Puppet MastersS


Arrow Up

Congress proposes budget increase for NASA surpassing Obama's request by almost a billion dollars


RT
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:56 UTC
Nasa
© Mike Brown / Reuters
NASA fans have long begrudged Congress for insufficiently funding space exploration, but there was only astonished excitement for lawmakers Wednesday, who proposed budget increases surpassing President Barack Obama's request by nearly a billion dollars.

With $19.3 billion included for NASA in the omnibus spending bill, the civilian space program is on the verge of a relaunch. The Obama administration had asked for $18.5 billion. Last year, NASA received $18.4 billion.

A number of programs and missions will now be able to get back on track with the additional funding. NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) had planned to launch this year, but budgetary issues led to postponement. CCP attracts private companies to build spaceships and conduct their manned operations to and from the International Space Station. The new budget covers a 2017 launch for CCP with $1.24 billion, and it marks the first time Congress has ever met White House funding goals on the program.

While the canceled Space Shuttle program will not be making a comeback, NASA astronauts no longer will have to "hitch rides" on Russian Soyuz rockets as they have since 2011, at a cost of about $80 million per seat. The space agency, not expecting a budget increase, has already purchased six Soyuz seats reserved for 2018, but reports attached to the spending bill allow for that money to be shifted to the CCP once SpaceX and Boeing projects are mission ready.
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Cell Phone

US Defense Secretary sent sensitive emails from his personal account using iPhone


RT
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 16:47 UTC
Ashton Carter
© Yuri Gripas / ReutersU.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter used a personal email account on his iPhone to send "administrative messages," the official acknowledged on Thursday. The head of the Pentagon said the practice was "a mistake."

"I have to hold myself to absolutely strict standards in terms of cybersecurity and doing things that are appropriate. I didn't in this case," Carter said in an interview with CBS. The defense secretary, who is now on a work trip in the Middle East, added that it was "a mistake, and it's entirely my own."


Comment: How does he "mistakenly" send an email from his phone? Did he not know he was using his phone? Is the Defense Secretary not aware of where he is when writing an email? The claim of it being a mistake is just an excuse, he knew what he was doing and he did it anyway. He violated rules set by the DoD, so will there be any consequences for that? If he receives no form of punishment, then the rule that he violated is essentially impotent. If a lowly Pentagon employee was caught breaking the same rule, they would likely face a rather harsh punishment. So is Ash Carter above the rules of his own department?


No classified information was among "administrative messages" sent from his iPhone, Carter said, and all emails were reportedly backed up for record on his department's official email system.

The disclosure of private email use for government business by the defense chief was acknowledged by the Pentagon on Wednesday, following an article by The New York Times. The report said Carter's mailing practices, which violated Defense Department rules, continued for at least two months after Hillary Clinton's similar private email usage was disclosed in March.
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Eye 2

US Navy allegedly covered up torture and abuse of Afghan detainees by SEALs


RT
Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:39 UTC
Afghan police
© Stringer / ReutersAfghan local police (ALP) in Qalay-i-zal district, Kunduz province, Afghanistan August 1, 2015
Though several US soldiers accused a SEAL team of beating and waterboarding Afghan men detained after a checkpoint bombing, their commanding officer decided not to press charges. One of the Afghans died after the torment.

The incident took place in May of 2012 at a US outpost near the village of Kalach in southern Afghanistan's Oruzgan province. Six SEALs, as well as four Army and four Navy personnel, were at the base, which was established to help train the Afghan Local Police (ALP), according to an investigation published on Thursday in the New York Times.

After their checkpoint was bombed on the morning of May 31, killing one officer, the ALP rounded up several suspects and marched them to the outpost for interrogation. At the end of the day, one of the detainees had died from his injuries. The soldiers on the base said that three of the SEALs were responsible.

Instead of putting a stop to the ALP abuse of the detainees, three enlisted members of the SEAL team joined in, witnesses said. They kicked prisoners, fired pistols next to their heads, dropped stones on them, and stepped on their heads, according to the testimonials given to the Navy's criminal investigators (NCIS). The NCIS report, with all the names redacted, was obtained by the Times through a freedom-of-information request.
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Bomb

US bombs Iraqi brigade that had huge success against Daesh - leaves 30 dead, 20 injured


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 15:08 UTC
Iraq airstrikes
© AP Photo
At least 30 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 20 others injured in US air strike, Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee said.

"Thirty soldiers from the Iraqi Army's 55 brigade were killed and 20 were injured in a US airstrike on the town of al-Naimiya in the al-Fallujah province," al-Zamili's statement obtained by Sputnik reads.

The politician stated that he demanded "the [Iraqi] prime minister to conduct an investigation into the airstrike against the 55 brigade, which had previously had huge success in the fight against Daesh terrorists."

Comment: The Pentagon might say 'this isn't true' but it sure as heck fits the US' profile: RT published a video of the purported attack:



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Quenelle

French senators visit Moscow to iron out France's 'schizophrenic' relations with Russia


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:34 UTC
French senator
© Sputnik/ Kirill Kallinikov
A group of French parliamentarians have traveled to Moscow to push for greater dialogue between France and Russia.

A group of 17 French deputies and senators have traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian officials, Le Point newspaper reported on Thursday.

Two of the politicians are representatives of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) political party, and the rest represent France's Republicans party (formerly UMP), led by French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy.
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Bomb

Iraqi Kurds repel the deadliest Daesh attack in months


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:18 UTC
Kurds Iraq
© AP Photo/ Bram Janssen
Kurdish forces have reportedly managed to repel the most serious Daesh militant attack in northern Iraq since this summer.

Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) militants attacked Kurd forces' positions in northern Iraq, in what became the jihadists' most serious assault in northern Iraq in the past five months, media reports said.

The attack, which was jointly repelled by Kurdish forces and coalition air strikes, was launched at several locations on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday.

Comment: One wonders if any of those 70 Turkish soldiers who went 'missing' after fighting ISIS (23 km away from Mosul) found their way into this fight. Also see: Over 70 Turkish troops reported missing following massive ISIS attack in northern Iraq

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Blackbox

ISIS in sheep's clothing: Alleged terrorist arrested in German refugee camp


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:09 UTC
German police
© REUTERS/ Kai Pfaffenbach
A Syrian suspected of working with Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) was apprehended in a refugee camp in Germany.

Laith Daham al-Deiri, reportedly known as the Paymaster, was seized by authorities at a refugee camp in the town of Unna, according to Bild.

Al Deiri was allegedly working as the terrorist group's accountant, and was identified by authorities thanks to a photo of him posted online by Syrian anti-Daesh activists, the newspaper adds. The suspect reportedly arrived in Germany about a week ago with his sister and her husband, and all three of them lived together in the Unna refugee camp.

Comment: Also see: Europe, the US and the advance of Nazi barbarism

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Dollar

The 'crooks' in Ukraine defaults on $3bn Eurobond to Russia


RT
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 13:51 UTC
Yatsenyuk
Ukraine has imposed a moratorium on the $3 billion Russian debt repayment, said the country's Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk at a cabinet meeting on Friday. The announcement comes ahead of the December 20 deadline for the debt redemption.

"Considering that Russia has refused, despite our efforts, to sign an agreement on restructuring and to accept our proposals, the cabinet is imposing a moratorium on payment of the Russian debt worth $3 billion," said Yatsenyuk.

The payment is halted "until we make restructuring proposals or a relevant court decision is made," added the Prime Minister.

Comment: Putin was right:
"I have a feeling that they will not pay us back because they are crooks."


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Attention

Moving attention from Syria? Carter arrives in Afghanistan on unannounced visit


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 13:44 UTC
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter
© AP
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Afghanistan Friday on an unannounced visit, local media reported.

According to the Khaama Press news agency, Carter is expected to meet with Afghan officials and military commanders, as well as with the US troops deployed in the country.

His visit comes amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday that the Afghan national security forces had reported a 27 percent increase in casualties since the start of the year.
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Network

Secret US Commandos forced to leave Libya after being revealed in Facebook post


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Dec 2015 13:32 UTC
US air force
© Sputnik/ Vladimir Pirogov
A group of US commandos, whose secret mission to Libya was revealed after several pictures of them were posted on the Libyan Air Forces Facebook page, were forced to leave the country.

"A group of US commandos who landed in Libya on Monday were ordered to leave almost immediately because of a possible mix-up between the Libyan air force and army," the US media quotes US and Libyan officials as saying on Thursday.

The decision came after four pictures of about 20 US Special Operations Forces servicemen, arriving at Libya's Wattiya airbase, have been posted on the Facebook page of the Libyan Air Forces.
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