News/Politics 4-5-14

What’s interesting in the news this weekend?

Open thread weekend, what’ve ya got?

Just two from me today.

1. Does Pat  have a point?

From Creators.com  “In his Kremlin defense of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Vladimir Putin, even before he began listing the battles where Russian blood had been shed on Crimean soil, spoke of an older deeper bond.

Crimea, said Putin, “is the location of ancient Khersones, where Prince Vladimir was baptized. His spiritual feat of adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilization and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.” Russia is a Christian country, Putin was saying.

This speech recalls last December’s address where the former KGB chief spoke of Russia as standing against a decadent West:

“Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values. Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”

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2. Don’t worry Hillary, we have the same problem.

From TheCapitolCityProject  “On April 3, 2014, Hillary Clinton spoke at the Women of the World Summit in New York City and was asked what she was most proud of during her tenure as Secretary of State. Clinton could not provide any concrete examples of the accomplishments she holds in high regard.”

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3. UPDATE!

Hold the presses, I just found a Hillary accomplishment.

Oh wait….. Never mind…

From TheFiscalTimes  “The State Department has no idea what happened to $6 billion used to pay its contractors.

In a special “management alert” made public Thursday, the State Department’s Inspector General Steve Linick warned “significant financial risk and a lack of internal control at the department has led to billions of unaccounted dollars over the last six years.

The alert was just the latest example of the federal government’s continued struggle with oversight over its outside contractors.

The lack of oversight “exposes the department to significant financial risk,” the auditor said. “It creates conditions conducive to fraud, as corrupt individuals may attempt to conceal evidence of illicit behavior by omitting key documents from the contract file. It impairs the ability of the Department to take effective and timely action to protect its interests, and, in tum, those of taxpayers.”