America

A Ukrainian associate of Paul Manafort has come forward to say that Manafort didn't help him ghostwrite a sympathetic editorial about Manafort's lobbying work on behalf of the former Ukrainian government, Bloomberg reported.

Yesterday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller accused Manafort of violating his gag order by helping to ghostwrite the editorial, adding that the terms of a tentative bail agreement may need to be reexamined to account for Manafort's purported disobedience, which prosecutors argued made him a greater flight risk.

In accordance with a law passed last month by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia has officially declared nine US-backed media outlets to be foreign agents, according to the BBC.

Walking Into Armageddon

Paul Craig Roberts

Dear Readers: It is December and time for my quarterly call for your support of your site. I do this site for you. I have no ego reasons for the website. In fact, it uses up my retirement years when I could otherwise relax.

Confirming what many have suggested, the billionaire founder of the world's largest hedge fund, warns in his latest letter to watch out for the effects of tax reform on migration, the fiscal conditions of affected states and cities, and an increased polarity in America.

Birdgewater's Ray Dalio writes (via LinkedIn),

Via The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board,

The special counsel is stonewalling Congress and protecting the FBI...

Donald Trump is his own worst enemy, as his many ill-advised tweets on the weekend about Michael Flynn, the FBI and Robert Mueller’s Russia probe demonstrate. But that doesn’t mean that Mr. Mueller and the Federal Bureau of Investigation deserve a pass about their motives and methods, as new information raises troubling questions.