A Telecon Transcript

A leaked phone call held by International Monetary Fund officials is exposing strains between Greece and its international creditors, highlighting the risk that the country’s bailout program could be headed for more drama this summer.

And from that phone call,

“Look, you Mrs Merkel you face a question, you have to think about what is more costly: to go ahead without the IMF…or to pick the debt relief that we think that Greece needs in order to keep us on board,” Mr [Director of the European Department of the IMF, Poul] Thomsen tells his colleagues, according to the Wikileaks transcript.

A couple of thoughts on this.  Were I Merkel, I’d have something like this to say to the IMF: “I don’t appreciate ultimatums, Mr Thomsen.  Your threat has made our pick for us.  We’re done here.”  I’m not sure she’s ready to cut the cord, though.

And: who leaked the transcript?  The IMF, to pressure Greece (rather than Germany)?  Germany, to prepare Europe and Greece for the IMF’s withdrawal from the bailout?  Greece, to pressure the IMF and/or Germany?

Requests for Xi Jinping resign the party and state leadership positions open letter

This is a Google Translate translation of an Open Letter circulated, briefly, on People’s Republic of China Web sites.

(Participation March 4, 2016 News)

Xi Jinping, hello.

We are loyal communist. On the occasion of the “two sessions” held, we write this letter to you, asking you to resign from all party and state leadership positions. Made this request, out of consideration of the Party’s cause, out of the country and nation’s future to consider, too, it is out of consideration for you and your family own security.

Xi Jinping, you since 2012 since the party’s “eighteen” was elected the new general secretary of the Central Committee, determined to fight corruption tiger, party corruption and other malpractices improved. You personally served more than one team leader of the Central Leading Group for comprehensive deepening reform, but also a lot of work for economic development, got some people’s support, which we see in the eyes.

However, Xi Jinping, we have to point out that it is precisely because this way you will be fully caught up power into their own hands, direct decision-making in all areas of political and economic ideology and culture, have caused unprecedented problems and crisis.

Politically, you abandoned the party’s fine tradition, in which the most significant is to have leaders at all levels to support your position as the core, abandoned the democratic system as the core set of the main principle of collective leadership of the Standing Committee, excessive concentration of power. You strengthen the functions of the NPC and the CPPCC Council committee at the same time, weakening the independence of the national authorities of each, including Premier Li Keqiang and other comrades, including the terms of reference has been greatly affected. Meanwhile, the Central Discipline Inspection Commission departments and units stationed in the patrol group and state-owned enterprises has become a new system of power, leading to unclear responsibilities party committees at all levels of government decision-making chaos.

Diplomatically, you abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s “low profile” consistent policy of blind shots, not only failed to create a good surrounding international environment, but also to the DPRK successfully conducted an atomic bomb and test missiles, forming a huge threat to China’s national security; also the United States successfully return to Asia, with South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Southeast Asian countries formed a united front to jointly contain China. In dealing with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan issues, fails to comply with Comrade Deng Xiaoping wise “one country two systems” concept, dilemma, leading Democratic Progressive Party won power in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the rise of independent forces. Especially in the issue of Hong Kong, in an irregular way back to the mainland to Hong Kong booksellers, on the “one country two systems” pose a direct injury.

Economically, you pass the Central Financial and Economic Leading Group, directly involved in the formulation of macro and micro-economic policies, leading to a huge upheaval China’s stock and property markets, hundreds of thousands of people of wealth vanished, devastated. Supply-side capacity to reform and policy, resulting in a large number of state-owned central enterprises laid off workers; private business failures blunts, large numbers of people unemployed. “Along the way” strategy, large foreign exchange reserves into chaos countries and regions, but no return. Excessive consumption of foreign exchange reserves, the depreciation of the RMB into the cycle, everyone’s confidence in a decline in the national economy is about to collapse into a situation, people wanted change.

On the ideological and cultural, you stressed that “the media surname Party”, while ignoring the people of the media, the whole nation was stunned; you support lower Zhou Xiaoping Hua Qianfang this level of people to become the representative of the literary front, so many writers and artists chilling; you condone singing the praises of cultural institutions directly to you, your wife Peng Liyuan sister CCTV Spring Festival Gala served as producer, director, so that we would have loved to be your personal Spring Festival a propaganda tool. You condone these cult of personality, and not to “jump Yee central”, to engage in “a party statement” approach, let those of us who experienced the “Cultural Revolution” cannot help but secretly worried – our party, the state and the nation can no longer afford new Shinianhaojie! [roughly: new havoc ten years!].

Xi Jinping, you carry out anti-corruption high pressure, to correct unhealthy tendencies in the party’s helpful role, but because there is no supporting measures to keep up, the objective, but also led to the current government at all levels slack phenomenon, officials do not act timid, people complaining It has further exacerbated the deterioration of the economic situation. We also see that the current anti-corruption, target only focus on the struggle for power. We fear that this practice intensified power struggle within the party, also may give you and your family bring risks of personal security.

Therefore, we believe that Xi Jinping, you do not have to lead the party and the country into the future ability, no longer suitable for the post as general secretary. We ask you for the Party cause, for long-term stability and security for you and your family, resigned from all positions of the party and the country, so that the CPC Central Committee and the National People’s alternative elite, aggressive lead us into the future.

Loyal Communists

March 2016

The letter has conveniently been censored from the PRC’s Web sites, as far as the government can achieve.

The original Chinese version can be read here, though, so far, and here.

 

h/t The Wall Street Journal

The Veterans Administration Suspends

But it chooses, again, not to fire a failed executive.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is suspending the head of the Veterans Benefits Administration for allowing two lower-ranking officials to manipulate the agency’s hiring system for their own gain.

Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson says acting VBA chief Danny Pummill will be suspended without pay for 15 days for his role in a relocation scam that has roiled the agency for months.

Pummill failed to exercise proper oversight as Kimberly Graves and Diana Rubens forced lower-ranking managers to accept job transfers and then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their senior-level pay while reducing their responsibilities, Gibson said Tuesday.

Suspended.  For two whole weeks.  For defrauding the Veterans Administration and the American taxpayers who are paying these salaries and funding this travesty of a Federal department.

Gibson needs to be terminated, too, and for cause.

Better yet, veteranos administratio delende est.

It Doesn’t Get Any Clearer Than This

Ex-First Lady, Ex-Secretary of State, Public (but no transcripts available) Speaker Par Excellence, and Progressive-Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton has known the non-secure nature of her cell phone for quite some time.  And since she knew this much, she’s known all along the non-secure nature of her personal email server through which she handled so much classified information, to say nothing of all the OPSEC and COMSEC information that she handled via her server.

Here’s proof.

 

H/t Fox News Insider

Dissent Democrat Style

The Democrats in the Federal government permit dissent: they dissent from anyone else’s right to dissent.  Here’s a case in point.

Attorney General Lynch told the Senate last week that her department had referred a request to prosecute climate dissent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Specifically, it was referred to the FBI’s criminal investigative division.

Yep.  President Barack Obama’s (D) Attorney General actually referred a case of disagreeing with the Left to the FBI for criminal investigation.  Or for a security review.

One of the Senators questioning Lynch at that hearing was Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI), of RICO the dissenters infamy.  While he wondered idly about using the FBI in a “civil” case of suing climate scientists for dissenting over global warming, he had nary a word about the criminal investigation, nor even Lynch’s decision to refer dissent for criminal investigation in the first place.