On the surface Russia’s apparent leader for life has few assets but the truth although not talked about in Russia seems to be much different. Many consider him the richest man in Europe and possibly in all history due to corruption he has engaged in since entering politics in St. Petersburg in the 1990s.
Sergei Kolesnikov told the programme he worked for the Kremlin to collect money from the super-rich, which they believed was to be spent on healthcare, but which was ultimately used “to help build a $1 billion palace for Mr Putin on the Black Sea coast".
The BBC said it had seen documents from one of the offshore companies that diverted millions of dollars to the palace, which was constructed during Mr Putin’s first term as president.
It said that, according to Mr Kolesnikov, the owner of the company, Lirus Investment Holding, was Mr Putin himself.
The latest estimate of Putin's absurd wealth comes from Bill Browder, a former fund manager in Russia who is now one of the Russian president's fiercest critics on the world stage. Browder recently published a book that detailed the tragic story of how a financial crime in Putin's Russia resulted in the imprisonment and death of Browder's firm's tax lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. Browder was on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" to talk about the book last weekend when he threw out an incredible estimate of Putin's net worth.
“I believe that [Putin is worth] $200 billion," Browder said. "After 14 years in power of Russia, and the amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn't been spent on schools and roads and hospitals and so on, all that money is in property, bank, Swiss bank accounts, shares, hedge funds, managed for Putin and his cronies."
Indeed, $200 billion is a lot of money. It's more than twice the current fortune of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. If Browder is correct, that would make Putin the richest person in the world, with no real rivals – in fact, it might make him one of the richest people in the history of the world.
He's possibly the richest person on the planet, of course his money is covered in blood as Putin has used violence, intimidation and oppression from the start to destroy any opposition to his status as virtual ruler of Russia and the main looter of the the country. And now he has his sights set on surrounding countries.
This is a predator who Donald Trump sees as a much better leader than the departing Barak Obama. Corruption and gridlock in the US is nothing compared to Russia and yet Trump would seemingly pattern his presidency on the "leadership" of likely one of the greatest criminals in history.
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37303057
Donald Trump has showered Vladimir Putin with praise as he and rival Hillary Clinton took pointed questions from military veterans.
The Republican presidential nominee told the forum the Russian president "has been a leader far more than our president [Obama] has been".
It came on the same day the chief of the Pentagon accused Russia of sowing the seeds of global instability.
Mrs Clinton, meanwhile, defended her judgment despite her email scandal.
The White House candidates appeared back to back on stage in half-hour segments at the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum in New York on Wednesday night.
Or as I like to say Russian Obligate President Trump.
Americans keep looking away from the election’s most alarming storyhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/americans-keep-looking-away-from-the-elections-most-alarming-story/2016/11/25/83533d3e-b0e2-11e6-8616-52b15787add0_story.html
By Eric Chenoweth November 25 at 7:23 PM
Eric Chenoweth is co-director of the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe.
In assessing Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Americans continue to look away from this election’s most alarming story: the successful effort by a hostile foreign power to manipulate public opinion before the vote.
U.S. intelligence agencies determined that the Russian government actively interfered in our elections. Russian state propaganda gave little doubt that this was done to support Republican nominee Trump, who repeatedly praised Vladimir Putin and excused the Russian president’s foreign aggression and domestic repression. Most significantly, U.S. intelligence agencies have affirmed that the Russian government directed the illegal hacking of private email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and prominent individuals. The emails were then released by WikiLeaks, which has benefited financially from a Russian state propaganda arm, used Russian operatives for security and made clear an intent to harm the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. ...
Actively working with a hostile foreign power is just one more thing Trump needs to answer for. If the House Republicans have any courage at all they’ll join with the Democrats to impeach this traitor.
Actively working with a hostile foreign power is just one more thing Trump needs to answer for. If the House Republicans have any courage at all they'll join with the Democrats to impeach this traitor.
Before long people are going to look back at the Obama years as a time of relative safety, stability and prosperity.
I wish more Americans were as engaged and concerned about what’s going on as you CC.
On the surface Russia's apparent leader for life has few assets but the truth although not talked about in Russia seems to be much different. Many consider him the richest man in Europe and possibly in all history due to corruption he has engaged in since entering politics in St. Petersburg in the 1990s.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/vladimir-putin-corruption-five-things-we-learned-about-the-russian-presidents-secret-wealth-a6834171.html
Sergei Kolesnikov told the programme he worked for the Kremlin to collect money from the super-rich, which they believed was to be spent on healthcare, but which was ultimately used “to help build a $1 billion palace for Mr Putin on the Black Sea coast".
The BBC said it had seen documents from one of the offshore companies that diverted millions of dollars to the palace, which was constructed during Mr Putin’s first term as president.
It said that, according to Mr Kolesnikov, the owner of the company, Lirus Investment Holding, was Mr Putin himself.
The latest estimate of Putin's absurd wealth comes from Bill Browder, a former fund manager in Russia who is now one of the Russian president's fiercest critics on the world stage. Browder recently published a book that detailed the tragic story of how a financial crime in Putin's Russia resulted in the imprisonment and death of Browder's firm's tax lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. Browder was on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" to talk about the book last weekend when he threw out an incredible estimate of Putin's net worth.
“I believe that [Putin is worth] $200 billion," Browder said. "After 14 years in power of Russia, and the amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn't been spent on schools and roads and hospitals and so on, all that money is in property, bank, Swiss bank accounts, shares, hedge funds, managed for Putin and his cronies."
Indeed, $200 billion is a lot of money. It's more than twice the current fortune of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. If Browder is correct, that would make Putin the richest person in the world, with no real rivals – in fact, it might make him one of the richest people in the history of the world.
He's possibly the richest person on the planet, of course his money is covered in blood as Putin has used violence, intimidation and oppression from the start to destroy any opposition to his status as virtual ruler of Russia and the main looter of the the country. And now he has his sights set on surrounding countries.
This is a predator who Donald Trump sees as a much better leader than the departing Barak Obama. Corruption and gridlock in the US is nothing compared to Russia and yet Trump would seemingly pattern his presidency on the "leadership" of likely one of the greatest criminals in history.
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37303057
Donald Trump has showered Vladimir Putin with praise as he and rival Hillary Clinton took pointed questions from military veterans.
The Republican presidential nominee told the forum the Russian president "has been a leader far more than our president [Obama] has been".
It came on the same day the chief of the Pentagon accused Russia of sowing the seeds of global instability.
Mrs Clinton, meanwhile, defended her judgment despite her email scandal.
The White House candidates appeared back to back on stage in half-hour segments at the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum in New York on Wednesday night.
People tend to admire people who are like themselves. It's no wonder Trump admires an economic predator. He would love to emulate him. Trump wants money and power and he'll do anything to get it. He doesn't care if he ruins millions of lives in the process. The American electorate has just handed him the greatest path to those riches and its attendant destruction of the country as it was possible to do.
Lois
Actively working with a hostile foreign power is just one more thing Trump needs to answer for. If the House Republicans have any courage at all they'll join with the Democrats to impeach this traitor.
But we know Republicans don't have any courage at all. That was shown to be the case when we saw Republicans who should have been standing up to Trump stupidity and ignorance fall into line behind him like lambs to the slaughter. They won"t change. They are too stupid to change.
Lois
On the surface Russia's apparent leader for life has few assets but the truth although not talked about in Russia seems to be much different. Many consider him the richest man in Europe and possibly in all history due to corruption he has engaged in since entering politics in St. Petersburg in the 1990s.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/vladimir-putin-corruption-five-things-we-learned-about-the-russian-presidents-secret-wealth-a6834171.html
Sergei Kolesnikov told the programme he worked for the Kremlin to collect money from the super-rich, which they believed was to be spent on healthcare, but which was ultimately used “to help build a $1 billion palace for Mr Putin on the Black Sea coast".
The BBC said it had seen documents from one of the offshore companies that diverted millions of dollars to the palace, which was constructed during Mr Putin’s first term as president.
It said that, according to Mr Kolesnikov, the owner of the company, Lirus Investment Holding, was Mr Putin himself.
The latest estimate of Putin's absurd wealth comes from Bill Browder, a former fund manager in Russia who is now one of the Russian president's fiercest critics on the world stage. Browder recently published a book that detailed the tragic story of how a financial crime in Putin's Russia resulted in the imprisonment and death of Browder's firm's tax lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. Browder was on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" to talk about the book last weekend when he threw out an incredible estimate of Putin's net worth.
“I believe that [Putin is worth] $200 billion," Browder said. "After 14 years in power of Russia, and the amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn't been spent on schools and roads and hospitals and so on, all that money is in property, bank, Swiss bank accounts, shares, hedge funds, managed for Putin and his cronies."
Indeed, $200 billion is a lot of money. It's more than twice the current fortune of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. If Browder is correct, that would make Putin the richest person in the world, with no real rivals – in fact, it might make him one of the richest people in the history of the world.
He's possibly the richest person on the planet, of course his money is covered in blood as Putin has used violence, intimidation and oppression from the start to destroy any opposition to his status as virtual ruler of Russia and the main looter of the the country. And now he has his sights set on surrounding countries.
This is a predator who Donald Trump sees as a much better leader than the departing Barak Obama. Corruption and gridlock in the US is nothing compared to Russia and yet Trump would seemingly pattern his presidency on the "leadership" of likely one of the greatest criminals in history.
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37303057
Donald Trump has showered Vladimir Putin with praise as he and rival Hillary Clinton took pointed questions from military veterans.
The Republican presidential nominee told the forum the Russian president "has been a leader far more than our president [Obama] has been".
It came on the same day the chief of the Pentagon accused Russia of sowing the seeds of global instability.
Mrs Clinton, meanwhile, defended her judgment despite her email scandal.
The White House candidates appeared back to back on stage in half-hour segments at the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum in New York on Wednesday night.
People tend to admire people who are like themselves. It's no wonder Trump admires an economic predator. He would love to emulate him. Trump wants money and power and he'll do anything to get it. He doesn't care if he ruins millions of lives in the process. The American electorate has just handed him the greatest path to those riches and its attendant destruction of the country as it was possible to do.
Lois
Putin is more than an economic predator, he's started several wars for personal gain and tens or hundreds of thousands have died so he could play Russia's strong man and then loot the nation with no one daring to ask any questions.
Moscow Apartment Bombings]
In 2000 Sergei Kovalev, then the widely respected head of the Russian organization Memorial, observed in these pages that the apartment bombings in Russia in September 1999, which killed three hundred people and wounded hundreds of others, “were a crucial moment in the unfolding of our current history. After the first shock passed, it turned out that we were living in an entirely different country…."1
The bombings, it will be recalled, were blamed on Chechen rebels and used as a pretext for Boris Yeltsin’s Kremlin to launch a bloody second war against Chechnya, a republic in the Russian Federation. They also were crucial events in promoting Vladimir Putin’s takeover of the Russian presidency as Yeltsin’s anointed successor in 2000 and in ensuring his dominance over the Russian political scene ever since.
Vladimir Putin, named acting Russian prime minister in August 1999, had a central part in carrying out the Dagestan operation. Putin had gained the favor of the Family and thus been anointed as Yeltsin’s successor. As head of the FSB—the successor of the KGB—before he became prime minster, he had demonstrated his loyalty to Yeltsin by managing to get Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Skuratov, who was pursuing the Mabetex corruption scandal, removed from office. Putin’s FSB had also started a campaign against the rich wife of Yury Luzhkov, Elena Baturina, by investigating one of her companies for money-laundering.
But Putin was unknown to the Russian public. If elections were to take place—and this apparently had yet to be decided upon—his chances were by no means certain. In order for the Family’s “operation successor" to succeed, something would have to occur to boost Putin’s public image and demonstrate his capacity for strong leadership. The invasion of Dagestan by Chechen rebels failed to have the desired effect of arousing widespread anti-Chechen sentiment. As Dunlop’s sources said, more violence was needed to justify a war against Chechnya, which would unite people around the new prime minister.
The Moscow Bombings makes it clear, first of all, that the FSB had advanced knowledge that the bombings would take place. As we have seen, rumors of impending terrorist attacks had surfaced as early as June 1999. Even more significant is the fact that a respected and influential Duma deputy, Konstantin Borovoy, was told on September 9, the day of the first Moscow apartment bombing, that there was to be a terrorist attack in the city. His source was an officer of the Russian military intelligence (GRU). Borovoy transmitted this information to FSB officials serving on Yeltsin’s Security Council, but he was ignored. At least one other credible warning of an impending attack was reported to law enforcement agencies in Moscow that same day and not acted upon.
It's entirely possible that Putin was supporting Al-Qaeda with weapons to attacks Americans
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11364724/Is-this-Alexander-Litvinenkos-beyond-the-grave-attack-on-Putin.html
A Telegraph investigation uncovered the audio recording, in which the dissident claims from beyond the grave that Russia’s president had a “good relationship" with Semion Mogilevich - a Ukrainian crime boss who was on the FBI's most wanted list and whom Mr Litvinenko believed was selling weapons to al-Qaeda.
The FSB itself has connections to the men that planned and carried out the 911 attacks on the US.
http://www.businessinsider.com/exploring-al-qaedas-murky-connection-to-russian-intelligence-2014-6
The murkiest of these relations, however, has been the connection between al-Qa’ida and Russian intelligence. While the outlines of the story have been known for years, and even admitted by Moscow and the mujahidin, details remain elusive. Moreover, asking important questions about this relationship seems to be an issue few appear interested in probing deeply, even in the United States.
That Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s right-hand man and the leader of the global jihad movement since bin Laden’s death in May 2011, spent almost a half-year in the mid-1990s in the custody of Russian intelligence is admitted by both sides and is a matter of public record.
Just as significant, Zawahiri’s Russian sojourn occurred at a pivotal point in the development of al-Qa’ida; the shift in strategy, resulting in attacks on the “far enemy" (i.e. the United States), the road leading to 9/11, occurred after Zawahiri’s imprisonment by the Russians.
In the run-up to this years election Russian fighters routinely made aggressive moves to provoke action with US vessels.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/politics/russia-jets-buzz-u-s-ship-rules-of-engagement/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/07/russian-fighters-buzz-us-planes-again-black-sea/89964534/
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/05/19/us-navy-ship-buzzed-russian-jets-vstan-zc-orig.cnn
Then off course there's the Russian invasion of a sovereign nation and annexation of a large part of it and the covert deployment of Russian troops in the eastern portion of Ukraine in an attempt to seize the rest of the country. Putin's Russia stands lined up to invade and annex the Baltic states which it has already made cyber attacks on in the past just as it likely did against the US during this last election.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_cyberattacks_on_Estonia
Putin likely tried to bump off rival Viktor Yushchenko with dioxin poining.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yushchenko#Dioxin_poisoning
Something he's still likely doing in Russia to his opponents.
http://euromaidanpress.com/2015/06/01/is-putin-poisoning-his-opponents/#arvlbdata
Putin is one of the most criminal leaders in the history of the world and in Russia since Stalin, he's also an enemy not friend to America.
And I think by association president-elect Donald Trump is an enemy not friend to the USA. America's worst enemies including ISIS, Russia, North Korea and others wanted Trump in the Oval Office. The American people should object strenuously to him being there.
Doug wrote: "Putin is one of the most criminal leaders in the history of the world and in Russia since Stalin, he’s also an enemy not friend to America.
“And I think by association president-elect Donald Trump is an enemy not friend to the USA. America’s worst enemies including ISIS, Russia, North Korea and others wanted Trump in the Oval Office. The American people should object strenuously to him being there.”
But a majority of the American people put him there (as long as you don’t count millions of popular votes).
Lois
Doug wrote: "Putin is one of the most criminal leaders in the history of the world and in Russia since Stalin, he’s also an enemy not friend to America.
"And I think by association president-elect Donald Trump is an enemy not friend to the USA. America’s worst enemies including ISIS, Russia, North Korea and others wanted Trump in the Oval Office. The American people should object strenuously to him being there."
But a majority of the American people put him there (as long as you don't count millions of popular votes).
Lois
Less than half of those who voted put him there...and part of how he got to where he did was by working with America's enemies who wanted him above all in office.
Members of the Electoral College don't have to follow how people in their states voted, it's only a small fine to be a "disloyal elector". The system was set up to provide checks and balances, it seems to me an ideal time to put them to use and keep this psychopath out of office.
Doug wrote: "Putin is one of the most criminal leaders in the history of the world and in Russia since Stalin, he’s also an enemy not friend to America.
"And I think by association president-elect Donald Trump is an enemy not friend to the USA. America’s worst enemies including ISIS, Russia, North Korea and others wanted Trump in the Oval Office. The American people should object strenuously to him being there."
But a majority of the American people put him there (as long as you don't count millions of popular votes).
Lois
Less than half of those who voted put him there...and part of how he got to where he did was by working with America's enemies who wanted him above all in office.
Members of the Electoral College don't have to follow how people in their states voted, it's only a small fine to be a "disloyal elector". The system was set up to provide checks and balances, it seems to me an ideal time to put them to use and keep this psychopath out of office.
How could the electoral system keep him out of office? It would need to be challenged and it would take years for any challenge to have an effect. I think we're going to be stuck with him for four long, destructive years.
Doug wrote: “Putin is more than an economic predator, he’s started several wars for personal gain and tens or hundreds of thousands have died so he could play Russia’s strong man and then loot the nation with no one daring to ask any questions.”
Trump is not even in office yet. What could he have done? Putin has had four years to do his damage. Naturally he’s ahead of the game. I predict Trump will do far more damage to the US in the next four years than Putin has done to Russia in the past four years.
Doug wrote: "Putin is one of the most criminal leaders in the history of the world and in Russia since Stalin, he’s also an enemy not friend to America.
"And I think by association president-elect Donald Trump is an enemy not friend to the USA. America’s worst enemies including ISIS, Russia, North Korea and others wanted Trump in the Oval Office. The American people should object strenuously to him being there."
But a majority of the American people put him there (as long as you don't count millions of popular votes).
Lois
Less than half of those who voted put him there...and part of how he got to where he did was by working with America's enemies who wanted him above all in office.
Members of the Electoral College don't have to follow how people in their states voted, it's only a small fine to be a "disloyal elector". The system was set up to provide checks and balances, it seems to me an ideal time to put them to use and keep this psychopath out of office.
How could the electoral system keep him out of office? It would need to be challenged and it would take years for any challenge to have an effect. I think we're going to be stuck with him for four long, destructive years.
Voters don't decide the President in the USA, the Electoral College does. And Electors aren't required by law to vote with their states. One already declared even before the election was held that he wouldn't vote for Clinton no matter what the vote count was.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/hes-a-state-democratic-elector-but-robert-satiacum-says-he-wont-vote-for-clinton/
One of Washington state’s Democratic presidential electors is vowing not to cast his Electoral College vote for Hillary Clinton — even if she wins the state handily on Election Day. Another elector says he is considering withholding his vote.
“No, no, no on Hillary. Absolutely not. No way," said Robert Satiacum, a member of Washington’s Puyallup Tribe who had supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as the Democratic presidential nominee.
The electors meet Dec. 19 at state capitols to cast the Electoral College ballots. There is no constitutional requirement they follow their states’ popular votes, but so-called “faithless electors" are a rarity and have never decided an election.
In Washington state, there is a $1,000 fine for electors who do not honor the election results.
Electors also have what is called "conscientious elector" meaning they can vote their conscience on who they think would be best for President.
Bret Chiafalo, a Democratic elector from Everett who is also a Sanders supporter, said he is considering exercising his right to be a “conscientious elector" and vote for the person he believes would be the best president.
They can vote for a self admitted sexual predator, racist, liar, traitor, fraud. Or they can vote for someone else. If there was ever a time to exercise a conscience in the College of Electors, now is the time. Trump isn't President until these people say he is.