The Greatest Award He Can Bestow Upon Himself...isn't that just lovely!

 

Meanwhile...for all who cannot wait until January 20th, this may bring some relief:

 

Word of the Day..."finger" That's what we little people get from the politic elite. SEE UPDATE VIDEO DECEMBER 2023

"If the people only understood the rank injustice of our Money and Banking system, there would be a revolution before morning." ~ Andrew Jackson

Storm'n Norm'n

I.M.F. Stands by Christine Lagarde, Convicted of Negligence
By LANDON THOMAS Jr., LIZ ALDERMAN and AURELIEN BREEDENDEC. 19, 2016

The International Monetary Fund threw its support behind its leader, Christine Lagarde, on Monday despite her conviction in a French court on charges of misusing public funds.

With international elites and their institutions facing populist criticism amid political and social change in the United States and Europe, the 24 directors of the fund decided that this was not the time to leave the I.M.F. rudderless.
Earlier on Monday, the Cour de Justice de la République, a French court that considers cases against current and former government ministers, found Ms. Lagarde guilty of criminal charges linked to the misuse of public funds when she was France’s finance minister nearly a decade ago. But the court did not impose a fine or a sentence.
In a statement, the directors of the I.M.F. said they had considered the court’s decisions and had “full confidence in the managing director’s ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties.”
Yet the verdict — with its potential to tarnish Ms. Lagarde as a leader — came at a critical juncture for the I.M.F.

Founded and largely managed by Europeans and Americans, the fund oversees a global economy in which faster-growing countries like China are seeking a greater role.

Ms. Lagarde is the fourth of the last six leaders to come from France, and the difficult time the I.M.F. has had in anticipating, as well as reacting to, the European debt crisis has caused some to wonder whether the time has come to appoint a non-European leader.
I.M.F. doctrine, which advocates free trade and austerity for countries in financial difficulties, has been criticized as elitist and not sufficiently in tune with the populist movements sweeping the globe.
For now, the fund must confront more immediate challenges. With Britain leaving the European Union, Italy’s future in the Eurozone  perhaps in doubt and the possibility of global trade wars being set off by President-elect Donald J. Trump, some have said the steady, experienced hand of Ms. Lagarde was needed more than ever.
“She has been a very effective leader,” said Edwin M. Truman, a specialist in international finance formerly at the Federal Reserve and the United States Treasury. “Yes, there are big questions about the fund’s future. But for her to have to step down now — well, that would be complicated.”
Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, expressed the Obama administration’s support for Ms. Lagarde, saying that “she is a strong leader of the I.M.F., and we have every confidence in her ability to guide the fund at a critical time for the global economy.”
For the Trump administration, “I don’t think this kind of ethical question is likely to be the highest priority,” Mr. Truman said. While the I.M.F. and other global institutions did not figure in the presidential debate, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized a “global power structure” that fixed the economy against workers.
“At bottom, it’s all about French politics,” Mr. Truman said.
Members of the I.M.F. board were well aware that Ms. Lagarde was facing trial in her native France over allegations that occurred when she was the finance minister in the administration of Nicolas Sarkozy.
The consensus among the directors was that Ms. Lagarde’s transgressions occurred when she was not at the fund — in contrast to those of her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn — and since taking charge in 2011, she had proved to be a leader capable of presenting a softer side of the fund while fighting hard to bolster its legitimacy in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
More so than her predecessors, Ms. Lagarde has pushed the fund to be more aggressive in taking up the cause of women and focusing attention on growing issues of inequality around the world.
Over the last year and a half, she has also led a forceful public critique of Europe’s refusal to offer Greece debt relief in return for the difficult economic changes the country has been making.
Nevertheless, while Ms. Lagarde may have retained the backing of her board for the moment, over the longer term, her French legal problems may have hurt her most valuable asset — her carefully constructed public persona.
“She was a breath of fresh air, someone representing true change from the past,” said Peter Doyle, a former economist at the fund and now an outspoken critic. “Now she is just another tainted European leader.”
Those are tough words. But economists note that the fund’s core mission of requiring financially ailing countries to reform their economies and fight corruption demands credibility and reputation of the highest order.
And that starts at the top, with its leader — especially one who is as widely known as Ms. Lagarde.
“It would be complacent if not delusional to say there will be no impact on the institution,” said Nicolas Véron, a specialist on international economics at the Bruegel Institute in Brussels. “The only question is how big is the impact — and how does it compare with the need for stability.”
Ms. Lagarde’s legal issues in France have dogged her work at the fund since she was appointed in 2011. She took over as managing director after Mr. Strauss-Kahn resigned following accusations that he sexually assaulted a maid in a New York City hotel.
The case against Ms. Lagarde centered on Bernard Tapie, a former entertainer and owner of Adidas who had previously been jailed on corruption charges. Mr. Tapie accused the lender Crédit Lyonnais, in which the French state had a stake at the time, of cheating him when it oversaw the sale of his share in the sportswear empire in 1993. Years of costly legal battles ensued.
In 2007, Ms. Lagarde sent the dispute to a three-person private arbitration authority that awarded Mr. Tapie more than 400 million euros, or $420 million at current exchange rates, in damages and interest, to be paid by the state.
The court did not fault Ms. Lagarde for approving the arbitration, but it ruled that she had been negligent for not appealing the decision. The court, noting that a judge had previously invalidated the payout in a 2015 ruling and that she had “national and international” stature, decided not to punish Ms. Lagarde and spared her a criminal record.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Ms. Lagarde’s lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said he had a “mixed” reaction to the verdict.
“On the one hand, she is found responsible, but given the circumstances, given the responsibilities that Ms. Lagarde had at the time — in 2008, we were in a major economic crisis — the court decided that it would not sentence Ms. Lagarde to anything,” he said.
Ms. Lagarde’s lawyers can appeal the verdict before France’s highest criminal court, the Cour de Cassation, on procedural grounds. But Mr. Maisonneuve suggested she might not, because no punishment was meted out.

Ms. Lagarde did not attend the latest hearing on Monday, but was in Paris last week for the case.

Follow Liz Alderman @LizAldermanNYT and Aurelien Breeden @aurelienbrd on Twitter.

Jackie Calmes contributed reporting.

 

 

 

The International Monetary Fund is that last thing you need. You will lose your sovereignty. It exercises terrorism. You will be raped in such a way, that it will be the worst pain you have ever felt. ~ Max Keiser

Update! December 2023

Why Liberals Hate Trey Gowdy

 

 

 

The last six seconds and a bad dream with no connection...

There's two stories here; one from a friend over at Facebook and another by me. I suppose the two stories do not share anything in common other than the fact they're both military stories and both about U.S. Marines and that about ends their connection.  My story has an entirely different slant in that the camaraderie among members of the military is never really explained nor understood by those who haven't served.  I think I can begin to make it a little clearer what it means when we say such things as, "comrades in arms"...let me begin by saying that I was a member of the United States Air Force and my friend and comrade was a United States Marine...and it wouldn't be right if I didn't say he was also a friend of the family...if the friendship was any closer we would be relatives.

 

It was sometime in the late 60's while living in the small village of Jichaku (spelling may not be right but that doesn't matter), Okinawa where only the islanders new where it's location was...except George.  George had spent some time here not too many years earlier as a dependent son of an Air Force Master Sargent.  The same Master Sargent who was stationed in Panama and California with my wife's family.  My wife practically grew up with George going to the same schools and living in the same military housing complex where ever they got stationed.  So I knew George pretty well before coming here but never did I expect to see him... knock, knock, hey, somebody's at the door.  Georgie ! What the hell are you doing here?  Great to see you !  Where have you been? How in God's name did you find us? 

After a wonderful meal and chit-chat about family and friends back in the states I drove George back to his unit...he was now a United States Marine.  The only reason we got to see George was that he was a witness to some crime committed by another service member and he was delayed from going to Vietnam until the guy's trial was over.  Well I dropped George off at Kadena Air Force Base where he would be departing for the war that nobody liked;  that was sometime in November.

So let's fast forward to January of the next year.  I awoke one morning early, very early and was sitting on the side of the bed when my wife asked, "What's wrong?"  I said, "Oh nothing, I just had a bad dream."  Well if you know wives, they'll get the story out of you somehow.  After describing my bad dream of George on patrol up in the DMZ and seeing the sniper shooting from the tree line it was difficult to say that he was shot in the head...yes, I saw this in a dream so I had no control over it...the shot is what woke me up. Words of comfort

soothed my mindset and all was forgotten over the course of the day.  Then a few months had passed when my wife received a letter from home with a clipping from the San Antonio Light newspaper which read, "George C...... was killed in action at the DMZ, January ... and died of head injuries..." 
George was just 21 years of age...a good looking guy that dreamed of owning a Corvette... I still dream of George.  Although we were not blood relatives, I was the last of the family to see him alive.  His name is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.  If you know the meaning of extra sensory perception you'll have a better grip on camaraderie; I had ESP that night in January.  Semper Fi George!

~ Norman E. Hooben

 

 

The following posted by: (My Facebook friend... I should point out that you can see the videos covering this story but you'll get a lot more out of it if you read it first...I posted the videos below but give it a read first, you'll be glad you did. ~ Norm)

Patricia Stebbins

Not a Christmas story but one of two enormously brave young Marines. God bless them.
If you haven’t seen this before, it’s well worth the read. These are the kind of young men that we are still fielding in our military, particularly the USMC. Unbelievable guts, bravery, and devotion to duty.
Lt. Gen. John Kelly, USMC, "The Last Six Seconds"
If you'd like to know more about Trump's pick for Homeland Security, USMC Gen. John Kelly, please read the speech that he gave just 4 days after he lost his son in combat. One can hardly conceive of the enormous grief held quietly within General Kelly as he spoke.
Even if you've read this before, read it again and then forward it to your friends......
On Nov 13, 2010, Lt General John Kelly, USMC, gave a speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis, MO. This was four days after his son, Lt Robert Kelly, USMC, was killed by an IED while on his 3rd Combat tour. During his speech, General Kelly spoke about the dedication and valor of our young men and women who step forward each and every day to protect us.
During the speech, he never mentioned the loss of his own son. He closed the speech with the moving account of the last six seconds in the lives of two young Marines who died with rifles blazing to protect their brother Marines.
"The Last Six Seconds"
"I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are, about the quality of the steel in their backs, about the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans. Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22 ND of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and whom he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000.
Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America's exist simultaneously depending on one's race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.
The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like, "Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. You clear?"
I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like, "Yes Sergeant," with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, "No kidding, we know what we're doing." They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq.
A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way - perhaps 60-70 yards in length, and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck's engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn't have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.
When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event - just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I'd have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.
I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, "We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing." The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured, some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, "They'd run like any normal man would to save his life." "What he didn't know until then," he said, "And what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal."
Choking past the emotion he said, "Sir, in the name of God, no sane man would have stood there and done what they did. No sane man. They saved us all."
What we didn't know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.
You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before, "Let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.
It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were - some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.
For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines' weapons firing non-stop the truck's windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the ( I deleted) who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers - American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground.
If they had been aware, they would have known they were safe because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.
The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight - for you.
We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth - freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious - our soldiers, sailors, airmen, U S Customs and Border Patrol, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines - to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can ever steal it away.
It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the "land of the free and home of the brave" so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm.
God Bless America , and SEMPER FIDELIS !"

 

 

According to Joe Biden Not even Hillary Clinton knew for sure why she ran for president

Storm'n Norm'n

Joe Biden: Not even Hillary Clinton knew for sure why she ran for president

Source: Twitchy.com
Some believe Vice President Joe Biden could have taken the 2016 election in a walk, but it was Hillary’s turn, right? Biden had quite a bit to say to Michael A. Memoli about the election in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times Thursday, but CNN managed to get right to the point in its tweet:

 Continue Reading Here: http://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2016/12/22/joe-biden-not-even-hillary-clinton-knew-for-sure-why-she-ran-for-president/