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As Afghan war ends, $24bn bump for Pentagon budget approved by House

Afghan armed men
© Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP
FILE PHOTO. Afghan armed men in Panjshir province.
Just after the US military's wasteful Afghanistan mission came to a close, House legislators marked almost $24 billion in extra defense spending supposedly needed to maintain America's competitive edge against Russia and China.


Comment: The US spends more than Russia and China combined and still struggles to compete.


The House Armed Services Committee held a marathon session on Wednesday to markup the spending under the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Lawmakers from both parties joined forces to defy President Joe Biden's intention to keep the Pentagon budget at $715 billion for next year, essentially keeping it at the same level as last year. Instead, an extra $23.9 billion was set to be poured into weapons procurement, research and other areas.

The financial boost was proposed by Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the ranking Republican member on the committee, who welcomed the passage of his proposal as a snub to Biden from his own party.

Comment: In ponerized US institutions, incompetence surely has reached critical levels, but it's also clear that corruption is diverting those funds for more nefarious purposes; the question is: what are these unfathomable sums of taxpayers money being spent on? Also check out SOTT radio's: MindMatters: How Psychopaths Infect and Destroy Hierarchies of Competence




Vader

Never fear: America's empire builders have another pawn to fuel their apocalyptic chess game - Ukraine

Michael McFaul
© Reuters / Vladimir Pirogov
Out-of-work ex-ambassador Michael McFaul grasps for relevance in WaPo op-ed
The Ukrainian President's trip to Washington has drawn out the West's "Russia-watchers" in force. Among them is Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Moscow who has since morphed into a prolific, if unreliable, commentator.

In a new op-ed in the Washington Post, McFaul makes it clear he sees Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with President Joe Biden as in need of a loud battle cry, appealing to the American government and the public to rally behind Ukraine's calls for support. But, as is customary in the Stanford professor's output, Kiev is really just an excuse, almost reduced to a mere pretext.

Boat

Beijing tightens maritime rules for foreign ships, Pentagon bleats about 'serious threat' to freedom of navigation

china soldiers partol sea lanes
© Stringer/Reuters
Chinese soldiers patrol the beach on Woody Island in the South China Sea, 2016.
The US Defense Department has accused Beijing of undermining international law after the country tightened regulations for foreign vessels entering its territorial waters amid the tensions in the South China Sea.

"The United States remains firm that any coastal state law or regulation must not infringe upon navigation and overflight rights enjoyed by all nations under international law," John Supple, a Pentagon spokesperson, said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

Comment: China has been tolerant in the face of Western provocations in its territorial waters. The have apparently reached the limit of their patience.


Chess

EU trying to shut its borders to Afghan refugees & instead direct them to poor ex-Soviet states in Central Asia, Russia claims

barbed fence
© REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
European Union member states are trying to shut their borders to Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban and instead want to send them to countries bordering Afghanistan, Russia's Permanent Representative at the EU said on Wednesday.

Speaking to TV channel Russia 24, Vladimir Chizhov explained that the EU is trying to shield its territory from a wave of migrants.

"Today, we see an attempt by the European Union ... to solve two problems," he said, according to news agency TASS. "On the one hand, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan ... and, on the other hand, to protect its own territory from a massive influx of refugees."

"Here, as you understand, there is a problem, including for us, because the countries neighboring Afghanistan are, among others, Central Asian countries, our allies and partners," Chizhov added.

Pocket Knife

'Artery of friendship': Seoul proposes extending legendary Trans-Siberian railway from Vladivostok through to North & South Korea

Trans-Baikal railway
© Sputnik / Evgeny Epanchintsev
The Trans-Siberian railway could be an artery of friendship and economic partnership for North and South Korea, Seoul's Unification Minister said on Thursday during the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

Speaking remotely to Forum guests, Lee In-young called for improvement in transport connections between the two Koreas, expressing hope that a train from the South Korean port city of Busan could "pass through North Korean territory, get to Vladivostok and move on to various routes that may have tourist value."

If this comes to pass, the Trans-Siberian Railway will turn into an "artery of friendship" to enable the development of "peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Vader

Americans, Afghan commandos evacuated through secret CIA base outside Kabul

air force
U.S. officials reportedly conducted a weeks-long mission last month that evacuated hundreds of American citizens, Afghan special forces and their family members through a secret CIA base outside of Kabul.

The New York Times first reported Wednesday that the CIA base was used in the U.S. military's ongoing evacuations last month, and Politico reported that based on documents and conversations with a senior administration official, a defense official and a congressional official, the mission included U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans, including Afghan commandos.


Comment: What about the Americans left outside the Kabul airport? What about the military dogs that were being held at the Kabul small animal rescue and were left behind?


A U.S. official, who like the others spoke to Politico on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, confirmed that the CIA was involved and "worked closely with other agencies to facilitate in various ways access to the airport for American citizens and Afghans at risk."

Blue Planet

"Russia is our key partner": Vietnam proposes creation of free-trade zone between ASEAN & EAEU

Golden Horn
© Sputnik / Alexander Kryazhev
Golden Bridge over the Golden Horn Bay in Vladivostok, Russia, August 30, 2021
Hanoi has proposed the establishment of a free-trade zone between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Eurasian Economic Union to boost regional cooperation, Russia's Eastern Economic Forum has heard.

"I offer a number of steps that will allow concluding an agreement on free trade between ASEAN and the EAEU. This may serve as a basis for mustering efforts of all countries to intensify regional cooperation," Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated on the sidelines of the forum in Russia's Vladivostok.

"Vietnam has good prospects of cooperation with the Russian Federation. Russia is our key partner, we have all possibilities to expand cooperation with the EAEU, while Russia can also gain access to a huge market," he stressed.

Comment: Clearly the West's demonization campaign is not working, because Eurasian integration continues apace:


Putin

30 Years after Communism fell, Putin offers alternative to Globalism - which is why our ruling class hates him

Putin
Thirty years ago this month, Communist hardliners in the Soviet Union launched the "August Coup" against Mikhail Gorbachev's reformist government. It failed and instead the Communist Party itself was suppressed, after 74 years of totalitarian power. Hopefully the current communist coup in the U.S. will similarly fail — but it's worth examining why our managerial globalist regime enabling it retains a hatred for Russian's current ruler, President Vladimir Putin, that is as intense as it seems inexplicable.

From "Russiagate" to charges that anti-globalists are shilling for Putin, the shrill accusations of Russia being behind every nefarious activity the global managers can imagine, to the comparisons of Putin to Hitler...On and on the trail of hatred goes, for fear is behind it.

Understanding the obsessive fear and loathing of Putin's Russia requires historical memory, something our society is woefully short on, but it's necessary for anyone seeking such understanding to back up to the end of the Cold War and recall the circumstances that gave rise to globalism.

The Fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Soviet Union remained standing, but was fragile, reeling from Gorbachev's policies of glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring"), which had unleashed a firestorm of previously pent-up popular frustrations. The Soviet economy was in shambles. The Soviets were losing their Eastern European satellites and nationalism was pulling the USSR apart at the seams.

Comment: See also: Putin blasts World Economic Forum honchos at Davos gabfest


Cult

DHS insider blows whistle on international child sex trafficking gangs exploiting 'Reasonable Fear' loophole

dhs project veritas
Project Veritas released a new video today featuring a Department of Homeland Security [DHS] insider blowing the whistle on a federal government "loophole" that enables migrant gang members to get away with sex trafficking and other crimes.

The DHS insider sat down with Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe and explained how the current immigration system is broken.

Comment: Notably, the whistleblower also said:
"This is not a DHS, or a Justice Department program, this is the whole Government. [...] So DHS, Justice Department, State Department, a lot of entities are involved in this".
See also:


Star of David

Biden reaffirms US' half-century of support of Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal - report

Bennett Biden
© REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST
For the past 50 years, the US has agreed not to pressure Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty, with the "tradition" going back to President Nixon.

President Joe Biden has reaffirmed the United States' long-held agreement with Israel that Washington will not pressure the Jewish State on its alleged nuclear arsenal, in exchange for which, the latter will not use, test, or threaten the use of their nuclear arsenal, Israeli media reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed official.

The long-held agreement between the two nations was reportedly discussed during the meeting between Biden and Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett over the past weekend.

Comment: See also: