[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Tehran’s regime is cunning, and this is what distinguishes it from other evil regimes like Saddam’s regime in Iraq.
The Houthis’ targeting of Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea is an Iranian attack. Iran has been threatening to target passages used for oil transport, like the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
If the West had in the 1980s and 1990s viewed the practices of these organizations as directly affiliated with Iran, there wouldn’t be Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and others.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Something happened when I tried to continue this long article on Page 49, for which I apologize. I seem to have a knack for findng the quirks in Rantburg's programming.
At any rate, clicking on Continued on Page 49 above the article will give you the entire thing in two parts, dear Reader.
[Townhall] ...With the attempt to excuse the Clinton loss and hide other malfeasance by the Democrats, we have lost total perspective on this issue. As stated by Steve Cohen, NYU Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies, "I've never seen anything like it in my life, the reaction by most of the media, Democrats and anti-Trump people is like mob violence." Cohen said it's been common since World War II for the U.S. president to meet with the leader of the Kremlin, "in order to avoid nuclear war between the two superpowers." Was it more important that Trump avoid war with Russia or for him to stick a finger in Putin’s eye over hacking done in 2016? I pick staying out of war to be more important.
...Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence, stated that there are four countries (Iran, North Korea, China and Russia) that are actively cyberattacking our country. One must ask why the focus is on one country and the others can slide -- particularly China, the biggest?
...Let’s look at just one of the multitudes of problems with the Chinese while ignoring others like their blatant disregard for the environment. That one problem is their aggressive, hegemonic activities in the South China Sea. Two years ago they were rebuked by an international tribunal for their activities yet they forged forward uninterrupted. While they continue building their military position there, they are threatening and bullying neighboring countries like Vietnam, stopping them from drilling in their exclusive economic zone. China has bullied Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines into joint development projects in their own economic zones, establishing joint claims to the areas. The U.S. government under Obama and now Trump has refused to press China on these issues.
The North Korea problem would not exist without the aid of China. America has abandoned Tibet and many would abandon Taiwan to appease the dictator running China. China goes virtually unchallenged on these issues while our country focuses on Russia as if a tornado were bearing down on us.
2. We can't invade China from NATO territory like we can Russia.
3. Our elites still hold out hope in the face of all evidence that China can join the world order. Russia, on the other hand, must be eliminated. Regime change is the only way to remove their Italy sized influence from the world stage.
4. A war against Russia would be profitable beyond all dreams. You think little wars like Syria or Afghanistan are profitable, look at a big shooting war.
5. They would be able to break the taboo against first use of nuclear weapons. You think our elites are terrifying now, wait until you know for a fact they'll nuke you if you dare to disobey.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
07/29/2018 9:46 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Ukraine plus every nationalist group in a country on Russia's rather extended border. Makes for a long list that would love to see the US and Russia get into a rumble...
#6
Ukraine plus every nationalist group in a country on Russia's rather extended border. Makes for a long list that would love to see the US and Russia get into a rumble...
I disagree. That rumble would occur in their territory. Russia has an extended border because it's spent the last 600 years conquering and annexing its neighbors at a rate unmatched by any extant power. Reducing the length of that border is merely a matter of handing back to the original inhabitants the lands obtained at sword- and gun-point.
#7
Lets not paint any oversimplified Manichean pictures, Zhang. The reason Russia spend "600 years conquering and annexing its neighbors" is because for the preceding 500 years its neighbors been invading Russia on a regular basis.
p.s. Everybody else strong enough been doing the same for the entire length of the recorded history, and even before - Russians been merely among the more successful (not as successful as Romans or Brits).
#11
{The reason Russia spend "600 years conquering and annexing its neighbors" is because for the preceding 500 years its neighbors been invading Russia on a regular basis.}
Some were initiated by Russia, and others were initiated by its neighbors. Those of the neighbors that attacked Russia tended to do raids. Russia tended to conquer and annex. Note that Russia did more or less the same thing China did. Encroach on neighboring territory and then scream in outrage when that neighbor conducted raids on the settlers to discourage further encroachments.
#12
(And is it insane to think China may be encouraging the Russia, Russia, Russia crap?)
How would you even go about doing something like that? Hypocritical caterwauling aside, the Democrats love tariffs. They also haven't liked China much since its adoption of capitalism. I suspect the Chinese view is more a passive, fingers-crossed "there, but for the grace of Mao, go I".
The Democrats know the Russia thing is bullshit. They're pushing the Russia angle because the propaganda organs of the far left, the mass media, are feeling their oats. They don't feel the need to approach some facsimile of the truth any more.
If they really cared about Russia, they'd be pushing to sanction Europe for buying Russian gas. They'd be pushing for a trade embargo with Russia. Heck, they'd be insisting on a big arms package for Ukraine. A one-time $200m grant is peanuts. What about Patriots, fighter bomber aircraft and spares?
They’re pushing Russia because they firmly believe that those atavistic conservatives/Republicans (because they can’t bother to differentiate among varieties of deplorables) are all horrified at the very idea of Russians, just like Senator McCarthy, and therefore will reject President Trump for the connection. The current reality must be very confusing to them — I keep hoping the extinction burst will come soon.
[Townhall] ...Trump himself insists that his agenda isn’t ramped-up protectionism. Amidst all his ballyhoo about the greatness of ‐ the sheer wonderfulness of ‐ tariffs, we have occasionally received hints at a very different agenda. Beneath Trump’s pompous, know-nothing protectionist stance ‐ which we have all heared in his decades-long talk-show blather as well as his campaign’s talking points and bizarre Twitter contributions ‐ there has been this dog-whistle to the economists: that what he really wants is free trade.
And this week President Trump lowered the frequency of his transmission for anyone to hear, from ultrasonic whistle to clear clarion call. As Sasse was decrying the China tariffs and the proposed compensatory subsidies to agriculture, Trump stated that he was pushing the EU to drop all trade barriers and subsidies. And then, on Wednesday, he and the EU’s appointed top banana, Jean-Claude Juncker, publicly declared just that.
...We free traders expect free trade to be promoted honestly and coherently. It’s our style.
It’s not Trump’s.
...The "irony" here is this: because multilateral free trade is better for everyone in all countries ‐ well, everyone but politicians and the rent-seeking special interest groups that push for special advantages (which somehow also benefit politicians and the political class rather than consumers and producers at large) ‐ Trump’s nationalism is in truth a mere Trojan Horse. America could get by just fine with unilateral free trade . . . but the whole world would benefit from multilateral free trade. Not just America.
For all I know, Trump’s status as a secret free trader could even be a secret from himself. It certainly was a secret kept from me.
Posted by: Jack Chaiter7913 ||
07/29/2018 6:48 Comments ||
Top||
#2
>multilateral free trade is better for everyone in all countries ‐ well, everyone but politicians and the rent-seeking special interest groups
Er nope. Differences in rents make the trades purely just export low wage jobs from the higher rent country. It's certainly not as simple as they claim.
#3
I've always had the position that we throw out the pin-striped ivy league foggy bottom types and gather America's best used car salesmen for treaty and trade negotiations. I think I'm seeing the concept in practice.
#5
Beneath Trump’s pompous, know-nothing protectionist stance ‐ which we have all heared in his decades-long talk-show blather
Before you accuse someone else of being a know-nothing, you ought to avoid stoopid language mistakes
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2018 7:21 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Capital can move freely. Workers can't. That's why we need protection from predation.
Free traders would happily put us all out of work so they can make a mint importing toxic, easily broken products from slave labor countries.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
07/29/2018 9:01 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Free Trade is like Workers Paradise. All good talk that ignores basic human behavior.
In theory, America is a free trade zone. In practice not very pure. Tax incentives, special interest closed markets (from milk to booze), contract rigging to favor local providers, all factor into the game. My tribe favored over your tribe. Everyone plays the game.
#10
This morning Instapundit linked to an interesting piece in the Financial Times:
The Chinese are wary of Donald Trump’s creative destruction: The president is the first US leader in decades to challenge China on multiple fronts
He posted a long excerpt, because the article is behind the FT paywall. But dropping the title into the Google search app accesses the thing, for those of us lacking subscriptions.
#11
I think this is right. Trump is using tariffs to negotiate better trade deals. They are not his end goal. The idea of tariffs as economic policy was outdated a century ago.
#12
Old tapes and interviews with Trump indicate he has not changed all that much from the 1980-90s except for his change in thought regarding running for office.
Hillary and her handlers wanted Trump to run because they thought he would be easiest to beat.
#13
Tariffs are his tools. If they want to play hardball, he is willing to inflict (and endure) some pain in order to get them to take him seriously. The ivory tower types haven't figured it out that their cocktail party effete mannerisms aren't effective, and sometimes you need a brawler.
[Ynet] For several months, the IDF hid from the public the fact Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, drones dropped explosives inside an Israeli community on the Gazoo border; this could've been an experiment indicating on a worrying new capability, which could be used to target Iron Dome batteries and IDF positions.
On May 13, 2018, around 9pm, an kaboom was heard in one of the communities on the Gazoo border. Residents who came out of their homes found on their front lawn two bombs attached to something that appeared to be a small parachute, white and square. One of the devices went kaboom!, but didn't cause any damage. Security forces that arrived at the town gathered the findings, but couldn't explain at the time how and where did they come from.
Several days later a similar device was once again discovered on the outskirts of that town, which is located across the border from Gazoo City. This time, security forces could point to a connection between the bombs and a drone coming from the strip.
Continued on Page 49
The Houthis also have drones, including a suicide drone, the Qasef-1 (Striker), which the Houthis claim to manufacture. The Qasef-1 carries 30 kilograms of high explosives and is a version of the Iranian Abibil-3 drone. Most analysts say that the Qasef-1 is manufactured in Iran and is stuffed with the same equipment as the known Iranian versions.
The Iranians have used the Abibil-3 (Swallow) in Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon, and have supplied them to Hezbollah and to Hamas in Gaza. The drone itself is a hodgepodge of parts, some of them American, some Asian. The engine is a two-cylinder DLE-222 made in China but widely available worldwide, even from eBay (price US$1,649.99 with free shipping).
#4
One day we will line a few artillery divisions opposite Gaza and start shelling till there's nothing left - until then, we'll have to endure terror attacks.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] I have recently attended two seminars about combating extremism and the revival of religious discourse in Morocco. One was held in Rabat and was organized in cooperation with the Moslem World League of Makkah and the Mohammedia League of Scholars of Morocco.
Sounds impressive. And serious. Seriously impressive, in fact.
The second seminar was held at the Assilah Forum, in its 40th season. The two events were held to review the insights and experiences from counter-extremism and reform campaigns over the last decade. Participants at the Assilah Forum were mostly professors, intellectuals and civil organizations, whereas the participants in the other seminar were mostly religious scholars.
The Rabat seminar focused on jihadist attempts to distort concepts on issues such as religion, Sharia, jihad, loyalty, innocence and the relationship between religion and the state. It also called upon religious institutions and their scholars to combat this terrifying phenomenon by reinstating correct concepts, spreading the right interpretation of texts, instituting academies to train imams and teachers for dialogue and adopting soft power in order to restore the message of peace in religion.
Peace rather than submission? But how is peace to be defined if not by submission to the Master Religion?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2018 00:00 ||
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[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
They are completely naïve about the nature of that which they worship and that which they debate.
A lot of dancing around the key issues of what exactly is Islam? And why is there a direct connection between disintegrating third-world societies and Islam?
Of course they avoided the fact that Malaysia has put a lid on religious discourse and tightly controls what their imams say...as well as who those imams are.
#2
Were not the Ottoman Turks Sufis? I'm confused.
Join the crowd. The history of Islam and Sufism are confusing in the extreme. Some Ottoman Turks were Sufis, some weren't. There were both Sunni and Shiite Sufis. The repression of non-legalistic practices of Islam varies from one ruler to the next over the years.
The famous Sufi martyr Mansur al-Hallaj was executed for saying "I am the Truth" during a period of religious ecstasy. He had said this before, had been charged in court before, but until the very end, the judges let him off on that technicality. His last court case ended badly.
#3
I was at the local library this afternoon, and heard a very one-sided shouting match between the security officer and an obstreperous would-be library patron. The loudmouth was shouting "I ain't said nuthin'" and similar incongruities. Eventually it stopped. When I left I asked the lady at the desk what happened, and she said, "We had someone here who couldn't control his speech." Very diplomatic of her.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Which is stronger in our region, the bias of groups toward their sects or their interests? Sectarian leaders, who lead most of the political groups in the region, are largely corrupt individuals. The followers of the sect are aware of this fact, just as the nationalists are aware that their nationalist leaders are also corrupt.
The Shiite leaders in Iraq and Leb are corrupt, just as the Kurdish leaders are. In Syria, corruption is widespread among all the conflicting parties. Despite all this, these corrupt leaders represent the sectarian interests of their groups.
h/t Instapundit
[CityJournal] Progressives praise California as the harbinger of the political future, the home of a new, enlightened, multicultural America. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill has identified California Senator Kamala Harris as the party leader on issues of immigration and race. Harris wants a moratorium on construction of new immigration-detention facilities in favor of the old "catch and release" policy for illegal aliens, and has urged a shutdown of the government rather than compromise on mass amnesty.
...Minorities and immigrants have brought much entrepreneurial energy and a powerful work ethic to California. Yet, to a remarkable extent, their efforts have reaped only meager returns during California’s recent boom. California, suggests gubernatorial candidate and environmental activist Michael Shellenberger, is not "the most progressive state" but "the most racist" one. Chapman University reports that 28 percent of California’s blacks are impoverished, compared with 22 percent nationally. Fully one-third of California Latinos‐now the state’s largest ethnic group‐live in poverty, compared with 21 percent outside the state. Half of Latino households earn under $50,000 annually, which, in a high-cost state, means that they barely make enough to make ends meet. Over two-thirds of non-citizen Latinos, the group most loudly defended by the state’s progressive leadership, live at or below the poverty line, according to a recent United Way study.
#2
I dunno. I meet some pretty rayciss people every day. They seem to have a problem with what they call "crackers..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/29/2018 7:27 Comments ||
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#3
Leaving Port Washington, WI (home of Allen Edmonds Shoe Co.) this morning. What a totally racist community. Expertly manicured lawns, bike paths, no trash to be seen anywhere, thriving downtown shops and port side restaurants, low or nearly no crime, friendly people. Multicultural German, Dutch, Belgium, Scandinavian heritage openly displayed.
But of course, it's the wrong "multicultural" flavour.
#5
Tribalism is the core of leftism. They like to talk about the "new socialist (progressive, whatever) maqn (now person, shym or it) The idea of just being Joe and going to work for an honest day's wage is as subversive as it gets...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/29/2018 9:23 Comments ||
Top||
#6
The problem for the progs is that tribalism is, in its roots, racist.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Ynet] For several months, the IDF hid from the public the fact 
