Russian government

As promised (or threatened), the Obama administration has unveiled - via the US Treasury - new sanctions against Russia over election hacking allegations (that as yet have not been supported by any actual evidence). Despite president-elect Trump's comments that "we ought to get on with our lives," the sanctions apply to five entities and six individuals, and also including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and closing two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland in response to a campaign of harassment against American diplomats in Moscow, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

While the Russian government in general, and Putin in particular, supposedly has a grudge on US voters and, according to the 'serious' press, orchestrated the hacking of the US elections, China's interests appear to be focused on America's money. In the latest such breach, according to Reuters, the FBI is investigating how Chinese military hackers infiltrated computers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for several years beginning in 2010.

As Obama gets set to announce retaliation efforts against the Russian government for "hacking" the 2016 election, Julian Assange has come forward, once again, to confirm that his source is not the Russians.  Appearing on the Sean Hannity radio show, Assange had the following to say:

Assange:  "Our source is not the Russian government."

 

Hannity:  "Let me be clear, Russia did not give you the Podesta documents or anything from the DNC?"

 

Assange:  "That's correct."

How Come No One Involved in the Russian Hacking Conspiracy Talked?

Paul Craig Roberts

After days of speculation and strawmen, and following Mitt Romney's statement earlier, AP is reporting that President-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to lead the State Department, according to two people close to Trump's transition team.

The decision caps a lengthy process that often played out In public and exposed rifts within Trump's transition team. But Tillerson's close ties to Russia could still complicate his Senate confirmation hearings.