Month: March 2016

Lessons of Brussels

Fascinating!

The devastating attacks in Brussels and the media has moved on…..we now have a wall to wall coverage of a love sick veterinarian…..this is why the sort of attack that just happened will not end any time soon.

Few are talking about what the world needs to do to try and put a stop to this sort of attack……people…it has only been a week and we can hold a thought any longer than that?

So I guess for the conversation to continue we will need to have another attack that people can speculate on for a couple of days…..and that is just a little sad.

The vicious attack on the Brussels airport and metro underscores the futility of focusing on the Syrian “Caliphate” as the epicenter of terrorism: as I’ve been saying in this space since 2001, the snake has no head. Both al-Qaeda and now ISIS are protean entities with a vast geographical spread, and what the Brussels attack […]

Source: Lessons of Brussels – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

The chances of this happening again tomorrow are great and what does the media have to report……some campaign bullsh*t about someone grabbing someone…..this is another reason that I refuse to use the MSM as a reliable news source……

 

Spring! And Thoughts Of Peace?

Recently there has been a movement to find an actual plan to try and end most of the violence and destruction in Syria……that attempt is moving along well….not a solution but at least the players, most of the players are still talking….

The two sides….Assad and the opposition have given their demands and 12 ponts have been agreed to in principle……

12 general points that were taken mainly from the two sides documents. The points include the following principles:

  1.  Reforming state institutions in accordance with international standards.
  2. Rejecting terrorism categorically whatever the source was.
  3. Re-building the Syrian army in accordance with national rules.
  4. Securing the proper conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and the displaced ones to their homes.
  5. Providing care and justice for all Syrians afflicted by war.
  6. Preserving Syria’s full sovereignty on all Syrian territory.
  7. Rejecting  any outside interference Syrian internal affairs.
  8.  Establishing a non-sectarian democratic ruling system in Syria.
  9.  Preserving the rights of women in the equitable representation according to international standards (30%).
  10. Implementing UN Security Council resolutions, particularly 2254 to ensure the power of political transition.
  11.   Creating a stable environment during the transition period to ensure equal opportunities.
  12. Commitment to national reconciliation and rejection of any revengeful acts by any side.

Now granted there is little chance that all 12 points will be finalized but if even 6 of them are then that would be a major step…..

Now let’s move to Yemen…….A Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign in Yemen a year ago with the aim of preventing Iran-allied Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen’s ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking control of the country.

Last week there was an announcement that a ceasefire had been agreed upon……

The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a cessation of hostilities starting at midnight on April 10 and peace talks in Kuwait beginning a week later, United Nations special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Wednesday.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed said prominent Yemeni figures would be enlisted to cooperate with a de-escalation and coordination committee on the cessation of hostilities and “to report on progress and security incidents.”

He said the peace talks would focus on five areas: a withdrawal of militia and armed groups; a handover of heavy weaponry to the state; interim security arrangements; restoration of state institutions; and resumption of inclusive political dialogue.

Personally, I am glad to see that some form of sanity may have returned…..but there is one thing…….there is NOT much left standing in Yemen so to keep fighting would be a waste of ordinance.

Spring and time for a re-birth of all things……

Troubling News For Veterans

My last post of the day is about veterans and veterans issues…….first the sad news that a vet has set himself on fire at a VA Clinic…..

Ingram, a seven-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, arrived at the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic around 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. He had been there before for treatment, but this would be his last visit.

The 51-year-old walked nine miles from his home in Egg Harbor, past an American Legion park and a memorial dedicated to military veterans, before finally stopping a few yards short of the clinic parking lot curb. Once there, he doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire.

Were situations so bad for this vet that his only option was to set himself on fire?  If so, what does that say about us and our lack of concern for our vets?

I have been ranting tirelessly about the shoddy treatment that our vets receive….I also do not believe that vets should have to beg for the services that they deserve….then there are these charities like Wounded Warrior Project as well as many others…..

Yes they do good work and yes they should NOT be necessary….after all we send our troops into combat and then we turn our backs on them…..while we pretend they are the most important issue of the day…they are NOT!  They should be but this country has more important stuff to champion like some ramblings from some pathetic loser that wants our vote.

But back to the charities that we all see on the TV and many of us try to support because they do good things for our vets, right?

I was researching a few things the other day and I saw this investigation from 2014 from an Austin, Texas channel….

KXAN uncovered millions of dollars donated to a variety of veterans charities mostly going in the pockets of fundraisers.

Source: 84% of donations never reach veterans | KXAN.com

Granted this was 3 years ago and maybe things have changed over those few years….but I am guessing not…..since I read a report about 6 months ago about the cash that was pissed away by Wounded Warriors Project……

Do you know how pathetic it is to know that our vets are used to make money for individuals?

But I guess it is more pathetic at the inaction of the Congress to see that our wounded vets are cared for….after all we made them in the condition they suffer from…..WE OWE THEM!

Today we celebrate Vietnam Veterans Day & pay tribute to those who served & gave their life for our country.

Why Are Bernie Supporters So Pissed?

Over last weekend Bernie squashed Clinton in a couple of races…..Washington, Alaska….of course that did little to help his delegate race with Hil….but at least the Big Mo is in his favor for the time being……

Bernie Sanders has won Saturday’s caucuses in Alaska, Washington state, and Hawaii as he fights to gain ground on Hillary Clinton, reports the AP. Washington was Saturday’s big prize with 101 delegates at stake, and Politico called a victory there “essential” to Sanders’ campaign hopes. The delegates will be awarded proportionately and Sanders was headed toward a lopsided win—good news for him given that he trailed Clinton by more than 300 pledged delegates heading into the day. It’s no surprise to see Sanders do well in Washington, notes Fox News. On Friday, he drew 10,000 to a rally in Seattle, one of the most liberal cities in the country. Seattle also leads the country in per-capita individual donations to Sanders—about $145 for every 100 people.

The story was largely the same in Alaska, where Sanders had a lead of nearly 60 points with more than a third of precincts reporting. Analysts say the overwhelming whiteness of Alaska, which has 16 delegates up for grabs, favored Sanders. The final 25 delegates of the day came from Hawaii’s caucuses. Throughout the campaign, Sanders has done better in caucuses than primaries. “The Deep South is a very conservative part of the country,” he tells the AP. “Now that we’re heading into a progressive part of the country, we expect to do much better. There is a path to victory.” That path, the AP notes, is steep: After the first two wins Saturday, Clinton’s delegate lead was 1,234 to 956 over Sanders, which widens considerably when superdelegates are included: 1,703 to 985.

This was good news for Bernie….but yet the media will not give him his props….they keep pushing, pushing Clinton and her “lead” as it were….these days the supporters, Berniacs are getting madder and madder…..is there a good reason for this anger?

Yet betcha…….

If you think that supporters of Bernie Sanders are first and foremost angry about matters of policy — for instance, the way our broken campaign finance laws, market regulations, and trade policies are destroying the hopes and ambitions of most of America — you’re absolutely right.

Source: A Dozen Reasons Bernie’s Supporters Are Justifiably Angry at the Media Right Now – LA Progressive

It is time for the media to give Bernie the respect he deserves.

News From The Battle Front

There is so much happening in the Middle East and our conflict with ISIS, et al……the newspapers would prefer to report on award shows or some B/Ball game or other such nonesense…..so I have taken it upon myself to try and report those “minor” irritants that the MSM avoids…….

For instance, 3500+ US troops will return to combat duty in Iraq and the MSM barely notices…..and then some love sick veterinarian hijacks a plane to Cyprus to talk to his ex-wife and the MSM gives 6 hours of coverage and speculation……can you now see why I do not use the MSM as a reliable news source?

Syria is a fascinating piece of work especially if you are interested in international affairs…..

It is common knowledge that the US is arming and training those “moderate” rebels that are fighting Assad….but did you know just how pthetic this scenario is?

Syrian militants backed by different arms of the US government have fought just outside Aleppo—a recent headache highlighting the difficulty of intruding on a disastrous war, the LA Times reports. Backed by the Pentagon, the Syrian Democratic Forces in February pushed the CIA-armed Knights of Righteousness out of the town of Marea, just north of Aleppo, according to rebel leaders and US officials. Similar battles have ensued in Aleppo and a town called Azaz, where supplies are moved and rebel fighters transported, rebels say. “Any faction that attacks us, regardless from where it gets its support, we will fight it,” explains Maj. Fares Bayoush, a leader of Knights of Righteousness.

“It is an enormous challenge,” says Rep. Adam Schiff, who notes that battles between US-backed fighters is “a fairly new phenomenon.” Rebels are already known to fight each other around Aleppo in northern Syria, where ethnic tensions have long existed between Turkmen, Arabs, and Kurds. The Syrian Democratic Forces consist mainly of Kurdish units mixed with a few Arabs to keep it “from looking like an invading Kurdish army,” the Times says. The SDF scored a major victory in February by taking the town of Al-Shadadi in Hasakeh province from ISIS, Yahoo News reports. Meanwhile, the CIA has a center in Turkey where it arms Syrian rebels with TOW antitank missiles to use against the Assad government.

What a great plan….one our proxies fighting another of our proxies…..explain to me how this is a WINNING plan.

While our proxies are fighting each other there seems to be a rift within the fighters of ISIS also……

Rift is growing between Islamic State’s foreign and local fighters with recent battlefield setbacks in Iraq and Syria exacerbating latent strains within the terror group as it contends with financial hardships and territory loss, according to a media report.

Foreign fighters, long welcomed by Islamic State as essential parts of its global mission, are generating greater internal discord and even violence just as the group pivots outward to target Europe and the US, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“With time, and because of the financial and management differences between them, the locals started to complain” about the foreign fighters, a Mosul resident was quoted as saying. “We all hope to see the day when this division among the fighters ends them.”

“Throughout Islamic State-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, tempers are flaring, showing how recent battlefield setbacks in Iraq and Syria can exacerbate latent strains within the group as it contends with financial hardships and loss of territory,” the report said.

At least 38,200 foreign fighters from at least 120 countries have travelled to Syria since the beginning of the five-year conflict, according to US intelligence reports.

Many of them, particularly those from Europe, offer little regard for local traditions or rigid tribal structures of western Iraq and eastern Syria.

The growing resentment tends to bubble up following battlefield defeats, said Patrick Skinner, a former Central Intelligence Agency official who is senior associate at the Soufan Group, which follows Islamic State closely.

(Hindustan Times)

Could it be that all our hard work would be for naught….just wait and maybe they will defeat themselves?

Just a couple of stories that the MSM does think are newsworthy…..

Who Will It Be Next Month?

You know there is a sickness going around these days, especially with the election looming large…..right now it is those darn pesky refugees that may come to this country…..not long ago it was all those “illegals” streaming across the borders and before that it was all those damn black people that are demanding some sort of justice……

It appears that if you are Muslims….you can do no right or if you are a Hispanic….you too can do no right and then there are those #BlackLivesMatter people….they can do no right……

The news that some get is NEVER checked…..if it follows their perceived threat then it is gospel……like that half witted twat….Pam Geller……she tweeted this out the other day……

“Religion of Peace? Devout Muslim Disrupts Memorial, Screams Jew-Hatred Slogans, Incites to Violence

Her site had this to say…if you do not want to click on it…..

Evil to the bone. Muslims so seethe with hatred they cannot let a moment of grief for the victims of jihad to pass without incident or agitation. No humanity, no respect. Bloodshed evokes more bloodlust.

The bodies are not yet buried. This incident took place at a memorial for the victims of the unspeakable jihad attacks in Brussels. Trying to incite the crowd against the Jews, a devout Muslim runs into the center of the memorial, stamping on the flowers for the dead and screams “Palestine,” the rallying cry for jihadis and Jew haters everyone.

He was booed and removed but for those Muslims and Jew haters in the crowd — this is just the beginning (and they know it, support it).

But if you go beyond her HATE filled corner of the cesspool this is the report on that situation……

Belgian riot police clashed Sunday with hundreds of right-wing hooligans at a temporary shrine honoring victims of the Brussels suicide bombings, as investigators launched fresh anti-terror raids, taking four more people into custody, the AP reports. Police used water cannons when scuffles broke out in front of the Bourse, which has become a symbolic rallying point for people to pay their respects to those who died in Tuesday’s attacks. Black-clad men carrying an anti-ISIS banner trampled parts of the shrine, shouting Nazi slogans. Ten were arrested and two police officers were injured. Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur expressed his disgust, with Belgium still in mourning over the attacks that killed at least 31 people.

“We had 340 hooligans from different football clubs who came to Brussels and we knew for sure that they would create some trouble,” Police Commissioner Christian De Coninck said. “It was a very difficult police operation because lots of families with kids were here.” People trying to pay their respects were also dismayed. “It was important for us to be here symbolically,” said a 35-year-old comedian. But, she added, “there were lots of men who were here and doing the Nazi salute, shouting ‘death to Arabs,’ and so we weren’t able to get through.” Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, said Sunday morning’s raids were linked to a “federal case regarding terrorism,” but they didn’t specify whether it had any links to the March 22 attack.

Americans seem to forget that most of us are descended from……wait for it…..IMMIGRANTS.

But I guess if you predict doom and gloom that you will eventually be correct and then you can proclaim yourself off as some sort of modern day Nostradamus….for that is what so many search for…..not truth but rather notoriety…..

My question remains…..who will it be next month?

All Quiet On The Eastern Front

Several years ago I was writing a white paper about the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe…..I was working a a linch pin point that could possibly start another major world war……

When I was in university I studied international relations especially war and conflict management…..and since my interests in war and its causes I have always looked for that linchpin that could cause the world to explode in an all out war …..a war to end all wars……

A couple of years ago I wrote a synopsis of a paper that I was working on about the linchpin theory….in my theory the South Caucuses would be the most likely region that could start this war of all wars……read for yourself…..

Source: Does War loom in the South Caucasus? – In Saner Thought

The Caucasus region is a relatively compact area centered on the Caucasus Mountains. The foothills to the north and some of the steppe connected to them form a northern border, while the southern border can be defined by the extent of the Armenian plateau. The Black Sea in the west and the Caspian Sea in the east form natural boundaries in those directions. It is a territory of immense ethnic, linguistic, and national diversity, and it is currently spread over the territory of four sovereign nations.

The region, formerly contained within the boundaries of the Soviet Union, is in the early twenty-first century spread over four nations: the Russian Federation to the north; and the three republics of the South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The Russian part of this area is divided into several ethnic jurisdictions: Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan.

I bring all this up now is because the fighting and the violence in the Caucasus region is hit a low point….there are still lots of animosities there but the violence is down…..because of one reason……

Russia’s North Caucasus insurgency has gone relatively quiet, as Moscow crushed militants and many left to fight in Syria and Iraq. But longstanding grievances remain and the war may only have widened, as evidenced by the bombing of a Russian airliner in Egypt and the emergence of new groups swearing allegiance to the Islamic State in Russia itself.

Source: The North Caucasus Insurgency and Syria: An Exported Jihad? – International Crisis Group

Terrorism: Is Bureaucracy The Answer?

There is so much being written right now about who did what and why they did it…….so I will leave that for another day….

The recent attacks in Brussels will probably have wide ranging implications….especially for travelers.  We already know that the naysayers have come out of the cesspool to blame everyone for the despicable acts of a few slimy toads……

But let’s talk about if you will be traveling any time soon.

Security will become tighter and will lead to many other problems….I fear.

Take JFK as an example…..

All of them have something to prove and in the end they prove very little…..each wants to be the “hero”……and in the end nothing is secure.

You see the problem is that since 9/11 there has been a web of agencies that seem to get in each others way and in the end very little is done to make things secure….but don’t take my word for it……

Travelers passing through New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport this week witnessed a show of force following the Brussels airport attack: U.S. Army soldiers in khaki camouflage bearing assault rifles, police officers in black bullet-proof vests and private security guards directing traffic in neon-yellow vests.

Source: Web of agencies at U.S. airports could hinder security overhauls | Reuters

Okay, what have we learned from the most recent attack?

The vicious attack on the Brussels airport and metro underscores the futility of focusing on the Syrian “Caliphate” as the epicenter of terrorism: as I’ve been saying in this space since 2001, the snake has no head. Both al-Qaeda and now ISIS are protean entities with a vast geographical spread, and what the Brussels attack […]

Source: Lessons of Brussels – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

I sorry to inform my readers but the acts of terrorism will not go away with the defeat of ISIS or AQ…..

America–Pushing And Shoving

My last post of the day is about something that I have been writing about for months now.  This situation is very indicative of our society and the direction it is traveling….

I have had conversations on here and around my part of the country and I have said that America has lost all sense of community and nation……I feel that Americans now would step over a neighbor if it somehow benefited them….of course most responses have something to do with perceived attacks….like the bad guys are hiding in the sewers just waiting to march down Main Street….

Last weekend was Easter and I found a report that sort of illustrates what I feel America has come to…….

This is why we can’t have nice Easter egg hunts, kids: Your pushy parents. An Easter egg hunt organizer said the alleged adults in the crowd acted “kind of like locusts” and turned the hunt into a shoving match at the Pez candy company. Saturday’s event in Orange, Conn., drew hundreds of people, some of whom couldn’t quite abide by the rules or the starting time, reports the AP. Pez General Manager Shawn Peterson told WFSB-TV that people “rushed the field and took everything.” Event organizers placed more than 9,000 eggs on three fields with the intention of having staggered start times for each age group. But Pez officials say parents didn’t wait. No injuries were reported.

Pez released this statement: “We made efforts to get everyone something before they left and passed out tons of candy and coupons and the front entry and tried to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Due to the actions of a few, the good intent quickly turned into a mess. I would like to sincerely apologize to each of our guests, this was not something created to frustrate or make people angry. We only wanted to do good for the local community,”

An Easter egg hunt is for children…….if adults are willing to stampede over children to gain a few colored eggs what would they be willing to do in an emergency?

Very telling on where this society is going.  This is pathetic!

Here’s An Idea Whose Time Has Come

I do hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend……time for me to go back to work……I am glad to see some familiar faces today…..

The title is me being sarcastic…..but it does give me mixed emotions.

We hear a lot about guns these days….the fight over rights, the deaths, the violence and of course the inevitable lip service from pandering politicians…..we have had arguments about the “fear of harm” defense, I believe it is called “Stand your ground”……and lots on the different conceal and carry laws….and that is where I begin this post…..

Soon the GOP convention will kick off in Cleveland and by now you have heard all the BS about the writing of rules and all the high drama on who will or will not get the nomination…..but there is one situation that little has been said……

What could make what already promises to be a crazy Republican National Convention even crazier? Filling Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena with firearms. That’s the goal of a Change.org petition created this week that already boasts more than 15,000 signatures. The petition worries that without guns convention-goers will be “utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals, or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.” For example, they would be “sitting ducks” in an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena. Unfortunately, the Q—despite being located in an open-carry state—has a no-weapons policy, Fox 8 reports. “This is a direct affront to the Second Amendment,” the petition claims.

The petition has a number of demands, including the Q suspending its no-weapons policy for the convention, the party finding an alternate venue incase the Q won’t allow weapons inside, and the candidates—all three of whom have spoken out against gun-free zones—demanding guns be allowed inside the convention. Probably unnecessarily, GQ points out this whole thing is likely a prank. “This is proooooobably someone trolling the NRA and Reince Preibus, but there’s also maybe a 12% chance it’s true,” the magazine states. “Either way, it’s unlikely to happen.” The Republican National Convention starts July 18.

Really?  I have mixed emotions about this situation….on the one hand it could make for some great arguments, I mean since violence seem to be okay with the GOP this could lead to some really award winning photos…..on the other hand….it thin out the pool of morons and force the country to have a real conversation on gun violence.

Let’s not forget…these are the very same people that think guns in schools is a good idea……

This has the chance of becoming the most famous GOP convention in history.  And the media is waiting on the edge of their office chairs for the word.