Politics Makes for Strange Bedfellows – and Glencore – Throwback Thursday to February 2017

Rudy Giuliani’s Clients Are All In The Trump Russia Dossier’s Massive Oil Deal

Did Rudy Giuliani mastermind the massive oil privatization deal in the Trump Russia Dossier?

This factual report reveals the full extent of his Russian connections, and proves that his Kremlin relationships have reached directly to Vladimir Putin for a long time.

That’s probably why he’s gone nearly silent since Buzzfeed released Chrisopher Steele’s dossier.

Time Magazine once called Rudy Giuliani an “honorary Texas oil lawyer” but his drive, his New York political image and connections, and his reach inside both the Kremlin and the Persian Gulf is what elevated Bracewell & Giuliani to be considered the leading energy law firm of the last decade, and why continues to rack up awards from its peers.

……..

In late November 2014, Rudy Giuliani’s former law firm told Bloomberg News (archive.org link) that Russian state-run oil company Rosneft is one of its clients.

That was just a year after Rosneft had signed a massive deal with Exxon-Mobil — led by now-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — estimated to be worth half a trillion dollars, and after sanctions landed. Bloomberg noted:

The firm’s work for Russia’s state oil company didn’t stop the former Republican presidential candidate talking tough on sanctions against Russia.

Last year, Rosneft hired international law firm White & Case, LLP to represent them in their massive privatization transaction.

Coincidentally, Rudy Giuliani was a loss leader partner at White & Case for a brief time between his tenure in the US Attorney’s office prosecuting the Mafia, and during his first, failed campaign for Mayor of New York City in 1989.

…….

Rudy Giuliani went from being a vocal fan of Vladimir Putin since 2014, and the Donald Trump’s top surrogate — under formal consideration for the high office Secretary of State in November — to hiding under a rock ever since the Trump Russia dossier was published in January, making just a single appearance on Fox News to crow about influencing the Muslim Ban, which subsequently failed because of his racist comments.

Ironically, it was Rudy Giuliani who indicted the founder of Rosneft’s other new shareholder Glencore in 1983, because Marc Rich’s business evaded US sanctions.

But the former New York Mayor hasn’t retired, and he’s still taking more on more infamous foreign business arrangements — including his most recent job with Greenberg Traurig.

That job required Giuliani to fly for a meeting with Turkish autocrat Reçep Erdogan — to represent a Turkish gold trader accused of violating US sanctions.

To read the entire article, click here.

Glencore and Bribery – Gertler, and Speculation Re: an Attorney’s Activities in Ukraine

REFILE-UPDATE 2-Britain’s fraud office opens investigation into Glencore

Dec 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into Glencore concerning “suspicions of bribery,” the company said on Thursday.

Glencore, one of the world’s biggest commodity traders, is already subject to a U.S. Department of Justice enquiry in connection with corruption in Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria.

The SFO confirmed https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2019/12/05/sfo-confirms-investigation-into-suspected-bribery-at-glencore-group-of-companies it was investigating the conduct of business by the Glencore group of companies, its officials, employees, agents and associated persons, but said it could not comment further on a live investigation.

Glencore has said it will cooperate with the investigation.

The company’s shares dropped 6% to 223.9 pence following the announcement, pushing it to the bottom of London’s blue-chip index.

Over the course of this year, Glencore’s shares have fallen more than 20%, pressured by broader concerns about safety and sustainability in Democratic Republic of Congo.

CEO Ivan Glasenberg told investors earlier this week he expected to step down next year once a new management team is in place. (Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Alistair Smout, Julia Payne and Barbara Lewis in London; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jane Merriman)

Are There no Crimes So Unthinkable That Enforcement of Justice is Simply a Moral Imperative? Malka Leifer

Malka Leifer is brought to court in 2018. The former Melbourne school principal has lost her bid in a court in Israel to prevent further psychiatric examination. Photograph: Mahmoud Illean/AP

Malka Leifer loses bid to avoid new examination over mental fitness for extradition

The former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of sexually assaulting female students, has lost a bid in an Israeli court to stop a further psychiatric examination to assess if she is mentally fit for extradition.

The Jerusalem supreme court on Tuesday rejected an appeal filed by Leifer’s lawyers against a district court decision handed down in late September that ordered a new psychiatric panel to assess and report on the 52-year-old’s mental state.

The appeal was heard a week before the new panel was due to present its findings to the Israeli court.

Leifer faces extradition to Australia on 74 charges of sexually assaulting students during her time at Melbourne’s ultra-orthodox Adass Israel school.

She fled to Israel in 2008 after the allegations emerged and the process to extradite her has stalled several times since charges were laid in 2013.

Dassi Erlich, one of her alleged victims, has been fighting along with her sisters to bring Leifer back to Australia. She had a nervous six-hour wait for a final decision from the supreme court’s judge David Mintz.

“With two months since the last hearing, Leifer has been front and centre of our minds and we almost forgot how emotionally exhausting and physically gruelling these hearings are,” Erlich said. “Time to breathe, sleep and remember we will get through this.”

In September judge Chana Miriam Lomp deemed there was not enough evidence that Leifer was mentally fit to face an extradition trial, even though court proceedings have been under way since 2014.

Israel’s State Attorney Office, acting as the prosecution in the case against Leifer, has produced countless evidence over the 61 court hearings that the accused is feigning mental illness to avoid an extradition trial.

At the end of October Leifer’s lawyers had stated she would not cooperate in the fresh psychiatric assessment. The district court judge ruled the panel should proceed anyway.

In court on Tuesday Leifer’s defence continued to claim there was no “rationale” or “authority” by the court for the accused to undergo another assessment, and it was unfair on the defendant.

The psychiatric panel will examine Leifer on Wednesday before presenting its report to the court on Tuesday.

The report will be discussed at next week’s hearing and both sides will then be given the opportunity to cross-examine the psychiatrists.

The victim supporter Manny Waks said he was pleased with the supreme court’s decision.

“We expect next week’s decisive hearing to rule that Malka Leifer is indeed fit to face justice, and that her extradition hearing will finally recommence,” he said.

“This ongoing farce must end, and justice must prevail – for Leifer’s victims and for other victims who are being deterred from pursuing justice.”

 

To read the article in its entirety click here.

“A Journey You Never Thought Possible” – the Epstein Murder Explosion – a Theory

One Theory of Epstein’s Demise – Lionel Nation

 

The Family Members of the Abuser Are Not the Biggest Victims — FRUM FOLLIES by Yerachmiel Lopin

All too often, protecting the family of the abuser is the excuse for covering up sex abuse.

via The Family Members of the Abuser Are Not the Biggest Victims — FRUM FOLLIES by Yerachmiel Lopin

Is Free Speech Really Free in America? A Blogger’s Status…

DONATE HERE. https://www.gofundme.com/f/defending-free-speech-stopping-bullying

Is There no Crime for Which a Rabbi is Deemed “Persona Non-Grata”? – Rabbi Berland, Sex Abuse and Graft

 

Eliezer Berland covers himself with his talit (prayer shawl) at the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem, as he is put on trial for sexual assault charges, on November 17, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

 

 

Followers of sex convict rabbi Berland held on graft suspicions

Six followers of Hasidic rabbi and convicted sex offender Eliezer Berland were reportedly detained Sunday evening over suspicions of fraud and money laundering.

In a series of raids, police searched the suspects’ homes, seizing documents and bringing the men in for questioning, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

There were no details about the suspicions against the six, but it was reportedly tied to an investigation opened into Berland following a report by Channel 13 alleging he told a cancer patient not to accept medical treatment and instead pay him money so that she will live.

Berland commands a cult-like following among the thousands in his offshoot of the Bratslav Hasidic sect and has used his followers’ faith in his righteousness to bilk them out of large sums of money in exchange for mystical and religious rites, including blessings and promises to heal the sick.

After her daughter died as a result of the faulty non-medical advice from Berland, Nurit Ben Moshe filed a police complaint on November 7, with her lawyer arguing that Berland’s conduct constituted manslaughter.

Berland was not arrested as part of the raids, but his house was searched by police, according to the Behadrei Haredim news site.

The investigation into the death was expected to focus on trying to get inside information from Berland’s supporters, a tough task since they are a closed circle and tend to be extremely devoted to their leader. Many of them have taken violent action and threatened those who speak against Berland.

Berland fled Israel in 2013 amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted several female followers and was for years protected by a fiercely loyal network of cadres around the world.

After evading arrest for three years and slipping through various countries, Berland, 81, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November 2016 on two counts of indecent acts and one case of assault, as part of a plea deal that included seven months of time served. He was freed just five months later, in part due to ill health.

Since then, he has resumed his activities as the leader of the Shuvu Bonim community, an offshoot of the Bratslav sect that has been disavowed by the broader Hasidic dynasty.

To continue reading click here.