Free Republic

The transcript link isn't working. In brief, Israel is using the maritime oil field agreement with Lebanon as leverage to force the Lebanese government to either put a muzzle on Hizbollah and get them to cut out the attacks or get rid of them. Nash says "without firing a bullet".

Is it possible to be around narcissistic people and not lose your power? Especially when it's your mom, dad, ex, or boss who’s acting toxic? Today, Mel is joined by Rebecca Zung, an expert on narcissism and a globally recognized high-conflict negotiator. Rebecca is also a top-ranked trial lawyer who has studied narcissism so that she could win against them in the courtroom. She’s written the playbook, SLAY the Bully: How to Negotiate with A Narcissist and Win. She is here to make the case that you CAN stay in power no matter how toxic the people are around you....

The Belarusian army is combat-ready and will be able to inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy in case of external aggression, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting to discuss Belarus' defense needs on 10 May, BelTA has learned. The head of state underlined that the armament, which the Belarusian army possesses today, lets the country maintain its defensive capacity. “I think it is good armament for the army. It shows that our army will be able to fight and inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy. We are realists, we understand that we will not be able to defeat...

Millennial Millie does an expose on who is behind the riot insurrections, the connection with the Green New Deal, the group that recruits school children as young as middle schoolers as foot soldiers in the ranks of Antifa and BLM, and who have gotten 16 of the 30 Democrat candidates they promoted elected in 2018 including Cortez, Omar, Talib and Presley. A must see.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he does not care if Iran agrees to negotiate with the United States. The comments came after his National Security Adviser, Robert O’Brien, suggested Iran would have no choice but to agree to talks. O’Brien, an interview with Fox News, said the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure campaign” was working, adding, “Iran is being choked off, and Iran is going to have no other choice but to come to the table.” In a Twitter post later on Sunday, Trump cited O’Brien’s interview and replied, “Actually, I couldn’t care less if they negotiate. Will be...

Since his arrest last July -- he was accused of helping to plan the post-election uprisings -- Kian's family and friends have made countless appeals for clemency to the Iranian government, written letters to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pleading his innocence, and signed dozens of petitions. All to no avail. I've come now to realize that the regime probably thinks we're obtuse. Indeed, they know better than anyone that Kian is an innocent man. As the expression goes in Persian, "da'va sar-e een neest," i.e. that's not what this fight is about.

THE HAMMER IS THE KEY TO THE COUP

More than 60 years ago, the interstate highway system was envisioned to connect the country from coast to coast. Initially, a modest 3-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline and diesel fuel was established and wholly dedicated to the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. The vision became reality and exceeded expectations, connecting communities, making travel easier, and improving the flow of commerce. A short time later, the gasoline and diesel tax was increased to 4 cents per gallon—where it stayed until 1983, when it was doubled. Unfortunately, this also marked the point in which highway taxes began to be diverted to...

When you read this, sip slowly, dust off the way-back machine, and think about those who have surfaced visibly to support Hillary Clinton. Including “retired” U.S. General John Allen (retired in 2012), who was previously brought out of retirement to lead President Obama’s fight against ISIS in 2014. In order to understand the scope of the relationships it takes understanding the full back story. Stay with it….

Donald Trump has steamrolled toward the Republican nomination by lambasting all things political establishment, and now that establishment thinks it can convince their insult-wielding front-runner he needs them. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has begun stating in private meetings that the party has sway over its at times unwelcome front-runner because it has tools Trump will need to use to win a general election -- voter data and field, digital and media operations that a nominee typically inherits from the party infrastructure. Dangling access to these resources, Priebus thinks he can help steer Trump toward partywide policy goals and...

Folks who live in the Great Smoky Mountains have just about reached their breaking point with the federal government. “It’s almost like they are pushing to see how far they can push before the American people say enough is enough,” said Ed Mitchell, the mayor of Blount County, Tenn. “We were founded on a declaration of independence. And they are about to push the people to the line again.” Nearly a third of Blount County is inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. So when the federal government shut down the park, it also shut down one of the area’s...

There are a lot of hard-headed people out in the investment and banking world. Most of them are hard-headed because they have never known anything else. A few are a bit smarter -- they know that their business model is cooked if the underlying assumptions change and they're being intentionally dishonest in trying to grab the last few nickels in front of the steamroller, and to hell with you (their customer.) Then there are those who have it figured out and are attempting to find a way to adapt to what is going to happen. More than 30 years ago...

A major element of surviving and thriving for an American Rhodie is identifying: in what ways and how strongly can the Regime exercise leverage over me and my Tribe? If the Regime can hurt you, that’s leverage. If you need the Regime, that’s also leverage. To that end, briefly consider the following facts: 1. In ObamaCare, the Regime created impossible-to-refuse incentives for all health care providers to acquire and deploy electronic health care record-keeping systems. 2. The Regime has built and deployed a gigantic server farm for the NSA in Utah capable of storing and searching virtually infinite quantities of...

Goldman Sachs And The Big Hedge Funds Are Pushing Leverage To Ridiculous Extremes By Michael, on January 14th, 2013 As stocks have risen in recent years, the big hedge funds and the "too big to fail" banks have used borrowed money to make absolutely enormous profits. But when you use debt to potentially multiply your profits, you also create the possibility that your losses will be multiplied if the markets turn against you. When the next stock market crash happens, and the gigantic pyramid of risk, debt and leverage on Wall Street comes tumbling down, will highly leveraged banks...

There is much debate whether when it comes to the total notional size of outstanding derivatives, it is the gross notional that matters (roughly $600 trillion), or the amount which takes out biletaral netting and other offsetting positions (much lower). We explained previously how gross is irrelevant... until it is, i.e. until there is a breach in the counterparty chain and suddenly all net becomes gross (as in the case of the Lehman bankruptcy), such as during a financial crisis, i.e., the only time when gross derivative exposure becomes material (er, by definition). But a bigger question is what...

Note:  The following letter is co-signed by 185 of the nation's economists including Dr. Sanjai Bhagat, Provost Professor of Finance, University of Colorado, and Contributing Editor to A Line of Sight.  http://sanjaibhagat.com  Further information is available from the National Taxpayers Union, click here.  An Open Letter to Congress: December 11, 2012Dear Members of Congress:As the nation approaches the so-called "fiscal cliff," we, the undersigned economists, urge Congress to carefully consider the relative merits of tax increases and spending restraint. Increasing taxes would likely slow or reverse our nation's fragile economic recovery and undermine long-term growth. Restraining the growth of expenditures,...

Bain Capital must seem like a Frankenstein monster to Mitt Romney's campaign. Like Mary Shelley's creature, it's stalking its creator just as he's about to claim the thing he loves most. But Bain Capital—and Bain capitalism—isn't Mitt's creation. It was sewed together from the corpses of dead ideals and shocked into life in Washington's political laboratories. Mitt's monster was created by a broken system that has let politicians in both parties create an artificial, destructive and exploitative form of pseudo-capitalism—and then get rich from it. Romney's campaign will survive, but the monster will go on destroying lives and dreams. Conservatives...

George Soros has been a brilliant investor over the years. As befits many hedge fund operators, he uses leverage to magnify his returns. But in his case, leverage has a double meaning. Leverage can refer to the debt Soros assumes when he makes his investments. But it can also refer to the practice Soros has engaged in, both overseas and in America, to use his money and influence to bolster his political power -- power that he then uses to boost returns on his investments. He is not just a hedge fund billionaire but a crony capitalist kingpin who puts...

Do sovereign debt ratios matter? Jul 20th, 2010 by Michael Pettis Posted in Balance sheets, Banks, Financial crisis, History In the past few weeks I have been getting a lot of questions about serial sovereign defaults and how to predict which countries will or won’t suspend debt payments or otherwise get into trouble. The most common question is whether or not there is a threshold of debt (measured, say, against total GDP) above which we need to start worrying. Perhaps because I started my career in 1987 trading defaulted and restructured bank loans during the LDC Crisis, I have spent...

Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border 2: Drugs, Guns and 850 Illegal Aliens By Janice Kephart, Bryan Griffith July 2010 Videos “Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border 2: Drugs, Guns, and 850 Illegal Aliens” is the Center for Immigration Studies' second web-based film on the impact of illegal alien activity in Arizona. The Center's first video on the subject, “Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border: Coyotes, Bears, and Trails,” has received over 50,000 views to date. This new 10-minute mini-documentary raises the bar, featuring footage of both illegal-alien entry as well as gun- and drug-smuggling. At minimum, the inescapable conclusion...