Read my article, It’s now the two-man race. The question is, whether an establishment that so many are sick of can mount an effective counter-offensive to Trump.
Related:
Former Romney and Rubio Supporters Now Supporting Cruz In Florida
Archives for March 2016
Our Watcher’s Council Nominations – Inevitable Edition
At the Watchers’ Council,
And they wonder why we’re angry….
Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.
So, let’s see what we have for you this week….
Council Submissions
Colombia: Two scandals – police prostitutes, Santiago Uribe’s arrest
News from Colombia,
1. Rodolfo Palomino, head of Colombia’s national police,
resigned amid allegations of running a male prostitution ring with the help of other police officials.
The ring is said to have forced cadets to cater to high-ranking officers and even to lawmakers
A video broadcast by Colombian media supposedly shows deputy interior minister Carlos Ferro in 2008, when he was a senator, discussing male prostitutes. Here’s the video (in Spanish),
InSight Crime’s analysis
Palomino’s resignation comes just over a month before the self-imposed March 23 deadline for a final ceasefire agreement between the government and guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC). Should a peace deal be reached, the ongoing scandal surrounding the “Community of the Ring” could prove an unwelcome distraction for a police force expected to play a crucial role in implementing the expected accord.
The scandal is also a black mark on the record of a police force widely seen as a model for the region. The Colombian police have participated extensively in training foreign security forces in recent years, and are largely viewed as less corrupt and more effective in combating organized crime than other police forces across the region. However, the growing evidence of misbehavior by officers at the highest levels of the force could diminish that reputation.
2. Santiago Uribe, former president Alvaro Uribe’s brother, has been detained on charges that he created and led a death squad known as the Twelve Apostles in the 1990s
The brother of Colombia’s former president Álvaro Uribe has been arrested on charges that he created and led a death squad known as the Twelve Apostles, which was responsible for dozens of murders in the province of Antioquia.
Santiago Uribe was arrested on Monday in the upscale neighbourhood of El Poblado despite efforts by his security detail to block his detention.
Uribe, the younger brother of the former president, has denied that he was involved in either the death squad or the murders that witnesses said were planned at the Uribe family ranch in the town of Yarumal in the 1990s.
Supporters of ex-president Uribe, who is now a senator for the opposition Centro Democrático Party, decried the arrest. “This is a political prosecution that are part of the macabre objectives of a government that is complicit with criminals,” Paloma Valencia, also of the Centro Democrático, told local radio.
Meanwhile, the ENL and the FARC are engaging in turf wars as the March 23rd deadline nears for the FARC-Colombian government talks.
Argentina: The bonds, the visit, the investigation
In the news:
The bonds,
The government and the creditors have a preliminary agreement by which the creditors, led by Paul Singer, would received approximately 75% of the money they are owed, after fifteen years in the courts,
Torino Capital, a New York-based investment bank, said the hedge funds will likely reap between 10 to 15 times what they initially paid for the bonds. That figure, which is based on the assumption that they bought the debt at about 20 cents on the dollar, is in line with other analysts’ estimates. The settlement includes accrued interest and lawyers fees.
A deal also would be a victory for Argentina’s new president, Mauricio Macri, who made settling the dispute among his priorities during the campaign. He wants a deal so Argentina can raise new capital from foreign bond offerings to help stimulate its depressed economy.
. . .
The lengthy battle was possible, because the bonds were sold to investors without collective action clauses, which would have forced minority holders to go along with a settlement if the bulk of the creditors agreed.
The visit,
President Barack Obama and his family will be in Argentina on the 40th anniversary of the last military coup:
The US delegation could be made up of as many as 1,000 people, including business leaders who are expected to announce investments in the country.
I don’t know about the coup, but the timing coincides with the good news on the defaulted bonds.
I hope they stop by La Ideal
The investigation,
As mentioned last week,
federal appeals court prosecutor Ricardo Sáenz said that “the evidence produced so far” showed that Nisman had been the victim of a homicide.
Merv Benson points out,
It is still not clear whether those responsible for his death were tied to Iran or to the Argentine government which opposed his pursuit of the case. Perhaps now with a new government in place there will be a search for justice.
The common thread on the three stories is that the new administration is giving very positive signs of moving away from the years of pernicious Kirchnerism.
Our Weasel Of The Week Nominations!!
At the Watchers’ Council,
It’s time once again for the Watcher’s Council’s ‘Weasel Of The Week’ nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations!
Here are this weeks’ nominees….
Senator Lindsay Graham!!
The Noisy Room : The nod for weasel this week goes to Lindsey ‘Dancing Queen’ Graham for joking that the GOP is batshit crazy and then at the #WPCFDinner: “If you kill Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial is at the Senate, no one will convict you.“ What a vile thing to say. The man should hang his head in shame and slink out of politics permanently for that snipe. Remember, Graham is the acolyte of John McCain who hates Ted Cruz with a passion.
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