Day: December 23, 2015

Darkness at Noon: FDR and the Holocaust

These days with all the craziness being committed in the Middle East…..all the killing….all the violence….all the destruction…..the conversation almost always turns to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Since I am a devotee of historical stuff I thought I would give the thoughts of FDR and the Holocaust…..FDR has been credited with many things….but what did he know or do after learning about the Holocaust?

What did the era’s most prominent symbol of humanitarianism think when confronted with the world’s most compelling moral outrage? History records only a question mark.

Source: Darkness at Noon: FDR and the Holocaust | World Affairs Journal

Hopefully my reader learned something that was not known before reading…..

Why the US pushes an illusory Syrian peace process

There has been a wealth of “good” news….there seems to be a consensus that there is a plan for a settlement in Syria….a peace process if you will……when the news came out I said then that this was basically a “feel good” process and that it had little chance of success,

I read a lot of information from the Middle East and I read a piece that confirms my fears about the deal……not as promising as we are lead to believe……but then little is…..

The notion that a political settlement will take place lacks credibility – the realities on the ground in Syria won’t allow it

Source: Why the US pushes an illusory Syrian peace process | Middle East Eye

The UN has gone a bit further……since the main source of income for ISIS is their funding apparatus…..the UN has addressed this in a plan to fight the barbarity of ISIS……..

Source: UN Security Council Adopts Resolution to Cut Off Islamic State Funding | World Affairs Journal

And There Is The Syrian Situation

I have been giving my perceptions of the whole Syria/ISIS thing since the beginning and so far I have had not much response….only the predictable…..ISIS Bad……that is a forgone conclusion…..but what is the situation these days?

I apologize for the lengthy articles….but they are a couple of great sources for opinion on the situation in Syria and the possibility of any success…..

A new level of crisis has arisen with the shooting down of the Russian plane by Turkey……

Source: An Alarming New Escalation in the Syria War | Crisis Group

I recently read an analysis that has some well thought out points…..there has got to be a new approach of handling the situation in Syria……

Source: Analysis: How to solve a problem like Syria? – Al Jazeera English

The conventional wisdom is there is a military solution to all the problems in Syria……but I have my doubts……military action can weaken and even degrade but is it a hope for a successful conclusion…..

The below press covers that subject extremely well……

Source: Campaign against Isis: Is there any hope for military success? – The Unz Review

Finally there is the promise from Obama…..we will “degrade and destroy” ISIS…..and too many keep hanging onto the idea of a regime change for Syria as the solution to the problem…..below is a piece on that subject……

Source: Regime Change is the Root of Evil in Syria – The Future of Freedom Foundation

Granted the above article is from the perspective of a Libertarian point of view……while I do not agree with them on much this piece made some good points……for instance our regime change in Iraq has been an expensive and disastrous failure…..will Syria be any different?

My purpose is to try and keep my readers informed about this situation……there have been enough American deaths in this region …..Syria could possibly become yet another quagmire in the Middle East…..

Turn The Page!

May The Force Be With You

The new Star Wars film is a hit (we all knew it would be)……but did you know that Tataoine is a real place….and no it is not in a galaxy far far away….much closer than that….it is a desert world (think Dune)…..

When the original movie came out and I heard the name of the planet that Luke was living on….. I was amazed for I had been to the world of the movie….it is in Southern Tunisia…..

As the world goes crazy for The Force Awakens, the home of the saga’s original locations has failed to capitalise on the new release

Source: Tunisia’s Star Wars fans battle to bring the Force home | Middle East Eye

A great piece about the region…..enjoy.