From Krist Boardman:
The last truly big time businessman from the West to make lemon out of lemonade in relations with Russia was Armand Hammer. This iconoclastic businessman at the time of the Russian Revolution was soon talking to Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the post-czarist Soviet state shortly after 1917, and his first venture in Russia was a pencil factory. Hammer remained in Russia until 1930, also distributing pharmaceuticals and wheat during the post Revolution famine. Having grown up in New York City and schooled in socialist and communist thought, Hammer understood the ideals of the Russian Revolution and yet as a businessman he was able to argue the capitalist business perspective with Lenin. Then when Nixon and Kissinger negotiated detente with Brezhnev in the 1970s, as an older man Hammer’s company, Occidental Petroleum, entered the Russian market. This company bartered raw materials and finished product with the Soviets on a massive scale.
As detente progressed a number of other companies entered the Soviet and subsequent Russian marketplace, and some have remained there since. The breakup of the Soviet Union led to the privatization of state enterprises in Russia and this has revealed the proclivities of the Russian regime for big state monopolies with close ties to Russian leaders particularly Vladimir Putin. It is within this atmosphere in Russia that Donald Trump has been trolling for business opportunities. While little has been revealed about these efforts, Trump’s election as the next President of the United States and his rapprochement with Putin, contrasted with the Clinton-neocon talk of war, has opened opportunities for new relationships with Russia that may very well take the United States in a decidedly different direction.
Putin’s preference for Trump over Clinton is no secret. For one, Trump’s view of NATO’s role vis-a-vis Russia is not so adversarial as Clinton’s. Just what is driving this tendency is still conjectural; it may be that Trump sees business opportunities that the Clinton camp did not, and it may also be Trump’s admiration of another strong man whose devotion to democratic rights is weak. Or Trump’s view may be that it is not in the U.S. or free world’s interest to pursue a warlike policy.
One thing should be certain. Trump’s new role as President will be constrained by laws that limit his powers to conduct business with the Russian state. There are already other areas that are undergoing scrutiny and it will be interesting to learn whether and how Trump’s many business interests will conflict with his new role as chief executive of the United States. At the same time his businessman’s perspective may cause him to conceptualize hitherto unknown opportunities for business with Russia. This could lead to some very interesting negotiations between the two heads of state that may result in some striking and welcome changes.
If tensions are reduced, and Trump achieves some of his reforms of the financing of NATO, some of the funds recovered from armaments could be redirected toward new business challenges that could manufacture new jobs in the U.S. Similarly, as Trump has maintained an open mind toward various Middle East hot spots, other opportunities may evolve. It is still too early to tell what actually could happen. But it will be interesting to find out.
Krist Boardman
I was curious why no one here with ties to the HCSO has answered Scum’s question:
Does anyone know if HCSO investigated an apparent note left on a vehicle outside the Planet Fitness in Abingdon from an “emboldened” Trump supporter? It is circulating on Facebook . Personally, I am confident it is staged/fake, which is why I am curious if it was investigated. If it hasn’t, it should be. I think a lot of the “incidents” being reported as Trump-related violence and threats are actually fake.
The note says, with mis-drawn swastikas:
“Nigg*ers not welcome here! Go back to Africa b*tch! You better watch your back! Trump 2016 Make America WHITE AGAIN”
Since we’re off topic.
Interesting experience this Monday morning.
Driving down Abingdon Road approximately 600 feet from the Route 7 intersection a gentleman in a white Honda passenger car proceeds to pass me on double yellow. Literally, 2 seconds later I drive up behind him, you guessed it, sitting at the red light.
I get the “you’re driving too slow for me!! Argh!!” Teeth gnashing, but considering this isn’t some really rural area, that there are hundreds of cars on the road at the same time combined with a traffic light generally every half mile, you really don’t get anywhere no matter how fast you want to drive.
This white Honda asshole proceeds up Route 7 and eventually gets in the left turn lane at the Route 24 intersection heading towards Edgewood.
Left turn green arrow was gone and it was solid green left turn yield, it turned red and he stopped briefly. As I was going the same direction I was starting to slow behind him and he proceeded to run the red light, causing both directions of 24 to slow.
Hillary supporter? He must be MAD the big redneck in the “I got a small pecker” big Daddy pickemup truck was driving too slow for him.
Another interesting experience around 7:00am this morning.
Same location, at the Abingdon Road/Route 7 traffic light that was red, I was slowing down for the red light, 30mph, when a gentleman in a green SUV passes me using the Henry Harford Drive turn lane.
He passes me, and literally, stops right infront of me.
Why? lol
You make all that effort to pass me, stop at the red light, and then get behind more cars all doing the speed limit as I was.
This guy Boardman kills me. Couple years ago he was Christopher, now Krist. Guess it makes him sound more educated. Glad we got some of these highly educated people around to keep all of us informed. LMAO.
It’s not a guy. It a ze.
Dear A D Plorabe;
Please, this is not worth dying for. Christopher is my legal name but Krist was a nickname given to me
by my parents because a close friend of my father was named Krist. I have used Krist as a pen name
and the reason I am using it as a byline for my articles is so that readers will use Krist Boardman to reference the books etc, that I have written. You don’ t need to worry about that
You have a fan Krist, he’s been keeping tabs on you for years.
Ive been seeing a lot of conservatives foaming out the mouth about some sort of ’50 state national reciprocity.”
Keep dreaming. Even if such was passed, Maryland will still be “May Issue.”
I’d laugh even more, a PA resident with a PA carry permit would hypothetical be legal to carry, but a Maryland resident still won’t.
MD again will still have it right on gun laws.
I don’t understand the point of this article, and I read it twice. I don’t think I’m alone, since none of the comments so far seem related to it.
The point is pointless
We have a pointless President
Who is pointlessly appointing people
To his pointless cabinet
So they can pointlessly serve
The next pointless two years
When we’ll have an election with purpose.
I saw a bunch of trump supporters out in the streets banging their hands together after the results were revealed. They must all be racist because the didn’t for the black candidate…… oh wait there wasn’t one running.