After 3 Failures, Pentagon Now Says It Won't Be Able to Produce a 'Clean' Audit Until 2027

For the third year in a row, the Defense Department failed to come up with a "clean" audit of its agencies and $2.9 trillion in assets. And it probably won't be able to produce one until 2027, Pentagon officials said Monday.

A clean report is issued when an auditor finds no misrepresentation in financial records and that those records have been maintained according to established standards.

The COVID-19 pandemic limited auditors' ability to check the fiscal 2020 books, but the effort still managed to identify about $700 million in savings, the officials added.

This year's effort by outside public accounting firms hired to audit the DoD cost $203 million, said Thomas Harker, who is performing the duties of under secretary of defense (comptroller).

He called for patience, saying the task is just too difficult in size and scope to expect success before 2027. In addition, the auditors could visit only 100 locations to do their work because of the pandemic, compared to 600 last year.

"This is something that's never been done for an entity of the size and complexity of the Department of Defense," Harker said at a Pentagon briefing Monday. "We've been clear that this is a journey that will require a sustained effort over several years.

"When we look at the return on investment for the process improvements that we're making, around accountability for property accountability, for inventory, that type of thing, we've identified more than $700 million in savings based on these process improvements," he added, pointing to progress in matching what's on the books with what's actually in the inventory.

All of the service branches again fell short of conducting a clean audit, but the Marine Corps "made a ton of progress" while also dealing with the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, Harker said.

One bright spot in the audit of 24 DoD agencies is the clean audit that is expected to be completed in December for the Defense Information Systems Agency's working capital fund, he said. DISA failed to do a clean audit last year.

"I think anytime you have a new agency get a clean opinion, that's a huge accomplishment. Last year, we did not have any agencies get new clean opinions. This year, we did," Harker said.

Separately, the DoD office of Inspector General, which plans to issue its overall assessment of the DoD audit in January, said, "While progress has been made, the road to an unmodified [clean] DoD financial statement opinion is a long-term effort."

In a statement, Sean O'Donnell, the Acting DoD Inspector General, said, "Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Defense demonstrated improvement in its financial management processes in fiscal 2020. However, the Department still has significant challenges to overcome before achieving a clean opinion."

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/11/17/after-3-failures-pentagon-now-says-it-wont-be-able-produce-clean-audit-until-2027.html

These Are The 16 Organizations That Will Be Receiving The First $800 Million From The Bezos Earth Fund

Back in February, the founder, CEO, and president of Amazon announced that he’s launching the Bezos Earth Fund and pledging to donate $10 billion to various organizations fighting climate change. “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” he wrote in his Instagram post announcing the launch. “This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs—any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.”

This Monday, Bezos announced 16 organizations that will be receiving the first $791 million from the fund.

Back in February, Jeff Bezos announced the launch of the Bezos Earth Fund

“I’ve spent the past several months learning from a group of incredibly smart people who’ve made it their life’s work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world. I’m inspired by what they’re doing, and excited to help them scale,” Bezos wrote in his Instagram post announcing the first donations.

Bezos pledged to donate $10 billion to various organizations fighting climate change

Here are the 16 organisations that will be receiving the first donations from the Bezos Earth Fund:

The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund,

ClimateWorks Foundation,

Dream Corps Green For All,

Eden Reforestation Projects, Energy Foundation,

Environmental Defense Fund,

The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice,

Natural Resources Defense Council,

The Nature Conservancy,

NDN Collective,

Rocky Mountain Institute,

Salk Institute for Biological Studies,

The Solutions Project,

Union of Concerned Scientists,

World Resources Institute,

World Wildlife Fund.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/11/these-are-16-organizations-that-will-be.html

The CIA’s 70-Year History of Disinformation: How the CIA Funded the Opinion Magazines in Europe

When an intelligence agency arranges to disseminate fake news it is called “disinformation” and it is a subset of what is referred to as covert action, basically secret operations run in a foreign country to influence opinion or to disrupt the functioning of a government or group that is considered to be hostile.

During the Cold War, disinformation operations were run by many of the leading players in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and in the opposition Warsaw Pact. Sometimes the activity and the sponsorship were clearly visible, as when Radio Free Europe and Radio Moscow would exchange barbs about just how bad daily life was in the opposition alliance. Sometimes, however, it took the form of clandestinely placing stories in the media that were clearly untrue but designed to shift public perceptions of what was taking place in the world. The Vietnam War provided a perfect proxy playing field, with stories emanating from the U.S. government and its supporters presenting a narrative of a fight for democracy against totalitarianism while the Communist bloc promoted a contrary tale of colonial and capitalist oppression of a people striving to be free.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inherited the mantle of covert action operations as a legacy from its OSS predecessor, which had had considerable success in conducting disinformation operations during World War 2. But there was from the start considerable opposition to continuing such programs as they were both expensive and subject to devastating blowback when they were identified and exposed. In Western Europe, powerful domestic communist parties were quick to publicize U.S. intelligence missteps, but nevertheless the ability to manipulate the news and information media to place stories critical of the Soviets and their allies led to major programs that funded magazines and books while also seeking to acquire a cadre of journalists that would produce pieces on demand proved too tempting to ignore.

There has been considerable ex post facto examination of the CIA’s use of covert funding mechanisms including the Congress of Cultural Freedom to fund writers and magazines in Europe, the best known of which were The Paris Review and Encounter out of London. As there was a low intensity war going on against communism, a conflict which many patriotic writers supported, funding magazines and finding contributors to write appropriate material was relatively easy and hardly challenged. Some senior editors knew or strongly suspected where their funding was coming from while some did not, but most didn’t ask any questions because then as now patrons of literary magazines were in short supply. Many of the writers were in the dark about the funding, but wrote what they did because of their own personal political convictions. The CIA, seeking value for money, would urge certain editorial lines but was not always very aggressive in doing so as it sought to allow the process to play out without too much interference.

https://alethonews.com/2018/01/15/the-cias-70-year-history-of-disinformation-how-the-cia-funded-the-opinion-magazines-in-europe/

European Vega Rocket Suffers 'Major Failure', $400 Million In Satellites Destroyed

A European Vega rocket suffered a cataphoric failure shortly after launch on Monday evening, leading to the loss of $400 million in satellites for Spain and France, reported Space News.

Around 2053 ET Monday, the Vega rocket blasted off from the spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket's initial phases appeared to go well, but something went wrong eight minutes into the flight.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-vega-rocket-suffers-major-failure-400-million-satellites-destroyed

VIDEO: Biden Implies Harris Is Feeding Him Classified Info From Her Seat On Intel Committee

Biden's remarks in front of an "Office of the President Elect" backdrop raise concerns about Harris' ethical and legal obligations

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said during a press conference Monday, that although he does not receive intelligence briefings because he is not the President, his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is using her placement on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to obtain classified information.

Speaking in front of a blue background emblazoned with the slogan “Office of the President Elect,” Biden said “And uh, so, it would make it a lot easier if the President were to participate, you have a number of Republicans suggesting that….”

“The good here is that my colleague is still on the Intelligence Committee so she gets the intelligence briefings,” Biden said, turning and smiling in Harris’ direction. “I don’t anymore, so uh, um, uh, that uh, that is, but there’s a number of Republicans calling for that.”

#BREAKING: President-elect Joe Biden says he's getting intel through Vice President-elect Kamala Harris: "The good news is my colleague is still on the Intelligence Committee so she gets the intelligence briefings." pic.twitter.com/3ZWccUFKLN

— The Hill (@thehill) November 16, 2020

Biden’s remarks have raised concern over the legal implications of Harris using her tenure on the Senate intelligence committee to funnel classified info to private citizens, as Biden appeared to imply during the press conference.

Despite standing in front of the “Office of the President Elect” background, the Biden-Harris campaign is covertly seeking to raise $30 million from donors to fight Trump lawsuits regarding election integrity, as reported by National File:

Emails from the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign were sent out to donors last week that asked for help “re-launching our Biden Fight Fund” to “ensure Trump doesn’t win them just because we don’t have the funds to fight back.”

“The crises facing our country are severe from climate change to racial injustice,” the letter said. “We have to step up NOW and give and raise the funding we need to have the necessary funds to make sure that the Biden Harris Transition Team has the money it needs to stay on track to be ready on Inauguration Day January 20, 2021.”

“Because of the $5000 limit we need EVERYONE to focus on raising this money now,” the email begged, adding that the Biden campaign and DNC “wouldn’t be asking if we didn’t truly need $30 million to be able to fund the legal work ahead — we can’t run out of resources now, which is why we need to fill this fund as soon as we can.”

The office of Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe confirmed last week that Biden would not be receiving top-level national security intel because the General Services Administration has yet to ascertain the winner of the 2020 election.

https://nationalfile.com/video-biden-implies-harris-is-feeding-him-classified-info-from-her-seat-on-intel-committee/

Video Game Predicts 2020 Election

Pentagon Plan Calls for Pulling All Troops from Somalia

STUTTGART, Germany – A White House plan to reduce the number of U.S. forces in conflict areas includes removing more than 700 troops based in Somalia, where the military in recent years has expanded operations against al-Qaida-linked fighters, news reports say.

The plan circulating in the Pentagon would cut virtually all troops in Somalia, who conduct counterterrorism and training missions, The New York Times reported Monday.

President Donald Trump has made it a priority during the last months of his administration to sharply scale back both the 19-year-old war in Afghanistan and ongoing missions in Iraq. The plan, reported by numerous news outlets citing unnamed government officials, leaves small residual forces in those countries.

The Somalia plan does not affect U.S. forces in neighboring Djibouti, where the military has a major hub that supports drone strikes in Somalia and other missions in Africa, government officials told The New York Times.

Keeping drone assets in the region means the military would still be able to carry out strikes against the al-Shabab militant group, but elimination of forces in Somalia could curtail the intelligence-gathering capabilities that come with having special operations units on the ground.

Meanwhile, as talk in Washington swirled in recent months about possible drawdowns in conflict areas, to include Somalia, U.S. Africa Command's airstrike campaign in the country has slowed down dramatically.

The last strike in Somalia to eliminate an al-Shabab target was in late August, which means AFRICOM has now gone its longest stretch in several years without a lethal strike. Under Trump, the military had ramped up airstrikes in Somalia, where a record 63 strikes were carried out in 2019.

When asked about the nearly three-month strike lull, AFRICOM said the slower pace wasn't indicative of the military taking its eye off al-Shabab.

"There are various factors that influence our strikes. The US approach and commitment to degrading Al-Shabaab remains strong," Lt. Cmdr. Christina M. Gibson said in a statement earlier this month. "We remain committed to supporting our African Partners to enhance regional security and stability."

The last lethal strike reported by AFRICOM on Aug. 25 killed one terrorist. On Oct. 18 there was an unreported strike in the country, but since it didn't result in the death of any militants, it wasn't publicly reported, AFRICOM said.

If the decision to pull more than 700 troops from Somalia is put into action, it will likely put additional pressure on Somali forces to operate independently in the fight against al-Shabab. Much of AFRICOM's focus over the past two years has been on building up a specialized commando brigade in Somalia that has emerged as a key force in the fight to reclaim territory held by al-Shabab.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/11/17/pentagon-plan-calls-pulling-all-troops-somalia.html

The DEA Wants Access To 131 Million Prescription Records

Back in 2017 I reported on how the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Prescription Monitoring Program was tracking 60 percent of Americans personal information and prescriptions.

But now an article in Filter Mag revealed that the DEA wants unlimited access to millions of Americans’ prescription records.

The DEA is looking to expand its anti-diversion surveillance infrastructure by being able to search and analyze myriad patient behaviors for the vast majority of controlled and scheduled drug prescriptions—all accompanied by a rapid process for legally unveiling personally identifying information.”

In early September, the agency requested proposals for the creation of software capable of searching at least 85 percent of all US residents’ controlled-substance prescriptions for certain patient behaviors, as well as prescriber and pharmacist practices.

The DEA wants to give their agents “unlimited access to patient de-identified data” on re/filled prescriptions, daily supply, payment type, dosing information and gender.”

The “de-identified” data the DEA will have access to includes things like a patients, gender, age group, city, state, zip code and the number of instances of more than one Schedule II prescription drug at the same address. It also includes things like the distance between a patient and the pharmacy.

The DEA’s Prescription Monitoring Program would let at least 1,100 DEA agents have access to the so-called de-identified patient prescription data simultaneously and it would also have a streamlined subpoena process. (Pages 11 and 13 of the DEA’s Proposal for Pharmacy Prescription Data in Filter Mag.)

Why would the DEA want to give 1,100 agents access to “de-identified” patient subscription data and why would they want a streamlined subpoena process if they could not identify individuals?

According to a 2016 NPR article the DEA could be monitoring 119 million Americans taking prescription drugs.

Nearly half of all Americans over the age of 12 take prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, sedatives or stimulants, according to a federal survey. And 16 percent of the time those drugs are misused by nearly 19 million Americans. Health officials are calling for more drug treatment, but also for more care in prescribing drugs in the first place.

The national survey on drug use revealed that at least 119 million Americans took painkillers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives.

The DEA wants access to 131 million Americans’ prescription information

A more recent study by Georgetown University’s, Health Policy Institute claims that at least 66 percent of the population or 131 million Americans are on prescription drugs.

More than 131 million people — 66 percent of all adults in the United States — use prescription drugs. The great majority of adults who have one of five common chronic conditions — diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, arthritis, and cancer — use prescription drugs.

Whichever figure is correct, 119 million or 131 million, the obvious question everyone should be asking is, why does the DEA need access to millions of elderly Americans’ prescription information?

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/11/the-dea-wants-access-to-131-million-prescription-records.html

VIRGINIA: Charges Dropped For Democrat State Senator In Monument Vandal Case After Police Chief Canned Following Arrest

A police chief was placed on leave and then fired after arresting a prominent Democrat. Now that Democrat walks free.

Democrat State Senator Louise Lucas and her NAACP co-conspirators seem to have flexed their privilege, with a judge dropping charges filed over their roles in a June Black Lives Matter attack on Portsmouth, Virginia’s Confederate Monument – a designated historical site that investigators say Lucas and members of NAACP leadership conspired to attack and destroy.

As I recently reported for National File, Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene was fired Monday morning, two months after being placed on administrative leave almost immediately following her decision to charge Senator Lucas, high-ranking NAACP members, as well as members of the Portsmouth Public Defender’s Office with felonies stemming from the monument attack plot.

“I believe I was wrongfully terminated for upholding the law,” Greene said following news of her firing. “I’m being retaliated against for sticking to my sworn oath … to serve and protect my citizens, community and keeping my officers safe.”

Just hours later, at a pre-trial hearing at the Portsmouth City Court House, a judge dismissed charges against Lucas and all others involved in the plot.

“There is no proper evidence that the alleged actions of those charged … rise to the level of felony destruction of property or conspiracy,” Portsmouth prosecutors stated in court documents.

According to a report by Media Right News, Portsmouth’s lead prosecutor, Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales, is linked to rapper P Diddy’s “Our Black Party,” a political movement aligned with Black Lives Matter whose first stated order of business is to defund the police. Additionally, Morales has been heavily funded by radical left-wing mega donor George Soros.

Speaking to reporters after the charges were dismissed, Lucas continued with her insistence that the charges against her were the result of anti-black racism – despite Chief Greene being a black woman herself.

“This gives people in the community hope that when they come to these courtrooms that they will be treated in a fair and just manner, even though you may have a rogue police department who intends to criminalize the justice system against people like me. This gives people hope,” said Lucas.

https://nationalfile.com/virginia-charges-dropped-for-democrat-state-senator-in-monument-vandal-case-after-police-chief-canned-following-arrest/

University of California agrees to $73MILLION settlement over UCLA Health gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients for more than three decades

The prestigious University of California system has reached a proposed $73 million settlement with seven women who accused a former gynecologist of sexual abuse.

As part of the class-action lawsuit, more than 6,600 patients of Dr. James Heaps could receive part of the settlement - even if they have not accused the former University of California, Los Angeles, gynecologist of abuse.

A federal judge must approve the deal between the seven plaintiffs, representing thousands of Heaps' patients, and the University of California regents and the doctor. The proposed agreement, which includes several mandated reforms at UCLA, was filed Monday in federal court.

Patients have accused Heaps of sexual assault and sexual misconduct between 1983 and 2018, when he worked at the UCLA student health center and UCLA Medical Center.

Accusations include making sexually inappropriate comments to patients, touching women sexually during exams without wearing gloves and simulating intercourse, often roughly, with an ultrasound probe.

Gabriela Vasquez, Ellen Cater and Julie Orsatti were three victims who publicly spoke out against Heaps in 2019.

The three women appeared on the Today Show, where they said UCLA needed to be held accountable for Heaps actions.

Vasquez, a former a medical assistant at UCLA Health, says she underwent an invasive examination with Heaps in January 2017. Vasquez said she told a supervisor about the incident, but an investigation didn't launch until December 2017.

'He was introducing the ultrasound and he was simulating as he was having sexual intercourse with me,' she told Today Show.

'And I said, "this is not OK, this is not right." I immediately went to my supervisor, and I reported this to her, and nothing was done.'

Carter told Today Show that she visited Heaps office two days before his office closed down.

'I was allowed to walk into the room after sitting in a waiting room full of other women waiting to see him,' said Carter. 'I walked in, got undressed. He sexually assaulted me again.'

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2020/11/university-of-california-agrees-to.html

Netanyahu, Rivlin call to congratulate Biden, calling him ‘president-elect’

Two weeks after US elections, PM has ‘warm conversation’ with former US VP; Biden, Netanyahu speak of Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security, agree to meet in the near future

Ten days after all major US networks called the election for Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday evening spoke to Joe Biden and congratulated him on his election victory in two separate phone calls.

Both men referred to the former US vice president as the president-elect — a first for Netanyahu — ending a long saga in which Israel was seen as unwilling to take a position on the election outcome.

Though Netanyahu had previously congratulated Biden in a general statement, he failed to say what for; and on Monday he appeared to purposefully avoid calling him the president-elect. Rivlin referred to Biden as such on November 8.

Both Netanyahu and Rivlin said they were sure that the US under Biden’s leadership will continue to be a stalwart ally to Israel.

Rivlin’s office was the first to issue a statement, at 7:00 p.m., saying he called the president-elect “a long-standing friend of the State of Israel,” saying relations go “beyond partisan politics” and saying Israel had “no doubt that, under your leadership, the United States is committed to Israel’s security and success.”

According to a readout from the president’s office, he further said the US “has no stronger ally than the State of Israel; there is nothing stronger than the friendship between the American people and the Israeli people; and the President of the United States of America has no greater friend than the President of the State of Israel, as we have proved over the years.

“As a long-standing friend of the State of Israel, you know that our friendship is based on values that are beyond partisan politics and that we have no doubt that, under your leadership, the United States is committed to Israel’s security and success,” he said.

Rivlin went on to express hope that Biden would work to expand the list of countries who began normalizing relations with Israel during US President Donald Trump’s tenure and extended an invitation for the president-elect to visit Jerusalem.

Exactly 17 minutes later, Netanyahu’s office issued a short statement about the prime minister’s “warm conversation” with Biden, during which the incoming US president “reiterated his deep commitment to the State of Israel and its security.”

Netanyahu told Biden that the special bond between Israel and the US is a “fundamental pillar for Israel’s security and its policy,” according to a readout provided by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The two agreed to meet in the near future in order to discuss the many issues that are on the agenda and reiterated and stressed the need to continue strengthening the strong alliance between the US and Israel.”

Netanyahu had tweeted congratulations to Biden 12 hours after US media called the election for the Democratic nominee, but observers were quick to point out that the prime minister did not specify what he was lauding him for. It was widely assumed that Netanyahu refrained from referring to Biden as the president-elect to avoid angering Trump, who continues to refuse to concede the election.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rivlin-call-to-congratulate-biden-calling-him-president-elect/

The Secret Agenda of the World Bank and IMF

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) work hand in glove – smoothly. Not only are they regularly lending huge sums of money to horror regimes around the world, but they blackmail poor nations into accepting draconian conditions imposed by the west. In other words, the WB and the IMF are guilty of the most atrocious human rights abuses.

You couldn’t tell, when you read above the entrance of the World Bank the noble phrase, “Our Dream is World Free of Poverty”. To this hypocrisy I can only add, ”…And we make sure it will just remain a dream.” This says both, the lie and the criminal nature of the two International Financial Institutions, created under the Charter of the United Nations, but instigated by the United States.

The front of these institutions is brilliant. What meets the eye, are investments in social infrastructure, in schools, health systems, basic needs like drinking water, sanitation – even environmental protection – over all “Poverty Alleviation”, i.e. A World Free of Poverty. But how fake this is today and was already in the 1970’s and 1980’s is astounding. Gradually people are opening their eyes to an abject reality, of exploitation and coercion and outright blackmail. And that, under the auspices of the United Nations. What does it tell you about the UN system? In what hands are the UN? – The world organization was created in San Francisco, California, on 24 October 1945, just after WWII, by 51 nations, committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The UN replaced the League of Nations which was part of the Peace Agreement after WWI, the Treaty of Versailles. It became effective on 10 January 1920, was headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, with the purpose of disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries, through negotiation diplomacy and improving global welfare. In hindsight it is easy to see that the entire UN system was set up as a hypocritical farce, making people believe that their mighty leaders only wanted peace. These might leaders were all westerners; the same that less than 20 years after the creation of the noble League of Nations, started World War II.

This little introduction provides the context for what was eventually to become the UN-backed outgrowth for global theft, for impoverishing nations, around the world, for exploitation of people, for human rights abuses and for shoveling huge amounts of assets from the bottom, from the people, to the oligarchy, the ever-smaller corporate elite – the so-called Bretton Woods Institutions.

In July 1944 more than 700 delegates of 44 Allied Nations (allied with the winners of WWII) met at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after WWII. Let’s be sure, this conference was carried out under the auspices of the United States, the self-declared winner of WWII, and from now on forward the master over the financial order of the world – which was not immediately visible, an agenda hidden in plain sight.

https://thesaker.is/the-secret-agenda-of-the-world-bank-and-imf/

Israel finds explosives planted on Syrian border; Gantz holds Damascus to blame

Defense minister warns army ready to respond to any incident, won’t ignore bombs uncovered, disarmed in Israeli-controlled buffer zone on southern Golan Heights

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday uncovered and disarmed a number of explosive devices that had been planted inside Israeli-controlled territory in the southern Golan Heights, near the Syrian border.

Though Iranian proxies were suspected of being behind the attempted attack, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the military said they held Syria responsible for the incident.

The explosives were planted in a buffer zone along the border where Israel once maintained a clinic for treating Syrian civilians under a humanitarian program known as “Operation Good Neighbor,” which is now used for patrols. The area is under Israeli control but on the Syrian side of the security fence, an area between the United Nations-recognized “Alpha” and “Bravo” ceasefire lines.

In August, four armed men from an Iranian proxy militia attempted to plant bombs in the same location. Since then, the IDF has stepped up monitoring of the area, the military said.

“For a long time, we have been prepared for the possibility of attacks on the northern frontier,” Gantz said during a security briefing and tour to review combat readiness of forces in area. “The IDF has the capabilities and determination to respond severely to any incident, whether from Lebanon or Syria.”

Addressing the discovering of the mines, he said: “I would like to clearly state: Syria is responsible for what happens from its territory, like this IED [attack], and what happens within its territory, like the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah. We cannot ignore this issue.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-finds-disarms-landmines-planted-in-israeli-territory-along-syria-border/

Dominion confirms Clinton Foundation donation, Pelosi staffer tie but disputes other claims

Dominion Voting Systems is rebutting assorted claims of partisan bias and voting manipulation in the 2020 election, including rumors of a secret U.S. military raid on purported servers in Germany and ownership interests and other influence in the firm by prominent Democratic families.

Election tech company Dominion Voting Systems is rebutting assorted claims of partisan bias and voting manipulation in the 2020 election, including rumors of a secret U.S. military raid on purported servers in Germany and ownership interests and other influence in the firm by prominent Democratic families. At the same time, Dominion has confirmed reports it made a donation to the Clinton Foundation and hired a former Nancy Pelosi staffer as a lobbyist.

Dominion has been at the center of a firestorm since Nov. 3, when its election management software, which is widely used across the country, led to an unofficial initial vote count misreporting Joe Biden as beating President Trump in Michigan's Antrim County when, according to election officials, the county clerk neglected to update software used to collect voting data from electronic tabulators.

In a lengthy, wide-ranging series of statements on its homepage, Dominion is rejecting claims made in the media and online by critics skeptical of the presidential results who fear that the firm is biased toward Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Although Dominion did acknowledge that it made a philanthropic donation to a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in 2014, it also stated that the firm "has no company ownership relationships with any member of the Pelosi family, the Feinstein family, or the Clinton Global Initiative, Smartmatic, Scytl, or any ties to Venezuela."

Dominion also linked to a Nov. 10 Associated Press report downplaying reports of ties between the election technology firm and prominent Democrats. While acknowledging that it is true that former Pelosi Chief of Staff Nadeam Elshami "is part of a lobbying team representing Dominion, according to public disclosures," the AP dismissed any partisan significance in that connection, noting "that team also includes Brian Wild, who counts Republicans such as former House Speaker John Boehner and former Vice President Dick Cheney among his past bosses."

Dominion also swatted down any claims of "raids" on Dominion servers by the U.S. military, saying that the company does not have servers in Germany.

Allegations against the company could escalate, given claims by an attorney on the Trump campaign election integrity legal team that forthcoming evidence shows the presidential vote count was manipulated using technology from Dominion, a claim the firm soundly rejects.

Attorney Sidney Powell alleged in media interviews that Dominion was used to obtain a "rigged" outcome for Biden over Trump.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/trump-lawyer-forthcoming-evidence-shows-dominion-vote-count-manipulated

The Alleged Voting Irregularities in Pennsylvania

“The Constitution doesn’t give the media the right to select the President. It’s just a political statement at this point,” Fitton stated in Friday’s Weekly Update.

Election Day was nearly two weeks ago and there still isn’t an official winner, according to Fitton. Ongoing litigation in states such as Pennsylvania, where the Trump campaign has “….[made] allegations of voter fraud, voter misconduct and maladministration that call into question the results of the Pennsylvania election,” have raised serious concerns about the decision to call the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden. As Fitton has regularly reiterated in reference to post-election day ballot counting, “3 USC Section 1 – raises questions about not only counting ballots that arrived after ballot day but counting ballots past election day in a way that changes the results after election day.” In fact, as the law states:

“The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President.”

“I encourage you to review the filing made by the campaign, not because I support the campaign but because they make important allegations that every American should be concerned about,” Fitton continued. From the court case brought forward by the Trump campaign it would appear that “600k mail in ballots, or ballots generally, were counted in Pennsylvania without the required observation by the Trump campaign. The law requires that both sides have the right to observe the ballot counting.” Fitton argued that the claims were “very substantial,” raising the question “of some votes being more equal than others in PA.” As Fitton explained, “what was happening in PA , as the lawsuit alleges, is that in Democratic counties they were trying to see if the ballots were ‘deficient’ in some way, and if they were, they were trying to get the ballots cured by communicating with voters.” This wasn’t the case in Republican-leaning counties, Fitton stated – meaning that “more ballot harvesting was going on in Democratic counties.”

At this point, election results in Pennsylvania are in the hands of the court. As Fitton concluded “there’s more than enough information out there, in the form of affidavits evidencing voter fraud in the sense of the structural issues I’ve raised where they were counting ballots, changing the results as counted on election day, having a new candidate winning.”

https://www.judicialwatch.org/deep-dive/pa-voting-irregularities/

The FBI Spying Denial That Never Grows Cold

Four years after the FBI sent “Confidential Human Sources” secretly to gather information on Donald Trump’s team, the president’s opponents in politics and the media continue to deny that the bureau spied on his 2016 campaign. They are now using that denial to dismiss questions of voting irregularities in the 2020 election by arguing that Trump and his allies traffic in outrageous falsehoods for partisan purposes.

Leslie Stahl and Trump: A socially distant elbow bump soon gave way to sharp-elbowed verbal interjections as Stahl would have none of the President's spying charges.

"60 Minutes"/CBS News

During the vice-presidential debate, Mike Pence said, “When Joe Biden was vice president of the United States, the FBI actually spied on President Trump and my campaign.” The response from NBC “fact checkers” was to declare that “Pence repeated a false claim that Trump made during the first presidential debate – accusing the Obama administration of spying on their 2016 campaign.”

At Politico, Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio caricatured the accusation of spying as alleging “Biden was a mastermind of an effort to spy on Trump’s 2016 campaign,” saying it was a story “riddled with falsehoods, exaggerations and assumptions.” By pressing accusations of spying, the president has politicized “institutions in a way that will leave lasting damage,” Politico quoted Democrats saying. The outlet warned, “Trump may exacerbate that strain in the coming weeks.”

Last week, USA Today reporters Kevin Johnson and Kristine Phillips described as “debunked allegations” claims that Trump’s team had been spied on, while reporting that Attorney General William Barr, a prominent leveler of the charge last year, was now opening the Justice Department to "claims of partisan interference" with a new directive to investigate credible claims of voting irregularities.

Lesley Stahl, in her “60 Minutes” interview with President Trump ahead of the election, refused to even discuss the spying charge, rejecting it as unverified and untrue.

“The biggest scandal was when they spied on my campaign,” Trump told Stahl. “They spied on my campaign, Lesley.”

“Well, there's no real evidence of that,” Stahl objected.

“Of course there is. It's all over the place."

“No."

“Lesley, they –"

“Sir –"

“– spied on my campaign and they got caught."

“Can I – can I say something?” Stahl said. “You know, this is '60 Minutes.' And we can't put on things we can't verify –"

“No,” Trump said, “you won't put it on because it's bad for Biden. Look, let me tell you –"

“We can't put on things we can't verify.”

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/11/17/the_denial_of_fbi_spying_that_never_got_old_126035.html

Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein Caught Without a Face Mask On…. AGAIN

87-year-old Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) on Tuesday was caught once again without a face mask on.

Feinstein just a few days ago warned Americans about a dark winter: “The rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths are a clear warning of what awaits us this winter if we don’t take precautions.”

Today the Democrat hypocrite was spotted without a face mask on.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/democrat-senator-dianne-feinstein-caught-without-face-mask-video/

‘Uniter in Chief’ Biden Urges Congress to Pass Nancy Pelosi’s Partisan COVID Relief Bill

Only one Republican voted for the so-called Heroes Act

Joe Biden campaigned for president as a uniting figure who would bring the country together by transcending partisanship in Washington.

However, in one of his first policy-related pronouncements as president-elect, Biden urged Congress to "come together" to pass legislation that most Republicans view as a nonstarter and was rejected by moderate Democrats representing swing districts.

In calling on Congress to approve the HEROES Act, the COVID-19 relief package that narrowly passed the Democratic-controlled House in May, the president-elect is embracing a partisan proposal with a $3 trillion price tag. Only one Republican member—Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.)—voted for it, while 14 Democrats opposed it.

The bill contains provisions that Democrats supported long before the onset of the pandemic, such as student debt forgiveness and financial mismanagement forgiveness to state governments with unsustainable pension liabilities. According to Politico, even House Democrats "acknowledge that their behemoth proposal … is more of a talking point than legislation that they expect to become law."

David Dayen of the American Prospect called the HEROES Act a "kitchen sink wish list" and "jumble of ideas" that "reflects the real incoherence of the Democratic position." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) called it "outlandish."

One of the House Democrats who voted against the HEROES Act was Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.), who had some harsh words for her own party after narrowly winning reelection. During a post-election conference call with her Democratic colleagues, Spanberger blasted the increasingly influential radical left wing of the party and urged her colleagues to refrain from embracing socialism and controversial slogans such as "defund the police."

It remains to be seen whether Biden, who will turn 78 on Friday, will actually be inaugurated in January. Nancy Pelosi, who will turn 81 in March, might not be around much longer, either. In any event, the hard-left radicals who control the Democratic Party might prefer a malleable puppet (Biden) as president, especially when the alternative, Kamala Harris, is renowned for her insatiable ambition.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/uniter-in-chief-joe-biden/

Pair Charged With Voter Fraud Allegedly Submitted THOUSANDS of Fraudulent Applications on Behalf of Homeless People

CALIFORNIA — Two men have been charged in a 41-count criminal complaint for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.

53-year-old Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, aka Mark Anthony Gonsalves, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, eight counts of voter fraud, four counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument and four misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.

Montenegro faces an additional 10 counts of voter fraud, seven counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, two counts of perjury and five misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.

The case was filed for warrant on November 12.

[READ NEXT: Stolen Ballots Found Under a Rock On Side Of Road In Glendale, Arizona]

Montenegro allegedly submitted more than 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications between July and October 2020. Montenegro also is accused of falsifying names, addresses and signatures on nomination papers under penalty of perjury to run for mayor in the city of Hawthorne.

The District Attorney did not specify which political party the duo intended to help.

If convicted as charged, Montenegro faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years and eight months in state prison, while Arevalo faces a possible maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

[READ NEXT: U.S. Postal Worker Caught at Canadian Border With Stolen Ballots In Car Trunk]

The Public Integrity Division is prosecuting the case.

The case remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office, FBI, Covina Police Department and the California Secretary of State’s Office assisted in the initial investigation.

[READ NEXT: 2 Men Accused of Targeting Drive-Thru Mailboxes, Stealing Election Ballots In Major Swing State]

https://breaking911.com/breaking-pair-charged-with-voter-fraud-allegedly-submitted-thousands-of-fraudulent-applications-on-behalf-of-homeless-people/

OECD Working Group on Bribery Issues Report Commending United States for Maintaining Leading Role in the Fight Against Transnational Corruption

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oecd-working-group-bribery-issues-report-commending-united-states-maintaining-leading-role

Powerhouse attorney Lin Wood files suit to declare entire Georgia election in 2020 null and void

Donald Trump is hanging on to his reelection chances by a thread after the thoroughly corrupt ‘mainstream media’ prematurely declared Democratic rival Joe Biden the ‘president-elect’ in what is clearly the latest coup attempt against a president who has done more good for our country than the last three presidents combined.

But because he is not a swamp rat and is a legitimate outsider, he is never going to be welcome in a government apparatus that has become so corrupt and so aloof from “We the People” that the ‘checks and balances’ enacted by our founders to prevent this sort of runaway situation are no longer functional.

As such, the people will have to come to the president’s aid and defend him as he fights to defend us and what remains of our republic and its election integrity.

One of those fighting the legal battle on behalf of the president and our country is powerhouse attorney Lin Wood.

A resident of Georgia, Wood is alleging in a massive lawsuit that a March 6, 2020 Consent Agreement made by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger (RINO) and other state officials with a sniveling Democrat lawyer associated with Hillary Clinton to change election and voting procedures in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Article II, which only gives that power to state legislatures.

I filed a lawsuit today in federal court in Atlanta to establish that the March 6, 2020 Consent Agreement by the GA Secretary of State rendered UNLAWFUL the 11/3 GA general election.

I am right under established law. https://t.co/3FBMWlPDmC

— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) November 13, 2020

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2020/11/17/huge-powerhouse-attorney-lin-wood-files-suit-to-declare-entire-georgia-election-in-2020-null-and-void/

Establishment Dems Can’t Say ‘No’ to Billionaires

Have you heard the latest about the strategic political genius of billionaire Michael Bloomberg?

The political brilliance, you might skeptically ask, of Michael Bloomberg?

The same Michael Bloomberg who had to spend a record $99 per vote to get himself elected mayor of New York in 2001, another $112 per vote four years later to get himself re-elected, and even more — $174 per vote — to win a third term?

The same Michael Bloomberg who sunk over $900 million into a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and won only American Samoa before dropping out as “a billion-dollar flop”?

The same Michael Bloomberg who rushed into Florida this fall with a $100-million plan to get that state behind Joe Biden — and again flopped royally?

Yes, the strategic brilliance of that Michael Bloomberg, at least according to Democratic Party apparatchiks in Florida. Last week, they held a statewide conference call to proudly proclaim that their disappointing failure to carry Florida had actually been a brilliant political “feint” that, with Bloomberg’s help, had scared the Trump campaign into plowing resources into Florida — a state Trump figured to win handily — instead of the much more competitive upper Midwest.

Strange ‘Feint’

A brilliant “feint”? Really? Did former President Barack Obama know about the “feint” plan when he agreed to spend the election’s precious final days campaigning in Florida? Was having Obama, Biden’s best campaign surrogate, spend so much time in a we-know-we’re-going-to-lose state part of the ruse?

This whole “feint” notion appears little more than a face-saving exercise on the part of Democratic Party operatives who burned through millions of Bloomberg’s dollars. All quite understandable, of course. Political insiders within the Democratic Party — and that galaxy of pollsters, consultants, and media buyers who circle around them — have a vested personal interest in keeping billionaires like Bloomberg looking brilliant. They make big bucks helping billionaires realize their political fantasies.

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/11/17/election-2020-establishment-dems-cant-say-no-to-billionaires/

Ukrainian Parliament To Vote On Allowing SBU To Censor Media, But Stop Investigating Corruption

The Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) has prepared a large-scale project to reform the Security Service of Ukraine – SBU.

Until now, the SBU was the only power structure that operated under the 1992 law.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to reform the secret service this spring by submitting an appropriate bill to the Rada. But the document significantly expanded the functions of the service, which drew criticism from all sides.

Therefore, in the Rada the project was sent for revision. After several months of work on the document, it was rewritten so much that the name of the initiator, Zelensky, even disappeared from its “header”.

The new project is so different from its predecessor that the head of the SBU himself, Ivan Bakanov, raised the alarm.

The idea of the reform was published back in mid-October.

The website of the Servant of the People party posted a blog by People’s Deputy Maryana Bezugla about the reform of the SBU.

She was part of the international leadership program of the US State Department “Healthcare and Marginalized Populations”, which significantly affected her career – immediately before the elections, she was already hired in the Ministry of Defense, where she led the program “Reform of the medical care system. Armed Forces” in the project office of reforms.

In parliament, she entered the National Security Committee. And it was Bezuglaya who became the head of the group on the development of the draft reform of the Security Service of Ukraine.

The MPs decided that such a reform would be worked out in parliament back in the spring of 2020, when a draft SBU reform from the president was submitted to parliament. Even in the pro-presidential faction, Zelensky was accused of wanting to strengthen the powers of the special service, and therefore it was decided to rewrite his reform.

The SBU is the only law enforcement structure that has never been reformed since its inception. The special services work in accordance with the law adopted back in 1992. It partially duplicates the functions of the police. And this reform should eliminate this problem, as planned.

In her blog about this reform, Bezuglaya wrote that it was decided to reduce the law enforcement functions of the SBU, but create a large counterintelligence service that would counter threats to state security from other countries and groups.

Also, the special service decided to move away from the investigation of economic crimes.

Functionally, the SBU has one strategic goal – to be proactive.

“After all, preventing treason or a terrorist attack is much cheaper than eliminating their consequences. Consequently, preventive measures to respond to threats to state security are a priority area of ​​reform,” Bezugloy said in her blog.

https://southfront.org/ukrainian-parliament-to-vote-on-allowing-sbu-to-censor-media-but-stop-investigating-corruption/

Prevezon Holdings: The Black Money Collector

Prevezon Holdings Ltd is a small international real estate investment company that leaves an unusually large footprint in stories about global crime and politics.

The Cypriot company, owned by Russian citizens, was a beneficiary in Russia’s biggest public fraud ever, involving the whistleblower Sergey Magnitsky, whose death in prison led to sweeping new anti-corruption laws in the United States.

The company agreed to pay nearly US$6 million to get out from under U.S. money laundering charges in 2017, only to see one of its attorneys accused of obstruction of justice and suspected of working for Russia to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Meanwhile, two high-profile U.S. Attorneys who sought to prosecute the company were sacked by President Donald Trump.

Now, bank documents obtained by OCCRP and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists as part of the FinCEN Files investigation indicate that Prevezon lies at the intersection of far more fraudulent activity than previously known.

🔗

About This Investigation

The FinCEN Files is a 16-month-long investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, BuzzFeed News and more than 400 international journalists in 88 countries, including those from OCCRP and its network of member centers.

Prevezon’s lawyers argued before a U.S. district court in 2017 that payments the company received from a firm in the British Virgin Islands, Reaton Ltd., showed their client was getting money from a legitimate source, not from fraud exposed by Magnitsky.

However, the lawyers failed to mention that Reaton itself was a conduit for funds from other frauds. Reaton Ltd. appears in the FinCEN Files in a Suspicious Activity Report filed in May 2014 by the Bank of New York Mellon, which flagged it and other companies involved in 304 wire transfers totaling nearly $204 million “that may have been involved in laundering of funds, which may have been the proceeds of Russian government corruption and embezzlement as well as Romanian organized crime.”

Also mentioned in the SAR is Nomirex Trading Ltd., a company used in large-scale fraud by a Vietnamese organized crime group to siphon more than $400 million out of Romania between 2006 and 2010.

Although the bank correctly identified some transactions that involved Reaton, it is not clear that it ever properly investigated the company. For the SAR, the bank used the results from a summary search in LexisNexis, a news and legal document aggregator, which pointed to a different company with the same name, based in Latvia.

https://www.occrp.org/en/the-fincen-files/prevezon-holdings-the-black-money-collector

FEC Chairman: If Sidney Powell Says There Was Rampant Voter Fraud, ‘I Believe Her’

Trey Trainor, head of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), said in a tweet Tuesday that he believes Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell’s claim of widespread election fraud.

Powell, a former federal prosecutor, recently claimed the president’s legal team has been receiving a deluge of evidence concerning voter fraud and other irregularities, telling Fox Business that she has enough proof to launch a widespread criminal investigation and that, “we’re getting ready to overturn election results in multiple states.”

While she declined to detail what evidence she may have in her possession, she insisted, “I don’t make comments without having the evidence to back it up.”

Trainor, in his tweet, called Powell “forthright and honest in every case she’s ever taken on,” adding that, “if she says there is rampant voter fraud in #Election2020, I believe her.”

Meanwhile, Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski told “The Water Cooler” podcast that he, too, believes Powell’s claim of having evidence of systemic election fraud.

Lewandowski, speaking to podcast host David Brody, called Powell a “dogged professional attorney” and said that “if she says she has that evidence, I have no reason to doubt her at all.”

“It’s going to be time to start to present that evidence and present it to a court of law,” he added.

Powell’s claim centers on the notion that elections software switched “millions of votes” from President Donald Trump to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. She said a whistleblower has come forward alleging that the voting software was designed to “rig elections.”

“He saw it happen in other countries,” she said, apparently referring to election hardware and software by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, or perhaps other software and machines.

“They can stick a thumb drive in the [voting] machine, they can upload software to it even from the Internet … from Germany or Venezuela even,” Powell said, adding that operations “can watch votes in real-time” and “can shift votes in real-time,” or alleged bad actors can “remote access anything.”

“We’ve identified mathematically the exact algorithm they’ve used—and planned to use from the beginning” that allegedly switched votes to Biden, Powell said.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/fec-chairman-if-sidney-powell-says-there-was-rampant-voter-fraud-i-believe-her_3582495.html