Patterico's Pontifications

8/23/2016

Did Obama Lie About Not Being Able to Wire the Ransom Money to Iran?

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:35 am



The lie is relevant to why they paid cash — a mechanism that looks like ransom, but which Obama hastened to explain was necessary for other reasons.

On August 4, Obama said we couldn’t wire money to Iran to settle a longrunning legal dispute:

“This wasn’t some nefarious deal,” Obama told reporters at the Pentagon. He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration publicly when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran. “It wasn’t a secret. We were completely open about it.”

Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.

“The only bit of news is that we paid cash,” he said. “The reason is because we couldn’t send them a check and we couldn’t wire the money. We don’t have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them.”

Let’s talk about that “additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later.” Claudia Rosett at the New York Sun reports that Treasury transferred just under $1.3 billion to State in 13 identical payments, each a penny under $100,000,000. The transfers were made on January 19, 2016 — two days after the announcement of the settlement of the legal dispute.

Congressional investigators trying to uncover the trail of $1.3 billion in payments to Iran might want to focus on 13 large, identical sums that Treasury paid to the State Department under the generic heading of settling “Foreign Claims.”

The 13 payments when added to the $400 million that the administration now concedes it shipped to the Iranian regime in foreign cash would bring the payout to the $1.7 billion that President Obama and Secretary Kerry announced on January 17. That total was to settle a dispute pending for decades before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in at The Hague.

The Sun raises the question why the payments were all barely under $100MM. Our pal Morgen Richmond, who brought this story to my qttention, surely has the answer:

So here’s another question. Was that money wired to Iran? The administration says it has already been paid. How? Lee Smith at The Weekly Standard asks the question.

Rosett continues: “State has refused to disclose even such basic information as the date on which Iran took receipt of the $1.3 billion. As recently as August 4, a State spokesman told the press: ‘I don’t have a date of when that took place.'”

However, last week Obama administration officials briefed reporters to explain that, according to Associated Press reporter Bradley Klapper’s Twitter feed, the $1.3 billion has already been paid. And, they said, paid “through [the Department of] Treasury” in an “‘above-board way.'”

It’s not clear what the senior administration officials meant by “above-board” but as the Judgment Fund website explains, the “preferred method” for payments is “by electronic fund transfer.”

If, as Rosett’s story suggests, the 13 payments the Judgment Fund sent to the State Department represents the $1.3 billion in interest, the administration has some questions to answer. Was the interest paid in cash like the $400 million, or by wire? If the latter, why was the $400 million paid in cash?

I think we all know the answer.

It was ransom. A very public and obvious ransom.

Well, I’m sure our brilliant, tenacious, and fair Big Media complex will dig further into it.

137 Responses to “Did Obama Lie About Not Being Able to Wire the Ransom Money to Iran?”

  1. That was irony. You got that that was irony, right?

    Patterico (bcf524)

  2. that was $100 million per hostage (and one of them was a useless WaPo propaganda piggy)

    and all they accomplished was

    1. partially funding obama’s israel genocide project

    2. putting a price on every failmerican’s head what gets in snatching range of iran

    seems like it would be cheaper faster and safer just to nuke Israel ourselves

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. apparently it’s one of those prepayment penalties they talk about.

    narciso (732bc0)

  4. That the reason the $400 million was paid in cash is because don’t have a banking relationship with Iran because of sanctions is a half-truth. The money was wired to Switzerland and withdrawn there by the United States in cash.

    Iran does have some banking relationships in Europe, and didn’t have to take the money in cash on an airplane going to Iran, but it could be:

    1) That way the United States maintained control of the money for longer and delayed delivery until the prisoners were freed.

    2) Iran needed cash to support its terrorist and military activities in Iraq and Syria.

    Sammy Finkelman (7c7fb2)

  5. 2) Iran needed cash to support its terrorist and military activities in Iraq and Syria.

    Ding!

    AZ Bob (d6a3a9)

  6. And Obama is more than happy to facilitate Iran’s funding of terrorism.

    AZ Bob (d6a3a9)

  7. 6. Well, no, he didn’t want to do that, but he didn’t want to haggle any more. He wanted that reactor core at Arak destroyed. After all, Iran had other ways of getting cash, too, so he wasn’t actually making anything possible for Iran that it wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.

    If he didn’t send the cash, it would just be a little bit more difficult and complicated for Iran to lay its hands on so much cash, and it would have to be accumulated in smaller batches, too.

    Sammy Finkelman (7c7fb2)

  8. you really think they don’t have another facilities, they’ve been working on this, for 27 years despite the supposed fatwa,

    narciso (732bc0)

  9. Don’t worry about this it will stop when Hillary becomes President.

    Instead of paying $100 million per hostage, she will demand $100 million per hostage to be placed in her foundation account.

    Otherwise Hillary “we came, we saw, he [Gaddaffi] died… HA HA HA” will rain hell on top of the hostage takers.

    NeverTrumpers can rest easy.

    PTS (ce7fc3)

  10. apparently seven years ago, she had a case of the bends, around the time the ‘lively debate’ was going on tehran,

    narciso (732bc0)

  11. Lots of embedded links for low-info ex-Republicans:

    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/08/the-ultimate-clinton-scandal.php?

    DNF (ffe548)

  12. In all this, nobody is calling attention to the dog that didn’t bark:

    Gold!

    Iran wanted paper money. Hard currency. Valuta. Not gold or silver.

    For foreign policy and ideological and propaganda reasons, they rejected the Almighty Dollar, and instead chose mainly Euros and Swiss francs.

    But no metals. No pearls, diamonds or rubies.

    Gold bugs, pay attention!!

    ISIS also uses cash, but they are not averse to holding Dollars.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/us/politics/us-drops-bombs-not-just-on-isis-but-on-its-cash-too.html

    Colonel Warren, who spoke via video teleconference from Baghdad, could not say how much money had been destroyed in Mosul — “tens of millions of dollars” was the estimate offered — or whether the bills were Iraqi dinars, American dollars or some other currency. But he did offer up a catch phrase for the tactic: “Strike the Daesh cash, as we call it around here.”

    Daesh, the Arabic name by which many in the Middle East derisively refer to the Islamic State, may not actually rhyme with cash (its pronunciation is closer to “da-ish” than “dash”). But the military appears confident that bombing cash depots is helping to sap the financial strength of the Islamic State, which American officials and experts believe may be bringing in around $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year.

    ISIS also uses oil, but not gold.

    Hamas uses Israeli shekels, by the way.

    Sammy Finkelman (7c7fb2)

  13. Simplisme is discarded, normally in an instant:

    http://rightwingnews.com/column-2/the-republican-turncoats/

    DNF (ffe548)

  14. the realization that mosul and raqqua, are the fallback, and molenbeek and st. denis are the front lines seems to elude them,

    narciso (732bc0)

  15. remember how the big booze stash in the untouchables was behind the main door in the post office, you just need to know where to look,

    narciso (732bc0)

  16. Trump will demand that his kids get the contract to build Iran’s next nuclear reactor. It will bring the money back to America.

    nk (dbc370)

  17. Zman:

    This election is often cast as a revolt by the plebs, but it is really a revolt of the elites. It’s as if they have used the rise of Trump as an excuse to open up about how they really feel about traditional America. They finally have an excuse to let those hillbillies speaking “frontier gibberish” know exactly where they stand. You really see this on the Right. All across elite conservative media we see spasm of hatred toward those they used say they represented. Kevin Williamson at National Review even wrote a weird fantasy article about how poor whites should die.

    Sorta rings true around here too.

    DNF (ffe548)

  18. We don’t have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them

    Not a foreign policy big timer, but it seems counterproductive for Washington essentially gift a sudden and significant liquid capital injection to a regime that is also subject to US and other international sanctions.

    But then, I’m old enough (read: not very) to remember when shootings of Iranian protesters was just post-election “robust debate”… Until it wasn’t, with the President essentially reversing his previous congratulations.

    JP (bd5dd9)

  19. Traditional America is exceptionalism. Not the lowest common denominator. But if Trumpkins did not lie, they would not know how to talk at all.

    nk (dbc370)

  20. 21. Unintelligible much?

    DNF (ffe548)

  21. SWIFT began the process of lifting sanctions on January 17, in compliance with EU implementation of the JCPOA. The cash ransom payment was made prior to January 17, AFAICT, so Obama is only mostly lying in his statement. The FEDWIRE-SWIFT details on the wire transfer would be interesting to read wrt to the intermediaries involved.

    Rick Ballard (ce29ad)

  22. “Unintelligible much?”

    Ha, ha, ha. Right out of the Demented Donna playbook. The soot calling the snow black.

    nk (dbc370)

  23. @DNF:Kevin Williamson at National Review even wrote a weird fantasy article about how poor whites should die.

    He wrote no such article. Notice no one quotes it.

    Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1)

  24. Trumpkins lie, Gabriel.

    nk (dbc370)

  25. @nk: Trumpkins lie, Gabriel.

    I am sorry to say that many of those who oppose Trump lie as well. It’s a fallen world.

    Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1)

  26. no he’s of the clan mcleod, that’s something else entirely, so 400 million plus, per hostage, that’s the way the sepah would read it, they not the mullahs run everything of significance,

    narciso (732bc0)

  27. so why isn’t spectre, sending their supplies to baton rouge, it’s a notion I pondered a week ago?

    narciso (732bc0)

  28. Sure, but we have the inteligence and imagination to make stuff up. The Trumpkin playbook is to take what’s wrong with Trump, and with them, and to attribute it to Trump’s opposition.

    nk (dbc370)

  29. Forgot the smiley. 😇😈

    As the previous post showed, there are more serious things in the world.

    nk (dbc370)

  30. she has alway had the charming countenance of a cigar store indian,

    https://twitter.com/juliangwan/status/767796123142541312

    this was around the time, they wanted to invite pasdaran to the fourth of july,

    narciso (732bc0)

  31. You can take the Hillbilly out of the woods, but you can’t take the woods outta… no that doesn’t work…

    Anyway… Hillary and Bill have a REAL taste for MONEY now that they’ve gone from being broke when they left the White House (if they could’ve put the WH furniture on EBAY, that would’ve carried them through).

    Not “little” money, but “BIG” money… private jets, 5 Star hotels, maids, butlers, hangers on, sychophants, security to keep the little people (working and voting class democrats) at a distance, etc.

    And ALL this requires BIG money OR the Presidency… so why not both?

    The old style Al Capone protection racket will move into the WH along with HillBill and countries will pay Hillary so their “store fronts” don’t magically blow up in the middle of the day taking out the neighborhood. “Syndicates” might be given to her buds.

    Meanwhile, Bill is slowing down, but he’d just LOVE to sit down with a few beers, cheese doodles and bunker down beneath Las Vegas and fly one of them video game-like drone laser guided death rocket drone things. Kind of a role reversal in his waning years, he’d be the “enforcer” for a change.

    Zap a few “uncooperatives” then go upstairs, gamble and party with some hookers… slots and sluts… then back to the game.

    The First Laddie is going to have a great second time around!

    PTS (ce7fc3)

  32. When everyone disconnects from cable and tells the sponsors to GTFOH. Then it will change.

    mg (31009b)

  33. 16. DNF (ffe548) — 8/23/2016 @ 8:22 am

    Pay for play is so difficult to prove:

    Jonah Goldberg said you misunderstand corruption, and the Clinton corruption, if you think it’s a matter of pure cash. It’s favor trading.

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439184/clinton-foundation-corruption-hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-love-power

    The coverage of the Clinton Foundation is a textbook example of how our pinched and narrow conception of corruption distorts our understanding of politics. Those few mainstream reporters interested in the story at all think the hook is the “pay for play” angle…

    …This “pay for play” angle is simply a manifestation of the bastardization of “follow the money.”

    The money isn’t the primary issue with the Clintons and it never was…the Clinton Foundation was never about getting rich, it was about keeping the Imperial Court in Exile well-tended to for their return to power. Huma’s amazingly corrupt moonlighting wasn’t about money grubbing per se, it was about keeping Hillary’s Richelieu on the payroll.

    The Clintons are a tribe, a House like House Lanister or House Harkonen. They trade power, fame, influence and, sure, on occasion, money to advance the interests of their House…

    he says this is reciprocal altruism, or logrolling. Trading favors. Trading power, information, offices, access, recommendations of all sorts, status, and also taxpayer dollars.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  34. The quid and the quo wouldn’t often be closely connected in time. What counts is whether someone or other is a “friend.” (a word that roiginated with the Outfit)

    Things were not and are not simply for sale to the highest bidder. Drawing simplistic connections between money one day and a favor the next is wrong and it won’t check out quite right most of the time, and Judicial Watch shhouldn’t be trying to do that.

    This was and is all much more a case of long term relationships.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  35. awesome pic

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  36. nk @26.

    There’s more. People who go to his website can set up monthly donations.

    But they can’t stop them.

    They can only change the credit card number.

    The only way to stop it would be to dispute the charge and/or change the credit card number (which is easy – credit card companies will do that very readily, but someone has to know about that)

    A person could also give a credit card number tahat’s about to be changed anyway.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  37. “no he’s of the clan mcleod, that’s something else entirely

    I know a McLeod joke:
    — Mick Jagger sings: Hey you, get off of my cloud!
    — A Scotsman shouts: Hey McLeod, get off of my ewe!

    nk (dbc370)

  38. Well, I’m sure our brilliant, tenacious, and fair Big Media complex will dig further into it.

    It deals with two subjects that are beyond their rather limited expertise: finance and banking. Today’s reporter comes from an educational background that is only suitable for judging whether Party A is microaggressing Party B, or determining the updated rankings on the international grievance list. They simply cannot understand anything to do with engineering, science (with the exception of the environmental “the science is settled!” balderdash), mathematics, statistics, finance, banking, entrepreneurialism, religion, philosophy, or ethics. Never before have our watchdogs by and large been a more useless collection of impressively-credentialed ignoramuses.

    JVW (aa050c)

  39. holy jesus

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  40. Nothin’ from nothin’, but has anyone heard from Perrywinkie lately???

    http://thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/ohio-gorilla-who-is-not-harambe-273498

    Colonel Haiku (ad9235)

  41. 31. “Imagination and intel[l]igence”.

    Methinks those terms are an instance of arcane, and obsolete usage.

    DNF (ffe548)

  42. DNF @44

    AP says approx. half of CGI donors met with HRC at State

    No, it’s not that half of the donors met her at State.

    It’s that half of the people who met her at State and were from out\side the government, were donors to the Clinton Foundation.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/08/23/most-who-met-hillary-at-state-donated-to-clinton-foundation.html

    85 out of 154 = 55% (At least 20 gave over $1 million)

    Most of the others probably had some different connections to Bill or Hillary Clinton.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  43. They apparently had to give the money to Iran before they lifted sanctions, because the lifting of the banking sancctions was supposed to followq the destruction of the Arak reactor core.

    Yes of course Iran had other reactirs and even barack Obama knew that, but taht was one problem out of the way.

    I don’t think Obama is figuring on the possibiliuty of Iran buying a bomb from North Korea, (part of his compromising with reality) but, it is still true that North Korea probably wants some deniability, meaning Iran has to at least be able to pretend it create dthe bomb fuel, even though it won’t be plausible, but they may not think it won’t be plausible.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  44. Jonah Goldberg said you misunderstand corruption, and the Clinton corruption, if you think it’s a matter of pure cash. It’s favor trading.

    It’s not even that, Sammy. What favor did we get in trade? Free hummus for a year? It was straight-up humiliation. The Iranians know very well that Obama will bend over and grab his ankles willingly. They found out they could do just about anything they want to our Ear Leader, and he will acquiesce. This came home in a big way when a couple of our patrol boats, allegedly with engine and navigational problems, surrendered to an Iranian bass boat on open waters without a shot being fired. It was the Iranians that transmitted photos of our crews on their knees, hands behind their heads.

    The unmarked plane and the full load of non-US currencies on a pallet was a particularly piquant touch. The reason why they didn’t want gold is fairly simple: 1) it has to be converted. Euros, Swiss francs and GBP spend anywhere easily. 2) Refusing our money and our gold was just another way to stick a finger in our eye, and make paying the ransom that much more onerous. It’s also possible they didn’t want the money to be traceable by way of serial numbers.

    Bill H (971e5f)

  45. 25. Login required: https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/432569/father-f-hrer

    Behind an Ad-Blocker firewall.

    Now, if you want to trade blows, put your big-boy pants on.

    DNF (755a85)

  46. The fact that the United States agreed to ship the money in the humiliating ‘Miami Vice’ drug cartel fashion that we did, suggests that Iran was calling the shots.
    It also suggests that Barack is always happy to acquiesce to humiliating the United States in the international arena.

    He hates America.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  47. He hates America.
    Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 8/23/2016 @ 3:44 pm

    To laugh is to cry.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  48. So let’s try to increase wages despite no market growth or improved productivity, (Starbucks raised wages nationwide to Seattle’s minimum wage):

    One year later, something “unexpected” has happened as a result of the Schultz’ all too eager push to “share” his company’s success by hiking minimum wages, namely the realization by the company’s employees (if not so much the CEO, management and certainly shareholders) that total compensation is a function of two things: hourly wages and number of hours worked.

    As Reuters reports, an online petition accusing Starbucks of “extreme” cutbacks in work hours at its U.S. cafes, hurting both employee morale and customer service, has been signed by more than 9,000 people. Suddenly Starbucks’ eagerness to raise its wages becomes all too clear: after all, it would merely have to reduce work hours, to keep profitability humming.

    The world’s biggest coffee chain, trying to address cooling growth at its U.S. shops, recently introduced technology that allows customers to order and pay from mobile devices. That service aims to boost sales and reduce bottlenecks in stores; it also aims to reduce work hours.

    In short: Starbucks is finding itself in a sales and profit squeeze (its shares have gone nowhere for the past year), and having been such a fervent supporter of minimum wage hikes, is now far less willing to “share” its success as a company, especially if it means a stagnant stock price for the foreseeable future.

    #nevertrump says “What, me worry?. Are there no debtors prisons?”

    DNF (ffe548)

  49. Me no clickee pervy Breitmart (sic) Trump butt-boy. Take granted it lie alla time. No wanna bother fiskee.

    nk (dbc370)

  50. 54. Your pidgin becomes you. We are a nation of inmigrantes.

    DNF (ffe548)

  51. Si, es, verdad. We are immigrantes. But so long as we aspire to become Americanos is cool.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  52. And war on the rock, Cyrus mahousian, shows how this game of thrones has been poorly played on all sides, except for the kingdom.

    narciso (732bc0)

  53. Somos imigrantes, e por se move, what is to be done with the men of labor, the Mumbai man has little answer, this is where williamson got his start,

    narciso (732bc0)

  54. Did 0bama lie?

    Is teh Pope Catholic? Does a bear defecate in teh woods?

    Colonel Haiku (ad9235)

  55. You not numbah one you numbah ten, nk. You likee teh cream of sum yung gai.

    Colonel Haiku (ad9235)

  56. You are better at the Espanol than me, narciso.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  57. Is teh Pope Catholic?

    Colonel Haiku (ad9235) — 8/23/2016 @ 4:44 pm

    No. Next question.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  58. Some bizarre form of pelagianism I think.

    narciso (732bc0)

  59. 58. And his moral imperative, that the world be graced with Americans as their end consumer, has foundered on the rocks.

    While in recent weeks money has again flooded into EM markets due to a weak dollar, that trend has already reversed and the dollar grows strong once more.

    This week its the Japanese banks that are under threat, finding profits in Abe and Kuroda’s NIRP regime difficult to come by, and as of Oct. 14 US short-term notes will be the only game around as money market funding of the world’s overnight loans bank are to bank becomes a UST monopoly with money market investments gated in repayment.

    This is precisely the condition bringing down Lehman, LIBOR was interrupted for days.

    DNF (755a85)

  60. Too busy with new computer and new razor.
    Arouse your own disgust.

    nk (dbc370)

  61. Not impressed with the MS Edge browser. Not impressed with Chrome, either, but I give it the edge.

    nk (dbc370)

  62. Europe is on holiday right now, at the world’s seashores.

    On return it will be a very good time to sell and go away ’til fall 2017.

    DNF (755a85)

  63. The edge on Kai blades is impressive.

    nk (dbc370)

  64. What went up came down and went up again no longer sticks or bounces:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-23/us-real-estate-big-picture-thesis-moral-hazard

    Note the very last chart at the articles’ end.

    DNF (755a85)

  65. 69. Oh, me disculpe, nk can’t read zerohedge either, his little brain might ‘splode.

    DNF (755a85)

  66. No. Next question.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

    =======================

    Already asked, Mr. Whipple.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  67. a lot of you don’t understand why not to put a criminal stinkypig in charge of what all them soldiers died fighting to preserve

    you need to remediate on this cause of you are deficient

    remediate like yesterday

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  68. 64. While short-term UST are preferentially sold and purchased at the moment(by banks), and 30-year bills hard to buy at any price(from pensions and insurers), the 10-year notes are being sold by foreign governments, $335 Billion over twelve months.

    It turns out that the answer lies in the ongoing blow out of the cross-currency basis, i.e., the implicit global dollar shortage, something we highlighted several months ago, and which has only gotten worse in the months since, following the spike in dollar hedging costs and short-term funding costs (see Libor).

    The collapse in demand for US paper as a result of the blow out in swap spreads is the topic of this morning’s FX Daily by Deutsche Bank’s George Saravelos who notes in a note titled “It’s Gone” that “a remarkable hunt for yield has taken place over the last few years. Foreigners have fled negative rates and flocked to US fixed income to take advantage of positive rates. Currency hedging these purchases has been a popular strategy: investors buy long-end bonds and use short-dated forwards to eliminate the FX risk.”

    However, apropos to the current basis spread environment, something significant has happened in recent months: buying 10-yr US treasuries is no longer profitable. It is not only Europeans or Japanese, there now isn’t any global fixed income investor that can make decent money by buying hedged USTs.

    Brokeback Fed just keeps ahumpin’.

    DNF (755a85)

  69. My point, #nevertrump, is that the status quo is riding a conveyor into the wood chipper.

    Now your claim that this is all a conspiracy is just a claim, another azzpull you do so well.

    But the fact is HRC is one of the engineers of your ride into the chipper. Yes, many of the unwashed will perish before you, and this will amuse you, but you are just as dead.

    WTFU.

    DNF (ffe548)

  70. I think bob Dylan, had it right when he said ‘a hard rain’s going to fall’

    narciso (732bc0)

  71. 75. An’ “Anyone not busy being born is busy dyin'”(roughly).

    DNF (ffe548)

  72. John Bolton told Hugh Hewitt today that he’d be happy to serve as Trump’s Secretary of State.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  73. “Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
    Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
    I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
    I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
    I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
    I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
    I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
    And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
    And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

    Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
    Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
    I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
    I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
    I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
    I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
    I saw a white ladder all covered with water
    I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
    I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of yourng children
    And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
    And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

    And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
    And what did you hear, my darling young one?
    I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
    Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
    Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
    Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
    Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
    Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
    Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
    And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
    And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

    Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
    Who did you meet, my darling young one?
    I met a young child beside a dead pony
    I met a white man who walked a black dog
    I met a young woman whose body was burning
    I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
    I met one man who was wounded in love
    I met another man who was wounded with hatred
    And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
    It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

    Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
    Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
    I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
    I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
    Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
    Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
    Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
    Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
    Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
    Where black is the color, where none is the number
    And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
    And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
    Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
    But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
    And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
    It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall”

    http://bobdylan.com/songs/hard-rains-gonna-fall/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  74. 69
    Which is why ZeroHedge always predicts doom and never reality.
    The problem back in the 2008 bubble was not overpriced real estate. It was over mortgaged real estate. The problem was not that prices were too high. The problem was the level of debt was too high.

    kishnevi (37d538)

  75. They use several metric all rather disconcerting.

    Fisher wants to pump another 4 trillion, I don’t think we’re good for it

    narciso (732bc0)

  76. black lives matter

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  77. Yes, I’ve been battling to set defaults all afternoon. I’ll let IE have Bing for default search engine, but Chrome with Google is the default browser.

    I’m making allowances for the fact that I got accustomed to the Satellite with Windows 7 for six years, and now I have to get used to a Pavilion with Windows 10, and trying not to reminisce about Windows 3.1. 😉

    But it’s a very nice machine, i5 processor, 12 MBs memoey, 1T solid state disk drive, fullsize keyboard and touch screen, under $500 at Costco.

    nk (dbc370)

  78. Not eight hours ago, I took a class on Anti Money Laundering. They talked about structuring. Like, just a splash under the reporting limit, numerous times. I’m smelling something.

    Richard Aubrey (472a6f)

  79. Gb

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  80. #79 If you don’t understand that both are intertwined please avoid commenting on bubbles.

    Rodney King's Spirit (a2db57)

  81. Clearly but the money was for the victims of terrorism, its like paying ransom out of confiscated property

    narciso (732bc0)

  82. I realize that it was in the Wash. Post which has layers of fact checkers and editors, but the word isn’t pallettes (google it), but pallets. The wooden things that you pile money on. Like in Breaking Bad and its cash generating car wash.

    John Pomeroy (778831)

  83. i’m an old p.o.s. arkansas lady with pissy panties

    all i want is a pickle

    lookit me go!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  84. When each increment is just under 100 million, who were they trying to fool?

    narciso (732bc0)

  85. Yes, 12GB, thank you, happyfeet. Still stuck in the 386 days.

    nk (dbc370)

  86. Look to the future.

    The lie to ferret out is Hillary’s health.

    Last night on Kimmel when asked directly, “Is your health good?” — she did the classic Clinton ‘look-over-there’ diversion: ‘ they’re wacky–check my pulse’… but she never directly answered the question wih a definitive ‘yes.’

    The Ragin’ Cajun is protesting too much as well, snaking his way across the cablers with venomous denials. Even the aging Cher is trying to dispel the rumors. And a spinner on a cabler this morning said with a straight face that even if she was ill, her running mate is more popular than her so there’s nothing to worry about. To quote a former Texas governor: “Oops!”

    Politics aside, there is something off with this woman. It is subtle, but it is there. The history of blood clots; the coughing; the falls, the concussion glasses… the pillows. The long times off — and no presser for 280 days. Watch her gait. Look into her eyes and compare past video to the present. Then consider the future.

    And it is not a ‘conspiracy’ to look into it, as MSNBC or CNN would have you believe.

    The 1960 Kennedy campaign vehemently and ‘vigorously‘ denied JFK was in poor health and did not have Addison’s Disease. They even had ‘doctors” notes.

    They lied.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  87. 79. A nice hovel in Milwaukee or Detroit’s slums costs $2500. What do you suppose happens to the price of the dump next door when an unemployed tenant that’s not making rent buys his starter home with no money down?

    Yes, the price goes up.

    College at an elite MN school cost me just over $3000 a year back in the day. Then the government started guaranteeing student loans.

    DNF (ffe548)

  88. ugh i need a new machine too

    this one has to last though until i get more clarity on chicago

    i think we’re closing this bitch out

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. omg that was opposed to be moderatered

    i don’t really talk that way

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. Well there’s less immediate evidence for that, besides her charming strigoi demeanor, the donor list should fill a dozen editions

    narciso (732bc0)

  91. Yes you do, David spade.

    narciso (732bc0)

  92. black lives matter
    happyfeet (28a91b) — 8/23/2016 @ 6:54 pm

    Maybe it’s funny. I confronted three black teenagers who were hogging the Kroger electric wheel chairs. I was just, sick of it. It wasn’t just that I needed to vent. but goddam they’re capable of better. I know. I lead them. Honored.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  93. Black lives matter.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  94. And, I was lead by them.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  95. DNF – which MIAC school? You a Tommy or a Johnny?

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  96. Glad you called those yoots out, but in some of the more crime ravaged parts of Chicago, 3 black teens in wheelchairs might actually have severed spines from gunshots. My friend from college owns a sports bar in West Town and one night I was there, there was a wheelchair party, something like 20 paralyzed dudes in their 20/30s. They had that old school “what you be about?” vibe, so I made my way toward the exit.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  97. @101, I invite you to insult me. Or not. It’s up to you.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  98. I don’t know what you mean @101.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  99. 101. Now I live among Johnnies but went to St. Olaf, a lesser sports power, comparable student body.

    DNF (ffe548)

  100. Yes, the price goes up.
    No, it goes down, because the neighbors see who moved in, and sell.

    But you and RKS seem never to have met Mr. Micawber.
    A house that you bought for $1,000,000 and on which you can afford to make the payments is fine. A house that you bought for $50,000 and on which you can not make the payments is very bad.

    kishnevi (37d538)

  101. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. St. Thomas and St. John’s are 2 of more well renowned schools plus liberal arts stalwarts Carelton and Macalester. Aimed at DNF to see which prestigious schol in MN. My sister went to St. Bens the sister college of St.John’s.

    And I have lead and been lead by black males and no problem with it, though in endeavors not nearly as vital as yours.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  102. Bishop O’Dowd my ho fro.

    And I have been led by Black MEN.

    Not males.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  103. 102. Pitching deck was cool, thanx.

    DNF (ffe548)

  104. 108. I am very close to St. Bens. In my day Carleton(across town) was the most selective school in the country, Bork was President my last year or two.

    107. You have a very great deal to learn son, about everything.

    DNF (755a85)

  105. You had me at “Did Obama Lie”

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  106. On a different tangent
    https://regated.com/2016/08/debbie-wasserman-schultz-accused-rigging-florida-primary/

    The first three words should make clear which side Shane Ashton supports.

    Early voting started in Miami-Dade last week, in Broward (Ft Laud.) this past Sunday. I early early voted on Sunday on the way to work. Canova is a law prof and a mostly cookie cutter prog, but the only real way to dump Debbie. The sacrificial GOP candidates is someone named Joe Kaufman. He was the sacrificial victim in 2014, as well. In that run, he tried to give himself a Tea Party look. This time, to judge by his website, he is clothing himself in Trumpism.
    The official primary date is 30 August, but supposedly about half the votes cast will be mail-in or early voting.

    kishnevi (37d538)

  107. It sure sounded like BS when Obama was saying it- I remember distinctly getting that impression.

    Reaganite Republican (98e37e)

  108. What’s the problem… who cares Obama pays ransom… what people will remember is he says he doesn’t pay ransom.

    PTS (ce7fc3)

  109. I hope Hillary keeps pay to play once she’s in the WH.

    Do you think a $150 will get you a sensual body rub with “full release”?

    PTS (ce7fc3)

  110. 81. ZIRP hasn’t worked so another round of QE(which hasn’t worked) is in order!

    But Central Banks have ruined sovereign bond markets by owning the majority of 10-year bills.

    The JoB now owns a majority of the NIKKEI, the ECB is buying commercial paper inducing companies to create debt just to get in on the party, and the FED is making direct payments to the Treasury.

    When inflation breaks out the house of cards comes down in a few short years.

    DNF (755a85)

  111. Hillary will continue the tradition.
    Regardless of the news today, Hillary or Donald will be sworn in as President.

    cedarhill (8e040b)

  112. The edge on Kai blades is impressive.

    nk (dbc370) — 8/23/2016 @ 5:12 pm

    I may have to look into one of those razors. I bought a straight razor a couple of months back. The edge was most definitely NOT impressive. The razor itself, though, was nicely put to together and the Damascus steel blade straightened up and flew right when I put it to my Ken Onion knife sharpener.

    But when I visit family I don’t carry any checked luggage, and TSA has its panties in a serious wad when it comes to straight razors and carry-on luggage.

    Or, I could keep using the cheap disposables as I bought a 12 pack a few years back and considering how short my visits are it looks like that will last me until I’m 80.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  113. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/24/one-killed-30-wounded-by-explosions-in-southern-thailand/

    I know it’s tedious, me talking about the Navy. But I don’t think my old adversaries will let me die peacefully in my sleep.

    …No group has claimed responsibility for the wave of bombings, but some security experts noted at the time that southern insurgent groups have a track record of carrying out coordinated bombing attacks.

    Since 2004, a low-intensity but brutal war between government troops and insurgents has killed more than 6,500 people in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat that border Malaysia.

    Guess what “southern insurgent groups” is a euphemism for? Go ahead. I’ll give you one guess, and the winner will use a word beginning with “I” or “M.”

    I don’t know if any of the rest of you find this interesting, but it’s a joke that Islam is violent because Christianity brutalized it first. For one thing, the time line is wrong. The Crusades came 400 years after Islam waged jihad against the west.

    For another, Islam treats Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus exactly the same as they treat Christians. And none of those adherents ever waged anything resembling the Crusades.

    You want to know why? Islam is violent.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  114. Jonah Goldberg said you misunderstand corruption, and the Clinton corruption, if you think it’s a matter of pure cash. It’s favor trading.

    48. Bill H (971e5f) — 8/23/2016 @ 3:27 pm

    It’s not even that, Sammy. What favor did we get in trade? Free hummus for a year? It was straight-up humiliation. The Iranians know very well that Obama will bend over and grab his ankles willingly.

    I am afraid the thread got diverted over here, as often happens when someone wants to say something when right at that time there’s no active thread about it. This was in response to DNF @16 about the Clinton Foundation.

    The deal with Iran was something else.

    Obama was kind of hapless, afraid Iran would back out. Now it actually is to his credit that at least he held up the $400 million till the prisoners were released, but it wasn’t given for that reason, and Iran has no reason to expect it could a similar amount again.

    The Administration does not want to say what it was for, because then it would appear, correctly, that he was buying the same thing twice. (Iran was basically saying they weren’t getting the benefit they expected or weren’t going to get the benefit they expected from the lifting of sanctions, but this money helped get them to drop their complaints)

    There were 3 separate deals going on at the same time:

    1) Iranian prisoners, held for sanctions violations in XCHG for Amerian prisoners in Iran, held unjustly.

    2) $400 million with a promise of $1.3 billion more in interest in XCHG for Iran abandoning its claim for the money the shah spent for military planes that were not delivered. Iran was arguing for a higher interest rate.

    and

    2a) in XCHG for Iran following through with the disabling of the Arak heavy water reactor, and proving it.

    Iran wanted, or indicated it would like, money for that, and the settlement of the claims was an excuse to give Iran money.

    They found out they could do just about anything they want to our Ear Leader, and he will acquiesce.

    They found out, or already knew, that Obama knows only how to bargain for one thing at a time. He gave away anything he was willing to give for the nuclear deal, and there was nothing, or not enough, left to pressure Iran on its support for terrorism and Hezbollah, and it’s military intervention and co-operation with Russia in Syria.

    At least anyway this time, unlike last year, he got the American prisoners, that they were holding unjustly at the time, out, too. Because handing Iran the money and NOT getting the prisoners, was the alternative policy here. That’s why it wasn’t ransom.

    The reason why they didn’t want gold is fairly simple: 1) it has to be converted. Euros, Swiss francs and GBP spend anywhere easily.

    That was my point.

    2) Refusing our money and our gold was just another way to stick a finger in our eye, and make paying the ransom that much more onerous.

    They didn’t ask for gold. From the American viewpoint it was much better to give away Federal Reserve banknotes, or the electronic equivalent = just computer bits, of which there is a potentially infinite supply, (although technically it must be borrowed) rather than some of a finite amount of gold at Fort Knox or in the custody of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    Plus, the gold weighs more. Most nations just move the gold from one vault to another New York, and it never leaves the building, when they want to exchange gold wth another country, although Iran obviously, can’t do that, so it would have to have bene put on an airplane.

    It’s also possible they didn’t want the money to be traceable by way of serial numbers.

    It doesn’t matter what they asked for – 500 Euro notes, and Swiss francs, and British pounds, are also traceable.

    I don’t know if maybe they asked for some Chinese renmimbi – nobody is saying anything. But however much China wants otherwise, they’re not of much use except for trade with China, and China would ratehr have oil probably..

    Sammy Finkelman (7c7fb2)

  115. It seemed appropriate, being Islamic. It’s all kind of related to the ransom demanded by the Iranians.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  116. Kevin Williamson didn’t write an article about how poor whites should die. He said their communities should die.

    Sammy Finkelman (7c7fb2)

  117. that’s so racism

    those are the communities where they have the best pancakes and always for a fair price and they don’t skimp on the butter

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  118. Remarkably, what Sammy said. Even if for the sake of argument we don’t have a direct financial relationship with Iran, the Iranians have a banking relationship with third countries that we do have a banking relationship. To use Switzerland as a metaphor, in countries like Iran or (formerly, and wish it were still so) Cuba where we did not have diplomatic relations the Swiss maintain an American Interests section. If you need consular services, go to the Swiss embassy.

    There were plenty of ways this money could have been transferred to Iran. Obama is lying when he says the only way was cash. But, why wouldn’t he? It’s worked so well for him.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  119. that’s so racism

    those are the communities where they have the best pancakes and always for a fair price and they don’t skimp on the butter

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 8/24/2016 @ 11:35 am

    You forgot the Miracle Whip. Do better next time.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  120. Speaking of White America, what passes for tomato-based spaghetti sauces in Kansas is basically Ketchup. Not to pick on Kansas; I like Kansas. As far as it goes. For Whitetail and pheasant. I found this was true in several spots in the Midwest.

    Some friends of mine from the Midwest admitted to me once that they actually prefer ketchup on their pasta. They were embarrassed to admit it for a while, as I can make a better spaghetti sauce than the s**t they were eating and I kept insisting that for the love of god don’t eat that hit me up for some damn sauce, you cheap b@st@rds who won’t even scrape a couple of dimes together for Ragu.

    I’m a good friend that way

    Anyway that’s a low bar, admittedly. Which if you talked to my DI is where I prefer to set it. Nothing’s changed since Pensacola. I’m not a snob, but it’s just not that hard to put together a decent sauce. And if the meat ball recipe is too hard throw in some sausage.

    But they would secretly get together for family night and eat pasta with ketchup.

    Because it’s what they grew up with.

    White people. A lot of times I don’t understand them.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  121. that was henry hill (liotta’s) complaint in goodfellas, really I think ketchup and spaghetti sauces are a different consistency, but I guess that can be said of cuban food, attempted in other cities,

    narciso (732bc0)

  122. Worst Mexican food I ever had was in Salzburg, Austria. The owners and chefs had apparently seen pictures of Mexican food but never ate it. So they reasonably approximated the look.

    I don’t have the words to describe the eating of it.

    There may be a Mexican restaurant in Scotland that’s worse, I hear.

    The bottom line is, when in a German country, stick to the Zwiebelrostbraten or the Gulaschesuppe or at the very least Brotchen mit schlag.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  123. People shouldn’t attempt to produce food unless they know how.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  124. yes, I can envisage the unnameable horror being attempted, when in ostreich, do as they do.

    narciso (732bc0)

  125. We had been in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for about a month and being young and foolish decided we needed a change.

    It could have been worse. Me and my squadron mates had a bugs and beer dinner in Pusan that looked like the outflow of a dishwasher, then the proprietors decided they were going to send their kids to college on the proceeds of the bill.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  126. There is such a thing as good Korean food. I love, for instance, Bulgogi or Chop Chae or Bibimbap, just to pick three off the top of my head.

    This wasn’t good Korean food. The best I can describe it is thistle in detergent water.

    And that will be $600.

    Steve57 (41f53d)

  127. #84, #90, read the post, it explains exactly why it was done that way, and no, it wasn’t structuring.

    Milhouse (5a188d)

  128. Morgen ‎
    @morgenr

    @LeeSmithTWS fyi, $99,999,999.99 is bank system limit for ACH payments (p 34)https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsservices/gov/pmt/asap/pay-all2.pdf … pic.twitter.com/tYik2GTWth
    1:44 AM – 23 Aug 2016

    $99,999,999.99 is not any kind of a legal limit – it’s a computer system limit,which should have been everybody’s first guess if you know anything about bytes. That kind of thing has happened many many times in the history of computing.

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)

  129. Speech by theking of Morocco: (video with subtitles)

    http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5638.htm

    From MEWRI:

    MEMRI August 20, 2016 Clip No. 5638

    King of Morocco Mohammed VI: Can Anyone of Sound Mind Believe that the Reward for Jihad Could Be Some Virgins in Paradise?

    In an address directed toward Moroccans living abroad, Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, said that they should “always be among the first to defend peace, harmony, and coexistence in their countries of residence.” Calling the killing of a priest in his church “unforgivable,” Mohammed VI said that the Jihadists are “led by ignorance” and are “destined to dwell in Hell for all eternity.” “Can anyone of sound mind believe that the reward for Jihad could be some virgins in Paradise?” he asked in the address, which was broadcast by Morocco’s Channel 1 on August 20.

    King Mohammed VI: “My dear countrymen, the whole world is talking about the problem of immigration, and about the human tragedies suffered by the immigrants. This situation is exacerbated by the spread of terror and extremism, and the attempts to link it – rightly or not – to the immigrants, especially in Europe. In this context, I call upon the Moroccans living abroad to adhere to the values of their religion and to their age-old customs, in confronting this phenomenon, which is alien to them. I also encourage them to protect the good reputation for which they are known, to persevere in these difficult circumstances, and to unite in their ranks. I call upon them to be always among the first to defend peace, harmony, and coexistence in their countries of residence.

    “We understand the difficult situation in which they live. They are suffering from the distortion of the image of Islam, as well as from the terrorist attacks, which have harvested the lives of so many of them. They suffer from reprisals, and from accusations leveled against them by some, because of their faith. Naturally, we strongly condemn the killing of innocent people. We believe that the killing of a monk is prohibited by the shari’a, and that killing him in a church is an unforgivable act of stupidity, because he is a human being and a cleric, even if he is not a Muslim. Islam has instructed us to be good to the People of the Book. Allah said: ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ Allah said: ‘…one who believes in Allah, Judgement Day, the angels, the Quran, and the prophets.’

    “The terrorists who operate in the name of Islam are not Muslims. They have nothing to do with Islam, and jump on the bandwagon in order to justify their crimes and stupid acts. They are people who have been led astray, and they are destined to dwell in Hell for all eternity. Led by their ignorance, they believe that what they do constitutes Jihad. When was Jihad ever about the killing of innocent people? Allah said: ‘…do not transgress. Allah does not love the transgressors.’ Is it conceivable that Allah, the Forgiver, the Compassionate, would order a person to blow himself up or to kill innocent people?! It should be noted that Islam prohibits suicide of any kind, regardless of the reasons. Allah said: ‘…whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption upon the land – it is as if he had killed all of Mankind.’

    “Islam is a religion of peace. Allah said: ‘Oh you who believe, enter Islam one and all.’ Jihad in Islam is subject to specific conditions, including the condition that it must not be waged unless for the purpose of defense, and may never be waged for the purpose of killing or aggression. It is prohibited to kill people under the pretext of waging Jihad. Another condition of Jihad is that it must be declared by the Emir of the Believers – not by any individual or group. People who call for killing and aggression, who unjustly accuse people of heresy, and who interpret the Quran and the Sunna in a manner befitting their goals are attributing lies to Allah and His Messenger. This is the true heresy.

    […]

    “They are exploiting some Muslim youth, especially in Europe. They are exploiting their ignorance of the Arabic language and of true Islam, in order to convey their erroneous messages and misleading promises. Can anyone of sound mind believe that the reward for Jihad could be some virgins in Paradise? Is it conceivable that anyone who listens to music will be swallowed by the Earth? And there are similar lies. The terrorists and extremists are using all possible means to persuade the youth to join them, and to strike at societies that bask in the values of liberty, openness, and tolerance.

    […]

    “We are all being targeted. Anyone who believes in what I have said serves as a target for terrorism. Terrorism struck in Morocco in the past, and then it hits in Europe and many regions in the world. Given the spread of ignorance in the name of religion, everybody – Muslims, Christians, and Jews – must stand together in the fight against all types of extremism, against hatred, and against close-mindedness. The history of humanity is the best proof that it is impossible to achieve progress in any society suffering from extremism and hatred, because these are the main causes for the loss of security and stability. Human history abounds with successful examples, showing that cooperation and coexistence between religions give rise to open and modern societies, ruled by love, harmony, comfort, and prosperity. This was embodied in the Islamic culture, especially in Baghdad and Andalusia, which was one of the most progressive and open human societies.”

    The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization providing translations of the Middle East media and original analysis and research on developments in the region. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

    MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

    The Middle East Media Research Institute
    P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
    Phone: [202] 955-9070 Fax: [202] 955-9077 E-Mail: memri@memri.org
    Search previous MEMRI publications at our website: http://www.memri.org

    Sammy Finkelman (643dcd)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1167 secs.