International expert on arms trafficking, peace and security and human rights Kathi Lynn Austin is the founder and Executive Director of the Conflict Awareness Project.

Now that all the holiday food is settling into our fat cells for a long winter's nap, and Trump has pissed all over our country in the worst Christmas Day message I've ever heard, let me begin by saying that I did not just like the FB page for “CZ-USA, Kansas City, KS,” rifles, thinking that my closest friends might have a total meltdown.

If I liked the company, them this post would tag their wall, but then I would be bringing down a hornet's nest of gun lovers on my wall, and -- in retrospect -- I don't really want to do that. Elephant killer Donald Trump Jr -- or just 'Junior' as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls him -- would probably show up in person to give us all a big lecture on the thrill of killing wild beasts. Speaking of wild beasts, his father is absolutely behaving like one. Sorry, I digress.

However, this New York Times article How Did Rifles With an American Stamp End Up in the Hands of African Poachers? hit me between the eyes this morning, and they were barely open. NOTHING IS DEFINITE YET, and of course, the gun manufacturer 'CZ-USA' denies, denies, denies that they have anything to do with the reality that their rifles -- not the ones manufactured by their parent company in the Czech Republic -- are being investigated as being the #1 rifle poachers are using to kill the elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers -- you name it -- in Africa.

Like somehow “CZ-USA, Kansas City, KS,” got carved into the metal. It's a branding mistake. You know . . . like Trump makes major branding mistakes every day. This is just all about bad marketing.

Another explanation of why made in Kansas City stamped rifles are taking out endangered species in Africa is that KC couldn't fill all their American orders, so the guns had to be made in the Czech Republic, and somehow those Czech-made guns with the American logo made it to Africa.

The woman-owner of the US mfg of the rifle says she's had no trouble filling orders and has never heard that her models were being produced by another mfg in Czech Republic or any other place..

The company is innocent until proven guilty, but I will get on an airplane and march in Kansas City myself if goddess-damn American guns are killing all the African wildlife as part of an international crime syndicate.

Exports of the guns are illegal w/o out a license and Mozambique is not on the international list. Nor is SA because Obama rules, followed by the Trump administration (clearly Trump doesn't know this or he will reverse it by morning), do not permit export of these guns to Africa over the wildlife poaching.

While this is not a girl's only investigation, one lady in particular is in the lead: Kathi Lynn Austin.

How Mozambique guys ended up at a gun show in the US talking with officials from “CZ-USA, Kansas City, KS,” was just a photo op not looking too good today. I guess they were visiting the Grand Canyon and decided to visit a top-flight American gun show in Las Vegas for amusement.

All we know is that Kathi Lynn Austin tracked them there.

In 2016, Ms. Austin, attended a gun show in Las Vegas after learning that CZ-USA officials would be there. Ms. Austin said she observed CZ and CZ-USA company representatives meeting with several Mozambican companies. She had earlier traced several weapons CZ sold to those companies that were later found at poaching crime scenes in South Africa.

Ms. Austin said she later met with a whistle-blower from one of the companies who shared with her emails between the company and CZ sales offices. It is unclear if the weapons were sold from the parent company or its American subsidiary. Ms. Austin also shared emails with The Times showing that she had warned CZ-USA that weapons with the company’s markings were showing up at wildlife crime scenes in South Africa.

On that note, the elephants, lions, tigers and rhinos that are left in Africa wish us all a Happy Holiday season. I've promised them that if this story is true, we are ready to rumble. ~ Anne

Kathi Lynn Austin, a former United Nations arms trafficking investigator. Her findings were the basis of the government investigations now underway. Credit Jared Soares for The New York Times

More Kathi Lynn Austin

Stopping the Trade in Death Op-Ed New York Times Dec. 6, 2011

Politico profiles Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s 50-year-old former chief of staff at the State Department and a family attorney dating back to the early’90s.

A Unique Relationship

As journalists and researchers scour Hillary’s emails looking for a bombshell and discovering none so far, they have marveled over the unique relationship between Hillary Clinton and Mills, who served as Senior Adviser and Counsel for Hillary’s 2008 presidential campaign and then as Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Cheryl Mills serves as a senior adviser to the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Cheryl Mills is scheduled to testify before the House Benghazi Committee on Thursday, September 3. Politico reported yesterday that her request to testify in public for fear of selective leaks against Hillary Clinton has been denied.

In Clinton’s world, aides are usually loyal to Hillary or Bill, “but Cheryl crosses over both, and that’s always been very helpful to Hillary,’’ said a former aide who knows both women. “She’s no-nonsense, no messing around, she tells it like it is with both of them, with Hillary and the president.”

The frank relationship comes from the fact that Mills has been their lawyer for a long time. “There are no secrets,” the former aide said. “Cheryl knows everything, and that’s a great equalizer for them.”

Cheryl Mills At Clinton Foundation

Cheryl Mills served on the Board of Directors of the Clinton Foundation from 2004-2009 and again since 2013. The Clinton Foundation shares her power house bio:

Cheryl Mills is founder and chief executive officer of the BlackIvy Group, a company that grows and builds businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to founding BlackIvy, Cheryl served as counselor and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of State where she managed the foreign policy and operational priorities for the $55 billion agency. Prior to joining the State Department, she served as senior vice president for administration and operations as well as general counsel at New York University. During her tenure, Cheryl identified and convened strategic partners and negotiated the structure, framework, terms and conditions for the establishment of the University’s campus in the United Arab Emirates. Cheryl came to New York to join Oxygen Media, where she served as senior vice president for corporate policy and public programming. She previously worked in Washington, D.C., where she served as deputy counsel to the President at the White House. Cheryl’s legal experience also includes serving as associate counsel to the President, as deputy general counsel of the Clinton/Gore Transition Planning Foundation, and as an associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan and Hartson. Cheryl currently serves on the boards of BlackRock, Inc. (corporate), the Clinton Foundation, and the See Forever Foundation (not-for-profit). She received her Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.

Cheryl Mills and Food Security