Portland councilwoman @JoAnnPDX has taken off entire month of August for a "vacation." She oversees the fire department. People have been dying because of the heat. I received a tip she went into rehab but inquiries to her comms team (@mattmcnallypdx) have been repeatedly ignored pic.twitter.com/IKjUM8WqZN
Former Lieutenant Colonel of the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) Vasily Prozorov, who has lived in Russia since 2019, has taken up research into the abyss of Ukrainian corruption. There was a whole book of material! On the eve of its release, he told kp.ru about a disease that endures the consciousness of the Ukrainian statehood.
Vasily Nikolaevich Prozorov: Born on 06/29/1975 in the city of Berdyansk, Ukrainian SSR. Ex-employee of the Security Service of Ukraine, lieutenant colonel. Since 2014, after the coup d'etat on the Maidan, he collaborated with the Russian special services for reasons of principle. The head of the Investigation Center is Vasily Prozorov. Part of the materials of the book being prepared for publication has been published on the website of the Center in the public domain.
TWO VARIETIES OF THEFT - AT ZELENSKY AND Poroshenko
As you know, one of the official reasons for the Maidan was the allegedly incredible corruption of the past government. Of course, it did not go anywhere after 2014, but only grew and multiplied, continuing to spoil life in today's Ukraine. For example, the European Union says it does not take Ukraine into its membership because of its corruption. Maybe this is just a formal reason for the refusal? I asked Vasily Prozorov to estimate the scale. It turns out that there are two types of corruption, one worse than the other:
"While studying Ukrainian corruption, I divided the post-Maid period into two parts: 'under Poroshenko' and 'under Zelensky.' What amazed me was that under Poroshenko, the level of corruption was off scale, but the stolen money remained in the country. Corrupt officials under Poroshenko did not separate themselves from Ukraine. It was a kind of 'pro-Ukrainian corruption,' people stealing money saw their future in Ukraine - oligarchs, businessmen, Rada deputies. Under Zelenskiy, everything turned 180 degrees, corruption became pro-Western.
- Like this?
- This is theft in the interests of other countries. Corruption in itself destroys the state, the social and political system, the economy, but when money is stolen in the interests of other countries.
- There is a feeling that Ukraine has been "degreased" in recent years. The country left the USSR with a GDP at the level of Germany. It is clear that in the 90s all the former Soviet republics had a hard time, but Ukraine became the only one of them that never reached its 1991 level.
- So, Ukraine is losing billions of dollars, I was amazed when I began to delve into it. The claims of the European Union are not empty, they have grounds. Moreover, corruption at all levels - from regional hospitals to the president himself. But I think that in Ukraine, too, they are right: the EU uses corruption as a reason for refusing to integrate. They are simply afraid to get involved with Ukraine.
DO NOT FIGHT BUT CONTROL
What can Europe fear with its well-oiled state machine? According to Prozorov, this corruption is systematic. In fact, this is an artificial model of state governance:
- The European Union knows that corruption in Ukraine is systemic. Moreover, the West has created in Kiev a vertical of bodies controlling corruption - the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (hereinafter NABU. - Auth.), A specialized “anti-corruption” prosecutor's office and the Anti-Corruption Court. That is, the West has an operational investigation in Ukraine, and support for accusations in court - prosecutor's supervision, and the court itself, which is considering all these cases.
- Tight bundle! Corruption should have been defeated long ago!
- Yes, it is a closed, self-sufficient system. But what's the problem: it is completely controlled by Western countries! And then this system has undeclared opportunities - a body that fights against the system of corruption receives dirt on any official and civil servant.
- That is, this is how the notorious "external control" of Ukraine works?
- I will give an example of pro-Western corruption that is literally killing the country. There was such a Nikolai Martynenko, an oligarch, was engaged in nuclear energy. His firms collaborated with Rosatom and ensured the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Martynenko supported the Maidan, became one of the leaders of the "Popular Front" of Arseniy Yatsenyuk. It was even called the "Popular Front" purse. And here such a giant as Westinghouse from the USA lays an eye on the Ukrainian nuclear industry.
Cases of corruption are quickly initiated, the oligarch is knocked out of business, from all spheres, he is even imprisoned for a while. As a result, Westinghouse enters Ukraine, and now it supplies TVEL (the main fuel cell in nuclear reactors - Ed.) For nuclear power plants, moreover, it is 30 percent more expensive than similar ones from Rosatom. The new Ukrainian government obediently signs contracts, and by 2025 60 percent of TVEL in the country will be from the United States. I think this is already a betrayal of the motherland.
- This is really something innovative in public administration - externally controlled corruption. Like the Film "Aliens," but American, by the way.
COLONIALISM 5.0 - Nobody denies the commercial interest of the USA in Ukraine. On the contrary, the Ukrainian authorities are very proud of cooperation with such a powerful country. But here in your book the scandalous story with the private gas production company "Burisma" is disclosed in detail. Where, by a strange coincidence, the son of the current American president ended up on the board of directors
- Yes, it became known that Biden's son was paid from $3 million to $10 million dollars, such a form of bribe, and not only to the son, but also to the father. This is true. But against the background of the schemes that worked in the Ukrainian Naftogaz, corruption in Burisma is a trifle. And Vice President Joe Biden was directly involved in these schemes.
- What were these schemes?
- The loudest one is “reverse gas deliveries”. Gas is supplied to Europe via a Ukrainian pipeline, and then from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary is returned back through "gasket firms".
- And his price is already different?
- So different that, according to some estimates, from 2015 to 2020, about 2 billion dollars were pulled out of the pockets of Ukrainians. And this scheme was lobbied by Biden, who achieved the appointment of his assistant, Amos Hochstein, as a member of the supervisory board of Naftogaz with very broad powers, up to participation in resolving personnel issues and monitoring the execution of transactions. Without his personal involvement, the "Russian gas reverse" scam would not have materialized.
- Now all the reasons for the US suffering over Nord Stream 2 are becoming clear.
- What's interesting: when Zelensky came to power, he perfectly understood what kind of scheme it was. Representatives of the Trump administration, lawyer and politician Rudolph Giuliani, for example: they needed dirt on Biden for the presidential elections, immediately became frequent visitors to him .
Zelenskiy and his advisers decided to drag out until the last moment, without taking sides. But in the event of Trump's victory, they were ready to rewrite this shop to other owners. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry came, held meetings with Zelensky. He urged him to replace the head of Naftogaz in order to appoint his own man. But Zelensky got out of it, remained "neither yours, nor ours." Unlike Poroshenko, who bet on Biden, and Trump won.
- I see a new colonial system of the world, it works even without guns and landings on the coast.
- Yes, this is no longer necessary, the money is taken away and so, and the competing enterprises are liquidated.
GARBAGE ARMOR - There is probably also corruption in the Ukrainian defense industry - it is for special people who are not afraid of blood. It is already openly said that it is largely for this reason that Kiev needs the war in Donbass to last as long as possible.
- I was picking schemes in Ukroboronprom. There were two such people, Sergei Pashinsky and Oleg Gladkovsky, under Poroshenko they were called "shadow kings of the defense industry." Pashinsky was a deputy and chairman of the Defense Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, and Gladkovsky was the deputy head of the National Security Council. They were spinning billion-dollar schemes.
- Are there examples?
- For the Ukrainian army, outdated BMP-1s, still Soviet ones, were purchased in Poland and the Czech Republic. They were bought through Cypriot and Polish firms at the price of scrap metal, 25,000 euros per unit. Moreover, the hull and the tower were delivered to Ukraine separately, according to some estimates, "Ukrooboronprom" paid about 170,000 euros for them.
At the Zhytomyr armored plant for 30,000 euros they were collected, slightly modernized. They put up a connection and welded on the grilles from hits from a grenade launcher. As a result, one BMP-1 cost the budget 200 thousand euros. But! There is one detail: Ukrainian officials and the Ukrainian plant made money on this. The money as a whole remained in the country. Under Poroshenko.
- And under Zelensky?
- 2019, "Ukrooboronprom" is completely transferred under the control of the West. It was a raider takeover. They changed the leadership, announced a reform of the structure. Moreover, the plan for this reform was developed by the British Department of Defense! Then the Americans landed at all the enterprises of Ukroboronprom, analyzed and determined which industries are competitive with the West and which are not. And they took action.
- What else did they consider a threat to their business?
- The shipbuilding industry, inherited by Ukraine from the USSR. Three giant factories in the city of Nikolaev, capable of producing even aircraft carriers, with a hundred-year history, have gone bankrupt. The Black Sea shipbuilding plant was liquidated. And now Zelenskiy says he is going to strengthen the Ukrainian fleet by purchasing ships from the UK.
- The sales market was completely squeezed out.
MORTARS OF DEATH
- There was also a story that profits for corrupt officials are more expensive than people's lives. Almost two dozen of their own crews were killed by the Ukrainian Molot mortars.
- I was in rotation as deputy commander of the ATO (Anti-terrorist operation - as the war in Donbass was called in Kiev. - Ed.), And Colonel-General Mikhail Koval came to one closed meeting. And he said: "Nobody will give up Molotov, because this is our Ukrainian production, the Mayak plant in Kiev."
- And what about the military?
- They shrugged their shoulders, "Hammers" were accepted, but they did not use them. And when you start digging into this story, it turns out that the Hammers were lobbied by Mr. Pashinsky, and each mortar cost the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense 400,000 hryvnias (about 1 million rubles - Ed.). And the Mayak plant received only 150,000 for the mortar, the rest went to the gasket firms. Naturally, Mr. Pashinsky was interested in having as many of these mortars in the troops as possible.
- And what was wrong with them, sorted it out?
- According to my information, the guides in the barrels were made with a defect, therefore, when fired, the mortar burst, the mine went off in the barrel.
- Have you punished someone?
- No, all corruption scandals do not develop in Ukraine. There are no judgments and court decisions. Russia, which Ukraine loves to nod at, jails corrupt officials every week. With confiscation. There are no untouchables! And in Ukraine they are persecuted only for politics. It is not accepted for corruption.
- What will happen to Ukraine if the state of affairs continues in the next decade?
- This is my opinion, but I am afraid that Ukraine does not have this decade. And the future too. And it's not even about officials who steal and run away, but about quite prosaic things. For example, in the deterioration of infrastructure. I do not think that there will be an offensive in the Donbass in the fall, but the freezing Ukrainian cities are quite real.
#8
If I squint at it just right, it looks like Bagram was a drop point and couldn't be used for final evac because of the risk of Last Ones Out wanting to break things or discover the bunker of cash.
The chance to do this was when everything was nice a pretty, parked in nice lines and locations known...and nothing. Remember there is even a 'bombing campaign' right after Operation Di Di Mau against...something. I figured it was a media distraction akin to "Hey we just zapped somebody - the bomb planner out goofing off on his 3 wheeler!"
#9
S'hwy the VDH quip, Ideally we would have re-taken Bagram...and not just him to be fair.
The British best discovered, what happens is your forces enter Afghan, the locals at the point reluctantly join your side and this and that, time passes, and at a point when the invader strength/turncoat payoff is right, the entire country flips as fast as word can travel and the entire area swarms the invaders and camp followers. I think images of Dien Bien Phu were appropriate.
The only way, historically, is to completely leave, then come back in again, repeating ad nauseam. But being woke means not being tied to history so some real stupid shit is still possible.
#10
I'd be curious what would happen if we blew up an EMP over Afghanistan. Take out all electronics without hurting anyone. Let them continue with what they can build and/or repair on their own.
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] Amid the Afghanistan crisis, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) promoted a fundraiser on Wednesday for an organization that has ties to Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, and the Taliban ...Arabic for students... The Democrat congresswoman retweeted a post from Khaled Beydoun, a critical race theorist, which urged followers to donate to a non-profit organization called Baitulmaal. The organization's leader, Mazen Mokhtar, has reportedly worked with the Taliban and other terrorist groups.
Baitulmaal fundraises for Hamas and distributes aid to the "families of deaders of the Paleostinian people," according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The notorious "Squad" member has a history of antisemitic behavior and expressing support for terrorist groups.
Within days after being sworn into Congress, she hosted pro-Hezbollah activist, Abbas Hamideh, who repeatedly compares Israelis to Nazis.
In December 2020, the Michigan representative retweeted an antisemitic post for the International Day of Solidarity with the Paleostinian People, calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, which was deleted after facing backlash.
According to a 2020 analysis by the Middle East Forum, Baitulmaal works directly with Hamas Lions of Islam in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip. The non-profit received $10,000 in emergency coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... funding last year and frequently partners with Unlimited Friends Association for Social Development, the Free Beacon reports.
The Unlimited Friends Association partners with Baitulmaal and disperses funds to families of Paleostinian terrorists, according to data from the Middle East Forum. These donations are similar to the Paleostinian Authority's "Pay to Slay" program, which funnels hundreds of millions of dollars to Paleostinian terrorists. Earlier this year, the Paleostinian government paid $42,000 to the family of a Paleostinian terrorist that stabbed two Israelis to death. Two others were maimed in the attack, including a two-year-old child, Free Beacon reports.
[IsraelTimes] Without mentioning Mai Afana’s attempted June assault on soldiers, Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib slams Israeli policy of holding onto bodies of assailants
Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called for Israel to return the body of a woman who was killed while she attempted to kill Israeli soldiers.
In a Twitter thread on Saturday, Tlaib, one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress, slammed Israel for its policy of holding onto the bodies of assailants who are killed during an attack.
"Meet Mai Afana’s mother, Khuloud, who is fighting to be able to bury her daughter & begin her healing," wrote Tlaib, a Paleostinian American. "Mai was a mother, loving daughter & successful PhD student. She was killed by the Israeli government last June. Israel won’t release her body to her family."
Attached to the tweet was a photo of Afana’s mother holding up a poster of her daughter.
Afana was killed on June 16. The Israeli military said at the time that she had rammed her car into a West Bank checkpoint near Jerusalem and then, holding a knife, had rushed the soldiers at the checkpoint. An Israeli soldier was lightly injured in the attack.
Israel routinely holds bodies of assailants as a means of bargaining for live Israeli captives and the bodies of Israelis held by Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
Do the above acts and actions not qualify ?
treason. n. the crime of betraying one's country, defined in Article III, section 3 of the U. S. Constitution: "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."
Well, he's a democrat, so...
[BREITBART] In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Thursday, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) blasted President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. The guy who lost Afghanistan, aka Biden's Bungle... and his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, lamenting the recent decline of America and deeming the president "cognitively impaired" and/or "purposely harming the country," while urging moderate Democrats to follow his lead and join the Republicans to hold this administration responsible.
The Republican congressman began with harsh words for the current administration.
"I am so tired of being disgusted with what is going on in our country in general, but with this administration, with this Congress, it’s been mistake after mistake," he said.
"There’s nothing at all in what they do that reminds me of American exceptionalism or Americanism, and the same here," he added. "The America I know is strong and powerful and brave, courageous and smart."
Afghanistan Withdrawal:
Regarding the U.S.’s current reliance on the terrorist Taliban ...Arabic for students... for the safety of Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan, Van Drew slammed the "completely terrible and totally nonfunctional plan" employed by the Biden administration, the same old faces in slightly different places, the same old ideas, the same old graft ...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed experts affiliated with the Biden Crime Family. Entrusted with an entire nation as the result of a suspicious election, they set about happily implementing stuff they absorbed in college, all of which blew up and splattered the rest of us... during the recent disastrous withdrawal from the country.
[BREITBART] ABC News’ Jon Karl said Sunday on "This Week" that the Biden administration (aka the Wilmington comorra) ...knaves, footpads, and adjusters employed by the Biden Crime Family. They leave a trail of havoc everywhere they turn their attention, be it the nation's borders, the Keystone XL Pipeline, or epidemics, sometimes on purpose, most times through sheer arrogant ineptitude. They learnt this stuff in college, you know... is attempting to spin the evacuation in Afghanistan.Guest anchor Martha Raddatz said, "Jon, I want to talk to you first here. Listening to President Joe Biden ...... 46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant. Just look at the competent way he dumped Afghanistan...... in his top national security advisers before the horrible bombing, they were making this sound like a smashing success, but you heard what Secretary Blinken just said."
Karl said, "They have been describing something that isn’t reality. This has been an incredible airlift. More than 100,000 people evacuated, but what a disaster. Clearly, Thursday was the worst day of the Biden presidency, and we don’t really know, Martha, how bad it really is. We know the disaster that has unfolded. Now the big question is, does Afghanistan once again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks on U.S. interests around the world or at home?"
Raddatz said, "Which is, of course, why they said they were getting out. that was solved."
Karl said, "Maybe part of the reason why Afghanistan had not been such is there was a military presence in Afghanistan. But now, we will have this over the horizon capability. But the bottom line is the terror threat has increased, and our ability to combat it has decreased."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
ABC's Karl: Biden Admin Is 'Describing Something That Isn't Reality'
And how is that's different than you Karl and the rest on the Left for anything?
#2
Is Jon Karl having a twinge of conscience for all the covering up that he and his Disney company have done for Biden? Or is he beginning to believe that Biden's incompetence and malice is becoming to obvious to hide?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/31/2021 13:10 Comments ||
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#3
At this point, I think stupid Joe is going to replace Benedict Arnold as the representation of the nations worst traitor.
[BREITBART] CNN ...the organization formerly known as the Cable News Network. Now who knows what it might stand for... anchor Ace Newshound Jim Acosta ...CNN's showboating White House correspondent... , who became infamous for taunting President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , including during the most intense moments of the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic, has belatedly discovered the need for national unity in a time of profound crisis.In a monologue on Saturday, Acosta accused President Trump of having "pounced" on President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. The very model of probity, except maybe for abandoning Afghanistan... ’s mistakes.
Acosta said that what was needed, instead, was national unity — not holding Biden politically accountable:
It is often said that war is hell, but Thursday felt like one of the darkest corners of that hell. These fallen U.S. service members gave their lives evacuating women and kiddies. They were on a mission to end America’s engagement in Afghanistan with some measure of compassion and dignity. They represent the best of this country. If there were ever a moment for some sense of national unity, this was it. And yet in the hours that followed, the divisions in this country were all too apparent. Appearing on Fox, former President Donald Trump immediately pounced on the attack in Kabul ...
At a coronavirus briefing in March 2020, during the depths of the national economic shutdown, Acosta accused Trump of having downplayed the coronavirus pandemic, reading past quotes at him. (Trump’s response: he did not want to sow panic.)
A week ago, Acosta and a guest accused Trump of wanting his supporters to die — after Trump recommended they be vaccinated.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
They're shameless. 100% in favor of their side, 100% against the enemy tribe, and see no contradiction at all. He could pass a lie detector test with no problem.
[PJMEDIA] Florida redistricting after the 2020 census, plus the state’s rapid population growth, will help redraw the country’s election map next year.
POLITICO reports that "Florida has gained nearly 3 million people since the last redistricting process a decade ago," and that expansion has "set the stage for a remaking of its political lines headed into a 2022 election likely to determine control of the U.S. House."
The paper’s Gary Fineout and Matt Dixon remind readers that redistricting "will be controlled by Republicans, who already hold 16 of the state’s 27 congressional districts." Democrats worry that "the new maps will only further banish them in Florida’s political desert."
Florida will gain a 28th seat in the next Congress, not to mention a 30th Electoral College vote in the 2024 presidential election. That nicely matches the losses suffered by New York State, and ironically enough, New Yorkers fled their own COVID lockdowns for Florida.
The seeming miracle here — at least to this Coloradan’s eyes — is that the faster Florida grows, the redder it gets.
It isn’t due to redistricting dirty tricks in Florida, either, even though you can expect Dems to scream bloody murder about them anyway. Governor Ron DeSantis revealed this spring that an "overwhelming" number of new residents are registering R instead of D.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
So it's a non-socialist version of California, but not quite as fast?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2021 0:26 Comments ||
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#2
I will laugh if Florida gets redder and is a solid red state for decades... but I'm not holding my breath. Seen too many locust effect states like Colorado go blue from idiots that moved there.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed 
...knaves, footpads, and 
[PJMEDIA] Florida redistricting after the 2020 census, plus the state’s rapid population growth, will help redraw the country’s election map next year.
