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By Tyler Durden

In a new book due to hit shelves later this month, John Nixon, a former CIA officer who was responsible for interrogating Saddam Hussein after he was captured in 2003, admits being convinced by the fallen dictator that he was best suited to rule Iraq. Per an excerpt published in Time Magazine, Nixon recalls an encounter with Hussein in which he warned that America would fail in Iraq because “you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind.”

When I interrogated Saddam, he told me: “You are going to fail. You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq.” When I told him I was curious why he felt that way, he replied: “You are going to fail in Iraq because you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind.”

While Nixon found Hussein “thoroughly unlikeable,” he admits to walking away with a “grudging respect” for the fallen dictator’s ability maintain the Iraqi nation through forced consensus.

Although I found Saddam to be thoroughly unlikeable, I came away with a grudging respect for how he was able to maintain the Iraqi nation as a whole for as long as he did. He told me once, “Before me, there was only bickering and arguing. I ended all that and made people agree!”

Saddam used every tool in his repertoire to maintain Iraq’s multi-ethnic state. Such tools included murder, blackmail, imprisonment, threats, and these were to be used to cow his enemies. For his friends, Saddam would dole out patronage to tribal leaders and supporters in the form of cash, elaborate gifts, land, and other largesse that was the lifeblood of an oil rich state. Today’s Iraq has been riven by deepening sectarianism that always seems to be only a step away from igniting again, as it did after Saddam’s overthrow.

Saddam also would have inevitably maintained a hostile stance toward Iran; he was very proud of his opposition to the Islamic Republic and reserved special contempt for the Shia in Iraq who would follow Iran’s guidance over his. Iraq is now very much the junior partner to a much emboldened Iranian regime that has expanded its military and security influence in the chaotic aftermath of Saddam’s overthrow and the aborted Arab Spring.

Of course, Trump has made similar comments about Hussein, comments that have drawn a lot of heat from the mainstream media.

“Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy. Really bad guy. But, you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights. They didn’t talk. They were a terrorist it was over.”

“Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq.”

Finally, Nixon concludes that Trump has the opportunity to help shape a new regional order in …read more

Source: Saddam Hussein’s CIA Interrogator Admits Being Convinced He Should Have Been Left In Power

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By Tyler Durden

Despite Christine Lagarde’s conviction earlier on Monday for failing to overturn a 285-million euro payout to a businessman in an arbitration case while she was France’s finance minister nearly a decade ago – a verdict for which the 60-year-old IMF chief won’t face a fine or prison term – the Executive Board of the International Monetary Board decided that her transgression was not too extensive, and reaffirmed its full confidence in Lagarde, indicating support for her to remain managing director of the lender despite being convicted of negligence by a French court.

“The Executive Board took all relevant factors into account in its discussions, including the Managing Director’s outstanding leadership of the Fund and the wide respect and trust for her leadership globally,” the executive board said in a statement. “In this context, the Executive Board reaffirms its full confidence in the Managing Director’s ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties.”

“The Executive Board looks forward to continuing to work with the Managing Director to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy.”

As if nothing happened.

Ironically, according to her terms of appointment, Lagarde must strive to avoid “even the appearance of impropriety”, such as what happened today. She can be terminated at any time by the 24-member executive board, which represents the IMF’s 189 member nations. Still, the board has maintained confidence in her since it was announced a year ago that she would face trial in France.

Lagarde was reappointed for her second five-year term this year when no challengers emerged. She became the first woman to run the Washington-based fund, after its previous head, Dominique Strauss-Khan was embroiled in a sexual scandal involving a hotel maid in New York City.

The IMF statement was unambiguous in its praise. “The Executive Board took all relevant factors into account in its discussions, including the Managing Director’s outstanding leadership of the Fund and the wide respect and trust for her leadership globally,” according to the statement.

As Bloomberg adds, other officials jumped to Lagarde’s defense: U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew reaffirmed his “full support” for Lagarde in a statement, calling her a “strong leader” during a critical time for the world economy. France’s Finance Ministry published a statement expressing “full confidence” in the IMF chief.

Lagarde is the third straight IMF managing director to run into legal issues. Her predecessor Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned after a hotel maid accused him of sexual assault. Prosecutors dropped a criminal case amid inconsistencies in her testimony, and Strauss-Kahn reached an undisclosed civil settlement with the woman. Last year, he was acquitted in France of charges of aggravated pimping in connection with a string of sex parties.

Rodrigo Rato, who preceded DSK at the IMF, has been accused in Spain of misusing credit cards during his time at Bankia SA. Rato has denied acting inappropriately.

But perhaps the biggest factor influecing the board’s decision was the risk of having to pick a new head at a time of turbulent political upheaval in the US. In backing …read more

Source: IMF Board Expresses "Full Support" In Christine Lagarde Despite Negligence Conviction

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By Tyler Durden

The President who once taunted Republicans in Congress with phrases like “elections mean something” and “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone” before signing a litany of executive orders, is now admonishing President-elect Trump on doing the same. In an interview posted this morning with National Public Radio, Obama said that while Trump would be “entirely within his lawful power” to sign executive orders, his “preference” should be to govern through bipartisan legislation.

That’s something Obama said he accepts: “If he wants to reverse some of those rules, that’s part of the democratic process. That’s, you know, why I tell people to vote — because it turns out elections mean something.”

Obama told NPR that Trump is “entirely within his lawful power” to sign new executive orders of his own. “Keep in mind, though, that my strong preference has always been to legislate when I can get legislation done. In my first two years I wasn’t relying on executive powers because I had big majorities in the Congress and we were able to get bills done, get bills passed. And even after we lost the majorities in Congress, I bent over backwards consistently to try to find compromise and a – a legislative solution to some of the big problems that we’ve got.”

Obama pointed to immigration, saying he “held off for years in taking some of the executive actions that I ultimately took in pursuit of a bipartisan solution.” He was referring to a big immigration reform package that was crafted by a bipartisan group of senators and passed the Senate in 2013, only to be stalled in the House with objections from conservatives, in particular to the “path to citizenship” that the bill would have provided for many in the country illegally.

And while Obama fondly reminisces about some alternate reality in which he attempted to work closely with Republicans in “pursuit of bipartisan solutions,” in reality he repeatedly taunted his opposition with catch phrases like “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone” which ultimately made bipartisan legislation all but impossible.

Meanwhile, we suspect that telling Republicans they could come along for the ride but would have to “sit in back,” also didn’t help his efforts to work with folks from across the aisle.

But sure, President Obama, we’re confident that Trump will heed your advice on the use of executive orders and all of your controversial actions of the past 8 years, many of which were vehemently opposed by roughly 50% of the population, will remain untouched…no need to worry about that “legacy” issue at all.

…read more

Source: Monday Humor? Obama Warns Trump On Use Of "Executive Orders"

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The latest addition to Trump’s team of ultra-rich administration officials is Vincent Viola, a New York businessman and hockey franchise owner who was nominated Monday for secretary of the Army. …read more

Source: Vincent Viola, NY billionaire, is Team Trump’s latest add

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By Tyler Durden

Despite considerably weaker than expected Services PMI, an assassination in Turkey, a terrorist attack in Zurich, and a bloodbath in Berlin, stocks rallied…

As a reminder – Chinese bonds crashed overnight again..

Hong Kong stocks tumbled into correction (red for 2016)…

And Italian banks all crashed (led by BMPS)…

First things first in The US – the market broke today and stocks loved it…

The Dow still has not had two down days in a row since before the election (7 weeks)… despite all the turmoil today… (and of course the standard panic-buying into the close)

Dow failed its 20k mission again…

Leaving all sectors red post-Fed (Energy laggard)

Treasury yields tumbled across the curve with the long-end's biggest yield drop since August… (The Turkey headlines and Berlin bloodbath sparked safe-haven buying)

Best day for the long-bond since August…

Bond yields suddenly seem attractive to stocks…

Post-Fed, the long-end is now down 2bps (with the rest of the curve notably higher in yield…

And the yield curve continues to flatten “policy-error-like”…

But it appears financial stocks love flatter yield curves…

The USD Index ended the day unchanged (rallying back on the Turkey-Russia headlines)…

Gold was the only major that managed gains today as copper crumbled amid China fears…

Gold prices rose for the 2nd day in a row – the first time since the election…

Financial Conditions are worsening once again…

And Commercial Paper market yields are at their highest since Jan 2009…

…read more

Source: Bonds Have Best Day In Over 3 Months Amid China Carnage, Turkey Terror, & Berlin Bloodbath

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…read more

Source: Star Wars Rogue One

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A new report shows that more than half of American workers with paid vacation days won’t use them all this year. …read more

Source: Half of U.S. workers aren’t using all their vacation days

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By Tyler Durden

Authored by Antonius Aquinas,

This December, 2016, marks the 225^th anniversary of the ratification of the first ten amendments to the US Constitution which would become known as the “Bill of Rights.” To secure passage of the Constitution, the framers of the document (the Federalists) had to agree that it would contain explicit language on individual rights.

Ever since its ratification, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in which it is a part, has been hailed as one of the seminal achievements in the annals of human history while the political arrangements prior to it (primarily monarchy and aristocratic rule) have been sneered at and belittled by the Constitution’s hagiographers. Moreover, the American Constitution has provided a model for the emergence of the nation state which came into its own after the French Revolution and the tragic breakup of Christendom.

History, however, if looked at outside the Anglo-American perspective has shown that far from a protector of individual liberty, the Bill of Rights has been mostly useless in defense of basic freedoms while the Constitution, that it is a part of, has been a vehicle for the expansion of state power to an unfathomable degree.

Despite the supposed guarantees of individual liberty within the Bill of Rights and the supposed limited nature of the Constitution itself, there has never been a more intrusive state in world history both domestically and in its myriad of interventions across the globe than the Leviathan that rests on the shores of the Potomac River. And, the rise of American totalitarianism did not begin with the revelations of Edward Snowden and the other courageous whistle blowers of the recent past, but started soon after the new “federal” state came into existence with the passage of the Alien & Sedition Acts. Each year since has witnessed the growth of state power at the expense of individual rights where now domestic spying and surveillance are part of the nation’s social fabric.

The primary reason why the Bill of Rights has been unable to secure basic liberties is because the federal government and its courts are the ultimate interpreters of the Constitution and its amendments as explicitly stated in Article VI, section 2, subtitled, Supreme Law of the Land:

This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

Since the central government is the final arbitrator of the document, any ruling or decision on particular laws or regulations which would impinge on individual rights will, for the most part, be favorable to the government itself. And, due to man’s fallen nature, any such power will be abused.

The ratification of the Constitution in 1789 made in essence the individual states mere appendages of the …read more

Source: On The 225th Anniversary Of The United States’ Bill Of Rights

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for latest details. …read more

Source: What the Wharton School dean is reading this week

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By Tyler Durden

Moments ago, CNN Turk reported that the Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, has been shot in Ankara.

BREAKING CNN Türk Ankara reporter says Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov to Ankara shot in #Ankara, condition unknown. pic.twitter.com/OaXcD6vYCC

— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) December 19, 2016

SON DAK?KA:
Rusya’n?n Ankara Büyükelçisi silahl? sald?r?da vurulduhttps://t.co/UU8dZVz6N8 pic.twitter.com/IrGuVgVXcf

— Hurriyet.com.tr (@Hurriyet) December 19, 2016

Turkish NTV adds that the ambassador has been seriously wounded in the attack, and CNN Turk adds that he was shot in the back.

The Turkish Lira is sliding on the news:

Developing story.

…read more

Source: Russian Ambassador In Turkey Shot, Seriously Wounded In Ankara Attack

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