Active Shooter San Bernardino

[vince]

Wasn't the NSA 'collecting EVERYTHING EVERYONE SAYS' thing up for a re-up this month?
Sounds like a tragic event is the ticket to 'scare' enough to keep the thing alive!
I had that same feeling once before:
The morning of 9/11, when congress was about to vote to cut military spending 50%. Before I left for work, I saw this, and said to my wife, "OOO... Somebody's not gonna like THIS!' A few hours later.....

[seemslikeadream]

yea and Mr. duel citizenship Dov S. Zakheim comptroller of the Pentagon lost 3 trillion dollars and so it goes

Dov Zackheim, Pentagon Comptroller

Plot Thickens: Pentagon Now Facing More Scrutiny Over $766 Million Task Force
Senators were already questioning why the Defense Department was restricting a government watchdog. Now there are criminal investigations and questions about retaliation against a whistleblower.
by Megan McCloskey
ProPublica, Nov. 25, 2015, 12:45 p.m.9 Comments Print Print

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter holds briefing at the Pentagon. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
The Pentagon is scrambling to justify its actions in restricting the government watchdog investigating a $766-million task force in Afghanistan — with more controversy seemingly erupting by the day. Now there are allegations that Defense Department officials retaliated against a whistleblower and news of several ongoing criminal investigations.

Earlier this month, we reported that the Pentagon was making it difficult for the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction to investigate reports of gross waste and mismanagement by the now-defunct, five-year Task Force for Business Stability Operations. One of its projects, a gas station, cost 140 times what it should have.

Money as a Weapons System

How U.S. Commanders Spent $2 Billion of Petty Cash in Afghanistan Read more.

Boondoggle HQ

The $25 Million Building in Afghanistan Nobody Needed Read more.

Since then, several members of Congress have demanded that the Pentagon cooperate fully with SIGAR.

The Defense Department has been unable to provide a reasonable explanation for why it only restricted SIGAR when the inspector general turned his attention to the troubled task force and how the department will work with SIGAR in the future. The DOD has been legally required to provide free access to the inspector general since SIGAR’S inception in 2010.

Here’s the background: After receiving numerous complaints about the task force, called TFBSO, SIGAR launched an investigation. As it typically does, the inspector general requested task force documents. But the Pentagon refused to comply, telling SIGAR that it was placing new rules and restrictions on access. The Pentagon told SIGAR that it must review the documents in a DOD-controlled “reading room” in Washington and any documents SIGAR wanted to take must first have names redacted. The DOD said it believed SIGAR had inappropriately released documents with names of service members in response to an unrelated Freedom of Information Act request from ProPublica.

In response to questions from ProPublica, Lt. Col. Joseph Sowers, a DOD spokesman, insisted this wasn’t a new policy, but a “common sense safeguard.”

That safeguard, however, has only applied to task force documents — not any other material requested by SIGAR that contained names. That contradiction prompted SIGAR to call DOD’s explanation a “red herring.”

When ProPublica asked the Pentagon why the restrictions weren’t applied across the board, the agency fumbled to find an answer.

First DOD officials said that “the same ground rules” would apply to all future SIGAR requests. But when asked how this would work in Afghanistan, where SIGAR has 35 people and there is no reading room, officials backpedaled. They couldn’t answer questions about where SIGAR staff would read the documents, who would redact the sometimes thousands of pages in a SIGAR request, or even whether Army Gen. John Campbell, who oversees the military in Afghanistan, was involved in the decision.

The Pentagon then said the restrictions would not, after all, apply to every future SIGAR request. Instead the Pentagon would decide on a “case by case basis.” DOD officials wouldn’t say what criteria would be used to decide whether the documents would be restricted or who would make the decision.

Sowers said that regardless of the reading room requirements, SIGAR has “unfettered access” to do its job and evaluate the TFBSO. SIGAR, however, called the restrictions borderline obstructive and said at the very least they violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the inspector general act and the law that established SIGAR.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and several other senators have said they are concerned not just with the Pentagon’s policy for SIGAR, but also with the wasteful spending of the task force. That includes building the gas station, which cost $43 million dollars when it should have cost between $200,000 and $500,000. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., has called a hearing next month on the gas station. Grassley has demanded the Pentagon turn over all the task force documents to his office, and has asked the DOD inspector general to launch its own investigation into the task force.

In addition to auditing the task force, SIGAR’s criminal division is also conducting several investigations into the task force, but cannot comment on specifics, according to Grassley.

“I expect the Pentagon to cooperate fully with the inspector general and with my office in all inquiries involving the task force,” he said in a statement. “With the poor track record reported on the auditing side, there’s reason to be skeptical on the level of cooperation with the inspector general on the criminal side.”

Grassley is also seeking answers about the allegations of Army Col. John C. Hope, the former director of operations of the task force. Hope said he is being retaliated against for “speaking the truth” about a lack of accountability with the task force in an official Army report, according to a letter Grassley wrote to Defense Secretary Ash Carter this week. Hope claims his evaluation is being purposefully withheld, which jeopardizes his next assignment and affects possible promotion.

Brian McKeon, the deputy under secretary of defense who made the decision to restrict SIGAR’s access to the documents, is Hope’s senior evaluator. McKeon, as well as the former task force director, Joseph Catalino, are responsible for completing Hope’s evaluation.

“Neither has reportedly signed [the evaluation],” Grassley wrote to Carter, and “both would have received Hope’s highly critical [report] about a total ‘lack of accountability’ at TFBSO.”

The Pentagon said it was agency policy not to speak about individual officer evaluations. “We welcome continued review by SIGAR in their effort to ensure the TFBSO activities are properly assessed and analyzed,” Sowers said.

Grassley has asked Carter to step in personally.

“If the Pentagon is retaliating against someone for speaking out on poor accountability and wasteful spending, that’s unacceptable,” Grassley said in a statement. “It’s detrimental to the individual and to the taxpayers.”

[cptmarginal]

Navy records show he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

That's not a "decorated veteran," those are boy scout participation patches.

Yeah, and I think Roston actually edited the article because it originally said he had "won" them (judging by the comments there)

yea and Mr. duel citizenship Dov S. Zakheim comptroller of the Pentagon lost 3 trillion dollars and so it goes

The funny (?) thing is that it has become an annual occurrence, announcing that nobody knows what the fuck is going on with the Pentagon:

http://www.rigorousintuition.ca/board2/ ... 36#p521096

WASHINGTON (January 17, 2013) - The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) cannot render an opinion on the 2012 consolidated financial statements of the federal government because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations.

As was the case in 2011, the main obstacles to a GAO opinion on the accrual- based consolidated financial statements were:

• Serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) that made its financial statements unauditable.

• The federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies.

[...]

While the vast majority of the 24 CFO Act Agencies received unqualified opinions, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have consistently been unable to receive such audit opinions. Efforts are under way at both agencies to address this situation.

Following years of unsuccessful financial improvement efforts, DOD’s Comptroller established the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness Directorate to develop, manage, and implement a strategic approach for addressing weaknesses and for achieving auditability. DOD’s overall goal is to prepare auditable departmentwide financial statements by September 30, 2017.

Keep moving those goal posts:

http://anonym.to/?http://gao.gov/key_is ... ue_summary

DOD's financial management has been on GAO's High Risk List since 1995 because of pervasive deficiencies in its financial and related business management systems, processes, and controls. DOD's deficiencies have impaired its ability to

-establish effective financial management that can provide managers with timely, accurate, reliable, and useful information and prevent or timely detect fraud, abuse, and waste.

-sustain a full audit of its financial statements to ensure basic accountability

[...]

Congress has mandated a full audit of DOD’s fiscal year 2018 financial statements, and that those results be submitted to Congress by March 31, 2019.

[IanEye]

ON the "third man" thing -- this is the "breaking news" from The Young Turks yesterday. There's a short clip at the beginning characterized by the CBS affiliate TV station as "the best description we have so far" from a worker who clearly witnessed THREE "GUN MEN" dressed in black, with ASSAULT RIFLES and extra magazines, wearing tactical gear entering the building.

This eyewitness testimony is further complicated by the drills going on nearby.

This testimony could be dismissed at simply a SWAT team responding to the initial shooting.

I would be interested to hear the actual witness speaking, and whether she saw them wearing masks.

[IanEye]

A lawyer for the family of suspected San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook floated skepticism about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in his efforts to cast doubt on early police findings about the massacre at a county holiday party that left 14 dead this week.

Appearing alongside attorney Mohammad Abuershaid, David Chesley said there were “a lot of questions” in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting, where 20 children and 6 adults were killed. Abuershaid and Chesley have been identified as attorneys representing the Farook family.

“There was a lot of questions drawn with regards to Sandy Hook and whether or not that was a real incident or not. We just don't know,” Chesley said, in video published Friday by British tabloid The Daily Mail.

The Mail reported that Chesley, asked directly if he questioned the attack at Sandy Hook, said: “There has been a lot [sic] speculation about it is all I would say.”

- link

[Wombaticus Rex]

MSNBC is breaking into the shooters apartment with a camera crew on fucking live TV right now.

I love moments like this: I love being reminded I'm not cynical enough, no matter what my friends and family tell me.

I don't mean that in some kind of "Note to Self: Be More Cycnical" sense, just a humble wonder at how fractally fucked and seriously surprising our Kali Yuga will be.

Gonna be one hell of a show.

[Rory]

MSNBC is breaking into the shooters apartment with a camera crew on fucking live TV right now.

I love moments like this: I love being reminded I'm not cynical enough, no matter what my friends and family tell me.

I don't mean that in some kind of "Note to Self: Be More Cycnical" sense, just a humble wonder at how fractally fucked and seriously surprising our Kali Yuga will be.

Gonna be one hell of a show.

Sorry for the off topic question. But can you outline what is meant by Kali Yuga? I have a pretty shallow understanding of Hindu mythology and know the very basics of the Bhagavad Gita. Would appreciate your interpretation.

[stillrobertpaulsen]

one more thing about the 3rd suspect ..when the police chief was giving a briefing he said that he had been apprehended...was not involved but was arrested on an outstanding matter and laughed about it

"Nothing to see here!"



Wouldn't surprise me if the real reason this suspect is being swept under the rug is "diplomatic immunity."

[Wombaticus Rex]

Sorry for the off topic question. But can you outline what is meant by Kali Yuga? I have a pretty shallow understanding of Hindu mythology and know the very basics of the Bhagavad Gita. Would appreciate your interpretation.

The long march to the end of all things; the age of disintegration. We were born in time to watch the world burn, and that fire will rage long, long after we're all gone.

Side note: I have to assume the FBI was fine with MSNBC contaminating evidence and setting up a slam-dunk, multi-million dollar lawsuit from the remaining family members. This is such a huge escalation of WTFology.

[sfnate]

I have to assume the FBI was fine with MSNBC contaminating evidence and setting up a slam-dunk, multi-million dollar lawsuit from the remaining family members. This is such a huge escalation of WTFology.

I am beyond speechless by this development: how on earth could this contamination of evidence be allowed to happen? There are piles and piles of evidence in that apartment, uncatalogued, unexamined by investigators, and these reporters are picking things up as if it's some kind of perverse estate sale. Or open house. Amazing, unbelieveable. What is happening here?

[sfnate]

I mean, just look at this:



How is this reporter allowed to touch, what, the killer's passport photo?

[sfnate]

Perhaps a legal-type person can comment on this: Is all of this evidence now inadmissible, because contaminated through law enforcement negligence?

Does law enforcement NOT WANT this evidence to be admissable?

[82_28]

They just said on ABC news that the home was just a normal home and everything was "in order". . .

[sfnate]

They just said on ABC news that the home was just a normal home and everything was "in order". . .

Wow. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I saw the media walking around in a suspect's home picking up and photographing anything they could find before the evidence was all bagged and carted off. Maybe I'm just uniformed, maybe that's standard police procedure, especially for potential "terrorist" cases(!)

[sfnate]

A little more background on what happened at the suspects' apartment, via Mashable:

When Mashable reached out to the FBI while the scene was simultaneously unfolding on live television, a spokesperson seemed shocked when asked if the public was allowed to enter the apartment.

"I do not believe so, but I can check," she said around 9:30 a.m. PT. "My understanding is it is still an ongoing investigation."

An hour later, Lourdes Arocho, spokesperson for the FBI Los Angeles field office, told Mashable: "The search is over at that location." When pressed for further comment, she repeated the statement and referred to a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. PT.

A man named Doyle Miller, who identified himself as the landlord, told CBS News that he didn't intend to let the press into the apartment. When he opened the door, "they rushed," he said.

[...]

During an afternoon press conference, FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director David Bowdich said that the federal investigation at the property had ended.

Bowdich said investigators had seized several pieces of evidence from the home but had turned it back over to the owners resident.

"Once we board it up, anyone that goes in at that point has nothing to do with us," said Bowdich.

I'm reading this explanation but it's not making sense--seems like the FBI would have seized just about everything, right? Why leave stuff behind, especially, for example, photographs?