• SECDEF says that Russia and China pose a threat to global order

  SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Saturday accused Russia of endangering world order, citing its incursions in Ukraine and loose talk about nuclear weapons, and said the U.S. defense establishment is searching for creative ways to deter Russian aggression and protect U.S. allies. Carter also expressed concern about China’s expanding influence and growing military might, but he reserved his stronger words for Russia in his remarks to the Reagan National Defense Forum. National security experts and defense officials attended the gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. – Yahoo

• Beyond the airstrikes, Russian troops on the ground in Syria

  Recently we published a post, expanding on an investigation by The Interpreter on a Russian convoy spotted in Latakia governorate. Apart from the fact that the convoy was spotted far away from the official Russian base in Syria, it was proven to have been moving away from the frontline. This looked like Russian ground troops returning to Hmeimin airbase from the front. The convoy had a 152-mm howitzer 2A65 “Msta-B”, which is not fielded by the Syrian army. You can read a summary of our and others’ findings in English here. Recently the InformNapalm investigation team published an article on a soldier of Russia’s 74th Separate Mororized Rifle Brigade (military unit 21005) Ayas Saryg-Ool, who is currently in Syria. Ayas published several… – Live Journal

• The Pentagon farmed out coding to Russia

  The Pentagon was tipped off in 2011 by a longtime Army contractor that Russian computer programmers were helping to write computer software for sensitive U.S. military communications systems, setting in motion a four-year federal investigation that ended this week with a multimillion-dollar fine against two firms involved in the work. The contractor, John C. Kingsley, said in court documents filed in the case that he discovered the Russians’ role after he was appointed to run… – The Daily Beast

• Where the 35 billion dollars in American global aid goes

  US foreign aid has been a popular punching bag for lawmakers and the public over the years whenever the topic of excessive government spending comes up. Indeed, about a third of the public believes that foreign aid makes up between 30% and 50% of the entire federal budget, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In a national poll on the subject last year, a mere one in 20 knew that less than 1% of the $4 trillion annual federal budget went to foreign aid. – Business Insider

• Winnie the pooh gets his CIB

  
  Winnie the Pooh is one of the best-known characters in children’s literature, and the inspiration is in fact a female bear from Winnipeg in Canada. Captain Harry Colebourn of the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps brought the bear cub across the Atlantic in 1914 when stationed in the UK, at the start of World War One, and when his regiment went to France, it was donated to London Zoo. Newsday talks to Captain Colebourn’s great-granddaughter Lindsay Mattick, who has written a book about her grandfather’s relationship with the bear, ‘Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear’. – BBC UK

[Featured image: Daily Beast]