Fuck off with these hopium sales man PAYTRIOTS
PwC tax scandal goes global, ex-CEO steps down from defence board
Some of PwC’s top global executives have flown to Australia and taken control of a tax scandal that is now affecting some of its biggest global clients.
PwC Global’s general counsel, Diana Weiss; the global head of its tax and legal operation, Carol Stubbings; and chief risk officer Coenraad Richardson, are now in Australia to oversee an independent review to rebuild the firm’s reputation.
The stakes are high. The Australian Financial Review reported that three of the largest global corporations, Apple, Google and Microsoft, are among those targeted with confidential information about the government’s plans to target tax avoidance.
PwC declined to comment about the trio, but the firm is expected to announce the leader of its independent review of the scandal this week.
“We now need to re-earn trust, which is why we have taken appropriate action, including the announcement that we will establish an independent review, in relation to our governance, accountability and culture,” a PwC spokesman said.
Senator Deborah O’Neill – who chairs the Corporations and Financial Services Committee that released a damning 148-page document this month revealing the scale of the firm’s profiteering from leaking confidential government tax plans to potential clients – said the cultural problems the scandal highlighted raised questions about the global firm’s entire business.
“You cannot provide a level of assurance as required by our financial markets, let alone by the government, if you are operating out of a model that is so clearly devoid of an ethical backbone,” O’Neill said.
Following recent resignations from other leadership roles in the wake of the scandal, acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins has appointed Rob Silverwood as head of its Financial Advisory business, while Tony O’Malley takes on a new role as chief risk and ethics leader.
Nicole Salimbini will lead a response plan for establishing appropriate governance and structures.
Meanwhile, the PwC boss who resigned last Monday in the wake of the tax avoidance scandal has also stood down from the board of a well-connected military contractor that is chaired by former defence minister Christopher Pyne.
Former PwC Australia chief executive Tom Seymour had his profile removed as a director of Australian Missile Corporation last week.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/pwc-tax-scandal-goes-global-ex-ceo-steps-down-from-defence-board-20230515-p5d8d7.html
Pentagon doesn’t vet proxy fighters for rape and torture – NYT
US commandos are reportedly arming and training surrogates without checking their human rights records
American special forces have trained up foreign proxy fighters and sent them on “kill-or-capture” missions without ascertaining whether they have histories of rape, torture, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing newly disclosed Pentagon documents.
Such surrogates are paid, equipped and deployed without any vetting required to verify that they have a clean human rights record, according to documents obtained by the NYT. The “gap in rules” applies to proxy forces hired to carry out counterterrorism missions, as well as to allied forces who are trained under an irregular warfare program designed to help countries that are at risk of invasion by larger neighbors.
One such clandestine mission in Ukraine was allegedly terminated just before Russia launched a military operation against Kiev forces in February 2022, but some officials want to restart it, according a Washington Post report earlier this year.
To skirt compliance with a law banning security assistance to forces with a history of human rights violations, the Pentagon has interpreted its proxy programs as not aiding its foreign allies, the Times said. Rather, proxy forces are equipped to pursue US objectives, not to build up the defense capabilities of their own countries. The legal tactic is “a dishonest reading of the plain text and intention of Congress,” former Pentagon lawyer Sarah Harrison told the newspaper.
US special forces have increasingly relied on proxy fighters in such countries as Niger and Somalia in recent years. By moving away from direct deployments of American ground troops, like those sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington seeks to avert US casualties and avoid being seen as an occupier, according to the report. However, the strategy also carries risks, particularly without proper vetting.
“We need to make sure that we are not training abusive units to become even more lethal and fueling the conflict and violence that we’re aiming to solve,” said US Representative Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat. “And that starts with universal human rights vetting.”
The Pentagon’s so-called Section 127e program allows US special forces to spend up to $100 million a year on counterterrorism proxies. The Section 1202 program for irregular warfare has a $15 million annual budget.
The latter program involves “disrupting nation-state rivals” without armed conflict, the Times said. It involves acts of sabotage and hacking, as well as “propaganda or clandestine efforts to shape morale.”
A Pentagon official told the Times that proxy forces are screened to ensure that they aren’t a threat to spy against the US or attack American troops. While that vetting doesn’t check specifically for rights abuses – such as rape, torture or “extrajudicial” killings – the official said it’s sufficient to “weed out bad actors.”
https://www.rt.com/news/576290-pentagon-proxy-forces-vetting/
‘Trans Women Can Be Moms Too’: LGBTQ Activists Go All in on Mother’s Day
LGBTQ activists spouted far-left talking points in celebration of Mother’s Day on Sunday by sharing memes and videos about how fathers can be mothers too.
In one video shared by Libs of TikTok, a man who identifies as a woman said America should have a “Parents Day.”
“There’s two different days of the year that I question. There’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. As a trans person, as a trans woman, which one do I celebrate? I don’t feel like a father. Mother’s Day is tomorrow, I feel like a mom, but who celebrates me?” he asked rhetorically.
“I just genuinely want to know is there other people out there that you don’t know which one you fall under. Are you a mom or are you a dad? Where’s Parents Day? Why can’t we just have a Parents Day? he added. “Like you’re a parent that’s worth celebrating. Why does it have to be one or the other?”
Fighting back tears, he said that it “bothers me a lot.”
Another video shared by Alpha Fox featured a man who identifies as a woman talking with his daughter about him being her mom.
“You are my mom,” the daughter says in the video.
Mother’s Day has increasingly become a target of far-left activists in recent years. As Breitbart News reported last year, Calvin Klein went as far to feature a “pregnant transgender man” as part of its Mother’s Day campaign.
“The latest marketing campaign from Calvin Klein features a pregnant transgender man as an underwear model, with the fashion brand saying it wanted to spotlight the ‘realities of new families’ in honor of — ironically — Mother’s Day,” said the report.
“The campaign includes shirtless photos of Roberto Bete, a female-to-male transgender reality TV star from Brazil who was pregnant at the time of the shoot. The photos show Bete posing with exposed stomach and top-surgery scars alongside spouse Erika Fernandes, a tattoo artist,” it added.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/05/14/trans-women-can-be-moms-too-lgbtq-activists-mothers-day/