Tesla can overcome all these objections.. It is not that much of a problem. There was no reason to assault the company's stock.

Goldman has it wrong. I actually would like to see Tesla hold more of it's own stock. The more stock that increases in wealth, the more solvency the company can enjoy.

July 6, 2017

By Luke Stangel

...On Wednesday night, (click here) the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (click here) said the Tesla Model S earned an “acceptable” safety rating in the small overlap front test, which simulates a car’s driver-side hitting a tree or utility pole.

“The main problem with the performance of the Model S was that the safety belt let the dummy's torso move too far forward, allowing the dummy's head to strike the steering wheel hard through the airbag,” the Institute said in its report.

Tesla is putting too much faith in the air bag. The seat belt needs to be adjusted to prevent forward movement. Put it on the computer. The seat belt has to prevent injury to the point where the air bag is reached.

Air bags have been known to prevent death with passengers that are without a seat belt, but, they still sustain injury and sometimes significant injuries; broken bones, but, no internal injuries. It is important the air bag perform well and surpasses expectations.

Everyone wants an air bag without consequences because they deploy with great force, but, it is not possible. That is why the seat belts are so very important. Seat belts save lives and prevent injuries with the assistance of the air bag.

Tesla disputed the findings, saying the Model S has a top safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Earlier this week, Tesla said it delivered a little more than 22,000 vehicles in the second quarter, short of Wall Street’s expectations. The company blamed “a severe production shortfall” of 100 kilowatt-hour batteries.

It is a really awesome battery. It has it's own cooling system. Some say it doesn't deliver 100 kWh. That is probably true, however; it is not like the previous batter that was 85 kWh that only delivered around 81 kWh; it delivers 102.4 kWh.

So, the battery production has slowed to meet demand. I thought shortages because demand is up is a good thing. I don't really see this as a problem. Don't know why Goldman does. They are wrong.

Inside the Tesla 100kWh Battery Pack (click here)

The news comes as the company prepares to deliver the first Tesla Model 3’s to customers. CEO Elon Musk says he wants the company to deliver 20,000 Model 3 cars per month by December.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino issued a pessimistic note to investors, saying the firm was dropping its six-month price target on Tesla from $190 per share to $180 per share.

Goldman, "bah, humbug."

“We remain sell rated on shares of TSLA where we see potential for downside as the Model 3 launch curve undershoots the company's production targets and as 2H17 margins likely disappoint,” Tamberrino wrote, according to CNBC.

Despite this week’s sell-off, Tesla shares are up 48 percent from this time last year.

Jordan wants to return the refugees to Syria. But, does he have the agreement of Assad as well as Russia?

July 8, 2017
By Stephen Kalin and Maher Chmaytelli

The red areas are Kurdish lands.

...Dozens of IS insurgents were killed (click here) on Saturday and others tried to escape by swimming across Tigris, state TV said. Most of those making a last stand were foreigners, it added.

Iraqi commanders say the militants were fighting for every meter with snipers, grenades and suicide bombers, forcing security forces to fight house-to-house in the densely populated maze of narrow alleyways.

"The battle has reached the phase of chasing the insurgents in remaining blocks," the Iraqi military media office said in a statement. "Some members of Daesh have surrendered," it added, using an Arab acronym of Islamic State.

The road where the soldiers celebrated was scarred with gaping holes from explosions and rubble from a flattened multi-storey shopping mall.

Rubbish and ammunition boxes were strewn around and the only civilians seen were a group of about 15 women, children and elderly, some of them wounded, sheltering in a damaged petrol station. Security forces medics were giving them first aid.

Months of urban warfare has displaced 900,000 people, about half the city's pre-war population, and killed thousands, according to aid organizations...

July 3, 2017

By Reuters

Beirut - Russia (click here) the United States and Jordan have agreed to back a ceasefire in southwestern Syria and the truce will take effect on Sunday, Jordan's state news agency Petra said on Friday.

It cited government spokesman Mohammad Momani as saying that based on "arrangements reached in Amman, a ceasefire will take place along a line of contract agreed upon between Syrian government forces and associated troops on one side and rebels on the other."

A US official said earlier that the US, Russia and regional countries have reached a ceasefire deal in southwestern Syria....

July 7, 2017
By Mohammad Ghazal 

Astana's (click here) newest building is the Norman Foster designed Khan Shatyr, a shopping mall that doubles as the world's largest tent.

Amman — Jordan on Thursday (click here) said it has a “key interest” in the restoration of stability and security in Syria, downplaying accusations by the Syrian opposition of attempts to obstruct opposition groups’ participation in the 5th international meeting on Syria in Astana.

“Jordan is taking part in the Astana meetings as an observer, upon an invitation from Russia. Jordan is directly impacted by the situation in Syria and has a key interest in restoring security and stability in Syria,” Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

The fifth international meeting on Syria took place in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on July 4 and 5....

This is the problem. While it is convenient to recognize The Free Syrian Army and it's promise to a united front that will serve as a governing body once there is a ceasefire, the Assad regime does not recognize the difference between any rebels, Daesh or otherwise.

June 20, 2017

Amman: Syrian Arab Army forces (click here) came within three kilometers of a border crossing with Jordan on Tuesday following a secretive midnight operation behind rebel frontlines, local military sources told Syria Direct.

The regime deployed a small “infiltration team” around 2:30am Tuesday morning into rebel territory, 3km west of Daraa city, a local opposition commander told Syria Direct. The pro-government units reached and briefly captured an opposition-controlled air defense base within hours.

The nighttime operation not only benefited from the cover of darkness but also from a synchronized air and ground assault across multiple rebel positions in the deeply contested, and divided, provincial capital.

Russian and regime aircraft pinned down rebel fighters for hours inside Daraa city, launching dozens of airstrikes, barrel bombs and incendiary weapons while the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies attempted to storm the opposition-held half of the city on the ground....

Assad has made his advances with the assistance of Russia. Can Russia definitely state there is an end to hostilities in the southwest Syria?

Jordan has been burdened with a great many refugees and it is important there be land for them to return to, but, Russia has to guarantee the land at the Jordan border will not see anymore violence against what are going to be unarmed refugees returning to their homeland.

May 31, 2016

...As of May 31, 2016 (click here) UNHCR had registered a total 4,838,620 Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and North Africa since the conflict began....

...The majority are hosted by Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq....

...Their situation is characterised by tightly controlled land borders, strict visa requirements to enter Lebanon, limited admissions at the Jordanian border and visa requirements for entry to Turkey by sea or air....

This is when the problems began in Europe through Greece.

...On March 8, 2016 the Balkan route became closed to refugees and other mixed migrants following official border closures in Macedonia (FYROM), Croatia, and Slovenia.

By the end of April 2016, these closures effectively left close to 54,000 refugees and mixed migrants, including thousands of Syrians, stranded in Greece....

Russia must guarantee there will be no violence against these returning refugees. Russia has not been able to guarantee Assad's aggression before, namely when he bombed hospitals and a UN warehouse.

The USA should be doing everything it can to strengthen the resolve in Jordan. The kingdom has done all it can without completely causing problems to its own citizens. The Jordanians have been magnificent in accepting refugees into their very homes. There is on doubt the citizens of Jordan are exceptional, but, there is a limit to generosity. I think Jordan should be expecting every effort to end the violence against these people. These refugees must be allowed to return without problems from Assad.

There is a good chance whatever remains of Daesh in the area will try to disrupt their lives and press able bodied men and boys into service, but, I would expect the Free Syrian Army to control that. If the Free Syrian Army is still in the sites of Assad, I don't know how anyone can expect this to be a resolve so much as a disaster. Assad will wait just long enough and resolve the refugee crisis his own way.

From the beginning, Assad has seen rebels as rebels, be they FSA or Daesh. I doubt he has changed his view or will.

If this effort fails what is Europe facing, again?

...Alternative Destinations: For a growing number of Syrians, leaving the Middle East does not mean travelling to Europe. A recent series of IRIN reports highlight ‘Syrians in unexpected places’ like Mauritania, Sudan, Brazil, and Mali. These countries either offer humanitarian visas or no visa requirements at all. Additionally, some Syrians are using Brazil, Mali, and Mauritania as alternative routes to Europe.

Trafficking: Refugees Deeply (click here) has published an article detailing the trafficking risks faced by Syrian women en route to Europe. The piece details the connection between trafficking rings and organized gangs that help smuggle people into European countries.

Additionally, the sex trafficking of Syrian women is an ongoing and growing concern in Lebanon as highlighted by the dismantling of the country’s largest known sex trafficking ring in March 2016 (see Lebanon section).

Refugees in Europe have had incredibly wonderful experiences. These refugees are good decent people seeking safety, but, not all the stories in Europe end this way. There is Paris.

May 17, 2017

“My heart is about to break,” (click here) said Falak, as she walked to the exit of the plane with her children in tow on an morning in early February.

The 38-year-old Syrian mother and her five children had flown from Athens to Dusseldorf, after spending nearly two years separated from her husband and their father Mohammed. He had since been granted refugee status in Germany and the family had been accepted for family reunification.

“Baba! Baba!” the oldest boy, also named Mohammed, shouted when he saw his father in the airport. He began to run and the rest of the family quickly followed.

Everyone’s eyes welled with tears. As they held each other tightly in long-awaited embraces, Falak wondered aloud, “Is it a dream or is it actually happening?”...

June 29,. 2017
By Chad Livengood

Law firms (click here) have billed state government agencies $14 million for the criminal investigation and legal defense of state employees ensnared in the Flint water crisis — and the costs to taxpayers aren't expected to subside anytime soon.

A Crain's analysis of state agency expenditures found 31 individual law firms have joined the fray in defending 33 state officials ranging from Gov. Rick Snyder to low-level epidemiologists in the state health department.

State agencies have capacity in current contracts to spend at least another $6 million for private law firms defending employees, records show.

The law firm that's been paid the most to date is the one conducting a lengthy criminal investigation of how Flint's municipal water system became tainted with lead and may have been a breeding ground for a deadly bacterial outbreak.

Attorney General Bill Schuette's office has paid the Royal Oak-based Flood Law PLLC more than $4.2 million to date for a criminal investigation that has resulted in felony charges against 15 state and Flint officials, including new charges leveled last month against Michigan's top two public health officials....

What have the families been paid?

When I think about the "Alt Right"/"All White" and in the face of the reality "Peaceful Genocide," I have to ask, why did Geroge W. Bush increase the level of arsenic in the USA drinking water.

Only the poor and working poor can't really afford bottle water. We all know the socioeconomic standard in the USA to find our minorities.

May 15, 2017
By Bethany Halford

The arsenic-containing feed additive roxarsone (click here) was used for more than 60 years to promote weight gain and to prevent parasitic infections in poultry and swine before its use was halted in Europe and North America because of concerns of exposure to cancer-causing arsenic metabolites. But the additive is still used in Asia. Researchers led by the University of Alberta’s X. Chris Le and Wuhan University’s Bin Hu were...

Unfortunately, when government leaders decide it is okay to kill people, albeit slowly, there are scientists that come along and ruin it for them.

Anran Cheng, Rebecca Tyne,  Yu Ting Kwok, Louis Rees, Lorraine Craig, Chaipat Lapinee, Mitch D’Arcy, Dominik J. Weiss, and Pascal Salaün. J. Chem. Educ., 2016, 93 (11), pp 1945–1950. September 7, 2016.

"Investigating Arsenic Contents (click here) in Surface and Drinking Water by Voltammetry and the Method of Standard Additions."

Arsenic has been suspicious of being a dangerous chemical to the human body since the early 1900s.

Edgar B. Kenrick, Reinsch's Test for Arsenic. (click here) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1902, 24 (3), pp 276–276. March 1902.

During the George W. Bush administration arsenic had a real comeback, not just in water, but, in medicine. Arsenic was legalized and listed as preferred for a method of chemotherapy. No lie. When asked to administer it, I refused.

Arsenic Trioxide (click here)

As well as its needed effects, arsenic trioxide (the active ingredient contained in Trisenox) may cause unwanted side effects that require medical attention.

So while being treated for cancer the side effects may kill you, such as PERMANENT decreased urine output, a more common side effect. There are no temporary side effects of arsenic.

If any of the following (click here) side effects occur while taking arsenic trioxide, check with your doctor or nurse immediately:

More common:

• Chills
• convulsions (seizures)
• cough
• decreased urine output
• dry mouth
• eye pain
• general feeling of illness
• headache
• increased thirst
• irregular heartbeat
• loss of appetite
• mood changes
• muscle pain or cramps
• nausea or vomiting
• numbness or tingling in hands, feet, or lips
• sore throat
• trouble breathing
• unusual tiredness or weakness

Less common:

• Abdominal or stomach cramps
• black, tarry stools
• bluish lips or skin
• blurred vision
• chest pain
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• fever
• flushed, dry skin
• fruit-like breath odor
• increased hunger
• increased urine output
• irregular or pounding heartbeat or pulse
• painful or difficult urination
• sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
• stomachache
• sweating
• swollen glands
• unexplained weight loss
• unusual bleeding or bruising
• unusual weight gain

Rare

• Anxiety
• behavior changes similar to drunkenness
• bleeding
• blood in the urine or stools
• bluish fingernails, palms, or nailbeds
• bruising
• cloudy urine
• cold sweats
• cool pale skin
• drowsiness
• headache
• large hives or rash
• persistent bleeding or oozing from puncture sites, mouth, or nose
• severe nausea
• shakiness
• sore mouth or tongue
• swelling of the eyelids, lips, or face
• vomiting of blood or material that looks like coffee grounds
• white patches in the mouth or on the tongue

If any of the following symptoms of overdose occur while taking arsenic trioxide, get emergency help immediately:

Symptoms of overdose:

• Confusion
• convulsions (seizures)
• muscle weakness, severe

The "Alt Right"/All White really was very covert all these years. They have been the staunch constituency to the Republican Party and for the most part have been viewed as an annoyance with dangerous outbursts of murder, etc. But, I have to admit they were far more invasive to government policy than anyone expected.

North Korea is kind of like it's own ISIS. It has unspoken networks of financial means.

North Korea has always been dependent on financial aid. China has it's biggest financier until recently. The USA used to participate with assistance to North Korea, but, that ended with "W."

September 1, 2010

By Barbara Demick

Beijing: The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, (click here) has promised the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, help in developing his country's economy, while Mr Kim spoke of his desire to resume nuclear talks during a summit in the north-eastern Chinese city of Changchun, China has announced.

The belated announcement this week about the meeting on Friday put an end to a five-day state visit that was bizarrely secretive even by the standards of Mr Kim, 68, one of the world's most reclusive rulers. Mr Kim had slipped across the border into China in his armoured train early on Thursday, eluding detection by border residents and journalists and giving a very public snub to the former US president Jimmy Carter, who was in Pyongyang to successfully win the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American held since January for illegally entering the country....

In the 2002 "axis of evil" speech North Korea reacted by reengaging it's nuclear program. It removed the UN seals from the reactor. Words do have consequences and it was an extremely foolish speech.

It was so foolish "W" attempted to back peddle from it.

Dec. 7, 2017
By Helene Cooper

Washington, Dec. 6 — President Bush, (click here) directly engaging the man he publicly called a “tyrant,” wrote a letter to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, in which he held out the prospect of normalized relations with the United States if North Korea fully disclosed its nuclear programs and dismantled its nuclear reactor, administration officials said Thursday....

...The proliferation issue has taken on new importance since an Israeli strike in Syria in September, which administration and Israeli officials say was conducted against a nuclear plant near the Euphrates River that was supplied with material from North Korea. Administration officials want North Korea to disclose what help it may have given Syria, although they also acknowledge that any such assistance occurred before North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear reactor and disclose its nuclear programs....

56th General Conference– Nuclear Verification in Syria (click here)

...Administration officials are walking something of a tightrope between pressing hard for the declaration and compromising with North Korean negotiators to get one and declare victory. Several senior officials said they were mindful of criticism from national security hawks in Washington, who do not want to see a deal go through because they do not believe that North Korea will abide by it.

“This is like Lucy and Charlie Brown and the football,” said John R. Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations. “How many times are we going to go through this with them?”

Bolton was just an egotistical idiot.

February 26, 2016
By Heesun Wee

...A key source of income (click here) is exported commodities, namely minerals. Other sources of cash flow include exported North Korean slave labor to China, and as far away as Europe. Plus, there's a growing financial ecosystem that crosses borders and includes the use of outside commercial banks, as well as front and shell companies. This expanding financial web allows the ruling elite to move money and acquire everything, from luxury goods to weapons of mass destruction components, according to United Nations documents, congressional testimony and research by North Korea experts....

The reason North Korea is successful in building more powerful bombs is due to the influence of it's new leader's ability to obtain money. Here a highly dangerous country, with it's people suffering in poverty is receiving funds from banks that are interested in making profits. Those ideas of profits will disappear as soon as any war should break out.

..."We can't expect North Korea to bargain its way out of the current attraction to nuclear weapons," Kirby told CNBC.com. "We have to continue to prepare for rendering accountable those who defy humanity and defy the institutions of humanity which include the [UN] Security Council, which has adopted very strong resolutions that North Korea has simply ignored."...

I like Christopher Hitchens. He speaks out, often to his own professional demise when affiliated with one news media or another. But, Mr. Hitchens is a detail person to understand the underlying reality of dangerous paths.

7 July 2017

...North Korea this week (click here) took a major step forward in its missile programme after test-launching an ICBM in defiance of the world.

The test, the first of its kind by North Korea, raised speculation the DPRK is now capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to places as far away as northern Australia and Alaska, blindsiding many who believed it was some way off getting this far.

New York-based political analyst and Asian specialist Sean King said things have suddenly got a lot more serious in regards to North Korea.

"The launch, a truly successful ICBM or not, is a long overdue wakeup call that's been decades in the making," he told news.com.au....

It started long ago and now the world has concluded nuclear weapons can no longer be tolerated.

03 June 1961

President John F. Kennedy (click here) meets with Chairman Nikita Khrushchev at the US Embassy residence, Vienna, Austria. US Department of State photograph in the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston.

...On July 25, 1963, (click here) after only 12 days of negotiations, the two nations agreed to ban testing in the atmosphere, in space, and underwater. The next day, in a television address announcing the agreement, Kennedy claimed that a limited test ban" is safer by far for the United States than an unlimited nuclear arms race."...

If the non-nuclear nations work together to isolate the nuclear nation's economies and isolate them and their plutocrats, the end of nuclear weapons will come to pass.

July 7, 2017
By Edith Lederer

New York: (click here) The president of the UN conference drafting what could be the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons says more than 120 countries have agreed on the text, which is expected to be formally adopted on Friday, US time, although all nuclear-armed nations are boycotting the effort.

Elayne Whyte Gomez, Costa Rica's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said at a news conference on Thursday that "this will be a historic moment and it will be the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be concluded in more than 20 years."

In December, UN member states overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for negotiations on a treaty that would outlaw nuclear weapons over strong opposition from nuclear-armed countries and their allies, which have boycotted the negotiations....

Economies of non-nuclear nations can join in a common market place and have great leaders that demand the end of nuclear weapons, otherwise, the isolation of nuclear powers will be implemented. Perhaps, Chancellor Angela Merkel is a good place to begin to lead such efforts. It is possible.

120 countries. The economic viability of that market place is endless. The biggest challenge is to break the bonds between China and the USA when it comes to economic dependency.

June 17, 2017
By Kimberly Amadeo

The U.S. debt to China is $1.092 trillion, (click here) as of April 2017. That's 27.9 percent of the $3.9 trillion in Treasury bills, notes, and bonds held by foreign countries. The rest of the $19.9 trillion national debt is owned by either the American people or by the U.S. government itself. For more, see Who Owns the U.S. National Debt?

China holds less than the $1.1 trillion held by Japan. Both countries have reduced their holdings in the past year, but China has reduced it faster....

Nuclear nations have one thing in common, DEBT. If they can't pay their debt, they can't build nuclear weapons.

Citizens of allied countries have no confidence in the USA Commander and Chief.

July 7, 2017
Anne Summers

At 3.15pm last Sunday (click here) I was standing in a slow-moving line at the Gelateria at Eataly, on the third floor of the World Trade Centre 4 in lower Manhattan, when I saw a supervisor move towards the women dispensing the ice-creams. He spoke quietly but we could hear his words: "We need to evacuate the building."...

...On the mezzanine I was slightly unnerved to see camouflage-wearing soldiers standing beside the NYPD, but they too seemed unruffled and that calmed us. Whether by training or instinct, these officers were managing our fear and thereby preventing what could have been a dangerous eruption of panic-driven efforts of self-preservation....

...A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump had tweeted a video of himself seemingly beating up a reporter from CNN, the cable news channel that he excoriates as a source of "fake news" for its reporting on his presidency. It was perhaps the maddest and most inflammatory of his tweets to date (and that's saying something) and it was chilling to realise that this is the man who would be in charge of calming the nation had there actually been a terrorist attack at the World Trade Centre that day.

I was reassured to see the wisdom of the crowd last Sunday. It gave me some hope to see people exude a calm control that eludes their President. While he rants, they were orderly. He incites violence, they were savvy enough to know how to stop us all from coming to harm....

...we had dined at Eataly and been more than a little discomfited to find ourselves gazing down on the two large reflecting pools, that mark the site of the twin towers that disintegrated in the terrorism attacks on September 11, 2001.

More than 3000 people died in those attacks. Their names are etched on the edges of the reflecting pools in a powerful and emotional commemoration of the horror of that day. The memorial is a place to ponder on the evil of that action. It did not seem right for it to be part of the outlook from an expensive restaurant.

Yet it is a sign that September 11, 2001, is an intrinsic part of the city's story, absorbed into daily life, making people careful but not cowed. Broadway audiences uncomplainingly submit to scans of handbags just as airline travellers accept full body scans. New York will do all it can to prevent another attack but, as I learnt last Sunday, if there's a threat, the people know what to do.

It's a shame we can't say the same of the US President.

Former Director Mueller is assembling a distinguished team of specialists that can find the truth.

5 July 2017
By Julian Borer

The spread of Russian-made fake news stories (click here) aimed at discrediting Hillary Clinton on social media is emerging as an important line of inquiry in multiple investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Investigators are looking into whether Trump supporters and far-right websites coordinated with Moscow over the release of fake news, including stories implicating Clinton in murder or paedophilia, or paid to boost those stories on Facebook.

The head of the Trump digital camp, Brad Parscale, has reportedly been summoned to appear before the House intelligence committee looking into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 US election. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee carrying out a parallel inquiry, has said that at least 1,000 “paid internet trolls working out of a facility in Russia” were pumping anti-Clinton fake news into social media sites during the campaign....

Sparing with civilians and trying to out smart the government are very different things.

July 2, 2017
By Michael Schwirtz, William K. Rashbaum and Danny Hakim

...He went (click here) on to serve as a key confidant for Mr. Trump, with an office near the boss at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. Officially, his title was special counsel, but he appears to have served more as a kind of personal arm-twister. If anyone crossed Mr. Trump or stood in his way, Mr. Cohen, who was known to sometimes carry a licensed pistol in an ankle holster, would cajole, bully or threaten a lawsuit, according to a half-dozen people who dealt with him over the years.

“If somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn’t like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump’s benefit,” Mr. Cohen once said during an interview with ABC News. “If you do something wrong, I’m going to come at you, grab you by the neck, and I’m not going to let you go until I’m finished.”

Since Mr. Trump became president, his need for loyal foot soldiers like Mr. Cohen has never been greater. But instead of helping his longtime employer navigate F.B.I. and congressional investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, Mr. Cohen now appears to be outside the Trump inner circle, a man on the defensive....

Robert Mueller has a free hand in carrying out his Special Council, including his team. If everyone believed in Mueller at the beginning all of a sudden his integrity is at risk? I don't think so. Either there is trust or not. I sincerely doubt there are many honest Republican lawyers. There in lies the rub.

July 5, 2017
By Matt Zapotosky

...At least seven of the 15 lawyers (click here) Mueller has brought on to the special counsel team have donated to Democratic political candidates, five of them to Hillary Clinton — a fact that President Trump and his allies have eagerly highlighted. These critics also point to some of the lawyers’ history working with clients connected to the Clintons and Mueller’s long history with former FBI director James B. Comey as they question whether those assigned to the investigation can be impartial.

Many lawyers and ethics experts say they can see no significant legal or ethical concerns with the team’s political giving or past work, and they note that Trump often misstates the facts as he casts aspersions. But others say the optical problem is a real one that threatens to undermine public confidence in the probe.

“In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party,” said William P. Barr, who served as attorney general under George H.W. Bush. “I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group.”...

It is all legal. Anyone want to see how many lawyers line up with Republican donations? If Quarles worked on the Watergate investigation, he probably knows Hillary Clinton personally. She worked on the committee to impeach.

The American people want this concluded as soon as possible. The more lawyers and investigators the better. I am sure if there are leads coming from lawyers outside the investigation they will be given as much brevity as appropriate. If Mr. Quarles is an example of the EXPERTISE on the Mueller Committee, then I am impressed.

13 June 2017
By Brendan Kirby

Ms. Rhee is second from left.

Friday afternoon we gathered the newly announced partners at WilmerHale in DC: securities pro Matt Holmwood, Jeannie Rhee,...

Ah, securities fraud. No wonder no one wants her there. Welcome, Ms. Rhee.

...One of the hires, (click here) Jeannie Rhee, also worked as a lawyer for the Clinton Foundation and helped persuade a federal judge to block a conservative activist's attempts to force Bill and Hillary Clinton to answer questions under oath about operations of the family-run charity.

Campaign-finance reports show that Rhee gave Clinton the maximum contributions of $2,700 in 2015 and again last year to support her presidential campaign. She also donated $2,300 to Obama in 2008 and $2,500 in 2011. While still at the Justice Department, she gave $250 to the Democratic National Committee Services Corp....

I am sure Former Director Mueller stated to each member, 'If you feel you cannot serve without bias, then recuse yourself.'

...James Quarles, (click here) who worked on the Watergate investigation as a young prosecutor, has an even longer history of supporting Democratic politicians. He gave $1,300 to Obama in 2007 and $2,300 in 2008. He also gave $2,700 to Clinton last year....

Mr. Quarles' practice (click here) has been exclusively devoted to litigation. For the past 15 years, his practice has focused on intellectual property litigation matters. Most recently, Mr. Quarles has tried (or co-tried with Bill Lee) to a successful conclusion 9 matters before the International Trade Commission, and, together with Mr. Lee, represented Broadcom Corporation in its litigation against Qualcomm Corporation. He has extensive experience with the trial of complex civil matters, ranging from the successful trial defense of Legent Corporation in a shareholders' class action to the defense of ITT Corporation in a claim arising out of the construction of the Nine Mile Point II Nuclear station in Oswego, New York (selected as one of the 15 outstanding defense jury verdicts of 1992 by The National Law Journal). Mr. Quarles has argued before the United States Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the Federal, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth and District of Columbia Circuits.

...In addition, Quarles gave money to former Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) and three current Democratic senators — Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Robert Menendez of New Jersey. He chipped in $300 to the DNC Services Corp. $300 in 2012.

Quarles did donate to a couple of GOP politicians — $250 to then-Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) in 2006 and $2,500 to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in 2015.

Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department lawyer who then worked at Jenner & Block until 2011, contributed $2,300 to Obama in 2008 and $2,000 to the DNC Services Corp. in 2006. Weissmann served as chief of the Justice Department's criminal fraud section and worked on the Enron fraud case....

Mr. Weissmann's congressional testimony begins at mark 49:17.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement (click here) Deputy Assistant Attorney General Greg Andres and international criminal law attorneys testified on the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law, passed in 1977, made it illegal for certain people and organizations to pay foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business.

Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor, U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

May 4, 2016

Students studying for exams (click here) in the Wolff Library were delighted to look up from their books and see Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and other distinguished guests gathering in Hotung Lobby for the annual Supreme Court Institute reception on April 27 celebrating the conclusion of oral arguments for the Term. This year’s event — thanking the many volunteers who participate in SCI’s Moot Court Program — honored Michael Dreeben, deputy solicitor general of the United States.

Each of the three Justices congratulated Dreeben, who that morning delivered his 100th argument before the Court. Justice Breyer also thanked Georgetown for the Supreme Court Institute’s role in helping to improve advocacy before the Court. “I think it’s made a difference,” Breyer said.

Donald B. Verrilli, solicitor general of the United States, and Kannon Shanmugam, head of Williams & Connolly’s Supreme Court practice, also participated, along with Dean William M. Treanor and SCI Executive Director Irv Gornstein....

...A fourth lawyer on Mueller's staff, Michael Dreeben, donated $1,000 to Clinton 2006 and $250 to Obama in both 2007 and 2008. He was deputy solicitor general and has appeared many times before the Supreme Court....

I doubt there are many questions about integrity, ethics, honesty and the truth, is there?