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Obama's Africa trip will cost taxpayers $100 mln
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| U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.(Reuters / Kevin Lamarque) |
President Barack Obama’s trip to Africa is estimated to cost American taxpayers $100 million – a hefty travel expense that has sparked criticism as the federal government is dealing with its sequester-related budget cuts.
The president is traveling to sub-Sahara Africa with his family from June 26 to July 3. The Obamas will be accompanied by hundreds of Secret Service agents and staff, which stack up transportation and accommodation costs. Military cargo planes will bring 56 vehicles including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the Obamas will stay. Fighter jets will fly in the air space above the first family to provide round the clock protection.“For the cost of this trip to Africa, you could have 1,350 weeks of White House tours,” Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) said on the House floor last week. “It is no secret that we need to rein in government spending, and the Obama administration has regularly and repeatedly shown a lack of judgment for when and where to make cuts… The American people have had enough of the frivolous and careless spending.”
Holding reminded lawmakers of the $16 trillion debt the US carries on its shoulders, and scrutinized the administration work spending an estimated $100 million on a weeklong visit. Holding said that while it is important to have security for the first family, the costs for this particular trip are “excessive”.
“The numbers don’t lie: either the administration is bad at math, or they simply don’t see a problem with their excessive spending,” he added.
And while $100 million is a hefty price for a week of travel, the Obamas initially planned to spend even more: the first family had plans to go on a safari tour that would have included the expense of a sharp-shooting team to protect them against wild animals. But the Obamas cancelled the Tanzania safari to avoid bringing the counterassault teams.
Although many presidents come under scrutiny for their travel expenses, Obama’s Africa trip has been heavily criticized because he is incurring the costs at a time when the national debt is at its highest, government budget cuts have led to nationwide furloughs, and Americans continue to struggle in today’s economy. The president has already been criticized for his lavish beach vacations in Hawaii, which have racked up significant transportation costs due to the island’s flying distance from Washington.
President Bill Clinton was also criticized for the expenses of his 1998 Africa trip, but the costs only racked up to $42.7 million at the time.
But the White House alleges that Obama’s trip is a good deal, since he is providing invaluable attention to a region that is too often ignored.
“Frankly, there will be a great bang for our buck for being in Africa, because when you travel to regions like Africa that don’t get a lot of presidential attention, you can have very long-standing and long-running impact from the visit,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told The Hill.The president and his family will travel to South Africa, Senegal and Tanzania, which will mark Obama’s first official trip in which he solely visits Africa.
US asks Moscow to 'look at all options available' to expel Snowden
Washington says it expects the Russian government to 'look at all options available' to expel Edward Snowden to the US to face espionage charges. That's after the White House expressed 'disappointment' China and Hong Kong didn't detain the NSA leaker.
"We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged," the White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden stressed.
However, a senior Russian lawmaker stressed that Washington should not expect Moscow to extradite Snowden.
"Ties are in a rather complicated phase and when ties are in such a phase, when one country undertakes hostile action against another, why should the United States expect restraint and understanding from Russia?" Aleksey Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of parliament, pointed out to Reuters.
Earlier, the US strongly objected to the authorities in Hong Kong and China at the decision to let Snowden flee through their territories.
The US Justice Department has been in “continual contact” with Hong Kong authorities since the prominent whistleblower Edward Snowden first revealed his identity and whereabouts on June 10, Reuters reports.
RT’s Gayane Chichakyan indicated that in its official statement, Hong Kong government centers on the revelations rather than on the leaker.
“Hong Kong says they want more information about the hacking of the systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies that was part of the Snowden’s revelations. So, in this official statement we see how Hong Kong shifts the focus from the messenger, Edward Snowden, to the message.”
She also said the US authorities are doing everything possible not to focus on the revelations, which “show that the US has lied and has been doing the same as they accuse China of doing. Policy makers in the US are doing everything to shift the attention away from the revelations by focusing on Snowden himself, or even by attacking other countries like Russia...”
In Sunday’s press release, announcing that Snowden has left Hong Kong, the island government acknowledged that the US was aware of discrepancies.
“Snowden left Hong Kong …on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel… [as there was] no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving,” the release read.
Earlier the US State Department issued a statement warning the countries of the ‘Western Hemisphere” about reports that Edward Snowden might be looking refuge in the region and urging them to not let the whistleblower in and assist with returning him to the US.
The announcement by the Justice Department came as US authorities revoked Snowden’s passport, according to several US officials who spoke with the media on condition of anonymity.
"As is routine and consistent with US regulations, persons with felony arrest warrants are subject to having their passport revoked," Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said in a statement. "Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status."
On Sunday, WikiLeaks which is allegedly helping Snowden escape the American justice system tweeted Snowden left Hong Kong and is "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum."
Ecuador is currently considering Snowden's bid for asylum.
En route to his final destination, whistleblower Edward Snowden made a stopover at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Due to the absence of a Russian visa, he allegedly stayed overnight in a hotel in the airport's transit zone. On Monday, he was expected to fly to Cuba before changing planes to Ecuador.
However, Snowden has not been seen aboard the plane to Havana, although two seats had been checked in under his name, RT's Egor Piskunov reported. The plane departed from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
Snowden has been charged by the US authorities with theft of federal government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person. The last two charges fall under the US Espionage Act.
US 'disappointed' with Hong Kong, kindly asks Latin American countries to stop Snowden
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| A plane believed to carry Edward Snowden, the former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency, lands in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, June 23, 2013.(Reuters / Tatyana Makeyeva) |
The US is "disappointed and disagrees" with Hong Kong's decision to let Snowden leave the country despite a provisional arrest request, and has warned countries in the Western Hemisphere to not allow him to “proceed in any further international travel.”
“The US is disappointed and disagrees with the determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honor the US request for the arrest of the fugitive," the official told Reuters.
The US Justice Department has been in “continual contact” with Hong Kong authorities since the prominent whistleblower first revealed his identity and whereabouts on June 10, Reuters reports.
Hong Kong did not raise any issues in regard the sufficiency of the documents provided with the US request for Snowden’s arrest, the official claimed. “In light of this, we find their decision to be particularly troubling,” the official said.
In Sunday’s press release however, announcing that Snowden has left Hong Kong, the island government acknowledged that the US was aware of discrepancies as they had filed a request for more information.
“Snowden left Hong Kong …on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel… [as there was] no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving,” the release read.
Earlier the US State Department issued a statement warning the countries of the ‘Western Hemisphere” about reports that Edward Snowden might be looking refuge in the region and urging them to not let the whistleblower in and assist with returning him to the US.
“The US is advising these governments that Snowden is wanted on felony charges, and as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States," the official said as cited by Reuters.
The announcement by the Justice Department came as US authorities revoked Snowden’s passport, according to several US officials who spoke with the media on condition of anonymity.
"As is routine and consistent with US regulations, persons with felony arrest warrants are subject to having their passport revoked," Jen Psaki, State Department spokeswoman said in a statement. "Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status. Persons wanted on felony charges, such as Mr. Snowden, should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States. Because of the Privacy Act, we cannot comment on Mr Snowden's passport specifically."
On Sunday, WikiLeaks which is allegedly helping Snowden escape the American justice system tweeted Snowden left Hong Kong and is "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum."
En route to the final destination, the plane carrying whistleblower Edward Snowden landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. He will reportedly first fly to Cuba.
Investigators claim government falsified TWA 800 air crash probe
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| The remains of the TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris that exploded off Long Island, New York, reassembled from recovered wreckage, is on display at National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Training Facility in Ashburn, Virginia (Reuters / Hyungwon Kang) |
Former investigators of the TWA Flight 800 airplane crash have revealed that an explosion came from outside the plane, thereby contradicting the government’s conclusion that the fatal crash was an accident. The investigators claim they were silenced from telling the truth by their superiors, and were forced to conclude that the 1996 crash was an accident sparked by a fuel tank explosion. In a new EPIX film called “TWA Flight 800”, the former National Transportation Safety Board investigators communicate their beliefs that an outside explosion was responsible for the deadly crash that occurred nearly 17 years ago, killing all 230 people on board.
The documentary film revolves around the crash of the Trans World Airlines Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 that exploded and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York on July 17, 1996. The plane had been en route from New York to Paris, but went up in flames over the Atlantic Ocean, just 12 minutes after take-off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. There were no survivors, and some speculated that the plane might have been the target of a terrorist attack. Several witnesses alleged that they saw a streak of light moving toward the aircraft before it exploded, leading some to believe that an anti-aircraft missile or rocket was responsible for the explosion. But an NTSB report drawn up after a 16-month investigation concluded that the “accident” was a result of faulty wiring that caused an electrical short circuit in the fuel gauge line, thereby resulting in a devastating fuel tank explosion. All NTSB employees and investigators were forced to stand by this conclusion, whether or not they believed it, the film’s producers said in a statement.
“These investigators were not allowed to speak to the public or refute any comments made by their superiors and/or NTSB and FBI officials about their work at the time of the official investigation,” the statement says.
Despite the NTSB’s report, some Americans continued to believe that the plane was fatally struck by a missile or rocket. They were termed conspiracy theorists, and their beliefs long overshadowed by the government’s official conclusion. Pierre Salinger, a former Press Secretary for John F. Kennedy and a reporter for ABC News, claimed he had seen proof that the US Navy shot down the plane. He argued that the government covered up the truth to hide the agency’s fatal mistake.
Salinger’s evidence was an e-mail from Richard Russell, a former United Airlines pilot who had obtained a videotape of radar screens from the night of the TWA explosion. But Bob Francis, the former vice chairman of the NTSB, told CNN that Salinger was “an idiot” who “didn’t know what he was talking about” and was “totally irresponsible”.
The crash is considered the third-deadliest US aviation accident in history, but the now-retired NTSB investigators featured in the documentary are hinting that it may never have been an “accident” at all. Interviews with members of the NTSB team will air on EPIX TV next month, on the 17-year anniversary of the deadly crash. Six whistleblowers featured in the film are expected to expose the government’s cover-up of an incident that may have been an attack, a grave mistake by the Navy, or some other external force, if their claims are true. The producers of the film say that the NTSB investigators do not speculate about the source of the external explosion, but simply contradict the government’s official report.
“This team of investigators who actually handled the wreckage and victims’ bodies, prove that the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not cause the crash,” the producers said in a statement. “They also provide radar and forensic evidence proving that one or more ordnance explosions outside the aircraft caused the crash.”
Tom Stalcup, co-producer of the film, told CNN that the documentary provides “solid proof” of the external detonation.
“Of course, everyone knows about the eyewitness statements, but we also have corroborating information from the radar data, and the radar data shows an asymmetric explosion coming out of that plane – something that didn’t happen in the official theory,” Stalcup added.
The film’s producers have submitted a petition, demanding that the NTSB reopen its investigation using new evidence provided by the documentary. A number of former investigators have signed the document. The film has the potential to solve the mystery of a deadly crash in which no survivors were left to testify about its cause. Although the retired NTSB investigators do not speculate about the cause of the attack, a previous incident may provide some insight into the realm of possibilities behind it. On October 4, 2001, a Russian commercial airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk crashed in the Black Sea, causing the fatalities of all 78 passengers onboard. A number of reports surfaced after the incident, claiming that a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile was fired at the aircraft. For days, Russian and Ukrainian officials dismissed the theories. But on October 12, officials admitted that the plane had indeed been shot down.
''The metal parts found in the plane and a few of the bodies closely resemble -- in shape and weight -- the shrapnel that stuff the S-200 missile,'' Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, a member of the investigation team, announced in 2001. ''Ukraine's evidence that all missiles fired during the training either hit their targets or self-destructed is not convincing.''
Ukrainian officials admitted that they had mistakenly shot down the Russian Tu-154 airliner. The cause of the Tu-154 crash was revealed days after it occurred, but the mystery of the TWA Flight 800 still remains. But with NTSB investigators providing evidence of an external explosion, new details about the 1996 crash may soon arise.
FBI director admits domestic use of drones
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| FBI Director Robert Mueller (Reuters / Yuri Gripas) |
The FBI uses drones for domestic surveillance purposes, the head of the agency told Congress early Wednesday. Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns several unmanned aerial vehicles, but has not adopted any strict policies or guidelines yet to govern the use of the controversial aircraft. “Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Mr. Mueller during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Yes,” Mueller responded bluntly, adding that the FBI’s operation of drones is “very seldom.” Asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) to elaborate, Mueller added, “It’s very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident where you need the capability.” Earlier in the morning, however, Mueller said that the agency was only now working to establish set rule for the drone program. Mueller began answering questions just after 10 a.m. EDT and has also touched briefly on the recently exposed NSA surveillance program that has marred the reputation of the United States intelligence community as of late. Mueller said 22 agents have access to a vast surveillance database, including 20 analysts and two overseers. When Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) asked Mueller later in the morning if he’d consider being more open about the FBI’s surveillance methods, the director decried being much more transparent that the bureau already is. Mueller said the FBI has and will continue to weigh the possibility of publishing more information about its spy habits, but warned that doing such would be to the advantage of America’s enemies. “There is a price to be paid for that transparency,” Mueller said. “I certainly think it would be educating our adversaries as to what our capabilities are.”
