Day: January 14, 2016

Some Thoughts On Russia

These days if we are not worried about ISIS then we are worried on the Rise of China and Russia….and this gives me an excuse to go back in history and look for some perspective……

I admit it…I am not an expert on Russian anything….but I do have a couple of questions that could be shed some light for others……

We all know that the old USSR collapsed under its own weight, right?  Some even credit Reagan with the fall because of his initiatives on security and then Russia tried to keep up with the technology and the spending and it went bankrupt doing so……let’s look what is written about that collapse…..

As I see it, here are the factors (weighted) that contributed to the fall of the USSR:
1. Internal contradictions of the system (40 percent);
2. The US-led arms race (20 percent) — exacerbated #1
3. The Reagan doctrine (20 percent) — spread Soviet resources thin;
4. Loss of faith among the intelligentsia (10 percent) — artists, intellectuals, academics could no longer defend a lie

Ethnic unrest, economic inefficiency and historical atrocities were the major challenges……..

I recently pressed a paper that covered the security issues that Russia was planing for this year…….

Source: Unpacking Russia’s New National Security Strategy – In Saner Thought

The section that I question is…….

In the national defense context, the strategy cites the existing military doctrine as covering Russian goals and plans, then goes on to discuss whole-of-government approaches to deterrence and national security, as well as societal mobilization. In this, it is almost refreshingly limited in its discussions of military power. However, the strategy also includes a set of metrics for the success of this strategy, one of which is the extent of military modernization.

The paper sounds all too familiar……makes me think about the rhetoric of the Reagan years (not completely, but familiar) ……so now my thought….

Is the Russia trying to do what the US did to the USSR?

Knowing that the US is struggling with the deficit and the loss of revenue….could they be trying to make the US spend money they do not have to counter the aspirations of the Russian government?

If so, will the US fall for this carrot?  Will the US go on a spending spree that could end badly?

Professor’s Class: Week 2 Class 2

Passed out the corrected test….surprisingly 9 did really well….2 did fair…..and 1 was asleep at the wheel……reminded everyone to save tests for review for the final……

World War 2 began and the Middle East become important to especially Germany……the oil…Germany did not have its own reserves and was always looking for a source……

The US realized that the Middle East would be a strategic region…..but showed little interests in involving itself so they made sure the England had all they needed to help in the Fight against Rommel who was making a noise that they could not ignore…..the answer was the Lend/Lease” program…..this was aid that the US government gave to its allies during the war……most of which went to Britain and the USSR……

In the Middle East the program was called the Persian Corridor….it was mostly a transportation network for sending air to the USSR through Iran……(see handout)…..Iran was also important to the US for its huge oil reserves….(it seems to always come down to the oil)……

Source: The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia

Then there was the US and Saudi Arabia relationship…..once again oil was the driving force of such relations…..this caused a bit of a problem with the UK who thought the US was trying to edge the UK out of the country with the use of monetary fare and other techniques….the two allies resolved their differences by agreeing to honor the others oil leases in Saudi Arabia…..

Next area of work was Turkey….the US spent considerable time and effort to keep Turkey neutral in WW2….why?  1–If Turkey came in the war on the side of the allies then they would be responsible for honoring treaties of protection and 2–if Turkey came in on the side of Germany then the straits would be vulnerable to closing and restricting the flow of supplies to the USSR….Turkey used this concern to pad their coffers considerably…..

Source: World War II — Turkey

(Pause for discussion)

Finally the region known as North Africa…..the UK had its hands full trying to keep Rommel from gaining access to the Suez Canal and finally in 1942 US troops landed in Morocco and Algeria…..to push the Nazis into Tunisia and final defeat…..then North Africa became the staging ground for the next step of the war…the invasion of Italy through the island of Sicily…..

Source: North African Campaign

The wider aspirations of the US was to defeat the Axis powers……the US government was also concerned with the rise of a more nationalistic feelings of the people which would manifest itself large in the years after the end of the war…..

Discuss the covered material……..passed out the hand out for Friday’s lecture…..

Informed students that I would be available to discuss grades or anything else that pertains to the course subject…..

Can You Hear Him Now?

2016 is an interesting year for an election.  We have Americans mad about everything you can think of…..they are pissed at Obama (a convenient scapegoat)…..they whizzed off about immigrants……they are paranoid about anything they cannot understand……

All that is fine……but when looking at the candidate du jour…..maybe the remembrance of the words of George Washington would help….

 

Embedded image permalink

Bernie On Education

For me the issue of education is one of the most important domestic issues…..we hear lots of blah blah blah on education but few have any idea how to make it as important as it should be……

To be honest….I am a Bernie supporter….I like his ideas….not all of them but the important ones on domestic issues….I like…..

I read a good piece on his ideas on public education……I will share….

Source: Bernie Sanders has a bold, simple idea for improving public education – Vox

Time for all the lies about teachers unions and BS to end….time to make education the most important issue….domestic issue…..without it and we will have the characters in the movie “Idiocracy”……

More Stories The Mainstream Media Refuses To Cover

From time to time I read something that I feel is very interesting but for some reason they are not important enough for the MSM to bother with….and yet they will spend so much time on the football team moving or just how long the lines are for a lottery ticket…..now those stories are truly important (that is sarcasm in case you missed it)……

I am no supporter of Israel but they are doing things that need to be reported…..like intercepting the food flotillas bound for Gaza…..a place that is starving because of Israeli control of border points…..now som,eone is taking them to task…..

Source: Israel sued in Washington over attack on Gaza-bound US ship | The Electronic Intifada

It is NOT the first time that the Israelis attacked a US flagged ship…..think USS Liberty…..

The whole world is worried about the violence spread by ISIS….and we are told that the Kurds are fighting them tooth and nail….the problem is there is problems with others especially the Christian Assyrians……

Source: Assyrians and Kurds clash for first time in north Syria – Al Jazeera English

Source: Tensions soar between Syrian Kurds and Christians

Then there is the narrative that the radical Right is determined to pass on…..I read where a poll was taken by some polling group, God knows who, that says that 60% of the Arab youth thinks ISIS is doing God’s work……but it seems that there are other polls that show it is BS and those polls will seldom see the light of day in the MSM…….

Source: Arab youths say ISIL, Qaeda distort Islam | Middle East | Worldbulletin News

These people, the Right, are always pushing the paradigm that NO is standing up to the teachings of ISIS….that is a lie….and the media refuses to publish anything contrary to the narrative they prefer…..

Please, Make Her Go!

I have never been a fan of Wasserman Schultz……from her beginning as the lead of the DNC I have said her whole function was a surrogate for Hillary…..and she has let Dems get beaten in election after election…..I have wanted her gone for a long time……she focused on the general election way to hard and let all state races go to the GOP almost unopposed…..

She has been a surrogate for Clinton for a long time….Just listen to her talk……..Dems will be better off without her “leadership”……and far more successful……

Finally, there seems to be those Dems that see it as I do…..the light bulb finally went on…….about damn time!

Source: Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Challenger Has a Chance | New Republic

We can only hope that the rational wing of the Dems will win out……

Upset Republican donors: Have we wasted our money?

Think about the 2016 election and all the cash that donors have thrown at the various GOP candidates….and boy is it a lot of cash…..

But what have they got for their huge investment?  Jeb is losing ground with every dollar he spends.  Rubio is just too pretty and not so perfect.  Paul is a resounding failure as a GOP candidate.  Christie is still there with mouth in overdrive but cannot find the go button.

What has all that cash done for them….it has given them Trump…..the one candidate that they ignored until it was too late.

What can these PACs do salvage their investments and investors in this election cycle?

They say they’re starting to look for ways to make super-PACs more effective.

Source: Upset Republican donors: Have we wasted our money? | TheHill

Good luck to them….they had better find a solution to their campaign impotency…….3 weeks before the first starting pistol and then it may be too late……There is one thing they can see for sure this election…….so far it is NOT money well spent.