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Pirates

Utter insanity: Pentagon's first audit in its 71-year history comes up empty on missing $21 TRILLION

Randi Nord
Mint Press News
Fri, 21 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Soldier painting
© Jared Rodriguez | Truthout | Flickr CC
It's difficult to tally the cost in civilian lives and mass destruction of an annual budget rapidly approaching the trillion-dollar mark, and that's something that likely won't be analyzed in any audit the Pentagon conducts on itself.

Despite being legally required to conduct audits since the early 90s and holding a staggering 2.2 trillion in assets, the Pentagon held its first-ever audit this week - which it, unsurprisingly, spectacularly failed.

According to a senior official, the results were so bad that the discrepancies could take "years [to] resolve." The Department of Defense is handed hundreds of billions of dollars annually - most of which comes from taxpayers.

In a press conference akin to a sketch from a comedy show, Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan asked, "So you guys know why I came down here today?" To which a reporter replied, "To see if we ate donuts?"

Shanahan then casually informed reporters that the notoriously bloated and unchecked Department of Defense had failed its first audit in the Department's increasingly expansive 71-year history: "We failed the audit but we never expected to pass it."

Comment: James Corbett and Dr. Mark Skidmore delve into this mind-boggling story further:
Dr. Mark Skidmore of Michigan State University joins us to discuss his research with Catherine Austin Fitts into the $21 trillion in unaccounted transactions on the books of the US Department of Defence and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. We discuss what we know and don't know about the subject, the Pentagon's nonsensical and inadequate excuses for the debacle, the new accounting guideline that legally allows every department of the federal government to create fake and altered books for public consumption, the recent failed Pentagon audit, the government's refusal to provide any information about the problem, the failure of congress to pursue the issue, and the failure of the press to report on it.



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Star of David

Noam Chomsky: Israeli meddling in US elections 'vastly overwhelms' anything Russia's done

Andrew Buncombe
The Independent
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 13:16 UTC
Noam Chomsky
© MediumNoam Chomsky
Veteran activist Noam Chomsky has accused Israel of "brazenly" interfering in US electoral politics in a way that vastly outweighs any efforts that may have been carried out by Russia.

In comments in which he accused much of the media of concentrating on stories he considered marginal and ignoring issues such as the "existential threat" of climate change, the 89-year-old linguist said in much of the world, the US media's focus with Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 was "a joke".

"First of all, if you're interested in foreign interference in our elections, whatever the Russians may have done barely counts or weighs in the balance as compared with what another state does, openly, brazenly and with enormous support," he said.
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Bad Guys

No pullout of Iraq, it can be base "to do something in Syria" - Trump on first visit to troops


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:36 UTC
trump iraq christmas
© Reuters / Jonathan ErnstUS President Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.
US President Donald Trump said he's not planning to take American troops out of Iraq as he made his first visit to an active combat zone. His surprise trip also sparked online frenzy after his plane had been noticed over Europe.

Speaking at Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad, Trump defended his decision to withdraw troops from Syria last week.

"I think a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. It's time for us to start using our head," the president said.

"In fact we could use this as the base if we wanted to do something in Syria"

Trump, accompanied by wife Melania, traveled to meet troops deployed in a war zone for the first time since the beginning of his presidency. He had faced criticism before for being the first US president since 2002 not to visit the troops around Christmas.

Comment: Is Trump throwing a bone to the warmongers? Trying to save face? Either way, the US lost in its attempts to destroy Syria, in large part thanks to Russia.

See also:

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Attention

Buzz off! Venezuela warns US to stop interference after it turns away snooping ExxonMobil oil exploration ship

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Maduro
Caracas strongly rejected Washington's response after intercepting an ExxonMobil oil exploration vessel by Venezuelan authorities, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said.

On Saturday night, the Guyana Foreign Ministry said that the Venezuelan Bolivarian Navy had intercepted an oil exploration vessel operating within the country's territorial waters under the flag of the Bahamas and on behalf of the American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. Caracas, for its part, insisted that there were not one but two oil exploration vessels, and they had illegally crossed the Venezuelan maritime border.

The incident occurred in contested territories that are referred to by Venezuela as Guayana Esequiba. The site has also been claimed by Guyana since the 19th century and there were increased tensions and between Caracas and Georgetown in 2015, when Guyana granted a license to ExxonMobil to explore the oil-rich region.

The US State Department called on Venezuela to "respect" the sovereignty of its neighbors.


Comment: Once again, the US government organization most responsible for disrespecting international sovereignty accuses another nation of being disrespectful of it. You can't make this shit up.


Comment: In other words, the Foreign Ministry of Guyana is firmly in the pocket of the empire to the north...

See: Nicolás Maduro: Protests by rich are U.S. attempt to steal Venezuela's oil and subvert our democracy

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Eagle

Coercion: To fight 'Russian dictatorship' US tells Europe it must block Nord Stream 2

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Nord Stream 2 tanker
Rarely is irony and hypocrisy so thoroughly combined as it was when the US House of Representatives passed resolution 1035 - "Expressing opposition to the completion of Nord Stream II" (.pdf).

Bloomberg in its article, "U.S. House Passes Resolution Opposing Russian Gas Pipeline," would report:
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a largely symbolic resolution expressing opposition to Gazprom PJSC's $11 billion Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, on concerns that the project will boost the Kremlin's control over Europe's energy supplies.
Bloomberg would also report (emphasis added):
While the resolution is non-binding, it highlights growing Congressional opposition to the Russian project. The Trump administration is reviewing potential sanctions against the European companies involved. The pipeline, which would send Russian gas to Germany, has financing agreements with Engie SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, among others.
By passing this resolution, the United States presumes to dictate to all of Europe who they can and cannot do business with.
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Eye 2

Best of the Web: Ukraine military's Chechen allies freely admit to having links with Islamic State


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 14:54 UTC
Muslim Cheberloevsky
© Youtube / 112 UkraineChechen battalion leader (and actual, wanted ISIS terrorist) 'Muslim Cheberloevsky' is regularly interviewed on Ukrainian TV (which is paid for by US and EU taxpayers' dollars because the Ukrainian state is completely bankrupt)
Islamic State-trained militants are fighting alongside a state army in a European country, the Times reports - but that detail is buried in an article talking about how Putin is a common enemy of Ukrainians and Chechens.

Framed as an inside look at what's driving Chechens to join Kiev's "anti-terrorist operation" against the breakaway republics in the east of Ukraine, the Times article has a few juicy quotes from one Mansur, a member of a voluntary battalion made up of Chechens.

Author and veteran anti-Putin writer Marc Bennetts echoes the official message of Kiev and its Western allies, calling the eastern Ukrainian rebels "Kremlin-backed" and claiming Moscow is "preparing a full-scale invasion."

He also mentions, once, midway through the text, that some of the Chechen fighters in Ukraine admit having trained with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. Kiev, he writes, has no official links to them, but has been criticized for turning a blind eye to their actions.


Comment: The Ukraine crazies have more links to radical terror groups than even this article suggests:

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Black Cat

Japan says it will quit IWC to continue commercial whaling

Justin McCurry and Matthew Weaver
The Guardian
Tue, 25 Dec 2018 22:17 UTC
minke whale
© Kyodo News/Kyodo News via Getty ImagesA minke whale is landed at a port in Kushiro on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido in 2017.
Japan will resume hunting in its waters in July but will end controversial expeditions to the Southern ocean

Japan is facing international condemnation after confirming it will resuming commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years.

The country's fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government's chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling.

Suga told reporters the country's fleet would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, adding that its controversial annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean - a major source of diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Canberra - would end.

He said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by 30 June.

Its decision prompted criticism from conservationists and other nations including the UK and Australia.
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Light Saber

Russia has a roadmap for Libya - Another noble Gaddafi

Henry Meyer, Samer Al-Atrush and Stepan Kravchenko
Bloomberg
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 22:07 UTC
torn gadaffi
© Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty ImagesA Libyan National Transitional Council fighter walks under a torn picture of Muammar Qaddafi in Sirte, in 2011.
Vladimir Putin is working to fill voids left around the world as Donald Trump puts America first.

Russia has a new potential leader for Libya. His name is Qaddafi.

The former dictator's son, Saif al-Islam, this month became the latest in a long line of Libyans to seek Moscow's support as President Vladimir Putin steps up Russia's role in the energy-rich North African state.

With the U.S. all but absent, the Kremlin sees an opening to become the key power broker in Libya, rudderless and divided since Muammar Qaddafi's overthrow and death in 2011. Russia is likely to be emboldened in that aim by U.S. plans to pull out of Syria.


Comment: A more accurate rendering: The Kremlin sees a chance to restore stability to Libya as political entity and relieve the suffering of the Libyan people after Qaddafi's overthrow and murder by US- and NATO-backed terrorists.

Comment: Putin is aware that the Great Tribes hold the real power in Libya and will back him as the Syrian people back Bashir Assad. Dr. Gaddafi's own words on Libya's suffering at the hands of the West:

Dr. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: Memorandum on fabrications against the Libyan state, leadership and army

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MIB

'The Palestinian Authority is a mafia': Family of Palestinian woman speaks out against her arbitrary detention in PA prison known for torture and abuse

Yumna Patel
Mondoweiss
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 22:38 UTC
Suha Jbara's children protest arrest by PA
© TwitterSuha Jbara's three children taking part in a protest in the West Bank in support of their and to put increasing pressure on the PA to release her.
After nearly two months of arbitrary detention, brutal interrogations, a hunger strike, and sexual harassment, 31-year-old Suha Jbara is expected to be released from Palestinian Authority (PA) custody in the next two days, her family told Mondoweiss.

Jbara, a Palestinian activist with American and Panamanian citizenship, was arrested by PA security forces on November 3rd over accusations that she collected and distributed money through "illegal methods," a claim herself and her family vehemently deny.

Over the course of her detention, PA authorities were unable to bring substantial charges against Jbara, her father Badran Jbara, 56, told Mondoweiss.

Despite this, the mother of three was kept in a PA prison in Jericho, which rights groups say is notorious for torture and abuse. During her detention, she was denied a lawyer during several interrogation sessions, threatened with sexual assault, and was never granted a proper court hearing.

Badran Jbara spoke to Mondoweiss about the "nightmare" that his daughter and family have experienced over the past two months.

Comment: Years of bureaucratic bloat, nepotism and corruption have turned Palestinians against the PA. Harsh crackdowns on free speech, including the policing of social media sites, the enrichment of the elites at the expense of the public good, and complicity in Israeli occupation policies are to blame. The PA has also been strongly criticized for its part in worsening living conditions in Gaza, having cut in half the salaries of its 50,000 employees without warning and for calling on Israel to cut Gaza's electricity, leaving residents with only two hours of power a day. See:

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Attention

German foreign minister to Trump: Don't even think about stationing nuclear weapons in Europe after INF withdrawal

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 20:56 UTC
missile silhouette
© Getty Images / Anton Petrus
Washington's decision to drop out of the INF has fueled speculation about the return of a full-blown, Cold-War style nuclear arms race, as Russia has reflexively threatened to build up its tactical defenses along Europe's periphery in the face of what's expected to be a buildup of American intermediate-range arms.

But whatever happens between the two nuclear superpowers, Germany wants no part of it.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned this week that the US better not be thinking about stationing its intermediate-range missiles in Germany - or anywhere in Europe, for that matter. For the last 30 years, the treaty has prohibited stationing intermediate-range arms in Europe. Any push to change that would almost certainly be met with "widespread resistance" in Germany, Maas said, so as to avoid a scenario where Europe is put in the middle of a tug-of-war between Russia and the US.

Comment: Unless Trump can overcome the attitudes of those surrounding him, or replace them with more congenial advisors, the prospects for renewing the START treaty are dim.

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