Day: August 18, 2015

“Nobody Cares About Africa”

That was a line from a movie about West Africa……and never a truer statement has been uttered.

I admit it….I have neglected keeping tabs on the events happening in Africa, especially West Africa……an oversight I will attempt to rectify…..

Why would I say such an accusation?  Easy….it is a truism, that which does not need proof…….and events have shown just how true they are……

Take the late 1960’s…..the country of Biafra….a secessionist region of Nigeria where a horrendous civil war was fought….and the world looked the other way…….

Then came Rwanda in the 1990’s……..massive ethnic genocide was allowed to go unchecked……why?  The world had better things to do…..and more important things to worry about…..hundreds of thousands died…….

The next big civil war was Sierra Leone in the 1990’s through the turn of the century……bloodied confrontations and the use of child soldiers…..thousands died and the world looked the other way……..

And in between the major conflicts there were smaller regional actions….Congo, Chad, Uganda, etc……..and no one cared……

Why would I bring all this up?  It appears that there may be another civil war looming……this time in Burundi………

It started as street protests three months ago, with furious citizens demonstrating against Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza’s now successful bid for a third term in power.

But while the demonstrators who blocked city streets in daily protests are now gone, analysts warn the nature of violence has shifted — and some fear they may have already seen the opening shots in a new civil war.

In Africa’s troubled Great Lakes region, an area with a grim history of massacres and war, “a new rebellion is being born before our eyes”, a Burundian analyst said

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic warned about an escalation, with his spokesman saying “the risk of severe violence, of a spiralling out of control of the situation in Burundi is, indeed, very real”.

Burundi had been slowly getting back on track after the 1993-2006 conflict, in which some 300,000 people were killed.

There seems to be a conflict brewing that could spill over into multiple countries…..will the world care this time around…..or will it be business as usual?

“Africa……No one cares about Africa”……………

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Whose Idea Was The 2003 Invasion Of Iraq?

We Americans have heard all the horror stories about the lies that lead to the 2003 invasion of Iraq…….all the back door moves and all the misinformation….

The Bushites went to the Hill and made the case that No one could resist for the overthrow of Saddam…..of course there was the infamous WMDs…..that did not exist……then there was the ‘mushroom’ cloud analogy that Repubs are always pushing……all in all a beautiful package of lies……and off the country went to….do or die.  And 14 years later we are still paying for the lies.

But was there more to the invasion than we have been told?  Did AIPAC and Israel have any hand in the decision to invade?

Just a little FYI……………

 

AIPAC’s 2001-2004 ‘Briefing Book’ Made Case for Regime Change In Iraq « LobeLog.

Jeb And His Revisionist Theory Of History

This post kinda goes with the ‘toon I posted earlier today……

The 2016 election is gaining speed…….we have already had one debate and another is waiting for next month……we have our characters that are present in every election…..those that have ideas and those that have a big mouth and nothing else……and to my liking this election will be a foreign policy election…….the emphasis will be on how the US will interact with the rest of the world after the election…..

We have candidates that have some pretty good ideas for the international stage and then there are the others that have NOTHING or in desperate denial of past history……

The GOP has its “main tier” candidate in Jeb Bush……..and Jeb is one that is in denial of the past…….for instance the legacy of his brother, GW……..

George W. Bush left Iraq in pretty good shape, only for President Obama to mess it all up, according to Jeb Bush. The candidate, speaking at a national security forum in Iowa yesterday, continued to defend his brother’s war record, arguing that “taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal,” Bloomberg reports. He blamed the rise of ISIS on Obama’s failure to strike a deal for US troops to stay in the country after 2011 and said that under the Bush administration, the “mission was accomplished” regarding Iraq’s security. “That is a fact,” he said. “You can’t rewrite history in that regard.”

Bush said the 2007 troop surge was a courageous move but that chaos occurred when the next administration “declared success” and washed their hands of the effort, reports Politico, which notes that 17 of his 21 foreign policy advisers served under George W. Bush. The candidate, who admitted months ago that he wouldn’t have invaded Iraq knowing what we know now, said mistakes were made after the invasion and that he and his brother now believe disbanding Iraq’s military was an error. He also refused to rule out lifting Obama’s ban on torture, telling the forum he didn’t want to make a “definitive, blanket kind of statement,” the AP reports

Jeb is plugging out all the stops to protect his brother’s legacy……he is joining the likes of Dick Cheney in a revisionist theory of history……

Jeb has overlooked the fact that Saddam had stayed in power AQ would not exist in Iraq…..for he would have hunted down and eliminated anyone who threatened his authority…..and besides the invasion was GW’s idea and that alone is to blame for the vacuum in Iraq and the rise of Iran as a regional power…..

I agree with Jeb….”you cannot rewrite history in that regard”….no matter how hard Jeb tries to do so……

What Did GW Really Accomplish?

7 years after he left office there is still a debate on what he actually accomplished as president……..there are many ex-employees that are trying desperately to salvage some sort of legacy…….

Twitter brought me this ‘toon to answer the question…..I could not resist…….I am weak….Haha…….

 

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The most neglected fact in immigration economics – Vox

This press oughta get some juices flowing….probably NOT in a good way……

Our man Donald has brought the subject of immigration back to the forefront of political dialog…….of course his characterization of illegals as rapists is just beyond the pail….

Of course now that immigration has returned we will hear about the ones that commit crimes…..what is that 1 in 1000?

My problem is that NO one looks at the economic side of this subject……I mean besides the faux disaster of them using up all the welfare in a state……I am talking about economic impact……

So why not look at all aspects of immigration not just the stuff that one wants to bitch about……

 

The most neglected fact in immigration economics – Vox.

Jewish Terrorists by Uri Avnery — Antiwar.com

We hear daily about those damn terrorists in the Holy Land that are targeting Israelis, right?  But what about those terrorists that are targeting the Palestinians…..and I am not necessarily talking about the IDF.

In the past year there has been a rise in the acts of terrorism committed by Jewish “extremists” against Palestinian civilians….most have been by the settlers that are invading into Palestinian land…..

Why is the media ignoring the 400 lb elephant in the room?  Israel and Israelis seem to get a free ride from a press that is doing all it can to keep ALL reports coming out of Israel on the positive side.

 

Jewish Terrorists by Uri Avnery — Antiwar.com.