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ANALYSIS

News and commentaries that reveal historical facts and trends that place current events into perspective and make it possible to anticipate future events.

 

US: Curly Haugland, a GOP delegate from North Dakota, explains that, contrary to popular belief, nominees are chosen by political parties, not voters. When asked why primary elections and caucuses are even held, his answer was: “That’s a very good question.” [The answer is to create the illusion that voters are participating in their own political destiny so they will remain passive in the face of what is being done to them. If the GOP holds a brokered convention, unbound delegates will play a significant role in deciding the Republican nominee. At the last minute, new candidates, such as Mitt Romney, could be introduced into the race. That might be an effective strategy in the wake of widespread violence over the popularity of Trump.] CNBC 2016 Mar 16 (Story)

US: In the Democrat Party, ‘superdelegates’ are Party insiders who are allowed to vote for the candidate of their personal preference rather than on the basis of caucus or primary votes. There are 717 superdelegates out of a total of 4,763 delegates (15%) who will be voting at the nominating convention, and lobbyists are among them. Most of them already have pledged to Hillary. The superdelegate system allows insiders and lobbyists to override the will of voters. Truth In Media 2016 Mar 15 (Story) (Cached)

An unnamed source in the Russian government says that individuals who issue money surrogates or competing currencies, including digital currency like Bitcoin, face up to four years in prison. Executives with financial firms that release their own money surrogates could be imprisoned for seven years. [This relates to why the 5th principle in The Creed of Freedom calls for freedom-of-choice in money.] CoinDesk posted 2016 Mar 12 (Story) (Cached)