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Meet the Overseas Contingency Operations Account – Washington D.C.’s Crony Capitalist War Slush Fund
Meet the Overseas Contingency Operations Account – Washington D.C.’s Crony Capitalist War Slush Fund
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain has called it a “gimmick,” and Democrats complain that larding up the separate war funding bill with extra spending amounts to an “abusive loophole.” Yet so far, the massive increase is likely to remain in this year’s budget.
Another major criticism of the process has been its common use to fund favored projects and other items not directly tied to the war — a trend that has steadily grown over the years as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on and the Pentagon loosened the definition of war-related spending.
From 2001 to 2014, nearly $71 billion of nonwar funding was provided through war appropriations, according to the Pentagon’s own definition, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reported in December.
– From the Politico article: War Budget Might be Permanent ‘Slush Fund’
Many people will read this post, and posts like it, and shrug their shoulders saying that there’s always going to be corruption. True; however, there are degrees of corruption. When empires such as the U.S. attain a certain level of corruption that reaches the point where it becomes engrained within the fabric of society, and you couple that with zero accountability for the super rich and powerful, you have the ingredients for societal collapse. We are rapidly approaching this point, and I personally don’t think there’s any way to stop it.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
In His Thirst for War, Senator Jim Inhofe Releases Fake Photos of Russian Troops in the Ukraine
In His Thirst for War, Senator Jim Inhofe Releases Fake Photos of Russian Troops in the Ukraine
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee first viewed the graphic pictures in December. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.) then obtained the photos and worked to independently verify and confirm the authenticity of the photos, before providing them exclusively to the Free Beacon.
Inhofe said he hopes the images act as a wake up call to the Obama administration and American people, who largely have been spared from seeing the graphic violence inflicted upon Ukraine by the Russian-backed separatists…
Following publication of this story, serious questions have been raised about the authenticity of some of the photographs provided by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.). Several images of the Russian convoys appear to have been taken in 2008, during Russia’s conflict with Georgia. Given the similarities between the earlier images and those provided by the senator’s office, the Washington Free Beacon is investigating further and will update as necessary.
Sen. Inhofe said in a statement: “The Ukrainian parliament members who gave us these photos in print form as if it came directly from a camera really did themselves a disservice. We felt confident to release these photos because the images match the reporting of what is going on in the region. I was furious to learn one of the photos provided now appears to be falsified from an AP photo taken in 2008.
– From the Washington Free Beacon’s article: Updated: Provenance of Photos Showing Atrocities Questioned
This is absolutely incredible. Incredible.
First of all, I don’t claim to have any idea about what is happening in Ukraine. Many people out there feel obligated to pick a side, but I can promise you that 99% of them don’t actually have a clue. I don’t think there are many “goods guys” on either side of this fight, and my assumption is that both sides are lying as much as possible. It’s a very sad situation, but very few people really knows what’s going on. That’s why I don’t comment on it much.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
