend] I digress.

Obviously, attempting to understand the policies of outsider Donald Trump, Russia would be asking these same questions along with China, France, England, the larger EU and every nation in every continent. It would be silly to claim otherwise.

Ergo a diplomatic mission by Russian governmental officials surrounding the GOP convention to understand the Trump orbit is no different than a Chinese, European or Arab-Asian effort for the same reason.

However, the international interest did necessarily initiate a bunch of foreign officials making contact with anyone and everyone who would be associated with Trump-world regardless of concentric circle distance from the epicenter.  That intellectually honest understanding highlights how much of the post convention (July 2016) raw intelligence gathering began so easily.

The CIA simply monitoring chatter amid foreign diplomats, their customary job, turns into raw data provided to the FBI which in turn becomes the subject matter of frequent FISA searches/warrants to explore the U.S. contacts on the other side of that chatter.

The FISA searches/warrants turn into intelligence reports and that begins the entire process now known as “unmasking” etc. Nothing within this process so far is even in question. However, this is also the backdrop for intelligence reports to be weaponized for political purposes.  In May 2017, CIA Director John Brennan testified to this exact process before congress.

What was not reported by any media outline is John Brennan, understanding actions taken by the Obama administration in 2016 created his own exit from the controversy.

Former CIA Director John Brennan gave very specific testimony to congress where he noted he provided the raw intelligence to FBI Director Comey – FULLSTOP. Where “fullstop” directly and immediately indicates Brennan’s throwing the responsibility for all that came next upon FBI Director James Comey.

John Brennan structured his self-defense with great specificity: (@13:35)

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“Again, in consultation with the White House, I PERSONALLY briefed the full details of our understanding of Russian attempts to interfere in the election to congressional leadership; specifically: Senators Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein and Richard Burr; and to representatives Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Devin Nunes and Adam Schiff between 11th August and 6th September [2016], I provided the same briefing to each of the gang of eight members.”

“Given the highly sensitive nature of what was an active counter-intelligence case [that means the FBI], involving an ongoing Russian effort, to interfere in our presidential election, the full details of what we knew at the time were shared only with those members of congress; each of whom was accompanied by one senior staff member.”… (link)

Shorter version: don’t try pinning this unsubstantiated Russia investigation to no-where, and the illegal leaks, on me; I just provided the raw intelligence.

It is important to emphasize here the possibly illegal “unmasking“, and the certainly illegal “leaking“, were all based on intelligence reports generated from raw intelligence, and not the raw intelligence itself.

It was the FBI (Comey) and ODNI (Clapper) generating the intel reports, including the Presidents’ Daily Briefing (PDB).

The CIA provided raw intel, and the NSA generated the raw monitoring intelligence from the characters identified by the CIA and approved by FBI FISA warrant submissions.

The FBI were running the counter-intelligence operation and generating the actual reports that were eventually shared with the White House, Susan Rice and the Dept of Justice. After the November election, those reports, or interpretations of the report content, were eventually leaked to the media in a coordinated effort to undermine the incoming administration.

During the time James Comey’s FBI was generating the intelligence reports, Comey admitted he intentionally never informed congressional oversight: “because of the sensitivity of the matter“.

In his may 2017 testimony John Brennan tried to take himself out of the picture from the perspective of the illegal acts within the entire process. ODNI James Clapper, while rubbing his face and scratching his head, had taken the same route earlier. That left the majority of scrutiny for the anti-Trump intelligence operation upon James Comey.

This explained why Comey changed his mind on testifying to congress until he had the opportunity to talk to newly appointed special counsel Robert Mueller.

Former FBI Director James Comey is not stupid.  He is, however, intensely political.

James Comey completely understood the legal risks he was  facing within the faux “Russian conspiracy story” and the “subsequent leaking” of his political FBI reports.