Day: December 21, 2015

GOP: Another One Bites The Dust

The crowded GOP field just got a bit less crowded….first it was Walker….then Jindal…and now we have seen the last of another GOPer on the 2016 campaign trail….

Say good-bye to one Lindsey Graham, Senator from the great state of South Carolina……

One of the mainstays of the undercard GOP debates is out: Lindsey Graham tells CNN that he’s suspending his campaign for president. “I’ve hit a wall here,” says the conservative South Carolina senator. Graham has been consistently polling near the bottom of the pack and hasn’t qualified for the main debate once. The likely key factor: Monday was the deadline for Graham to remove his name from the primary ballot in South Carolina, notes Politico. Being able to do so allows him to avoid the possibility of an embarrassing home-state loss.

“Here’s what I predict. I think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy ISIL,” says Graham. “To those in the Republican Party who want to win, check my plan out. Hillary, if you get to be president, I’ll help you where I can. I hope you’re not. But if you are, I’ll be there to help you win a war we can’t afford to lose.” An email to supporters was expected to go out later Monday.

Sad to see him go….that is right I said I am sad to see him go…..you see he was the ONLY candidate on the assembly line that has actual foreign policy experience…..granted he was a hawk and I did not agree with him on much …..but at least he could talk with some air of experience….sadly the rest of the clown parade cannot.

Bye Lindsey…..we hardly got to know ya……

Is There A Syrian End Game?

Inkwell Institute

A question that many are asking….and there seems to be few true answers…..

Syria is a confusing mess of policies and players…..Assad must go…..ISIS is a menace to the world….moderate rebels are the answer…..and there will be NO US combat troops used to fight ISIS…..that is a summary of the most popular taglines by politicians and analysts.

I have been loud verbal opponent of the direction Obama is taking this country…..I cannot see an end to this thing any time soon…..it could possibly become a multi-generational war with the only success being the stock prices of the Military-Industrial Complex (defense contractors)…..

I have said that I am an opponent…..but unlike many others I do try and offer an alternative to the position taken these days….and yep….I have an idea of how to actually give this thing a chance for success…..I will admit that it is a bit far fetched but what the Hell….if we want to win this thing against ISIS in Syria then there needs to be thinking outside of the box.

My plan will NOT be acceptable to many outside of Syria…..after all the Syrians have a priority…..to save Syria and return people to their homes….well what is left of their homes.

My plan begins with contact by all players in this thing….US, France, UK, Russia, Syria, FSA and the Kurds…..the rest can be observers with no voice……get the representatives of the groups I just mentioned to meet in a neutral location….

The agenda will primarily be ISIS….the only possible hope for a successful conclusion of this “war” is cooperation……Syria will not lose this war…..FSA cannot win…..the “coalition” is just wasting resources…..ISIS can be beat out of Syria by total cooperation by all players.

I am but a dreamer…..I realize that the arms people control this situation and anything I propose will be well off their target…..

First, the best way to wage this war is a tried and true technique….propaganda.  Set up an organization similar to the old radio Free Europe and blast contrary to the broadcasts of ISIS……next set up “free movement zones”…..surveillance and then a combined attack from the air….massive and at one time……finally ask the Syrian people what they want…..not the think tanks.

That is only a start and if put into place will not be an overnight victory….nothing done now will achieve that goal……we are wasting time and resources….or maybe that is the plan…..and the rest of the rhetoric is just a feel good diatribe.

The UN has taken a stand (finally) after much deliberation there is now an official UN Resolution…….

Source: UN adopts resolution endorsing peace process for Syria but making no mention of Assad’s future

The Resolution at best is ‘feckless’ (have you heard that word before?)……once again it appears that Nobody has any idea what the winning combo will be……yes ISIS needs to be defeated……but and now for the big question……HOW?

Source: Why the US Pushes an Illusory Syrian Peace Process – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

I wish I could see a winning strategy in any of this…..so far I see NOTHING…..but talk.  Even the Syrians fighting ISIS (some good and some not so much) think the effort by the UN is a lame attempt at relevancy……..

Source: Syrian Rebels Dismiss Unrealistic UN Security Council Peace Roadmap — News from Antiwar.com

The only entity that wins if we continue down this path are the arms people….everyone else is just fodder from their products.  How long before Americans become that fodder?

Hillary…..Hillary…..Please Stop Talking

You will never guess what happened at the Miss Universe thing…….who cares?….I do not give a crap!  You?

Originally I said that I felt that the 2016 election would be a foreign policy election……so far I was pretty close instead of a foreign policy election it will be an ISIS election……

Most candidates are making hay out of the fact that ISIS is in the headlines….Trump has made some amazing accusations and the rest of the GOP field has taken on the group…..and the GOP is not alone even Clinton has taken a shot at Trump for his statements…..

Hillary Clinton made a striking claim against Donald Trump in Saturday night’s debate. Saying that he was becoming the Islamic State’s “best recruiter,” Clinton alleged that ISIS was using clips of Trump’s speeches to gain converts, reports Time. “They are going out people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” she said. Trump, she added, “has a great capacity to use bluster and bigotry to inflame people and to make them think there are easy answers to very complex questions.” But is the part about the ISIS videos accurate? “It’s not actually clear,” notes a post at Vox.

“I would be surprised if they had and we didn’t hear about it in a big way,” ISIS expert JM Berger tells the website. However, Berger added that it’s possible given how many videos ISIS puts out that Clinton is talking about one he hasn’t seen. “I haven’t been watching scrupulously lately, but they have enjoyed him in tweets at least.” ABC News, host of the debate, has asked both the Clinton and Trump camps to comment further.

A good campaign line but I have found NO proof that Trump’s words are being used in a recruitment video at this time……I understand what she was saying and why she is saying it but it is an opinion only and belongs nowhere in the conversation…..

Clinton has made 3 speeches about the war with ISIS….her latest statements follow…….

Clinton’s third speech on combating global terrorism in less than a month, underscoring her campaign strategists’ recognition of the importance of this issue. At the Council on Foreign Relations in November, Clinton described her plan to “defeat and destroy” ISIS, and at the Saban Forum a few weeks ago, she urged Silicon Valley to take an active role in the dismantling of the terrorist network’s communication operation.

Stopping potential jihadists from getting training overseas is a critical part of a what she dubbed a “360-degree strategy” to keep America safe. She said the U.S. needs to target the “network of enablers” that help finance ISIS, in addition to combating the organization online to cutoff recruitment. Clinton also called for stricter screenings for visa applicants who had been to a country in Islamic State-controlled areas in the last five years.

(MSNBC)

She keeps offering up these generic “solutions” all of which are great for the campaign trail but in reality have nothing in them that would signal the defeat of ISIS.  A “nothing new” strategy…….works every time, right?

8 Reasons a Bernie Sanders Presidency Would Be Great

Believe it or not I have some readers that are Trump supporters.  We Americans are pissed at our political system…..we feel we are not getting what we vote for and have not in 30 years….

But as angry as we are there is an alternative to the bluster and macho rhetoric of Trump…..(a hint?)…..Feel The Bern!

Working-class white people are suffering, and the solution is not Fox News or Donald Trump.

Source: 8 Reasons a Bernie Sanders Presidency Would Be Great for Trump Supporters | Alternet

Yes, I support Bernie……even if the media is dead set against his candidacy….I believe his domestic programs would do much to return the Middle Class….but it does not go far enough in my opinion.

Take some time an do a comparison of Bernie’s programs and other candidates and I believe you will see what I see….that is if you are capable of unbiased analysis.

A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone

First of all I would like to thank my readers for their understanding on the small amount of posts…..after 15 years it is a bit of a stretch for me to get a course outline and lesson plan together….thanx one and all for your patience….

I know everyone is running around demanding this and that to protect us from any further domestic attacks….and while we are afraid we are allowing our privacy to be invaded in the name of national security….

Do you have a cell phone?  Or maybe a Smartphone?

With the newest authorization for surveillance….there is a whole catalog of devices for getting into your phone and your privacy….

Concerned about the militarization of law enforcement, a source within the intelligence community has provided The Intercept with a secret, internal U.S. government catalogue of dozens of cellphone surveillance devices used by the military and intelligence agencies.

Source: A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone