I previously wrote a column about how government officials waste billions or plow whole programs in the ground without nary a reprimand. If that column bothered you, you might want to sit down. A new report has detailed how the military has cooked the books to hide trillions, that’s right trillions, in missing money and equipment. The military calls them “plugs,” a curious term for fraud. These are knowingly fake figures used to hide the fact that there is no accurate record of the money. In one finding, a single office in Columbus, Ohio, made at least $1.59 trillion in errors with $538 billion in plugs. The study reveals that government accounting records are fraudulent but that congressional oversight has been equally illusory.
The plugs are generally the work of the office of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, the Pentagon’s main accounting agency. Required to complete an audit, the staff simply faked the numbers. When taxpayers and citizens do that, they go to jail. Yet, government officials can knowingly falsify reports and figures for billions without fear of discipline or even reprimand. To the contrary, the plugs were approved by their supervisors.
The Army actually lost track of $5.8 billion of supplies between 2003 and 2011 — leaving some units without essential equipment.
Of course, we continue to spend massive amount of our budget on new equipment and military programs — backed up by a massive lobby and industry that thrives on the defense budget. Lost equipment will just have to be replaced and more contracts awarded.
Members are considering legislation to require the government to have audits that are truthful. It is not clear what the requirement was before.
Source: Reuters
PDM, I am not unaware of the hate Texas as a whole had for JFK. You said “My point was that Jackie wanted out of Texas asap.” On what do you base this statement? You also said “The woman needed to get JFK home and away from Texas.” Why? Dead is dead. Also, this was not a county regulation but Texas State law and I would expect her to follow it. If she had to get home to her children she could have either left the body and gone on with LBJ or taken another plane later. From what I’ve read it was LBJ that would not take off until the body was on board.
In any case the original post was about “A new report has detailed how the military has cooked the books to hide trillions, that’s right trillions, in missing money and equipment. The military calls them “plugs,” a curious term for fraud.” And the comments have gone far afield from that…..only they haven’t. Since the coup d’état we have become the United Corporations of the World and and not America or the USA.
I didn’t mean to imply that the autopsy was unimportant. Just that it was not important to Jackie just minutes after his death. Home and family was what was important.
AP and Pat,
My point was that Jackie wanted out of Texas asap. She wasn’t going to leave JFK and an autopsy would take hours. I think you are assuring me that Earl Rose was a first rate coroner. I’ll accept that. But I don’t care if John Connolly or DeBakey was going to do the autopsy. The woman needed to get JFK home and away from Texas. She knew what hate was festering in Texas – the “Treason” flyers that were left all over Dallas that morning. For god’s sake. The woman had her husband’s head blown off right next to her. And you want her to sit in a morgue (she wouldn’t leave Jack) for a few hours? That is absurd and verges on cruelty. Tell me who would have had the nerve to ask her to do that?
Johnson did ask that Jackie leave Jack’s casket and attend the swearing in. I would suppose it was difficult for her, but she did it because she thought it was important – it would not be an overstatement to say it was an important moment in history. A Dallas autopsy was not. BTW, she asked that the autopsy be done at Bethesda (not Walter Reed which would have been better) – because Jack was in the Navy.
Johnson was not well regarded by the Kennedys, but I doubt that they thought he killed him.
Mike Spindell 1, November 21, 2013 at 4:41 pm
Dredd,
The RFK Jr. quote is quite telling. I hadn’t heard of it before. Thank you.
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I hadn’t heard of it before either.
We are young when we can still learn bro.
Pat 1, November 20, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Dredd, please correct me if I’m wrong but did not the HSCA leave it up to the justice department for further action.
…
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The only point I was making is that most people do not know that conspiracy is an official position for the assassination of both JFK and MLK.
Just like most people do not know that three skyscrapers “collapsed” on 9/11, including the Twin Towers.
Mike Spindell 1, November 19, 2013 at 9:46 am
The Roman Empire was in the end taken over by its Legions and its Generals became Emperors. It seems we are replicating the model. I suspect the Military/Intelligence/Industrial Complex has been in charge since November 22, 1963.
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That is underlined by a quote from an article written yesterday by RFK Jr. which I picked up on:
(A Tale of Coup Cities – 6).
Dredd,
The RFK Jr. quote is quite telling. I hadn’t heard of it before. Thank you.
pdm,
“Damn functionary” might be apt in some cases, but Earl Rose wasn’t one.
A thought regarding denying the Dallas coronor the right to autopsy…
A large portion of Texas HATED Kennedy. It was a land of plenty of Birchers. Their bile was worse than what we experience today. This was not a secret and Kennedy went down with Jackie in hopes of “calming” the waters.
That’s the setup….now JFK has had half his head blown off and his wife is covered with gore. What’s do you suppose she is thinking? I suggest she is thinking she is not in a very friendly place. She wants to get home – to her children and her family – a lving and safe place. The secret service are very fond of Jackie and they’re also not feeling too good about Dallas. Do you remember what Jackie said when asked if she wanted to change clothes? She said I want them to see what they did. I’m pretty sure she included “Dallas” in that statement. She was not exactly concerned about county regulations after seeing her husband’s brains blown away.
The rush to get JFK out of Dallas was done to afford Jackie as much comfort and protection as possible. Who here would be keen to follow Dallas county regs and keep you away from your children and family so some damn functionary could autopsy your husband? I’m not the “First Lady” of the United States of America. I would have moved heaven and earth to get out of that town.
OT:
Keep it comin’…
“US and UK struck secret deal to allow NSA to ‘unmask’ Britons’ personal data
• 2007 deal allows NSA to store previously restricted material
• UK citizens not suspected of wrongdoing caught up in dragnet
• Separate draft memo proposes US spying on ‘Five-Eyes’ allies
Beta”
by James Ball
The Guardian, Wednesday 20 November 2013 14.00 EST
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/us-uk-secret-deal-surveillance-personal-data
Excerpt:
“The memo says the circumstances might include “targeting a UK citizen located in London using a British telephone system”; “targeting a UK person located in London using an internet service provider (ISP) in France; or “targeting a Pakistani person located in the UK using a UK ISP.”
A spokeswoman for the NSA declined to answer questions from the Guardian on whether the draft directive had been implemented and, if so, when. The NSA and the White House also refused to comment on the agency’s 2007 agreement with the UK to store and analyze data on British citizens.”
———-
Glenn Greenwald on these new revelations:
“The best answer to thuggish threats from the govt against press freedoms is to keep publishing fearlessly …” (via twitter)
“Since UK has allowed NSA to collect/store data about British citizens, it seems likely that the converse is true” (via twitter)
On September 10, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld gave a speech at the Pentagon where he stated:
“According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 Trillion dollars in transactions.”
“The adversary is closer to home, it’s the Pentagon bureaucracy.”
“In fact, it could be said that it’s a matter of life and death.”
Back in 2002:
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=43927
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“When do more people say ENOUGH!?” -Jill
Indeed.
Yes, we are owed a real explanation of who killed JFK. But we owe each other something of more value– the willingness to confront an out of control, unjust, destroying amalgam of multi nationals and multi nations lead by a deep state and their publicly elected minions. This must be done peacefully and with as many people on board as possible. -Jill
Jill,
Well said. When I’m rested, I agree, in spite of the apathy that seems to surround us.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds”
– Samuel Adams –
Pat,
I’m sure there was some quid pro quo…..
Pat 1, November 19, 2013 at 10:03 pm
… the govt. and media have expressly named LHO as the lone assassin.
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Actually that is not the case:
(Wikipedia). It is a widespread mythical meme spread by the media when, inter alia, they are dissing “conspiracy theories” to the gullible public.
It is official that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK.
Dredd, please correct me if I’m wrong but did not the HSCA leave it up to the justice department for further action. The same justice department that claims LHO was a lone shooter. What action has there been but to rewrite history? Or should I say investigate what they want and completely ignore the rest. I believe that is what Mike meant when he said “Bingo” to me. That was just one small thing out of hundreds to thousands of non investigated leads .
PDM, I guess we all view things differently but what I saw was Jackie being forced to watch the swearing in of the man who had helped kill her husband as she’s highjacked back to DC. with the blood, brain and gore still on her. What I saw was a completion of a coup d’état.
AY, “Damn functionary” might be apt in some cases, but Earl Rose wasn’t one.” I agree!
JFK, KGB, b I bicki eye, bye o bee, bickee eye bickee o boo hoo.
Missing money. I think we need to stay on topic.
Reblogged this on The Libertarian Runner and commented:
Remember this story during the next debt ceiling debate when both the democrats and republicans say there is no room to cut a dime claiming that children, poor people, the troops, and bald eagles will all suffer if they do.
From lotta’s link:
“The money would be “managed by relevant Afghan institutions.”
Yeah, right.
Mike, Pat, AY, Person,
They did note rather heavily that the back of his head was not shaved (from photos) and wondered why not considering it was supposed to be a back of the head shot.
But then, of course, some of the memories from the Parkland staff, as presented in that newest movie, recall how desperate the Secret Service was to get the body out of their hospital and onto the plane that was returning to D. C.
Blouise, you wrote: “They did note rather heavily that the back of his head was not shaved (from photos) and wondered why not considering it was supposed to be a back of the head shot.” What would be the point of shaving the back of his head whether an entrance or exit wound when the man’s brains sprayed out the back of the head in a pink mist? You cannot look at the Zapruder film and see anything else. Jackie was trying to get the pieces of her husbands skull back when the SS agent crawled up the back of the car and made her sit down and take cover.
You also wrote: “But then, of course, some of the memories from the Parkland staff, as presented in that newest movie, recall how desperate the Secret Service was to get the body out of their hospital and onto the plane that was returning to D. C.” From other documentaries I have heard from those that were there that day, the ambulance driver and mortician, that it was a nasty, foul mouthed scuffle to illegally remove JFK’s body because by Texas State law the autopsy had to be done in Texas. The Warren Commission used illustrations painted by a man that never saw the body or the photographs just verbal remembrances.
There is a documentary out there titled “The Men Who Killed Kennedy.” It was made by the BBC for the A&E Channel but sold on the History Channel, two, two hour DVDs. One of the two men that picked up JFK and put him on the table at Bethesda grabbed his head and he said his hand sunk into JFK’s brain. A large potion of the skull was gone.
50 year anniversary and the History channel no longer sells those DVDs. We have new ones telling things just like we like them told. One shooter….move on.
“But then, of course, some of the memories from the Parkland staff, as presented in that newest movie, recall how desperate the Secret Service was to get the body out of their hospital and onto the plane that was returning to D. C.”
Blouise,
Yes away from the Dallas Coroner who had the authority to do the autopsy.
“They are just too involved with bread and circuses to give a damn.” -Pat
So it would seem. I wish it were otherwise.
If you have a minute following Michael Murry’s link
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/19/21534305-endless-afghanistan-us-afghan-agreement-would-keep-troops-in-place-and-funds-flowing-perhaps-indefinitely
is an eye-opener. Richard Engle is discussing this on TV now. A new treaty that keeps troops and funding in Afghanistan until 2024 and beyond- open ended. It’s a lot easier to loot the treasury when there is a war on. Just say’n.
The more important point than who has been in charge of this govt. is this question. Will the people, in great numbers, try to wrest back control and put this govt. under the rule of law?
James Bamford pointed out the Western Union gave the pre-NSA every f-ing telegram it had. In other words, all of this goes back further than 1963 and the assassination of a president who is on tape laughing about who he had killed in central and south America and who he planned to kill next. Camelot is as much propaganda as the current administration.
Yes, we are owed a real explanation of who killed JFK. But we owe each other something of more value– the willingness to confront an out of control, unjust, destroying amalgam of multi nationals and multi nations lead by a deep state and their publicly elected minions. This must be done peacefully and with as many people on board as possible.
Jill, you asked “The more important point than who has been in charge of this govt. is this question. Will the people, in great numbers, try to wrest back control and put this govt. under the rule of law?”
When the majority of the citizenry does not even exercise the right of voting; the one thing the “an out of control, unjust, destroying amalgam of multi nationals and multi nations lead by a deep state and their publicly elected minions” fear most; the one thing they haven’t completely taken away, I would have to say no. They are just too involved with bread and circuses to give a damn.