“The United States essentially has three Russia policies: the president’s, the executive branch’s and Congress’s.”

Angela Stent

Said: Angela Stent, a former White House official and professor at Georgetown University. Angela was quoted in a piece "Trump, a reluctant hawk, has battled his top aides on Russia and lost" in Washington Post today by Greg Jaffe, John Hudson and Philip Rucker.

The authors describe the slow transformation of Donald Trump from a Putin's fan to a reluctant Putin basher during his presidency. This transformation has been due to the contribution of his free and frank key members of administration, in general, and right minded tough Generals, in particular. The key role played by the Congress, dominated by members having anti-Putin sentiments, making Trump to sign the bill approving new sanctions on Russia in late July, is seen as the major blow to Trump’s efforts to reach out to Putin. This bill was cleared with a veto-proof majority. Perhaps, Trump had planned to change the world by befriending with Putin whom he considered the most important and powerful. 

According to the authors, some European diplomats in Washington still find it difficult to believe tthat the recent tough moves against Syria and Russia have Trump’s full support. They are asking: “This wouldn’t be the policy unless Trump supports it. . . . Yes?” Russia analysts seem just as mystified.

The authors end with Angela Stent's quote on Donald Trump. “This is a man who if he had his druthers would be pursuing a much more open and friendly policy with Russia,” said Angela Stent, a former White House official and professor at Georgetown University. “The United States essentially has three Russia policies: the president’s, the executive branch’s and Congress’s.”

Read full story here.

Sizing Up Business in Russia & Eurasia: Reflections from 25 Years of Teaching

To celebrate 25 years of Dr. Trevor Gunn teaching at Georgetown University, CERES hosted a dialogue with Drs. Gunn and Angela Stent on "Sizing Up Business in Russia & Eurasia: Reflections from 25 Years of Teaching."

Watch the programme below.

“I would be lying to you if I told that I am not [worried].”: Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen

Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen said in a phone conversation on Tuesday with CNN's Don Lemon: "I am unhappy to have my personal residence and office raided. But I will tell you that members of the FBI that conducted the search and seizure were all extremely professional, courteous and respectful. And I thanked them at the conclusion."

Asked if he was worried, Cohen said; "I would be lying to you if I told that I am not. Do I need this in my life? No. Do I want to be involved in this? No." 

Read full story here.

Michael Cohen: Trump's loyal fixer 

Anderson Cooper 360 

CNN's Gloria Borger investigates President Donald 

Trump's longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen. 

Source: CNN

It is of utmost importance for an MP to continue winning his/her own seat. Never mind the political party.

Said Dinesh Trivedi, a TMC Lok Sabha MP, in his column in Indian Express "If Congress wins Karnataka, BJP revolt will take the shape of a tsunami."

The moral of the story? Never try to predict election results. If Congress wins Karnataka, the revolt within the BJP will take the shape of a tsunami. Those who entered the party in 2014 just to win, will be the first ones to look for greener pastures as they never came to BJP for ideological reasons in the first place. It is of utmost importance for an MP to continue winning his/her own seat. Never mind the political party.

Read the full story here.

The president has de-spined the GOP. One by one, congressional leaders have got their spines removed

Richard Cohen

Said Richard Cohen, Opinion writer in Washington Post under "Trump has performed a medical miracle on the Republican Party"

"The first person to be filleted in this matter was Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), the speaker of the House. He was averse to Donald Trump, but he subordinated the larger agenda of opposing an anti-democratic president to a smaller agenda of tax cuts and regulatory reform. Ryan would make a splendid president of any chamber of commerce.

The other leaders have been similarly de-spined. They chortle among themselves as Trump says in the morning that he will veto this bill or that bill, and in the afternoon signs it. They say nothing about the rhetorical mugging of Mexico or his long-held and mysterious adulation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They stay silent while being soaked in a rain of lies, dignity running off them and splashing into the Washington gutter."

Read the full story....

“U.S. multinational firms are the global grandmasters of tax avoidance schemes that deplete not just U.S. tax collection but the tax collection of most every large economy in the world.”

Said: Edward D. Kleinbard, a former corporate tax adviser to such companies who is now a law professor at the University of Southern California, as reported in The New York Times by Jesse Drucker and Simon Bowers. 

The report titled "After a Tax Crackdown, Apple Found a New Shelter for Its Profits" is based on the secret corporate records (Paradise Papers) from Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm that caters to businesses and the wealthy elite. 

"These documents reveal how big law firms help clients weave their way through the gaps between different countries’ tax rules. Appleby clients have transferred trademarks, patent rights and other valuable assets into offshore shell companies, avoiding billions of dollars in taxes. The rights to Nike’s Swoosh trademark, Uber’s taxi-hailing app, Allergan’s Botox patents and Facebook’s social media technology have all resided in shell companies that listed as their headquarters Appleby offices in Bermuda and Grand Cayman, the records show," says the article.

“U.S. multinational firms are the global grandmasters of tax avoidance schemes that deplete not just U.S. tax collection but the tax collection of most every large economy in the world.”

The above quote in the article comes from a lawyer Edward D. Kleinbard who, the article says, has worked as a corporate tax adviser to such companies in their tax avoidance management. 

Isn't it interesting that this lawyer is now a law professor at the University of Southern California?   

His profile page says: "Kleinbard received his JD from Yale Law School, and his MA in History and BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Brown University. Kleinbard was for over 20 years a partner in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. "

You can watch Kleinbard deliver "Searching for our Fiscal Soul" at TEDX Livermore on Youtube. 

"Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money..."

Source: wikipedia

Said: Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway 2000 shareholder letter. When asked for his views on bitcoin several years ago on CNBC, he adviced: "Stay away from it. It's a mirage, basically."

During the interview published on 14 Mach, 2014 on CNBC, Buffet said the following about the cryptocurrency.

"It's a method of transmitting money. It's a very effective way of transmitting money and you can do it anonymously and all that. A check is a way of transmitting money, too. Are checks worth a whole lot of money just because they can transmit money? Are money orders? You can transmit money by money orders. People do it. I hope bitcoin becomes a better way of doing it, but you can replicate it a bunch of different ways and it will be. The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke in my view."

“Even though James is technically the C.E.O., he’s somewhere between can’t and won’t do anything that would cause changes to Fox News. This is a tricky divide.”

Brian Wieser

Said: Brian Wieser, a Senior Analyst - Advertising/Media/Internet with Pivotal Research, reported in nytimes in an article “For Murdoch Empire, Perhaps a Decisive Point in Relationship to Trump,” by Emily Steel.

The article presents an analysis of James Murdoch’s personal email message to his friends denouncing racism, anti-Semitism, white supremacy and neo-Nazis. James also used some tough words for the president criticising him for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va. Trump's response - sympathetic to white supremacists and neo-Nazis has created a worst crisis for him at the already shaky White House. 

Analysts are trying to assess the possibility of any impact James' letter may have on the reporting formula of Fox News for Mr. Trump.