Different Faces of Bribery

 

I have been thinking about the situation with the Bidens; Joe and Hunter, and about my own experience while I had my business. I was determined never to offer or accept a bribe nor do business with anyone who offered or asked for a bribe. Being the owner I didn’t expect to be bribed personally but employees were another issue. I caught a chemical company bribing one of my employees that was authorized to order mostly cleaning chemicals. I fired the employee and found another company to deal with. Later on, I caught the head of maintenance taking a bribe from an equipment rental company. I fired him and the entire crew quit in sympathy. It hurt but I managed to hire a new crew quickly (which is a whole other story).

I had a strict gift policy for myself and employees. I was the only person authorized to take a customer to dinner, although lunch was ok for my salesman to buy. Gifts were only given at the holidays and were, guess what, cheese baskets, but they were delivered by my trucks while regular orders were delivered.

I personally called on a very large chain account and for years without a sale, but still, I kept trying to make the sale. Finally out of frustration I offered a deal on a price that I knew could not be in the realm of him being able to turn down. In response, he scribbled his home address on a piece of paper and said he would give me an order when I had a color television delivered to his home. The company was taken off my list. Some years later the buyer, a family member of the company’s owners, suddenly retired. All of these examples had an obvious: Quid pro quo.

Sometimes the quid pro quo isn’t obvious or even easily recognized, like Hillary’s $100,000 cattle futures scandal. I’ll explain: MrsCheese and I belong to a Catholic parish in Pittsburgh that also had a famous home builder as a parishioner. He also owned half of the local horse racing track. Every year he sponsored a dinner and a “Night at the Races.” He was a very generous person and that night for every race he would give every woman at each table a race ticket. He always handed out winners, but not of course to everyone. It eventually leaked out that the way he always handed out winning tickets is that he bought the whole field of horses. He had to win and since he owned half the track some of the money went back into his pocket. This is how Hillary was able to bet on cattle futures. The Tyson chicken people arranged for a futures broker to buy both sides of the equation. Hillary only received the winning tickets. Tyson ultimately took the losses, of course, all the paper trail went missing and memory serves me someone died and the chicken blood and parts continued to pollute the rivers of  Arkansas as long as Bill was Governor. Quid pro quo was not so obvious.

This brings back the Bidens. This is even more tricky. Most people think what did Joe Biden do for Burisma was that the company would pay his son Hunter and Hunter’s partnerships millions of dollars; but is there proof with maybe a paper trail? The truth is Burisma didn’t pay Hunter Biden. You and I did. Joe and Obama and the Hillary-run State Department shoveled hundreds of millions in foreign aid to the corrupt Ukraine government. That government then used Burisma to pay kickbacks demanded by our “Public  Servants.”  Hunter was a conduit.

I had a friend in college who’s dad owned an illegal after-hours gambling club in Pittsburgh. Every Friday night a high ranking police official showed up for a bag of cash. His dad claimed every cop in Pittsburgh got a share. Imagine what went on and how many shares of our hard-earned taxes were distributed at the State Department. Obvious quid pro quo, not so much. Could we ever prosecute successfully? I doubt it. Oh, and by the way, Hunter is being hounded for back taxes. Who could have guessed?

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  1. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Do you still make cheese? ‘Cause we could probably get this promoted to the front page with the appropriate delivery of a brick of Swiss. 

    • #1
  2. Gossamer Cat Coolidge
    Gossamer Cat
    @GossamerCat

    You are correct that very rarely are shady quid pro quos blatant and that’s what makes them so difficult to prove.  But even without the shadiness, human relations drive business and politics.  And generally human relationships are driven by reciprocity of some sort.  So the best we can do is be vigilant and transparent. 

    With Biden’s son, the transparency was there-it was no secret he was on the board-but nobody thinks he got this job because of his merits.  It looks very bad and we are taught in the University to declare anything that would even look like a conflict of interest so that it can be monitored.  Well, Trump was monitoring and that seems legitimate to me regardless of his motivations.

    • #2
  3. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Do you still make cheese? ‘Cause we could probably get this promoted to the front page with the appropriate delivery of a brick of Swiss.

    How about a brick of Brick. If that’s Goudanough for you we might have a QPQ.

    • #3
  4. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    PHCheese: How about a brick of Brick. If that’s Goudanough for you we might have a QPQ.

    I stick with Swiss. It’s not a bribe, it’s a Holey Order…

    • #4
  5. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    EJHill (View Comment):

    PHCheese: How about a brick of Brick. If that’s Goudanough for you we might have a QPQ.

    I stick with Swiss. It’s not a bribe, it’s a Holey Order…

    You have a point but it is un American anyway you slice it.

    • #5
  6. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    PHCheese: You have a point but it is un American anyway you slice it.

    Jeeze, it ain’t like I asked for a trip to Monterey, Jack. 

    • #6
  7. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Complaining about bribes is so cheesy.

    • #7
  8. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    EJHill (View Comment):

    PHCheese: You have a point but it is un American anyway you slice it.

    Jeeze, it ain’t like I asked for a trip to Monterey, Jack.

    Do you know Jack, or not know Jack?

    • #8
  9. Maguffin Inactive
    Maguffin
    @Maguffin

    Bravo, fellow Ricocheteers, bravo.  You have taken it to another level.  I’m just blue that the conversation must stop at some point, but it does provide us processed food for thought.

    • #9
  10. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    Maguffin (View Comment):

    Bravo, fellow Ricocheteers, bravo. You have taken it to another level. I’m just blue that the conversation must stop at some point, but it does provide us processed food for thought.

    You forgot the cheese in processed food. There is no whey you should make that mistake on Ricochet.

    • #10
  11. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Some of these comments are grating… any way you slice it.

    • #11
  12. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Sadly graft is just how the world works.  Some places do more of it than others.  

    • #12
  13. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Some of these comments are grating… any way you slice it.

    Trump said he would make America grate again. He is shredding the Democrats.

    • #13
  14. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    Sadly graft is just how the world works. Some places do more of it than others.

    Right you are but I never expected the U.S would become the world leader. Never thought a political party would stage a coup to protect their corruption. Also the scale of it is incredible.

    • #14
  15. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    So much punishment!

    • #15
  16. OldPhil Coolidge
    OldPhil
    @OldPhil

    Maguffin (View Comment):

    Bravo, fellow Ricocheteers, bravo. You have taken it to another level. I’m just blue that the conversation must stop at some point, but it does provide us processed food for thought.

    Combining two trains of thought from one thread . . . years ago when our son was playing youth sports, a dad of one of his teammates was an executive at a big food service company. He bought the entire club (multiple teams) new team uniforms, treated them to games and food in the company’s suite at the local pro sports arena, etc. Later on, he and other company execs were convicted of securities fraud for artificially inflating the company’s earnings by taking kickbacks from suppliers. I always wondered if the feds were going to knock on the door and ask for my son’s jersey.

    • #16
  17. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    drlorentz (View Comment):

    So much punishment!

    Wholy  cow,you are outstanding in you field,

    • #17
  18. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    This post was indeed promoted to the main feed, but without any merchandise changing hands. It must also be said that not one word was altered, since neither of our editors will admit to having cut the Cheese.

    • #18
  19. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    PHCheese (View Comment):
    PHCheesePost author

    EJHill (View Comment):

    PHCheese: You have a point but it is un American anyway you slice it.

    Jeeze, it ain’t like I asked for a trip to Monterey, Jack.

    Do you know Jack, or not know Jack?

    Is Jack that rather peppery fellow? 

    • #19
  20. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    PHCheese (View Comment):
    PHCheesePost author

    EJHill (View Comment):

    PHCheese: You have a point but it is un American anyway you slice it.

    Jeeze, it ain’t like I asked for a trip to Monterey, Jack.

    Do you know Jack, or not know Jack?

    Is Jack that rather peppery fellow?

    Indeed and crusty as well.

    • #20
  21. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    PHCheese: Imagine what went on and how many shares of our hard-earned taxes were distributed at the State Department. Obvious quid pro quo, not so much. Could we ever prosecute successfully? I doubt it.

    At least the US Navy is putting people in jail over the Fat Leonard scandal. If the US media were doing their jobs you would have heard about it. Don’t know why it wasn’t top of the media news, except that it came to official light in 2010 and had people pleading guilty in 2013. Maybe the press thought it would tar President Obama and downplayed it.

    Truth be told, I am a pretty naive person about these things and have a hard time understanding how the scams are done and how they can get away with it. If you had told me about the Fat Leonard scandal as a rumor, I would never have believed it.

    The Clinton Global Initiative, I can believe because it is so straightforward. Same with Biden selling shielding and access. Fat Leonard I just can’t see. It is in my blind spot. 

    • #21
  22. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Sometimes it works the other way.  I am in Purchasing, and our suppliers tend to give gifts of food around the holidays.  Mostly, the big tins of popcorn or boxes of cookies get shared around when they come in.  We have a big contract manufacture with whom we do millions of dollars of business, and they are right across the street from us.  Most years, they bring over some very nice goodies, and we put them out for all the buyers, planners, and customer service employees to share.  Well, last year my new, young, uptight little boss lady told them they were not allowed to bring in Anything at All.  To me, that was a slap in the face to our supplier, who is genuinely grateful for all the business we throw their way, and wanted to thank us.  She was so anxious about appearing to be taking bribes, that she went too far in the opposite direction. This year, they brought nothing, but other of our suppliers did, and we accepted the goodies, and placed them out for everyone to share.  Funny, little boss-lady didn’t say a word, or ask any of them to be returned.

    In the past, buyers used to receive expensive gifts from suppliers, including wine and liquor, but those days are long gone.  Most of our suppliers don’t give anything at all; some do a yearly calendar, so we never have to buy a calendar for our desk.  We all look forward to the North Dakota calendar that our supplier there sends each year, and they are often displayed in the department.  None of these small tokens can be mistaken for bribes, and that’s just a part of doing business.  No supplier can bribe me, and I know enough never to accept any kind of gift that might be construed as such.

    • #22
  23. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    Sometimes it works the other way. I am in Purchasing, and our suppliers tend to give gifts of food around the holidays. Mostly, the big tins of popcorn or boxes of cookies get shared around when they come in. We have a big contract manufacture with whom we do millions of dollars of business, and they are right across the street from us. Most years, they bring over some very nice goodies, and we put them out for all the buyers, planners, and customer service employees to share. Well, last year my new, young, uptight little boss lady told them they were not allowed to bring in Anything at All. To me, that was a slap in the face to our supplier, who is genuinely grateful for all the business we throw their way, and wanted to thank us. She was so anxious about appearing to be taking bribes, that she went too far in the opposite direction. This year, they brought nothing, but other of our suppliers did, and we accepted the goodies, and placed them out for everyone to share. Funny, little boss-lady didn’t say a word, or ask any of them to be returned.

    In the past, buyers used to receive expensive gifts from suppliers, including wine and liquor, but those days are long gone. Most of our suppliers don’t give anything at all; some do a yearly calendar, so we never have to buy a calendar for our desk. We all look forward to the North Dakota calendar that our supplier there sends each year, and they are often displayed in the department. None of these small tokens can be mistaken for bribes, and that’s just a part of doing business. No supplier can bribe me, and I know enough never to accept any kind of gift that might be construed as such.

    Perhaps little boss lady asked for something and was turned down. You never know.

    • #23
  24. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    PHCheese: Most people think what did Joe Biden do for Burisma was that the company would pay his son Hunter and Hunter’s partnerships millions of dollars; but is there proof with maybe a paper trail?

    It is not that complicated, and not that devious. Burisma is actually registered in Cyprus (as are quite a few other European companies, likely due to loose regulation). It is owned by a Ukrainian oligarch named Ziochevsky, who had been investigated several times. As part of one investigation, he supposedly paid up on his income taxes.

    One its board at various times (mostly around the Biden time) was a former Polish president, a former director of the Counter Terrorism Center of the CIA (under Bush), a former John Kerry campaign advisor (Devon Archer, appointed same time as Hunter Biden), and other luminaries.

    So their business “plan” was to get famous people on the board for influence.

    Not sure of the financial compensation for all these people.

     

    • #24
  25. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    PHCheese: Most people think what did Joe Biden do for Burisma was that the company would pay his son Hunter and Hunter’s partnerships millions of dollars; but is there proof with maybe a paper trail?

    It is not that complicated, and not that devious. Burisma is actually registered in Cyprus (as are quite a few other European companies, likely due to loose regulation). It is owned by a Ukrainian oligarch named Ziochevsky, who had been investigated several times. As part of one investigation, he supposedly paid up on his income taxes.

    One its board at various times (mostly around the Biden time) was a former Polish president, a former director of the Counter Terrorism Center of the CIA (under Bush), a former John Kerry campaign advisor (Devon Archer, appointed same time as Hunter Biden), and other luminaries.

    So their business “plan” was to get famous people on the board for influence.

    Not sure of the financial compensation for all these people.

     

    Devon Archer was Kerry’s stepson Chris  Heinz college roommate and also Whitey  Bulger ‘s  nephew . Don’t forget Kerry was  secretary of state and was involved with the foreign aid and was part of the kickball  scheme .

    • #25
  26. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    PHCheese (View Comment):

    Bill Nelson (View Comment):

    PHCheese: Most people think what did Joe Biden do for Burisma was that the company would pay his son Hunter and Hunter’s partnerships millions of dollars; but is there proof with maybe a paper trail?

    It is not that complicated, and not that devious. Burisma is actually registered in Cyprus (as are quite a few other European companies, likely due to loose regulation). It is owned by a Ukrainian oligarch named Ziochevsky, who had been investigated several times. As part of one investigation, he supposedly paid up on his income taxes.

    One its board at various times (mostly around the Biden time) was a former Polish president, a former director of the Counter Terrorism Center of the CIA (under Bush), a former John Kerry campaign advisor (Devon Archer, appointed same time as Hunter Biden), and other luminaries.

    So their business “plan” was to get famous people on the board for influence.

    Not sure of the financial compensation for all these people.

     

    Devon Archer was Kerry’s stepson Chris Heinz college roommate and also Whitey Bulger ‘s nephew . Don’t forget Kerry was secretary of state and was involved with the foreign aid and was part of the kickball scheme .

    Hunter Biden had a chance to make a lot of money and took it. Good for him. Did he actually talk with his father about the business? Certainly, though there is no proof. Did VP Biden drive any policies to help Burisma? There is no evidence of such, not even among the die hard conspiracy people.

    And Archer did nothing wrong.

    And please note: most members of a companies Board of Directors have little experience in the area of the business. They have experience in business, more or less, and sometimes are appointed for show (e.g. such as a Union labor leader).

    This is added for fun:

    Federal prosecutors have charged retired UAW Vice President Joseph Ashton, a former GM board member, with fraud and money laundering conspiracies.

    • #26
  27. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    Archer was involved with a fraudulent bond deal in South Dakota with a fellow named Galanis who was sentenced to 12 years. Archer was found guilty but appealed and won. The government is refilling the charges. Archer is anything but a boy  scout. The judge that granted his appeal is  dubious .

    • #27
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