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Caught on Tape – SEC Director Grovels for a Private Equity Job for His Teenage Son While Speaking on Panel

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The following video clip will make you extremely sick to your stomach. Not that we didn’t already know the U.S. economy is nothing more than a rigged oligarch shell of its former self, but to see SEC Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Andrew Bowden, grovel for a job for his son in front of a private equity industry audience certainly represents a new low.

If you recall, Andrew Bowden was first brought to your attention last year in the post, SEC Official Claims Over 50% of Private Equity Audits Reveal Criminal Behavior, which discussed how Mr. Bowden admitted in a talk that “more than 50 percent of private equity firms it has audited have engaged in serious infractions of securities laws.” This sort of honesty is never rewarded within a crony, corrupt economic system that depends so heavily on regulatory capture for riches. As such, he quickly recognized the gravity of his error, and has since decided to get on his hands and knees and pucker up to the private equity industry whenever possible.

Nowhere was this more apparent than at a recent event at Stanford Law School, where Mr. Bowden ended his resounding endorsement of the private equity industry by begging the audience to one day give his son a job. At this point the audience burst into laughter and someone can be clearly heard yelling “I would love to hire your son by the way.” More laughter.

The joke’s on us.

Watch the video below:

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Cisco is Shipping Equipment to Fake Addresses to Protect Customers; Meanwhile Amazon Refuses to Provide Any Transparency

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Examining the distinct ways in which various technology/internet companies have responded to revelations that the U.S. government is grossly violating American citizens’ 4th Amendment rights with its unconstitutional mass surveillance can be quite telling. A really interesting case in point came across my screen today.

On the one hand, we have Cisco, which seems to be trying its best to get hardware from one place to another without the NSA intercepting it and implanting malware. On the other hand, we have Amazon, which refuses to provide even the most basic transparency report when it comes to government data requests. Thanks for nothing Bezos.

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Clinton Foundation’s Deep Financial Ties to Ukrainian Oligarch Who Pushed for Closer Ties to EU Revealed

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Between 2009 and 2013, including when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, according to that foundation, which is based in Kiev, Ukraine. It was created by Mr. Pinchuk, whose fortune stems from a pipe-making company. He served two terms as an elected member of the Ukrainian Parliament and is a proponent of closer ties between Ukraine and the European Union.

In 2008, Mr. Pinchuk made a five-year, $29 million commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative, a wing of the foundation that coordinates charitable projects and funding for them but doesn’t handle the money. The pledge was to fund a program to train future Ukrainian leaders and professionals “to modernize Ukraine,” according to the Clinton Foundation. Several alumni are current members of the Ukrainian Parliament. Actual donations so far amount to only $1.8 million, a Pinchuk foundation spokesman said, citing the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Pinchuk foundation said its donations were intended to help to make Ukraine “a successful, free, modern country based on European values.” It said that if Mr. Pinchuk was lobbying the State Department about Ukraine, “this cannot be seen as anything but a good thing.”

– From the Wall Street Journal article: Clinton Charity Tapped Foreign Friends

When I first came across the title to this article, I didn’t think much of it. In fact, I almost didn’t even click the link thinking it was just a repeat of a prior expose I highlighted in the post: Hillary Clinton Exposed Part 2 – Clinton Foundation Took Millions From Countries That Also Fund ISIS.

Fortunately, I did decide to take a look and pretty soon my jaw absolutely hit the floor. Although the Wall Street Journal didn’t play up the connection, I was stunned to see that of all the oligarchs connected to foreign governments who donated to the Clinton Foundation while she was Secretary of State, Ukraine was at the very top. I thought this to be strange, but as I read on I just couldn’t believe how connected the main donor was to the current regime in power. Considering this is the main geopolitical hotspot on earth right now, many, many questions need to be asked.

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Doing God’s Work – San Francisco Church Sprays Homeless People with Water to Keep Them Away

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Screen Shot 2015-03-02 at 11.23.29 AMI’ve covered the plight of the homeless in America in recent years as another manifestation of the erosion of decency, empathy, morality and kindness throughout much of our culture. As a society, we’ve become increasingly obsessed with youth, materialism, power and short-termism, tossing aside wisdom, real joy, soulfulness and connectivity. One of the symptoms of this unfortunate transformation can been seen in how we treat the least fortunate and most vulnerable around us, particularly the homeless (see: In 33 U.S. Cities, Feeding the Homeless Has Been Criminalized).

Of all the institutions you’d hope to take a different stance toward the weak and struggling, places of worship would be at the top of the list. Not so for Saint Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, which admittedly sprays sleeping homeless people with water in order to keep them away.

From CBS:

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Government Watchdog Warns – Fannie, Freddie Could Need Another Bailout

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It’s always nice to be reminded of how far we’ve come since the dark days of 2008/09 ,when American plebs involuntarily bailed out the oligarchy generally, and Wall Street specifically, to the tune of trillions. Sure, all the gains went to the 0.001%, but the wounds have healed, and we’re in the midst of a stellar economic recovery.

The latest proof of how far we’ve come was laid bare by an article in the Wall Street Journal:

Mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be at risk of needing more government bailouts, a watchdog said in a report set to be released Wednesday.

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Caught on Hot Mic – Janet Napolitano Says “We Don’t Have to Listen to This Crap” Referring to Student Protest

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Screen Shot 2015-03-19 at 2.11.43 PMBefore I get to the meat of this post, let me provide a little background. Late last year, I covered how the former head of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, was pushing through a 28% tuition hike within the University of California system so that administrators can get huge pay raises. Naturally, students weren’t all that pleased and decided to get creative with their protesting. Big Sis didn’t like this one bit.

What’s amusing is that in a prepared statement she noted:

“They want to be sure that their voices are being heard and I want to commit to them that their voices are being heard.”

Sounds reasonable; however, she quickly lost her patience and was heard on a hot mic saying:

“Let’s just break. Let’s go, let’s go. We don’t have to listen to this crap.”

Let’s just say this isn’t going to help improve her relationship with the student body. CBS reports:

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Peak Idiocy – Obama Suggests Making Voting Mandatory

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The people who cast the votes don’t decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
– Joseph Stalin

If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.
– Emma Goldman

Of all the idiotic things Obama has muttered during his almost inconceivably painful 6 years as President, the following may take the cake. It’s as if he’s just completely given up. Back to the golf course man, please.

From CNN:

The president whose major policy achievement is mandatory health insurance thinks maybe voting should be mandatory, too.

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Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité – French Government Begins Blocking Websites it Doesn’t Like

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There’s no better way to show terrorists you mean business than by preemptively ending freedom before the infidels have a chance to.

Ever since the tragic Charlie Hebdo terror attacks, France has responded by turning its back on decency, freedom and civilization itself. While the counterproductive authoritarian government response to terror attacks throughout the Western world has been long noted by myself and countless others, no country has demonstrated a more enthusiastic embrace of fascism and irrationality than France.

The writing was on the wall shortly after the attacks. I noted it in the post, French Authorities Demonstrate Defense of Free Speech by Arresting 54 People for Free Speech. Here’s an excerpt:

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Down the Memory Hole – Chinese Government Bans Popular Pollution Documentary That Had 200 Million Views in One Week

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Ms. Chai’s film had simply grown too big. It had become a social phenomenon that threatened to run out of control. Just days ahead of the opening of the country’s largely rubber-stamp parliament, Ms. Chai had hijacked the national agenda with a riveting piece of investigative journalism. “Have you ever seen real stars?” she asks a 6-year-old girl. “Never.” Blue skies? “I’ve seen one that’s a little blue.” White clouds? “Never.”

– From the Wall Street Journal article: Pollution Film Too Popular for Beijing’s Comfort

I’m not a citizen of China, and am well aware of the fact that my responsibilities reside within the country I live in, these United States. Nevertheless, some people who recognize how badly things are going here in America seem to think a world in which China takes on a global leadership position would be a good thing. I completely disagree with that perspective.

Last week, I published a post highlighting how the Chinese government was ridiculously claiming ownership over the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation process in the article: Peak Pathetic – Chinese Authorities Claim Control Over the Dalai Lama’s Reincarnation Process.

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FBI Moves to Broaden Hacking Authority – Google Says it Poses “Monumental Constitutional Concern”

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A judicial advisory panel Monday quietly approved a rule change that will broaden the FBI’s hacking authority despite fears raised by Google that the amended language represents a “monumental” constitutional concern.

The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules voted 11-1 to modify an arcane federal rule to allow judges more flexibility in how they approve search warrants for electronic data, according to a Justice Department spokesman.

The FBI wants the expanded authority, which would allow it to more easily infiltrate computer networks to install malicious tracking software.

– From the National Review article: FBI’s Plan to Expand Hacking Power Advances Despite Privacy Fears

If we’ve learned anything about the FBI over the past several years, it’s that the agency is extraordinarily skilled at finding mentally ill, dead-broke young Muslims and convincing them to become terrorists and by taking part in FBI created and funded terrorist plots.

This has been a topic I’ve covered on several occasions here at Liberty Blitzkrieg, with the latest example being the story of Christopher Lee Cornell, highlighted in the post: Manufactured Terrorism – U.S. Officials Claim Credit for Stopping Another Terror Attack Created by the FBI. Here’s an excerpt:

Nearly every major post-9/11 terrorism-related prosecution has involved a sting operation, at the center of which is a government informant. In these cases, the informants — who work for money or are seeking leniency on criminal charges of their own — have crossed the line from merely observing potential criminal behavior to encouraging and assisting people to participate in plots that are largely scripted by the FBI itself. Under the FBI’s guiding hand, the informants provide the weapons, suggest the targets and even initiate the inflammatory political rhetoric that later elevates the charges to the level of terrorism.

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