Gravitas of a Grifter: Why Trump's Art of the Deal is all about the Art of Butt-Kissing and Betrayal

by Nomad

In a recent deposition, Republican Presidential candidate Trump  allowed us a peek at his true nature. It wasn't pretty and reveals a man very different than his supporters see onstage. 

The Two Faces of Trump

As we have come to know, Republican front-runner Donald Trump likes to portray himself as a politically-incorrect kind of guy who says the first thing to comes to his mind. 
If it is childish, irresponsible or just plain racist, then that's who he really is. He's not been groomed and manicured and cultivated like a hot-house orchid. Trump is Trump, and he doesn't give a damn who likes it and who doesn't.

For that, his supporters love him.

His appeal is based primarily on the premise that he may be rough around the edges but he is, at least, honest. If he goes too far sometimes, it is, if nothing else, a step in the right direction, they'll tell you. 
Sure, he may rub a lot of people the wrong way, his supporters say, but he makes good points and gives a voice for angry people who feel forgotten. Trump may be a joke but he isn't a phony, they'll tell you.
If nothing else, Trump's a breath of fresh air and not part of the political game-playing that has made Washington such a despised place. 

However, the problem for Mr. Trump is that this particular persona is really a new innovative, more based on his reality-TV character. The real story, his actual history is radically different.

Rising and Falling Fortunes: Rothschild Empire Faces Criminal Investigation in US and France

by Nomad

It might be a name long associated with fabulous wealth and enormous political influence, but the Rothschild Empire has been had its share of humiliations of late.

Hard Times for Billionaire Dynasty

As pioneers of international banking (as well as probably the wealthiest family in the history of the world,) the Rothschilds have been the subject of many a conspiracy theory. The exact amount of their family fortune is undisclosed, but by one conservative estimate, the Rothschild family controls assets worth more than $350 billion when each of their personal fortunes is combined.

The Rothschild dynasty is the el supreme of all family dynasties and went thing go bad there are plenty of people to gloat and plenty more to send their condolences. Ah, the way of the world is such like. 

The family business has apparently been hit hard by the worldwide economic slump. That's not all the problems they have been facing. 

In June of last year, Baron David de Rothschild, chairman of the Rothschild Financial Services Group since 2003, was indicted by French police for his role in a fraud case. The independent investment banking organization which offers financial services to governments, corporations, and individuals worldwide. was charged with "falsely advertising an equity release loan scheme, bought into by more than 130 pensioners between 2005 and 2008."

More than 20 British pensioners in Spain took up legal action against Rothschild’s company after losing their dream properties and thousands of euros.

French investigators claimed that Rothschild’s product, the Credit Select Series Mortgage Loan, was sold to retirees as a legal tax haven, specifically as a mean to reduce the apparent value of their homes for inheritance tax mitigation purposes.

The problem is that it wasn't as legal as Rothschild executives had claimed. The French tax agency ruled that such a scheme was a nothing more than fraud and that Rothschild should be held accountable. Said one of the French prosecutors:

“In short, independently of what happened to the investment, Rothschild advertised a loan aimed at reducing inheritance tax, which is a breach of tax law."

The victims who now stand to lose their homes told the courts that they felt confident of the financial packages, having put their faith in the Rothschild name. In its defense, the investment banking company pointed out that its involvement was limited. It had only provided the loan, and "was not involved in the investment side of the deal, which was carried out by financial intermediaries based in Spain, most of whom were British."

Gordon Parks' Images of Alabama Segregation in 1956 are an Important Reminder to All Americans

by Nomad

In honor of the tenth anniversary of the death of photographer, film director, musician, and writer Gordon Parks, we look at the man's life and work. His images serve to remind us that when people talk about taking America back to a better time, we need to pay close attention what they mean to every American.  

To appreciate the photography of Gordon Parks- or any artist- we need to understand his origins and his early experiences.

Hard Times in the Heartland

Parks was born on November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, the youngest of fifteen children. According to his biography, his family was dirt-poor in a town of considerable racial tension. 

When Gordon was 15, his mother died and he was sent to live with a sister and her husband in St. Paul, Minnesota. After an argument with his hosts, Parks ended up a homeless high school dropout.
Fortunately for him, he had a natural talent for the piano and, after a series of jobs, he joined a touring band. That gig took him to New York. 

After the band broke up, Parks again faced hard times, this time in Harlem. During the Great Depression, he was living in a rat-infested tenement and unable to find work.

In 1933, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). part of FDR's recovery program after the Great Depression.

Around this time, he married Sally Alvis in 1933 and returned to St. Paul a year later. He found work as a dining-car waiter and porter on the North Coast Limited. The couple had three children, Gordon, Jr., Toni, and David.

The Vision of an Invisible Man

One could say that at this point, Gordon's story was not a particularly distinctive life. He gave no outward sign that he would go on to do great things or even that he had impressive talents, outside of his musical ability. Had you been around at that time, it might have been easy to overlook this practically invisible man. 

Looking back at those hard times, Parks wrote:

I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the freedom to expand.

Theodore Roosevelt on the Lawless Capitalist

by Nomad

Mass Exodus as Political Weapon: NATO thinks Putin Using the Refuge Crisis to Destroy Europe

by Nomad

A recent statement by a high ranking NATO official claims that the migrant-refugee crisis is a Russian conspiracy. The aim? To destroy the European Union.

Matthew Holehouse of the UK Telegraph reports that the Supreme Allied Commander -Europe and the head of the US European Command has a theory about what's actually happening with the refugee crisis in Europe. 

Four-star General Philip Mark Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Putin has intentionally created this crisis in an attempt to "overwhelm" and "break" Europe.

He explained:

"Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponising migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve."

Describing fleeing migrants as a "weaponized" migration is certainly one way to make victims into the enemy though I don't believe Breedlove meant it that way. He told the Senators:

"These indiscriminate weapons used by both Bashar al-Assad, and the non-precision use of weapons by the Russian forces, I can't find any other reason for them other than to cause refugees to be on the move and make them someone else's problem.".

The Telegraph article, oddly, finds confirmation of Breedlove's remarks in the statements made by the Russian ambassador to London, Alexander Yakovenko. Yakovenko said that the ceasefire in Syria involving Russian forces “will help alleviate the migration crisis in the EU.” 

A link is not an example of causation.