Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Trumpier: It Takes a Theory to Beat a Theory


“He wanted the revolution—like the world—to be innocent, when it had never been.”

 "When the president does it, that means it is not illegal," Richard Nixon said during a televised interview in 1977. But Nixon understood that he could never pardon himself. President Trump may not.


Tragic news from Trump's America - Justine Damond vigil: hundreds gather at beach Sydney



As attractive as that notion is in a literary sense, such a revenge play authored by Jr. is also improbable. The hubris of the Trump family is surpassed only by their stupidity. As a brood, they are too dumb for Greek tragedy.



What the Election-Law Camp Is Saying About Donald Trump Jr.’s Emails Legal Times. Even though from last week, I’ve included this because it touches on some of the relevant election las issues (albeit in a way it’s obvious which attorney shills for which side).

What Robert Mueller Learned From Enron ProPublica. Posting this not for the Mueller angle, but b/c of the section on why the Enron prosecution worked.


''What I see here is another Russian witch hunt in the United States,' Kaveladze told the Times after it got a copy of the report.
The GAO report, prepared at the request of a Senate oversight subcommittee, determined that a company called Euro-American Corporate Services Inc., which was established by Kaveladze, 'had formed three of the Delaware corporations identified by the Subcommittee, as well as approximately 2,000 others, for Russian brokers. From 1991 through January 2000, more than $1.4 billion in wire transfer transactions was deposited into 236 accounts opened at 2 U.S. banks: Citibank (136 accounts) and Commercial Bank (100 accounts).'





The TRUE story behind what it’s like to be a lawyer in Trumpland. [McSweeney’s]

 Even Marc Kasowitz is shocked –– SHOCKED! — over the reality. [Politico]



Partisanship and the media: How personal politics affect where people go, what they trust, and whether they pay American Press Institute

Case Study of an Author Press Release | Bill Peschel

How to Design a Sexy Cold River Ad


“They may not all plot together but they all see an opportunity in chaos.  Some are willing to kill to bring chaos about, and others just desire to stand back and watch chaos take hold.  They are like boys with fire, and Caesar is the worst of the lot.  It’s a kind of madness – there’s madness in the state.”   

Witness says Martin Shkreli's focus reminded him of Raymond Babbitt from Rain Man. That's funny, because his smarmy appearance and despicable greed reminded me of Charlie Babbitt. [Law360]

He's a legendary attorney, and the people here hate him

US as a new tax haven








Global private wealth to exceed $200 trillion as the rich get richer


Pussy Riot Founder Says American Liberals Scapegoat Putin To Distract From Democrats’ Problems David Sirota, International Business Times and Pussy Riot Founder & John Cusack On How Americans Wildly Misunderstand Putin (podcast) David Sirota, International Business Times. From Sirota’s mailer:
The founder of Pussy Riot asserts that America’s Democratic politicians and liberal media outlets are deliberately obsessing over and misportraying Vladimir Putin in order to distract from the Democratic Party’s electoral failure. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and her Pussy Riot bandmates generated international headlines in 2012 when they staged protests against Putin’s regime. They were subsequently jailed, and spent 21 months in prison. Tolokonnikova remains a staunch foe of Putin, but tells IBT/Newsweek that the Russian president is wildly misrepresented in the American political discourse.
The first link is a partial transcript of the podcast. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s views of Putin are interesting. As are the Saker’s views on Pussy Riot.
Trump Jr. attorney offers details about 8th person at meeting CNN
The Master of ‘Kompromat’ Believed to Be Behind Trump Jr.’s Meeting NYT. Yesterday’s headline “A Russian Developer Helps Out the Kremlin on Occasion. Was He a Conduit to Trump
?” — note question mark — morphs into today’s “
widely consideredto have been the source of the incriminating information on Hillary Clinton that Donald Trump Jr. was promised.” I love the faux learnedness of “kompromat.” It makes anybody who uses it sound like a master of tradecraft!
Trump Jr.’s emails should have killed the president’s ‘fake news’ rants. Here’s why they won’t. Margaret Sullivan, WaPo.
South Carolina May Prove a Microcosm of U.S. Election Hacking Efforts WSJ


The coup, then and now: The enemies of humanity try to give Trump the JFK treatment 



INK BOTTLEPHILIP Egglishaw thought he had nothing to fear when he checked into the luxurious Villa d’Este hotel on the banks of Lake Como in northern Italy

An INTERPOL arrest notice had been issued against him in 2008 by Australia for allegedly masterminding a $2.2 billion tax fraud, but had never been acted on.

Indeed, Englishman Egglishaw, 63, and his partner, British citizen Sheila Jordan 52, had a house in Geneva, Switzerland, right above a police station.

The police had never shown any interest in him — they played with his Saint Bernard dog, and turned a blind eye when he parked his $277,000 convertible white Bentley with its French registration plates in the waiting area on the nearby road.
Philip Egglishaw arrested due to INTERPOL red notice in Italy... 






The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts will conduct public hearings over 2 days in Sydney this week as part of its inquiry into factors contributing to the growth and sustainability of Australia’s film and television industry.




10 Grand Trends we’ll face by 2050
BBC, 13/7/17. Editing genes, ageing populations, rising sea levels… the world is moving faster than ever. What will those trends mean for our society over the next 30 years? 


Experience the Customer of the Future
z-punkt, June 2017. Z_punkt is getting the most out of the persona approach within the field of foresight research. This involves merging future personas and imagined futures to produce “living scenarios” and helping companies to place future persona management on a firm footing.