Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A-Yachting We Will Go



The two yachts that you see anchored in a bay in the British Virgin Islands belong to right-wing political financier Robert Mercer (his dark-hulled yacht "Sea Owl" in on the left) and Russian oligarch Dimitry Rybolovlev (his white yacht "Anna" on the right). They're just a dinghy ride away from each other.

Rybolovlev is notorious for having bought a mansion from neo-fascist sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump for $95 million in 2008 after Rump had paid $41 million for the 62,000 square foot mansion in 2004. Rybolovlev later tore the mansion down and divided the property into three lots. Rybolovlev's private jet also seems to have turned up at the same airports as Rump's jet at the same time during the 2016 campaign. Mercer is the financial angel behind the right-wing Breitbart propaganda outlet and a major contributor to far-right causes. Before switching loyalties to Rump, Mercer had financially backed slithery Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz for the Rethuglican nomination.

The Mercer-Rump and Rybolovlev-Rump connections boil down to money, Mercer's through direct campaign contributions to Rump and propping up Breitbart's lie machine, and Rybolovlev's through real estate and perhaps other "transactions" that enriched Rump with a Russian oligarch's money.What connection there may be between Mercer and Rybolovlev remains to be researched. But would it be beyond the pale to imagine that they might form a financial conduit between Russia and Rump? Nothing in the Rump-Russian world would shock us at this point.