August 4, 2017


News and Views


“PHARMA BRO?” HIS ENTHUSIASTIC QUOTATION OF TWO OF TRUMP'S MOST COMMONLY USED PHRASES, "WITCH HUNT" AND "DRAIN THE SWAMP" SHOW HIS POLITICAL LEANINGS, WHICH DOESN'T SURPRISE ME. THAT ATTITUDE IS THE ULTIMATE WHITE PRIVILEGE. WE ARE BRINGING UP PEOPLE WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE. DOES ANYBODY BUT ME CARE?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jury-deliberates-5th-day-martin-shkrelis-fraud-trial-133147172.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=46b99750-f749-30be-840a-d0fa06776592&.tsrc=notification-brknews
'Pharma Bro' Shkreli is convicted at securities fraud trial
Associated Press August 4, 2017

Photograph -- Martin Shkreli arrives at federal court in New York, Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. Jurors are starting their fifth day of deliberations at the federal securities fraud trial of the former pharmaceutical company CEO. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO notorious for a price-gouging scandal and for his snide "Pharma Bro" persona on social media, was convicted Friday on federal charges he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds.

A Brooklyn jury deliberated five days before finding Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts. He had been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors had accused Shkreli of repeatedly misleading investors about what he was doing with their money. Mostly, he was blowing it with horrible stock picks, forcing him to cook up a scheme to recover millions in losses, they said.

Shkreli, 34, told "lies upon lies," including claiming he had $40 million in one of his funds at a time when it only had about $300 in the bank, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra Smith said in closing arguments. The trial "has exposed Martin Shkreli for who he really is — a con man who stole millions," added another prosecutor, Jacquelyn Kasulis.

But the case was tricky for the government because investors, some wealthy financiers from Texas, testified at the trial conceded that Shkreli's scheme actually succeeded in making them richer, in some cases doubling or even tripling their money on his company's stock when it went public. The defense portrayed them as spoiled "rich people" who were the ones doing the manipulating.

"Who lost anything? Nobody," defense attorney Ben Brafman said in his closing argument. Some investors had to admit on the witness stand that partnering with Shkreli was "the greatest investment I've ever made," he added.

For the boyish-looking Shkreli, one of the biggest problems was not part of the case - his purchase in 2014 of rights to a life-saving drug that he promptly raised the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Several potential jurors were kept off the panel after expressing distain* [sic] for the defendant, with one calling him a "snake" and another "the face of corporate greed."

The defendant also came into the trial with a reputation for trolling his critics on social media to a degree that got him kicked off Twitter and for live-streaming himself giving math lessons or doing nothing more than petting his cat, named Trashy. Among his other antics: boasting about buying a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album for $2 million.

During about a month of testimony, Shkreli appeared engaged at times, grinning when his lawyer described him as a misunderstood misfit. Other times he looked bored, staring into space and playing with his hair.

Shkreli, who comes from an Albanian family in Brooklyn, was arrested in 2015 on charges he looted another drug company he founded, Retrophin, of $11 million in stock and cash to pay back the hedge fund investors. Investors took the witness stand to accuse Shkreli of keeping them in the dark as his scheme unfolded.

"I don't think it mattered to him — it was just what he thought he could get away with," said Richard Kocher, a New Jersey construction company owner who invested $200,000 with Shkreli in 2012. "It was insulting."

Shkreli's lawyer agreed his client could be annoying, saying, "In terms of people skills, he's impossible," and referring to him as a "nerd" and a "mad scientist." But he said his hedge fund investors knew what they were getting.

"They found him strange. They found him weird. And they gave him money. Why? Because they recognized genius," Brafman said, adding that they had signed agreements that his client wasn't liable if they lost their money.

Jurors also heard odd vignettes befitting the quirky defendant: how Shkreli slept on the floor of his office in a sleeping bag for two years; how a drug company board member and former American Express executive wrote an email saying he'd meet with Shkreli "only if I can touch your soft skin"; how Shkreli wrote a letter to the wife of an employee threatening to make the family homeless if the man didn't settle a debt.

Shkreli didn't testify. But rather than lay low like his lawyers wanted, he got into the act by using Facebook to bash prosecutors and news organizations covering his case. In one recent post, he wrote, "My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors. ... Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the (Department of Justice.)"

The judge ordered Shkreli to keep his mouth shut in and around the courtroom after another rant to new reporters covering the trial.

Prosecutors "blame me for everything," he said. "They blame me for capitalism."


“DISTAIN”*
“Several potential jurors were kept off the panel after expressing distain* [sic] for the defendant, ....”

I DID FLAG THIS WITH “SIC” BECAUSE IT IS NOT IN ANY WIDE CIRCLES A CORRECT WAY OF SPELLING THE WORD “DISDAIN,” THOUGH IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE AS MISTAKES GO. SEE WEB SOURCES ON THIS, BELOW.

SEE GRAMMARIST AND CURRY.

https://kathleenwcurry.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/easily-confused-words-distain-vs-disdain/. THIS IS A BLOG ON THE SUBJECT RATHER THAN A PARAGRAPH. CURRY USES DISTAIN IN A WAY THAT COULD INCLUDE THE MEANING OF THIS ABOVE, BUT ONLY AS A VERB TRANSITIVE, AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, SHKRELI HAS DISHONORED HIMSELF BY HIS OWN ACTS. THE JURORS DIDN’T DISHONOR HIM, BUT THEY PROBABLY DID “DISDAIN HIM.” MOST GENEROUS PEOPLE DO.

THE NEWS ARTICLE SPECIFICALLY SAYS “EXPRESSING DISTAIN” (A NOUN) INSTEAD. HAVING NEVER SEEN THIS WORD BEFORE, AND BEING UNABLE TO FIND MANY OTHER REFERENCES TO IT ON THE INTERNET (ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH INTERNET WORDS IF THEY ARE UNCOMMON IN PRINT), I CAN ONLY SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO PULLING MY OLD MERRIAM-WEBSTER COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY TENTH EDITION OUT FROM UNDER THE BED AND BRUSHING THE DUST OFF. THERE ON THE PRINTED PAGE, I DID LOCATE “DISTAIN,” WHICH AGAIN MEANS “TO STAIN” (PHYSICALLY, AS IN DYEING) OR ‘TO DISHONOR.”

THE BEST I FOUND ON THE INTERNET ON “DISTAIN” IS FROM WWW.DICTIONARY.COM, SINCE IT DOES CARRY THE WORD BACK THROUGH TIME TO IT’S EARLIEST RECORDED USE AND LINK TO LATIN. THERE ARE EXAMPLES ON THE NET OF APPARENT CONFUSIONS AND BLENDING BETWEEN THE TWO WORDS. THE SOUND IS VERY SIMILAR, BUT THE “ROOT WORD” IS DIFFERENT.

DISDAIN GOES BACK TO LATIN NOUN DIGNUS, MEANING “WORTHY.”

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/disdain

DISDAIN
[dis-deyn, dih-steyn]

dis·dain
Origin

Middle English: from Old French desdeign (noun), desdeignier (verb), based on Latin dedignari, from de- (expressing reversal) + dignari ‘consider worthy’ (from dignus ‘worthy’).

verb (used with object)
1.
to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn.
2.
to think unworthy of notice, response, etc.; consider beneath oneself:
to disdain replying to an insult.
noun
3.
a feeling of contempt for anything regarded as unworthy; haughty contempt; scorn.

Origin of disdain Expand
Middle English Anglo-French
1300-1350

1300-50; (v.) Middle English disdainen < Anglo-French de(s)deigner (see dis-1, deign ); (noun) Middle English disdeyn < Anglo-French desdai(g)n, derivative of the verb http://www.dictionary.com/browse/distain

DISTAIN
[dih-steyn]

verb (used with object), Archaic.
1. to discolor; stain; sully.

Origin of distain shown on map
Middle English Middle French
1350-1400

1350-1400; Middle English desteignen < Anglo-French, Middle French desteign-, stem of desteindre, equivalent to des- dis-1+ teindre < Latin tingere to dye, tinge http://grammarist.com/spelling/disdain-or-distain/

Disdain or distain

DISDAIN can be either a noun or a verb. As a noun disdain means the general attitude of something or someone being beneath consideration or not valuable enough for respect.

The verb form is transitive, or used with an object. To disdain something is to mock it or judge it poorly. One can also disdain an action, in other words, refuse to complete the action because one has deemed it beneath consideration or unworthy.

The adjective form is disdainful, which describes something or someone has [sic] having a lack of regard or respect. Derivatives of this form include the adverb disdainfully and the rare noun form disdainfulness.

DISTAIN is an archaic word not listed in all dictionaries. It meant for something to be stained or disgraced. However, generally it is most often seen in publications as a misspelling of disdain.

The main confusion between these two spellings is that the d sound and t sound are almost identical in formation and their only difference is that one is voiced and the other is unvoiced. Add in regional dialects and it would be hard to know how to spell this word based on hearing it alone.

EXAMPLES

“It’s worth noting that most Democratic voters do not share the disdain that party leaders and grass-roots activists display toward expanded international trade. [The Wall Street Journal]

This was not just idle abuse, however: Healy knew that saying farewell to opponents in such a disdainful way would help undermine their confidence further. [Australian Times]”



FOX NEWS HAS LAWYERED UP IN THE SUIT BY PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR ROD WHEELER AGAINST THEM ON A CHARGE OF CREATING A CONSPIRACY THEORY. MAYBE IT IS COINCIDENTAL THAT THE TRUMP NAME IS MIXED UP IN THE STORY, AND MAYBE IT ISN’T. THE THEORY WAS, HOWEVER, USED DIRECTLY TO DEFAME THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN BY BLAMING SETH RICH‘S DEATH ON THE DNC ITSELF, AND ONE STORY DOES SAY THAT TRUMP SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED THAT FOX RUN IT WITH THEIR ADDENDA.

WHEELER’S FINDINGS WERE “MISREPRESENTED AND EXAGGERATED” BY FOX, HE CLAIMS, AND THERE IS ANOTHER STORY RELATED TO IT THAT CLAIMS THE TRUMP FAMILY AND EVEN TRUMP HIMSELF STRONGLY ENCOURAGED FOX TO RUN IT IMMEDIATELY JUST AS IT WAS. FOX, HOWEVER, ADDED TWO STATEMENTS IN WHEELER’S NAME THAT HE DIDN’T SAY JUST TO MAKE IT SOUND MORE PLAUSIBLE.

IF I TRUSTED TRUMP, I WOULD DECLARE THIS ALL TO BE A VICIOUS LIE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT IS WELL WITHIN WHAT I BELIEVE ARE TRUMP’S CAPABILITIES. I HAVE YET TO SEE WHAT WHEELER’S ORIGINAL STORY AS GIVEN TO FOX WAS, HOWEVER, AND I’D LOVE TO. DID HE PERSONALLY MAKE THAT CLAIM OF DNC RESPONSIBILITY, AS WELL; OR MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE THE STORY HAS BECOME SUCH A HOT POTATO, THAT FOX IS ON THE DEFENSIVE AND HAS HIRED LAWYERS. WELL, WE SHALL SEE WHERE THIS LEADS.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-hiring-outside-lawyers-071013870.html
Fox News is Hiring Outside Lawyers to Defend Itself in the Seth Rich Lawsuit
Alexander Nazaryan
Newsweek
August 3, 2017

Fox News has hired an outside law firm to defend itself (and, presumably, parent company 21st Century Fox) in a lawsuit filed on Monday by private investigator Rod Wheeler. That suit accuses employees of the network of concocting a conspiracy theory involving the unsolved 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich.

"Fox News has retained outside counsel on the matter," a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement released on Tuesday evening. "Given that this is pending litigation, there will be no further comment.” The statement did not provide details on which firm Fox News hired or how many attorneys were expected to work on the case.

A previous statement by Jay Wallace, director of news operations at Fox News, called Wheeler's accusations "completely erroneous."

Trending: Al-Qaeda Releases Hostage After Almost Six Years, But South Africa Maintains No Ransom Was Paid

Wheeler's complaint names as defendants Fox News, 21st Century Fox and Malia Zimmerman, a FoxNews.com journalist who wrote about the Rich murder in May. Wheeler claims Zimmerman misrepresented and exaggerated his findings, which do not appear to have been conclusive, or even substantive. He further alleges that the White House explicitly sought to push the notion that Rich was murdered by Democratic operatives for leaking DNC emails to WikiLeaks. If that were the case, presumably the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump could not have colluded with Russia to throw the election in his favor.

NPR first reported on the suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan by attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who has also represented plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against Fox News.

Despite the dearth of details, the retention of an outside law firm suggests that Fox News is taking Wheeler's allegations seriously. The private investigator's lawsuit is only the most recent woe for a network that has endured more than a year of lawsuits and allegations of sexual misconduct by some of its most high-profile anchors and executives.

A media reporter for CNN describes the current mood at Fox News as one of exhaustion and dismay, an assessment based on several anonymous interviews with employees at the network. As one insider told CNN, "People need to start getting canned."

More from Newsweek

Sean Hannity, Who Said Seth Rich Was Murdered by Democrats, Staying Mum on Trump Lawsuit
Why Seth Rich's Murder Still Fuels Far-Right Conspiracy Theories a Year Later



“AIN’T NO MONEY LIKE DIRTY MONEY!” THIS SPECIAL TYPE OF VISA IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR LOW INCOME DEVELOPMENT, NOT THAT OF THE BILLIONAIRES’ CLUB. KUSHNER PLANS TO “RECUSE HIMSELF.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kushner-companies-subpoenaed-over-use-of-eb-5-visas-to-fund-developments/
By ANNA WERNER, LAURA STRICKLER CBS NEWS August 3, 2017, 7:09 PM
Kushner Companies subpoenaed over use of visa program to fund developments

WASHINGTON -- An empty lot in Jersey City, New Jersey is where the Kushner Companies plan to put two gleaming towers of rental apartments and retail space, a project called One Journal Square.

But prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn now want to know more about the project's financing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Attorney's office has subpoenaed the company for information on its use of a program that allows foreigners, residency to get green cards in exchange for investing $500,000 or more in projects that create at least 10 jobs. They're called EB-5 visas.

a8-werner-kushner-trouble-frame-134.jpg
The future site of One Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, under development by the Kushner Companies CBS NEWS

The Kushner Companies used EB-5 funding* for two projects in the same city, the second carrying the president's name: Trump Bay Street.

Jared Kushner's sister highlights family ties in pitch to Chinese investors
Play VIDEO
Jared Kushner's sister highlights family ties in pitch to Chinese investors

Emily Wolf, general counsel for Kushner Companies, told CBS News the program "is frequently used by many large developers to raise funds and help create jobs" and they "did nothing improper."

But in May, the company apologized after Jared Kushner's sister, Nicole Meyer, told potential Chinese investors that the Journal Square project was important to her entire family, and specifically mentioned her brother Jared, now a top aide to the president, raising questions of influence peddling.

And there are questions about a Florida company the Kushners used to recruit Chinese investors called the U.S. Immigration Fund.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is calling for a federal review of that company's arrangement with the Kushner Companies.

Kushner used controversial visa program to finance developments
Play VIDEO
Kushner used controversial visa program to finance developments

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has his own concerns about the use of the visa program for the Trump Bay Street project.

"I think the goal of the EB-5 program is low-income investment in low-income areas. And I think that that obviously didn't serve that goal," Fulop said.

Jared Kushner's trust still maintains an interest in the Trump Bay Street project, but his lawyers point out he has divested himself of his interest in the One Journal Square project and says he will recuse himself from any matters concerning the EB-5 visa program.


EB5 FUNDING* -- http://www.eb5investors.com/eb5-basics/eb-5-financing

EB-5 Financing -- EB-5 capital is a unique alternative to traditional sources of funds. The EB-5 program was established in 1990 to encourage foreigners to invest in the United States and create American jobs in exchange for a U.S. green card. As credit markets have tightened in the wake of the financial crisis, more and more American businesses and developers have turned toward EB-5 funds to raise the required capital for their projects. How can the EB-5 program benefit you as a developer?

Background

Congress established the Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5 program, in 1990 in order to stimulate the U.S. economy. Under this program, the foreign national must invest $500,000 or $1 million, depending on where the project is located, in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. Their investment must create 10 U.S. jobs.



I DON’T LIKE LYIN’, CHEATIN’ AND STEALIN’ OF ANY KIND, AND LEAKING SECRETS IS A FORM OF CHEATING; AND IT DOES ENDANGER OUR NATION WHEN IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS LEAKED. I THINK WE NEED A KIND OF LEGAL WAIVER FOR LEAKING WHEN THE GOAL IS TO FURTHER GOOD AND FIGHT EVIL. THE PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THE BUSINESS/GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT AND GROWING MORE SO, AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS ARE BEING DEGRADED DAILY, IT’S WAR. IN WAR THERE ARE TWO OR MORE SIDES WHICH EITHER HELP THE SIDE OF GOOD OR HINDER IT. IF THE LATTER IS THE CASE, THEN USING COVERT MEANS TO UNCOVER THE LIE IS MORALLY DEFENSIBLE. THAT IS, OF COURSE, JUST MY HUMBLE, IF ICONOCLASTIC, VIEWPOINT. SO, WITH A MIXED VIEW, I READ THIS ARTICLE BELOW.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE WAY OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM WORKS IS BASED ON THE LETTER OF THE LAW AND NOT ON “THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW,” MORALS OR ETHICS. LAWYERS ARE MECHANISTIC IN THEIR ARGUMENTS, AND JUDGES AND JURIES LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. WE ALL LIKE TO THINK THAT LAWS ARE ALL BASED ON MORALS AND ETHICS, BUT THEY ARE TOO OFTEN BASED ON MONEY AND POWER. IF THAT WEREN’T TRUE, LAWS WOULD NOT EXCLUDE BLACK PEOPLE FROM VOTING.

I KEEP HARPING ON THAT BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PSYCHE HAS JUST, UNDER A 2013 SUPREME COURT RULING, REMOVED THE REQUIREMENT THAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN STATES MUST REQUEST A CHANGE IN THEIR VOTING LAWS. THE RESULTING RAMPAGE OF ATTACKING BLACK RIGHTS HAS BEEN ASTOUNDING, AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THE ALT-RIGHT’S POSITION AS BEING ONE OF VALID AND HONORABLE THOUGHT; AND WHICH WE SEE EVERYWHERE NOW SINCE THE TRUMP ELECTION, IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF THAT. WHEN BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE ARE DETERRED, EVEN PARTIALLY, FROM VOTING AND PARTICIPATING FULLY IN PUBLIC LIFE, WE HAVE LOST ONE GREAT GAIN OF MY ADULT LIFE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT FEDERAL LAW SHOULD CONTROL THE ADMINISTRATION OF ALL UNITED STATES GUARANTEED CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS, AND THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT ENABLE A PRIVILEGED AND WEALTHY SEGMENT OF OUR SOCIETY TO GRAB AGAIN THE WHEEL OF THIS BOAT AND STEER US INTO A HURRICANE. THAT IS WHAT I SEE HAPPENING NOW.

THE STATES HAVE BEGUN TO REVERSE THE CIVIL RIGHTS GAINS AND REINSTITUTE JIM CROW AT A RAPID PACE. I UNDERSTAND THAT ON THE APPEALS COURTS A JUDGE CAN USE MORALS AS AN ARGUMENT, BUT IT HAS TO BE BASED ON A CONSTITUTION THAT WAS WRITTEN BY WEALTHY WHITE SLAVE OWNERS, AND REFLECTS THEIR VIEW. IN THE BEGINNING, THOUGH, ONLY LANDOWNERS COULD VOTE. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT. MOST OF THE WHITE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY CAME FROM POOR AND UNDEREDUCATED BACKGROUNDS. WE AREN’T SO GREAT, WE’RE JUST THE MOST POPULOUS.

SEE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_rights_in_the_United_States.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/30/us-supreme-court-thinks-racism-dead.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/sessions-says-u-ramped-investigations-classified-leaks-152416873.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=60f73942-c8f9-11e5-bc86-fa163e798f6a&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Trump administration goes on the attack against leaks
Reuters
By Julia Edwards Ainsley
August 4, 2017

Photograph -- U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at a briefing on leaks of classified material threatening national security at the Justice Department in Washington, U.S., August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, taking up an issue that has infuriated President Donald Trump, went on the attack against a "culture of leaking" on Friday, saying such leaks were hampering the government's ability to protect the country.

The Justice Department has tripled the number of investigations into unauthorized leaks of classified information and four people have already been charged, Sessions said.

"We are taking a stand," he told reporters as he announced administration efforts to battle what he called "the staggering number of leaks undermining the ability of our government to protect this country."

"This culture of leaking must stop," he said.

Sessions did not immediately give the identities of the four people charged, but said they had been charged with unlawfully disclosing classified information or concealing contacts with foreign intelligence officers.

Trump has repeatedly voiced anger over a steady stream of leaks to the media about him and his administration since he took office in January. Some have been related to probes into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, others have concerned infighting in the White House.

In the latest high-profile leak, the Washington Post published transcripts on Thursday of phone calls that Trump had in the early days of his administration with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"No government can be effective when its leaders cannot discuss sensitive matters in confidence or to talk freely in confidence with foreign leaders," Sessions said of that case.

Sessions was accompanied by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who said leaks of classified information endangered national security. He said such national security breaches came from a wide range of sources, including the executive branch and Congress.

"We simply will not tolerate the illegal release of classified information," Coats said.
(Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann; Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Alistair Bell)