A speech at the Valdai Club in Sochi last October by Russian President Vladimir Putin last year resonates loudly today. “Play time is over” was Putin’s wake up call for world politicians.
Today’s news that the Clinton Foundation may have dealt beneath the table over a Russia-US uranium power bid now challenges an American election. If the gripping story from the New York Times rings true, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 bid will be a monumental waste of money.
Western mainstream media did not make much of what most consider Vladimir Putin’s most important political speech to date. On the other hand, the enigmatic and perceptive “Tyler Durden” at Zero Hedge equated the Sochi speech with Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech” of 1946. As Durden puts it; “In this speech, Putin abruptly changed the rules of the game.” What “game” is that, you say? Well, if the New York Times or any other mainstream media has it right this morning, after October of 2014 Russia lost interest in buying Clinton Foundation love. The headlines this morning point at millions donated to the Clintons. What’s more damning though, are the allegations that former American leaders sold out a chunk of the US’s strategic uranium.
The Business Insider’s headline tells a story of immeasurable significance. There’s no copy type bold enough to capture what “The Clinton Foundation received millions from investors as Putin took over 20% of US uranium deposits” means. The headlines capitalize a story of peddling political influence, and trading off America’s strategic minerals, as if anything is up for grabs, for enough money. That is, if all of this is true.
The story goes something like this. Back in 2009 Russia’s state-owned atomic agency, Rosatom, bought a 17% stake in Canada’s Uranium One. The Canadian company, for those unfamiliar, is responsible for roughly 20% of America’s uranium ore mining. Then in 2010, the Russian company decided it wanted to own a controlling stake in Uranium One, or 51% of the company. As strange as this may sound, all the Russians needed to complete the deal was approval from a special committee that Hillary Clinton held sway over at the time. It’s important to note here that Uranium One owned uranium mines in the US and Russia’s neighbor Kazakhstan.
Here’s where the story gets interesting. Investors in Uranium One gave money to the Clinton Foundation starting back in 2005 through 2011. During this time Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 to speak in Russia by an investment bank with ties to Russia’s government that had a buy rating on Uranium One stock – but the story gets richer. In January of 2013 Rosatom acquired 100% of Uranium One. At this point Russia took ownership of one fifth of America’s strategic uranium reserves. With Hillary Clinton having compared Vladimir Putin to Hitler some months ago over the Crimea situation, that epithet takes on a whole new complexion today.
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was required to disclose all of her family’s foundation’s contributors before she took the oath of office. Unfortunately for her campaign today, the Clintons did not disclose millions of dollars donated by the chairman of Uranium One while the review of the deal was ongoing. That is the damning picture the report from Mike McIntire and Jo Becker at The New York Times paints.
The Clinton’s spokes-people have come forth to call the allegations preposterous, of course. But however slippery Bill and Hillary may have been in the past, this story will not go away so easily. I remember Mr. Putin saying there wold be no more; “secret back-room negotiations” in Russian foreign relations. Now Americans will fully grasp what he meant. Play time, it would appear, is indeed over. The Sochi speech themed; “The World Order: New Rules or a Game without Rules”, has come home to roost for the Clintons and for America. Benghazi, hidden Email servers, all the Clinton’s past political and PR woes don’t hold a candle to selling out our interests.
I’ll leave the details to the 10,000 investigative reporters scurrying over this story today, but another thing Putin said in Sochi bears repeating for Mrs. Clinton. On Russia’s intentions where a “new world order” is concerned, Putin had the following to say about those attempting to create the new system of things:
Russia has no intention of taking an active role in thwarting those who are attempting to construct their New World Order – until their efforts start to encroach on Russia’s key interests that is. Russia would prefer to stand by and watch them give themselves as many lumps as their poor heads can take. But those who manage to drag Russia into this process, through disregard for her interests, will be taught the true meaning of pain.
And now we have a clue as to the vehemence against Mr. Putin and Russia. As he says, the true meaning of political pain is only now being felt. This writer cannot wait to see what is next.