Stephen K. Bannon's Blog, page 814

IG ignores security lapses at VoA parent agency

The State Department’s in-house watchdog and congressional Republicans have very different appraisals of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the government-run news agency responsible for broadcasting America’s message to the world.The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) shrugged at concerns by USAGM’s first Senate-confirmed CEO, Michael Pack, that it had routinely ignored security protocols “for at least a decade” while using the same visas intended for au pairs to hire foreign nationals as journalists.
By contrast, House Foreign Affairs Committee GOP members continue hounding the agency for rehiring senior officials dismissed by Pack for security and financial lapses — and in one case, inventing a doctorate — once the Biden administration took office.
A week before the new president fired him, Pack formally asked OIG to investigate USAGM’s myriad problems dating back to the first Obama term. Eleven months later, on Dec. 27, OIG p …

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Securing rare earth supply chain crucial for defense

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Russia Warns: Don’t Interview Zelenskyy

The post Russia Warns Media Not to Report Interview With Zelensky appeared first on The Bongino Report.

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As debt climbs to $31T, Dems eye new version of Biden spending bill with Manchin’s support

The Democrat-led Congress might still be able to garner enough votes to pass President Biden’s massive spending package, despite already raising federal spending by more than 6% and presiding over record deficit and debt levels.The national debt is climbing to a staggering $31 trillion for the first time in U.S. history. The federal deficit hit record numbers in FY2020 ($3.1 trillion) and FY2021 ($2.8 trillion), driven by large coronavirus stimulus measures. The deficit in the first 5 months of this year is $475 billion.
According to a recent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill that Congress recently passed “provides $1.512 trillion of budget authority for FY2022, $88 billion (6 percent) higher than FY 2021 levels, $50 billion higher than in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) most recent baseline, and in line with FY 2021 levels when adjusted for higher inflation.”
The CRFB analysis shows that the spe …

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Bongino to Biden: We don’t need another gaffe, we need leadership

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Dan Bongino called out President Biden’s latest gaffes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and his administration’s clean-up attempts Saturday on “Unfiltered.“DAN BONGINO: You can always count on Joe Biden — always — to screw something up, especially on the world stage, and that’s really unfortunate. As president of the United States, with Europe on the brink of World War III, what is Biden going to do? Well, he appeared to call for regime change in Russia.PUTIN HEARD ‘LOUD AND CLEAR’ CALL FOR REGIME CHANGE AFTER BIDEN SAID HE ‘CANNOT REMAIN IN POWER’: EXPERT…The White House had to immediately do damage control again, saying, “The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.“Wait, he wasn’t? Or did Biden just misspeak, or is his staff running the White House? Like, what is it? 
President Biden. 
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)The media was happy to repeat the White House’s talking points, saying, “Don’t worry, nothing to see here, folks.” Meanwhile, just yesterday, Biden appeared to tell the U.S. troops over there that they’d be go …

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Zelensky calls for planes, tanks from NATO allies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called on NATO allies to provide planes and tanks to Kyiv as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion, while also asking if members of the military alliance are afraid of Moscow.Zelensky, in remarks after President BidenJoe BidenRussian rocket attacks wound five in western Ukraine city of Lviv If we de-list the IRGC, what will the dictators think? Biden to propose minimum tax on billionaires in budget MORE met with senior Ukrainian officials in Poland the day before, denounced the West for its “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets and other defensive weapons to us,” The Associated Press reported.“I’ve talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I’m in constant contact with them. Their determination, heroism and firmness are astonishing,” Zelensky said in a video address, according to the AP, mentioning the seized Ukrainian city.ADVERTISEMENT“If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1 percent of their courage,” he added.Western allies have provided Ukraine with anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, small arms and protective equipment, Reuters noted, but the military aid has not included fighter jets, which Kyiv has requested on a number of occasions. Earlier this month, the Pentagon said Poland’s proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany so they could be sent to Ukraine was not “tenable.”Zelensky, during his video remarks on Sunday, also asked who is responsible for the Euro-Atlantic community, …

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Applebee’s exec said to use gas prices, inflation to lower pay: report

Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for March 25. A leaked email from an Applebee’s executive caused quite a stir when he allegedly told company officials that the rising gasoline prices and inflation could be used to lower workers’ wages. A copy of Wayne Pankratz’s internal email was posted on Reddit and reported by The Daily Mail.GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREPankratz is the executive director of operations for American Franchise Capital, which owns 50 Applebee’s in the Midwest. He allegedly told managers that employees and applicants are economically hurting, which he saw as an “advantage.” An Applebee’s restaurant serves customers on August 10, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) “Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck,” the email read. “Any increase in gas prices cuts into their disposable income.“HIGH GAS PRICES SPARK STRUGGLE FOR FOOD TRUCK VENDORS: ‘YOU REALLY HAVE TO ROLL THE DICE’This week, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Midwest states hovered near $4, while Los Angeles hit a record $6.011, according to AAA.“As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up, that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living.” Pankrantz allegedly added. In this photo illustration the American sandwich restaurant chain Applebee’s logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo by Budrul Chukrut / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)No Use Germany. ((Photo by Budrul Chukrut / SOPA Images/Sipa USA / Reuters Photos)He indicated in the email that people needing two jobs to survive and that the company needed to make sure new workers are brought in on lower wages.INSTACART ANNOUNCES ‘FUEL SURCHARGE’ AMID GAS PRICE INCREASEScott Fischer, a spokesman for American Franchise Capital, told the Kansas City Star that the email does not reflect the company’s position nor does Pankratz have any power to make such changes. “The main message here is that this in absolutely no way, shape, or form speaks to our policies or our culture, or anything like that with our brand,” he added. Ticker Security Last Change Change %DIN DINE BRANDS GLOBAL INC. 75.03 ‑1.89 ‑2.46%Kevin Carroll, Chief Operations Officer at Applebee’s, also condemned Pankratz’s alleged statement and said the company does not hold the opinions of the AFC exec, according to a statement to FOX Business.CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS“We understand that the franchisee who owns and operates the restaurants in this market has placed the individual on leave,” said  Carroll. “Our team members are the lifeblood of our restaurants, and our franchisees are always looking to reward and incentivize team members, new and current, to remain within the Applebee’s family.” …

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Criticism of Ginni Thomas seen as backdoor, racist squeeze on Justice Thomas

The recent wave of media and Democratic criticism of the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas for her pro-Trump activism is getting pushback from supporters who claim it’s a racially tinged bid to kick the judge off 2020 election cases.
In several recent news stories, Ginni Thomas has been accused of being too politically active in 2020 audit calls, especially for a justice’s wife.

This week, emails from her to former Trump chief of staff Mar …

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Cuts to F‑35 Amid Increased Deployments Doesn’t Make Sense

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‘The wolf’s at the door.’ How Russia is reshaping the NATO alliance

What Obama tried to accomplish with appeals and Trump with threats is now happening without a great deal of either from President Joe Biden: amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO member nations are significantly ramping up their defense spending levels. 

Days after the Feb. 24 invasion, Germany announced plans to increase its defense funding, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz committing 100 billion Euros in 2022 to beef up its military and promising to invest more than 2% of gross domestic product – the NATO baseline – into defense moving forward. At least seven other European nations have followed suit with defense spending increases: Belgium, Romania, Poland, Italy, Norway, Denmark and – the only non-NATO member on the list – Sweden. 

An M1 Abrams main battle tank is the first of nearly 200 vehicles and equipment items from 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division to arrive in Europe aboard the “Liberty Passion”, a commercial cargo vessel, which docked in Alexandroupoli, Greece, March 21, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Austin Steinborn, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)Related: NATO Response Force: The Answer to Russia’s Aggression?

Russia’s aggression, underscored by a March 13 missile strike in Western Ukraine, just 15 miles from the Polish border, constitutes an existential threat that is promoting historic united action among allies in Europe, at least for the moment.

As Biden travels to Belgium and Poland this week to meet with NATO leaders and address response efforts, many expect him to push for long-term defense commitments from the alliance that will outlast the current crisis.

If leaders can coordinate new investments and move swiftly to admit new partners to the alliance, NATO will emerge more formidable and influential, explains Jim Townsend, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security’s Transatlantic Security Program.

Townsend played a role in making NATO what it is today: in the 1990s, he served as principal director of European and NATO Policy, director of NATO Policy and director of the Defense Plans Division at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels. He’d later work for eight years at the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy. Among Townsend’s accomplishments in support of NATO expansion and defense planning was assisting in the creation of the NATO Response Force, which began as an initiative in 2002 and was exp …

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