‘Hypocritical democracy’: 2016 US election was full of ‘lies & farces,’ China says
Published time: 10 Mar, 2017 13:32
Edited time: 10 Mar, 2017 13:53

http://www.rt.com/news/380150-us-election-china-report/
© Jim Young / Reuters

The 2016 US presidential election was full of “lies and farces” and was driven by “power-for-money deals,” which in itself was sign of “hypocritical nature of US democracy,” a Chinese government agency stated in a report on America’s human rights record.
“In 2016, money politics and power-for-money deals controlled the presidential election, which was full of lies and farces,” read an annual report released by the China’s State Council Information Office, as cited by Xinhua news agency.

Beijing’s paper then went on to criticize the US for “continued deterioration in some key aspects of its existent human rights issues last year,” mentioning “the gunshots lingering in people’s ears behind the Statue of Liberty, worsening racial discrimination and the election farce dominated by money politics.”

These instances once again saw Washington undermining “its human rights ‘myth’ with its own deeds,” the report added.

In conclusion, China chastised its geopolitical rival for continuing “to trample on human rights in other countries, causing tremendous civilian casualties” in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.

The government paper was released just days after the US State Department published its annual report on human rights practices, which lashed out at aspects of China’s domestic policies, criticizing Beijing for neglecting civil and political rights. It also stated that the government curtails freedoms in Hong Kong and Macau.

“Repression and coercion” of civil society remained severe, the State Department maintained, adding, “As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to choose their government and elections were restricted to the lowest local levels of governance.”

The report also claimed the existence of “arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, executions without due process, illegal detentions at unofficial holding facilities known as “black jails,” torture and coerced confessions of prisoners… and others whose actions the authorities deemed unacceptable.”

The report was not launched by new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who broke a long-standing tradition by declining to make a public appearance to announce the release. The practice existed for more than 40 years, as previous secretaries of state took part in the public launch or made public comments to mark the report’s publication.

Meanwhile, there are some indications that Washington might be considering withdrawal from the 47-member UN Human Rights Council, a major international agency which oversees the state of human rights and liberties worldwide.

In late February, Politico reported, citing a former State Department official, that the Trump administration was apparently considering the measure due to the council’s critical attitude towards Israel and its alleged inefficiency.

“There’s been a series of requests coming from the secretary of state’s office that suggests that he is questioning the value of the US belonging to the Human Rights Council,” the source said. The UN director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), Lou Charbonneau, said such a move would be “misguided and shortsighted.”

https://www.rt.com/news/380150-us-election-china-report/

Wall Street spent a record $2bn trying to influence US elections – report
Published time: 9 Mar, 2017 17:31
Edited time: 10 Mar, 2017 10:50

https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.03/original/58c1776cc4618842268b4615.jpg
Andrew Kelly / Reuters
Wall Street spent a record $2 billion in contributions to political campaigns during the last US election cycle. The staggering sums made the financial sector by far the biggest business contributors, however the real figure could be much higher.
A new report from Americans for Financial Reform has found that the total amount of money spent on campaign contributions for presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates reached $1.1 billion, with another $898 million spent on lobbying.


The huge sums made the financial sector by far the largest source of campaign contributions. The total is more than $400 million more than was spent during the 2012 election cycle. The daily spend topped $2.7 million and more than $3.7 million was spent per member of congress.

The sector, including both institutions and their individual employees, chipped in nearly twice as much as any other business sector.

The report is based on data from officially reported expenditures which was collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. It details the spending of more than 400 financial companies and trade associations with at least $500,000 in declared lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions.

It reveals that Republicans garnered 55 percent of party-encoded contributions while 45 percent went to Democratic hopefuls. It also showed that donors frequently donated to both parties in a given race.

“The numbers reflect the industry’s relentless efforts to roll back financial regulations put in place after the crisis, lobby Congress to weaken the rules, and to forestall deeper changes to the financial system,” a statement released with the report said.

The list was topped by former presidential candidates Senator Marco Rubio, who raised $8.69 million, and Ted Cruz, who raised $5.48 million. Senator Chuck Schumer, who came in third, was the only Democrat to break into the top five.

The top spender was the National Association of Realtors who contributed a whopping $118,622,462. Three hedge funds – Renaissance Technologies ($53,479,983), Paloma Partners ($41,334,000) and Elliott Management ($28,020,354) – ranked among the top five individual spenders. The American Bankers Association completed the top five with $25,750,687 in donations.

The biggest spending banks were Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. However, they contributed comparatively modest sums of between $12 million and $15 million.

Despite the outrageously high figures, Americans for Financial Reform note that the actual sums spent by Wall Street are surely much higher as none of the totals include “dark money” from non-profit organizations. Non-profits do not have to disclose who their donors are and they have only to report part of their political spending to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

“The entire apparatus of government operates in an environment flooded with millions of dollars in Wall Street cash on a daily basis," said Lisa Donner of Americans for Financial Reform. “If you want to understand why finance too often hurts consumers, investors and businesses far from Wall Street, take a look at these numbers.”

Donner told the Financial Times that much of the lobbying had succeeded in “slowing or weakening” proposed reforms. “That is really what the money story is about,” she said. “We end up with outcomes that are not what people voted for.”

Americans for Financial Reform receives funding from the Democracy Alliance. A network of donors including George Soros.

https://www.rt.com/usa/380042-wall-street-election-record-spending/

Bolding added

How does Soros profit from this?