Month: June 2013

What Is The US Middle East Policy?

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

Today is my B/Day…..feels like I am going on about 150……I will take a rest today and enjoy myself……I will be back in full force tomorrow…..

When Americans hear Middle East Policy they immediately think it is all about Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians…..while that is part of the region there is so much more than that single issue……so I asked the question, What is the US Middle East policy?  A simple question…..but you know there is NO one that has a simple answer…….the Middle East is a region not a single country that can have one and only one policy………the problem as I see it is the US cannot separate one conflict from the other…..why, you may ask Israel, is the simplest answer.  For some reason, and my guess would be some religious crap, we have to make Israel happy or our policies toward the region will fail.

I provide the above map to help my reader understand…..since about 70% of Americans could not name more than 2 or 3 countries that make up the region….a little assistance was needed…..

Let us llok at Middle East from the 80’s…….Lebanon is being torn apart by a civil war….Reagan sens in the Marines to help and their barracks was bombed and we took it on the lamb…….next was Reagan replacement Bush I and the first Gulf War against Iraq…..Iraq a country we supported as long as they were at war with Iran….Bush’s replacement was Clinton and his eye was taken off the Middle East while he waged war in the Balkans and while he was so engaged AQ was becoming a force in international terrorism……..and then came Bush II and the 9/11 attacks and the retaliation against Afghanistan and the attack on Iraq…..and his replacement Obama is now jumping into the Middle East war game in Syria……

What is the end game?

What is the hope of the US for the Middle East?

My analysis is….it appears to be a stepping stone tactic……similar to the end of WW2 and Eastern Europe……to what end is still debatable………is it to promote demo0cracy as some want to believe?  I say NO….it may be a side issue but democracy as Americans know it is not possible in the Middle East of today.

Why?

For one, there is NO experience with democracy….this has been a tribal civilization since time began……..Lebanon is about the only country with a democratic institution…..but it is divided along religious lines and not political lines……so the US cannot expect democracy to be up and bloom every time we think it is a good idea or we use it as an excuse to intervene….

There appears to be NO long term policy goal for the Middle East…..the US reacts to whatever situation arises.

The end game is a possible intervention in Iran……it will not be immediate…..a gradually escalating policy.  It has always been about getting Iran….one way or the other……just as Bush was always going to go after Saddam and Iraq……

Every Neocons desire……GET IRAN!

Patriot Or Traitor?

I have been reading blogs….listening to news reports…..and reading lots of news…..all in an attempt to get an handle on this Snowden dude…..

We all have our opinions about this Snowden dude….the guy who worked for NSA for 2 weeks and took abounch of info that he has released through a journalist enabler……I have heard him called a patriot because he exposed the NSA and their dastardly techniques of checking for terrorists…..and then there is those that think him some sort of traitor for his antics……but that is for the individual to decide which Snowden is….the patriot or the traitor.

There are a few things to consider….one Ellsberg released the Pentagon papers and stood up for what he believed…Snowden ran away to hide and then released his so-called information.  Manning, you know the Army PFC that got and then released a bunch of Pentagon stuff on line….he stood and faced the consequences….Snowden ran to China another bastion of democracy and freedom (sarcasm, in case it was missed)…….

Then there is the report that Snowden had 4 laptops with information and he allowed either China or Russia to check out the hard drives……that is right….RUSSIA…..(another bastion of freedom and democracy…sarcasm once again……..).  That does not sound like someone that has the concern of American’s public best interests…..does it to you?

The story says that Snowden has gone from China to Russia then on to Cuba and finally to Ecuador……his final destination because of the extradition that is non-existent……any time a person allows state secrets fall into the hands of foreign entities then that person is a traitor!  No matter how one tries to justify the actions….a traitor is a traitor!

Sorry….none of that sounds like a patriot…..but it does sound like a traitor on the run looking for a safe haven!

No amount of justification can turn this act into something patriotic.

If Manning is a traitor….then Snowden is worse….why?  He was a coward and fled…..he could not be bothered with standing on principle….my guess is that he, Snowden, is looking for the most lucrative spot to settle down……

Let us hear from the public….is this guy a….patriot or traitor?

When Can NSA Do This Or That?

We have had weeks of outrage about the NSA and their tactic of getting info from various providers…..but how many know what they can or cannot do?

Thanx to the WEEK for this explanation…….

The NSA has to immediately destroy your information if:

♦ The NSA analyst determines that you are a “U.S. person” — a category that covers U.S. citizens, legal residents, corporations, and nonprofits — based on a “totality of the circumstances.” The analyst can determine if you’re in the U.S. via IP address, matching your phone number or email address to a database, statements you’ve made, or other kinds of research.

The Guardian reprints part of the NSA general counsel’s briefing to analysts in 2008:

Once again, the standard here is a reasonable belief that your target is outside the United States. What does that mean when you get information that might lead you to believe the contrary? It means you can’t ignore it. You can’t turn a blind eye to somebody saying: “Hey, I think so and so is in the United States.” You can’t ignore that. [The Guardian]

The NSA can retain your information for up to five years if:

♦ The analyst can’t determine where you are. “In the absence of specific information regarding whether a target is a United States person,” the document says, “a person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States or whose location is not known will be presumed to be a non-United States person unless such person can be positively identified as a United States person.” Once it’s determined you are, in fact, a U.S. person, the fun stops.

♦ Your data is “enciphered or reasonably believed to contain secret meaning.” That’s a real problem for people “using online anonymity services such as Tor or sending encrypted email and instant messages,” says Dan Goodin at Ars Technica. And that’s especially sketchy because “Tor is a staple of many human rights advocates who want to prevent repressive governments from tracking their location or intercepting and reading their email and instant messages. Encrypted email, while by no means easy to use, remains a core practice among lawyers, corporate executives, and privacy advocates.”

♦ Your information contains “significant foreign intelligence information”, “evidence of a crime,” or “information pertaining to a threat of serious harm to life or property.” Retaining this information requires approval of the NSA director. “If there’s a terrorist attack planned or a threat of a cyberattack, I think Americans want us to pay attention to it,” an unidentified senior U.S. intelligence official tells The New York Times.

♦ You’re a lawyer or client whose communication contains useful foreign intelligence. This is an exception to the general rule that all communications between an attorney and U.S. client facing criminal charges be destroyed, and there are special rules for handling the information: “The relevant portion of the communication containing that conversation will be segregated and the National Security Division of the Department of Justice will be notified so that appropriate procedures may be established to protect such communications from review or use in any criminal prosecution, while preserving foreign intelligence information contained therein.”

The NSA can collect and use your information if:

♦ You are a foreigner outside U.S. territory. Once you enter U.S. territory, the surveillance has to stop immediately.

Here are the documents:

Classified documents show rules for NSA surveillance without a warrant

And now you know…..before too much time you might want to check on this stuff before too much condemnation….is it a violation of your civil rights?

We can argue that point for months and all we will do is make each other angry…….

Send In The Clowns

I have been calling our crackerjack Congress a pack of clowns…..well some other names that I prefer not to repeat…….and the recent farm bill vote is just an illustration of the antics of this circus……

In case you have been online with your bros and missed the voting on said bill….let me help out……the speaker of the House brought a farm bill up for a vote without having a guaranteed vote count and it failed….62 Repubs deserted Boehner and voted against the bill…..it seems they may have grown a conscience before the vote…..the bill in question would have cut SNAP funding drastically….SNAP that is bureaucratic speak for food stamps…….one of my favorite players in this bill was a rep named Fincher and Mr. Fincher has a vested interest in the farm bill……

You see, Representative Fincher happens to be the second largest recipient of farm subsidies in the United States Congress—which might explain why Mr. Fincher would like to decimate the food stamp budget in order to do the Lord’s work when “supporting a proposal to expand crop insurance by $9 billion over the next 10 years.”

While Fincher may only come in second amongst his congressional peers when it comes to pocketing huge sums of taxpayer money, he has the distinction of being one of the largest recipients of subsidies in the history of the great State of Tennessee.

Kinda like insider trading…..he is profiting off his membership of a committee in the House……is it legal?  Probably.  But it is NOT ethical and this is where the douche bag Issa needs to be looking for his investigations…..

The vote is a blow to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republican leaders who for two years have failed to move farm policy forward. The issue has badly divided Republicans.

Immediately after the vote, Republicans were apoplectic at what they characterized as a betrayal by Democratic leaders, who did not deliver the votes they promised.   Yep it is the Dems fault because Boehner and the leadership did not have the votes before bringing it up……the farm bill could not pass the House…..what do you think the chances of the immigration bill?

Say what you want about Pelosi, I will probably agree on some of it, but the lady knew her stand and where her votes were……something Boehner and Cantor have yet to learn………the Repubs are looking more and more like the clowns, bad ones at that, that I have been accusing them of being……..

There are 4 of the most beautiful words in the English language that I will use anytime……..“I Told You So”!

Blame It All On Men!

When I was married it seemed that I was being blamed from everything to tall grass to the crucifixion……and you hear that a lot……whatever it is….it is a man’s fault……

But should we blame us dudes for everything?

Okay there has to be a line not to cross…….but this?

(Newser) – If you weren’t already blaming the man in your life for those pesky hot flashes, now’s the time to start—and you can thank McMaster University researchers for the pleasure. A study by evolutionary geneticists at the Canadian school concludes men’s partiality for younger mates made fertility futile in older women, and that gave rise to menopause. Highlights, per Discovery News and the BBC:

  • A popular previous theory: the “grandmother effect,” in which women were believed to have evolved to lose fertility at an age when they might not live to care for a child. So, menopause created an inability to reproduce.
  • The new theory: It happened the other way around: A lack of reproduction spurred menopause. The team reached this theory of “preferential mating,” using computer modeling. Says the study head, “There is evidence in human history; there was always a preference for younger women.”
  • The detractors: An evolutionary biologist tells the BBC it’s actually the opposite: “I think it makes more sense to see the human male preference for younger females largely as an evolved response to the menopause.”
  • Fascinating fact: Menopause is very, very rare in the animal kingdom.
  • Interesting side note: The study head adds that the trend toward later childbirth could delay when women go through menopause (in the UK, the average is at age 52). “The social system is changing … with the possibility of menopausal age being delayed.”

How do you feel about these findings….please I would like to know…….

It’s All About The Colon

Finally, the weekend and I get to pull the plug on my brain and post on something besides politics and such……..at times it is fun to learn new stuff…….

I recall when I was a kid and git sick….to my loving grandmother all sickness was in direct resault of an unhealthy colon…….and I had to swallow copious amounts of that fowl tasting Cod Liver Oil…..needless to say, it did not take long for me to feel much better….anything to avoid yet another dose of the nasties…….

But guess what?  My grandmother, rest her soul, was a lot smarter than I gave her credit…….

(Newser) – Researchers recently looked at nearly 10,000 emergency room visits at one hospital by children who were experiencing abdominal pain, and what they found may surprise you: The most common diagnosis, found in more than 25% of the kids who were diagnosed with anything, was constipation. “Parents are shocked that that’s their child’s diagnosis,” says the lead author. Even the pediatrician who wrote up the study in the New York Times was surprised by her own child’s constipation diagnosis, because she had asked him about that exact issue. But, as her child’s pediatrician explained, “Sometimes kids don’t want to tell their mom.”

Constipation is a touchy subject, since many link it to a poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle, but it can start very early in children as they struggle against their parents’ potty training methods. As they get older, kids may not want to use the bathroom at school. “Withholding” in either of these cases can lead to problems, and they can get worse as children develop “defecation anxiety,” a pediatric psychologist explains. All the while, parents may have no idea; they may even think their children are dealing with diarrhea (extreme cases of constipation can lead to liquid stool; see the Times if you need the gory details). Unfortunately, the problems can persist for years, even into adulthood.

Talk to me….my peeps!