Month: December 2015

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

Let’s Return To Yesteryear

May I see a show of hands…..how many served in the US military?

The topic is “dog tags”…..that piece of metal around a soldiers neck that has all his pertinent information imprinted on them…..in Vietnam they were in the lace of your boots……it seems that the military has decided it was time for a change……after I read this article my first thought was…..well duh!

For soldiers, a dog tag “individualizes the human being who wears it, despite his or her role as a small part of a huge and faceless organization,” CNN quotes the Library of Congress as saying. But few citizens probably realize the danger dogs tags can put soldiers in. “If you find a pair of lost ID tags you can pretty much do anything with that person’s identity because you now have their blood type, their religion, you have their social, and you have their name,” says Michael Klemowski of the US Army Human Resources Command in an Army press release. “The only thing missing is their birth date, and you can usually get that by Googling a person.” And so in a bid to combat such potential ID theft, the Army announced Tuesday it’s making changes to dog tags for the first time in four decades, the Army Times reports.

CNN reports the Army will be removing each soldier’s Social Security numbers from his or her dog tags and replacing it with a 10-digit, randomly generated Defense Department ID number. SSN-less dog tags were actually called for in 2007, but implementation has been a long time coming due to the number of Army systems that use Social Security numbers, the Army Times reports. Each of those systems had to be reprogrammed to work with the new 10-digit ID number. As for the rollout of the new tags, “This change is not something where Soldiers need to run out and get new tags made,” says Klemowski. “If a Soldier is going to deploy, they are the first ones that need to have the new ID tags.”

Gee….when I wore them you had your service number imprinted on them…..in those days it was an 8-digit number and it told others if you were regular army, reservist or a draftee…..so I guess we are going back to the “old days”……yet again.

After 4 Hours Call Your Doctor……

Finally, after a week of research and mind numbing tedious details the weekend has arrived and I will do anything but research…..

For years now there has been a battle royal going on in political circles…..that is the issue of women’s rights and their control of their own bodies.  We know about the games that are being played just to drive home their personal beliefs…..to the point of being totally ridiculous……

A politico from South Carolina has made a move that ought to get a bit of attention……

“I purposely tried to make it as invasive, as intrusive, as hypocritical and unnecessary as possible to make the point.” This from South Carolina Rep. Mia McLeod, who pre-filed legislation Thursday designed to drive a point home about women’s reproductive rights. To wit: She’s attempting to make it as hard for men to get erectile dysfunction drugs as it is for women to get an abortion, NBC News reports. Under her bill, a man attempting to obtain Viagra or Cialis would need to undergo a 24-hour waiting period after getting the script; undergo an exam by a sex therapist to rule out “psychological conditions;” take regular stress tests to ensure he’s healthy enough for sex; produce a notarized affidavit from a sex partner who can back up his ED claims; and go to at least three sessions of outpatient counseling, where he’d be encouraged to “pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice.”

McLeod, a Democrat, tells WCBD that, after being irked by anti-abortion bills that get filed regularly, she was inspired to show male colleagues what it was like to have their reproductive rights in the crosshairs. South Carolina is one of several states that has been investigating its abortion clinics (it has three) after the Planned Parenthood imbroglio, the Savannah Morning News reports. Not that McLeod is hopeful this bill will sail through. “I don’t think it’ll pass,” she tells WCBD. “We’re in a male-dominated legislature … and I really just want to broaden the discussion and get people thinking about … the issues that women face who are seeking legal abortion services in this state.”

This oughta piss off a bunch of old farts that need the pill to get their freak on…..

 

Are You Politically Correct?

A subject that begs a few words.

These days of political rhetoric the term “politically correct” and variations of the word are everywhere…..especially it one is prone to what pretends to be conservatism……and this election is ripe for the use of the term.  It is a term when used the wombats on the Right cheer and applaud…..

But what is meant by the term “politically correct”?

In today’s usage it is an off-handed insult to anyone that disagrees with Right minded individuals.  In other words if you do not use the terminology that the GOP uses then you are suffering from “political correctness”…..if you do not use the term “radical Islamic terrorism” then you are being PC……so if you disagree with these people on any subject then you are being PC while they feel they are well informed……no matter how many times they are proven to be mistaken.

The use of the term is in place of other terms they like but try to be somehow intellectual….terms like “panty waste” or  “bleeding heart” or “apologist” and other such derogatory forms of name calling.

The election of 2016 is full of the term PC…..for example….if you refer to undocumented aliens instead of illegal aliens…… then you are being PC…..if you use Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas…..then you are being PC…..or so on and so on….(you probably have others)…..

Basically it boils down to one simple fact…..if you do not use the term they want you to use then you are suffering from “political correctness”.  And if you choose not to use their demented terminology then you are the worst kind of PC….a LIBERAL.

Another thing I find fascinating……has anyone (people who think Trump is some sort of messiah) taken the time to listen to all the low class rhetoric surrounding Trump?

Apparently not.  If they had then they would worried about the direction he would take this country if he were successful…..as it is most of these people are so concerned with what is happening in the US because of all the PC talk……and all the time Trump is talking about taking this country down the path they are so afraid the country will follow if he is not elected….

I would say it is because they will not take the time to think about what is happening…..but I know that is not the case…..sadly I know exactly why…..and so do they.

Your Illusion Of Choice

Readers know what I think of the MSM…..that it controls every aspect of our lives….instead of news it force feeds its consumers with speculation and sensationalism…….

So the question is……do we as consumers of news have a real choice?

 

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Reporters no longer search for the truth in the news……the best we can say is that they are mercenary….sell themselves to the highest bidder…….

Can you dig it?

Is The Middle Class The Key?

Time for another break from all this darn research…….

2016 will be an interesting election…..we have al sorts of candidates, none of whom I see as good for the country……we have those that spread fear and loathing and those that have a variation of hope and some that feel they deserve to win….all in all a group of politicians…..not a group of statesmen…….NOTHING good will come out of this election…..as far as I can see.

We have the angry white people….the angry black people…..the angry Latinos….all in all a whole bunch of angry people….of all those people who could whole the key to winning the election?

There are many that think the disappearing middle class could possibly hoild the key to this election……

Source: Working-Class Voters Hold Key to 2016

I have heard people ask why would this class hold the key?

An easy answer that these people see their way of life disappearing and looks like forever…….

In 1971, the middle class made up 61% of the US population. That figure has now plummeted to just below half, and analysts are worried about the breakdown of what the Los Angeles Times calls “a pillar of the US economy.” A Pew Research Center report released Wednesday culled data from the Census Bureau, Labor Department, and Federal Reserve to determine that 120.8 American adults are in middle-class households, while 121.3 million are in the lower- or upper-class tiers. Pew defined middle class as any household making two-thirds to twice the overall median income; for a family of three, that range is $42,000 to $126,000. What’s led to what Pew calls a “thinning in the middle and bulking up at the edges”: more low-skilled immigrants to bolster the lower class, and more women in the workforce and increased college enrollment on the upper end.

All of the tiers suffered during and after the Great Recession, but the middle class saw the financial gains it had reaped over the last quarter-century virtually wiped out: The median wealth of a middle-class household in 1983 was $95,879, a number that rose to $161,050 by 2007. But after the recession, median wealth for this group was back down to $98,000 in 2010 and remained at that number until at least 2013, the Pew report notes. A recent Gallup poll also shows that people’s perceptions are in line with what the Pew report shows: In 2008, 63% of Americans identified as being part of the middle class, while the poll given this spring shows that number has dropped to 51%.

Then there are those angry at everything and these people are drawn, like a moth to a flame, to Trump……

My problem with him is his falsehoods and NO one seems to mind that he lies almost constantly….they are afraid and he hits all the right buttons of a fearful group…..

Source: Trump’s Untruths Woo Working-Class White Voters | Al Jazeera America

If the middle class is truly the key….it will be interesting to see which way they break in 2016…..will lies and one liners be all it takes to be elected…..

Syria: Who’s Doing Who?

I do marvel at the analyses of Syria…..why?  It is so confusing that whatever someone writes could very well be accurate…..even the most outlandish of scenarios.  I have been doing a lot of research because I know the class I will teach this question will be asked…….be prepared.  (a slogan we all know and love from our younger days)

Moving on.

By now most of the “known universe” (a Dune reference) has seen the dramatic photos of the Russian plane shot down by Turkey….and this will make things a little more messy and a lot more confusing than they are today.

There is more to the story of the downed plane than we are being told……if interested then you may read it for yourself……

Source: The Real Reason for Turkey’s Shoot-Down of the Russian Jet – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

Actually you need a flow chart on the wall to keep up with who us fighting who….I would try to explain this situation but I found a cartoon that explains it is fewer words than I would have to use……

image

Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

That is as accurate as I can get without a lengthy dissertation…..(you are welcome)…….

Now let’s look at the Kurds….the Kurds are our friends and ally in the fight against ISIS in Iraq…..in Syria they are the enemy of Turkey bit still a friend to DC….and since the downing of the Russian plane things are about to get even more touchy……

I read a piece in a Russian newspaper that may or may not be accurate….but if it is true then things have taken a turn….a bad turn……

Moscow isn’t likely to bomb Turkish military facilities, but it has other ways of undermining Ankara’s presence in Syria: Russia is now aiding Kurdish rebels — a group that has been labeled as “terrorists” by Turkey.

The Syrian Kurdish forces (YPG) are considered extremely valuable in the fight against ISIS. They have previously received support from the United States, although western cooperation with the group has been limited in order to avoid ruffling Erdogan’s feathers. But for Russia, upsetting Erdogan is not really an “issue”.

Putin has called on the Assad government and the political wing of the YPG to unite. This has still not happened – at least not officially.

But Syrian Kurdish officials have said they are ready to work with anyone fighting ISIL, and anyone who works for a united, secular and democratic Syria.

This means that Russia will aid the forces of the Kurdish rebels that are fighting against Turkey……Turkey is attacking these forces…..does that not sound like a prescription for escalation?

After all there is a bit of history between Russia and the Kurds……..The Kurds’ growing role in the evolving and turbulent situation prevailing in the Middle East and elsewhere affects the policies of regional and global powers alike. Russia is no exception. In recent years, Moscow has taken steps to develop contacts with Kurdish political movements and establish economic cooperation with Iraqi Kurdistan, where Russian oil and gas companies have set up shop. The February 2013 visit to Russia by Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, dubbed by the Kurdish people as the “first official visit,” served as a significant milestone in the development of political contacts. The visit refreshed the memories of developments dating back more than half a century when the Kurds’ historical leader (and Barzani’s father) Mullah Mustafa Barzani lived in the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1958, where he enjoyed support on a number of fronts.

As with anything in the Middle East…..what could possibly go wrong?