Day: March 9, 2016

An Official Body Count

Back in the days of Vietnam the body count was all important…..that is how Westmoreland proved he was winning….bad guys died more than good guys…..so daily body counts were reported and the media would send them home for the local newspapers to run on page one.

It seems that the military will try this tactic once again…….

The White House has for the first time promised to release the death toll of civilian and non-civilian casualties from US drone strikes going back to 2009, reports the Guardian. Or at least some drone strikes: The disclosure won’t cover those in areas of “active hostilities” such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Instead, it will include those in places such as Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, and Yemen. President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco, told the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday that a tally of alleged terrorists and civilians killed in such strikes since 2009 would be made available in the “coming weeks.” She added that the “figures will be provided annually,” per Politico, though it remains to be seen if the next president will support the move.

Monaco said the disclosure may include tallies compiled by non-government groups; one such tally released in 2014 found that the US killed 1,147 people in Pakistan and Yemen while targeting 41 known men. But “it’s not enough to tally up the drones’ body count. We need a thorough reassessment of the program itself,” says an attorney for drone strike victims. On Friday, a Justice Department official agreed to release “a much more detailed explanation of the standards and procedures employed in both capture and lethal targeting counter-terrorism operations,” in response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. (The news comes just days after US strikes killed 150 suspected militants in Somalia.)

The disclosures will not include deaths by drone in the areas of “active” conflict such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria……now someone explain that to me….why fess up to deaths elsewhere but not where there is the most drone activity?

Is this one of those “transparency” issues that the president is always going on about?

Maybe it is just that the actual number of deaths needs to be obfuscated…..

Why bother?

The Sanders “Economic Plan” Controversy

The truth is that I want to see what the plans for the future from the candidates look like……I have tried to do Clinton but hers sounds so much like that idiot husband of hers that I cannot get a good read on them…..

I have said that I like Bernie and his ideas, especially for the economy and his economic proposals……well not all but most of them…..

There has been much in the Dem circles that have attacked Bernie and his economic plans…..most of the negativity comes from rival campaigns…..

“Establishment” economists attacked Bernie Sanders by attacking an analysis by economist Gerald Friedman.

Source: The Sanders “Economic Plan” Controversy

Bernie’s plan is simple……

With all this said….is Bernie’s economic plan doable?

Here’s one more reason to take Bernie Sanders’s candidacy seriously: He has put forward statements and arguments on what is by far the most powerful lever a president has on the American economy — the chronically neglected subject of monetary policy.

Sanders’s Fed agenda cuts against the narrative of a campaign agenda at odds with wonks’ preoccupations and political reality. It could use a little more polish and consultation with a wider range of experts, but it’s certainly more detailed and substantive than anything Hillary Clinton (or, for that matter, Barack Obama) has said on the subject. It’s also realistic — based largely on things that can be achieved through executive authority.

Source: Bernie Sanders has the most realistic plan to boost wages and job creation – Vox

When I run across stuff on the policies and plans of the candidates I will share them….with the hope that the voter will read and decide……

Can Syria Be Saved For Peace?

An excellent question….but how should the world go about saving Syria from foreign domination?

I have been slack in my posting on the Middle East and all the violence…..I have recently obtained copies of the documents that were liberated in the Osama raid and I have been studying them looking for some signs of a way around all this violence and barbarity….

Syria is a conflict that begs for an answer and some sanity…….

There are many ways of conflict resolution….but will any of them be acceptable to all parties involved?

I could spend countless hours of the subject of conflict resolution but that would be for a class I teach….there is not enough interest or enough patience for me to cover the subject here……so I will bow to one Jeffrey Sachs and his proposal…..his solution is well thought out and logical….and there is the rub……there will be very little logic applied to any solution by the people playing with the existence of Syria……

Ending the war requires adherence to six principles. First, the US should cease both overt and covert operations to overthrow Syria’s government. Second, the UN Security Council should implement the ceasefire now under negotiation, calling on all countries, including the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Iran, to stop arming and funding military forces within Syria.

Third, all paramilitary activities should cease, including those of so-called “moderates” backed by the US. Fourth, the US and Russia – and, indeed, the UN Security Council – should hold Syria’s government strictly responsible to desist from punitive actions against regime opponents. Fifth, the political transition should take place gradually and with confidence building on all sides, rather than through an arbitrary, destabilizing rush to “free elections.”

Finally, the Gulf States, Turkey, and Iran should be pressed to negotiate face to face on a regional framework that can ensure lasting peace. Arabs, Turks, and Iranians have all lived with each other for millennia. They, not the outside powers, should lead the way to a stable order in the region.

Let’s say this peace dealy works out badly……is there a plan “B”?

The United States said it was encouraged that the Syrian cessation of hostilities appeared to be holding, with no significant violations reported in the past day, as analysts said Russia was backing the truce because it feared a quagmire and talk of a US “Plan B.”

Source: If Syria cease-fire fails, what is Plan B? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

It is humorous to some that there may be a Plan”B” for Syria…..but it is no laughing matter…..especially for the people of Syria…..

When Arab streets exploded with fury, from Tunis to Sanaa, pan-Arabism seemed, then, like a nominal notion. Neither did the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” use slogans that affirmed its Arab identity, nor did angry Egyptian youth raise the banner proclaiming Arab unity atop the high buildings adjacent to Tahrir Square. Oddly, the Arabism of the “Arab […]

Source: ‘Plan B’ – Not an Enigma: Why the West Is Keen on Dividing the Arabs – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

 

Donald Vs War Hawks

The candidates for 2016 give me lots of fodder for me to attack their stands and their ideas for international relations…..to be totally honest….I am NOT impressed with any of the candidates for either party….they show me that there is NOT enough emphasis put on foreign relations….instead they set about convincing the mental midgets that they will “turn” the country around (whatever that is suppose to mean)…..and in the meantime their policy will sink the US further into the shit-hole of armed conflicts….too many to count…..

I will step away from the soapbox now……

My main concern in this election is just what will be the future of our interventionism with a new president….the past has been a absolute disaster……Bush and Obama have done nothing to improve our standing in the world….in arms delivery system we have no match…..but as a nation that can avoid war and find solutions to [problems we are a dismal failure…..

Today I would like to touch on candidate Donald Trump and his policies that have the neo-con war hawks pissed off and a little bit afraid for their future….

Neo-cons are those people that thump their chests like crazed primates but somehow manage to stay well away from any actual fighting…..

The neocons are renowned for their courage on the battlefield. There is no keyboard they are afraid to finger. No pen they won’t commandeer. When the battle cry is sounded, they unhesitatingly push the “on” button at their computers and saddle up for battle. Off with the loafers and under the desk! “Caution to the […]

Source: Neocon Armchair Warhawks Panic Over Trump Foreign Policy – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

The war hawks have been all choked up because of Trump’s rise to fame…..they are pushing all the buttons to try and head him, Trump, off at the pass…..

Neoconservatives, led by Eliot Cohen, a former counselor of the Department of State under Bush, and Bryan McGrath, managing director at defense contractor FerryBridge Group, penned an open letter along with 100 signatories committing themselves not to support any GOP ticket that includes Trump, writing that the Donald, “would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world.”

Source: Neocons Are Freaking out Over Trump and It’s Hilarious | Alternet

I have been a very vocal opponent of anything neo-conservative I think they have done more harm to the reputation of the US than any one single act that we may have committed…..so to hear that these toads are running around with their heads firmly up their butts, crying foul…..just makes my day…..them having massive strokes would do the world a great favor and it turn perhaps save countless American lives….(if that sounds too harsh then maybe you should join the military and have to deal with their actions first hand)……

I could not ever vote for Trump…..but it pleases me to see him give so much grief to the toads that call themselves war hawks…..these toads need to be put in their place and I do not care who it is that does so…..even the Donald!

Go Donald…..keep up the good work!  After all there is still much treasure we have not committed to foreign wars….

Another Tuesday, More Primaries

Don’t fret…it is FAR from over!

The results of the endless primaries are basically in……and I wanted to see how the Michigan race was going for the Dems….and as I have been saying the media is determined to make the case for Hillary…..

Let’s go to the tallies……..

All eyes were on Michigan on Tuesday night, but three other states were in play—including Mississippi, where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each won easily. When the polls closed at 8pm ET, CNN and AP immediately called the race for Clinton, who continues her sweep of the Deep South as she rides a continuing wave of support from black voters. The Republican race took longer, but CNN called it for Trump about a half-hour after the polls closed. With most of the vote in, Ted Cruz handily took second, with John Kasich and Marco Rubio each winning less than 10% of the vote. Up for grabs were 40 GOP delegates and 36 Democratic delegates; they’ll be proportionally awarded.

Elsewhere:

  • Idaho: With 32 delegates at stake and 74% of the vote in, NBC was projecting Cruz as the winner with 44% of the vote followed by Trump with 28%. Marco Rubio, in what may be his best showing of the night, is third with 17%.

Hawaii: Another win for Donald Trump, this time in the state he didn’t believe President Obama was born in. CNN projects that the tycoon has won Hawaii’s GOP caucuses, adding to his Tuesday night victories in Michigan and Mississippi. Hawaii is one of the smallest and most solidly Democratic states in the union, meaning visits from GOP candidates are rare and its GOP caucuses can be very hard to predict. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that the state Republican Party was deeply split over Trump’s candidacy, though organizers were very pleased with the size of the turnout, which they estimate at around 20,000 more than twice as many as turned out in 2012

But the big news is Michigan………

The biggest prize of the night is Michigan, and it’s shaping up to be a tight finish between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. With 97% of results in, CNN and NBC are projecting Sanders as the winner with 50% of the vote to Clinton’s 48%. Both candidates campaigned aggressively in the state, which has 130 delegates up for grabs. One factor in Sanders’ strong showing might be what Nate Cohn of the New York Times calls the “most surprising” stat out of exit polls: Clinton was “beating Sanders by 32 points among black voters in Michigan, which would be her weakest showing of the season by a wide margin.”

Sanders was hoping for an upset to make the case that he’s more of a national candidate, given that Clinton has racked up so many wins in the South, notes Politico. Clinton, on the other hand, had been hoping for a decisive victory to “close the door” on Sanders’ candidacy, it adds. Either way, neither candidate will get a huge net gain in delegates, which will be divided proportionately.

But the bigger news for the media was Trump’s wins…..wins by the way were foretold by the polls…….the Bernie win is just a side note…..he took on the might of the Clinton machine and won….why is that not more news than the inevitable winner?

Would it be a bigger story for the media is Bernie had been black?

The big question should be…..will Hillary play nice or will the Clinton “nasty” machine once again rear its UGLY head?  My guess is “nasty” will win the day.

Next week will be make or break for Rubio and Kasich….if they lose…they are gone!

Looking For A New Lenin?

Most people when they read something about Russia think of Putin and his adventurism around the globe…..and here in the US there is a wide array of opinions on the man and the country…..

But what about the Russian people?

Unless you are an academic then you will seldom see what is going on in Russia on the domestic scene and their social policies….unless of course the media can find some way to milk a couple of days out of the coverage…..

Russia dumped the Soviet system about 25 years ago and went for a more “likable” system of democracy (if what happens in Russian elections could ever be called a “democracy”)……..so are the people of Russia happy with the direction their country and their social programs are going?

The answer may surprise you!

Amid a worsening economy, Kremlin seems concerned about potential resurgence of Communist party as elections near.

Source: Many Russians feeling nostalgic for communist past – Al Jazeera English

Wait!  There is more!

in case you have a prejudice against AJE….there are others……

Source: Russia’s Communist Party is making a comeback — and it’s bad news for Putin – Vox

If you listen closely you can almost hear the hard-liners, both American and Russian,  having a massive orgasm…..it may take a little imagination….but trust me….it is there!