Day: July 18, 2014

Flight MH17…..Another Doomed Malaysian Flight

We all have heard the horrendous news of yet another Malaysian flight has met with a disastrous end……and as usual there are battling and conflicting accusations as to whom is to blame for destroying this plane and its passengers…..Separatists say it was the Ukrainians….Ukrainians say it was the Separatists….Russia is blaming the Ukraine military and the US is speculating but have not offered up an accusation as of yet….and then there is McCain, who is basically blaming Obama for the destruction of flight MH 17….because we have not sent all the weapons that he, McCain, thinks the Ukrainians need and deserve….

Personally, I think McCain is being a partisan twat….using this tragedy as a political prop is despicable….and usual McCain spends a lot of his time thumping his chest like a crazed ape….and this situation is No different……..

Newser) – With the evidence increasingly suggesting that today’s jet crash over Ukraine was caused by a missile and not a mechanical failure, John McCain is burnishing his reputation as the Senate’s top foreign policy hawk. While stressing that it’s too early to know anything for sure, McCain said on MSNBC that the crash has the “earmarks of a tragic mistake made by someone who had the capability to just shoot down an aircraft, and we know at least from the last couple of weeks that that could be Russian or separatist Russian capability,” reports Politico. If that proves to be the case, “I think there’s going to be hell to pay and there should be.”

In an appearance on CNN, he made similar points and added that it might be time to “give the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves,” reports Slate. In Moscow, meanwhile, Vladimir Putin pinned the blame squarely on Ukraine, though he was speaking in general terms: “I want to note that this tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeast Ukraine,” he said. “And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.” The AP has the full text of his remarks.

As typical of McCain he rattles off some vague BS and the NeoCons applaud…….but what is the Hell they will pay?  He conveniently leaves out any details….another typical McCain ploy

McCain is getting tiresome……plus only the most radical and ignorant among us take him seriously anymore…he use to be a statesman….now he is just an angry old man that plays way too many games.

Where’d He Go?

It is obvious that I have a big interest in what happens in the Middle East….and with good reason…I studied it at university and I worked in the region and now I write about it with the hope that I can help people understand that what is happening that we are told daily is not always as accurate as one would think.

I especially like the reporting done by Richard Engel and Ayman Molyeldin….they both speak Arabic and do excellent reporting from the region…..that is why NBC has made a  move that I do not understand………

Ayman Mohyeldin, the NBC News correspondent who personally witnessed yesterday’s killing by Israel of four Palestinian boys on a Gazan beach and who has received widespread praise for his brave and innovative coverage of the conflict, has been told by NBC executives to leave Gaza immediately. According to an NBC source upset at his treatment, the executives claimed the decision was motivated by “security concerns” as Israel prepares a ground invasion, a claim repeated to me by an NBC executive. But late yesterday, NBC sent another correspondent, Richard Engel, along with an American producer who has never been to Gaza and speaks no Arabic, into Gaza to cover the ongoing Israeli assault (both Mohyeldin and Engel speak Arabic).

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/07/17/nbc-removes-ayman-mohyeldin-gaza-coverage-witnesses-israeli-beach-killing-four-boys/

Why was he removed?  The article asks many questions without many answers……

Engel is a very capable reporter…the poroblem is that he was not there when the attack killed the four boys and Ayman was…….then again….why was he removed?  We can postulate all we like but it looks like Ayman was removed because he was an eye witness and that would be very embarrassing for Israel…..

NBC needs to come clean on why Ayman was removed and the BS about security concerns is just that bullshit.  If I were Engel I would be pissed….why/  Apparently Ayman is more important to them than Engel…….until NBC comes clean the rumors and accusations will continue….why not just tell the truth and be done with it?

 

Sweet Bird Of Youth

First a little advice from an old fart…..to the young…..go out and live life and make some memories for yourself…..for when you grow old memories are all you have….society will push you aside and you will be left with the memories that you have made…..

I recall my youth…….after my stint in Vietnam…..when I returned I became a steadfast supporter of the anti-war movement……and I watched the youth of the day go from protests to rolling over for conservatism……Nixon signed the 18 year old vote into law and the downhill plunge started and culminated with the election of Reagan….I bring this all up because the young seem to be a bit liberal for now……they have a strong pro-choice slide, pro same sex marriage, etc…..all this is great and I look for them to help this country get back on track…….that is until I read a report the other day and my heart sank…..again.

The Upshot blog of the New York Times has an analysis sure to cheer the hearts of today’s conservatives, and it’s all rooted in one simple fact: The voters of tomorrow are coming of age in a generally lousy time with Democrats in control of the White House, writes David Leonhardt. Forget the “largely useless cliche” that people are liberal when young and turn conservative as they grow older. Generally speaking, generations remain consistent in their politics from youth to old age, and what was happening when they first became aware politically is a big factor in determining whether they’ll lean left or right.

Leonhardt points out that the youngest voters in the next presidential election will have been born in 1998. Millennials might be old enough to remember that some of today’s problems are rooted in the Bush years, but not these younger voters. They’ve become politically conscious in an era when economic growth has been stagnant and the world’s problems ever-growing. “We’re in a period in which the federal government is simply not performing, and that can’t be good for Democrats,” says an analyst with the Pew Research Center. How Obama fares in the remainder of his term will affect more than the 2016 election, writes Leonhardt. The president’s performance will “cast a shadow” over the 2024 campaign and beyond. Click to read the full post.

I pray the study is  mistaken for I do not think that this country can recovery its place in the world on the back of conservative ideology…..