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Islamic Jihad number 3 killed in Gaza
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 4: Opinion
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5 21:09 Glenmore [2] 
28 22:57 Besoeker [1] 
1 13:22 Abu Uluque [1] 
12 18:50 ed in texas [] 
1 14:40 mom [] 
2 10:23 Bill Clinton [] 
10 15:30 Thing From Snowy Mountain [1] 
2 15:31 Thing From Snowy Mountain [] 
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Page 6: Politix
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Africa North
Egypt's "Cold War" With the U.S.
h/t Gates of Vienna
An unusual security search at the entrance of the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo took place two days ago as reported by Egyptian newspapers and the Italian RAI 24 news. John Kerry and his staff were asked to go through a metal detector, and one staff member was asked to show the contents of his pockets before visiting President Al-Sisi. This humiliating reversal of protocol was a sign of mistrust towards the U.S. by an Egypt never shy about expressing hostility for America's support of the Morsi regime. Kerry's visit to Egypt was for the purpose of brokering peace between Israel and Gaza (the Hamas terrorist organization).
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2014 09:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The ones Obama didn't like ended up on top. Gotta LEAN on them.
Well, they're leaning back.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/26/2014 18:47 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
RAB needs real reform
[Dhaka Tribune] Bogged down by allegations of extra-judicial killings, politically-motivated operations, and corruption, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has not exactly been able to maintain a stellar reputation for itself as of late.
Allegations? The whole point of the RAB was extra-judicial killings...
RAB may have strayed significantly from its original directive of upholding the law with the firmest of hands, but we believe that international rights organization Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
's latest pledge to the prime minister — to have the law enforcement agency disbanded — is too drastic and shortsighted.

Instead of endless discussion about the impractical endeavour of having an entire arm of the country's law enforcement retired overnight, dialogue should instead be held on the desperate need of reform for RAB.

Much of RAB's more recent problematic behaviour stems from the sense of impunity ingrained within the upper echelons of its chain of command. This sense of impunity needs to go. RAB needs to be held accountable for all its actions, and not just to its direct bosses — hence the immediate need for reform.

The agency itself is not free of blame, however. As bearers of the law, RAB must prove itself to be respectful to the rule of law in order to stay in the good graces of the public.

RAB is an important extension of the country's law enforcement, and as such, is supposed to be a shining example of it, instead of being mired in the state of ambiguity it is now.
Posted by: Fred || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought that's why they called them rapid.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 07/26/2014 13:22 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
'Our Neighbor Isn't Doing Its Part'
[Politico] The president of Honduras on why the United States and its drug habit are to blame for the violence and kid immigrants fleeing Central America.
It is easier to export their social problems than to fix 'em.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Corruption is endemic to Latin America. Corrupt officials skim off the top of anything profitable, legal and otherwise. In some Latin American countries, to expand a factory a business has to go through dozens of permit applications and fees, many of which are deliberately held up to encourage bribery. It can take ten years and thousands in bribes to build an expansion to a business or home. It's a lot like Chicago. I would like to hear what the president has to say on that topic.

That said, he has a point that our drug use is fueling the corruption and hopelessness his country faces. Gangs force farmers to grow drugs instead of food. Gangs force businesses to act as fronts, and kidnap kids to ensure cooperation.

Spare me the bullshit about legalizing drugs eliminating crime. If we made drugs legal here, the market would skyrocket and the gangs would have even tighter control.

Also please spare me the bullshit about drug use being a victimless crime. I have fed too many neighbor kids whose parents were too stoned to feed them; and Narcos pressured my friend in Colombia to grow coca instead of coffee until Uribe got tough on corruption and gangs.
Posted by: mom || 07/26/2014 14:40 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Company In Which Joe Biden's Son Is Director Prepares To Drill Shale Gas In East Ukraine
[ZeroHedge] Recall what we said earlier today: the proxy Ukraine war just like that in Syria preceding it, "is all about energy."

Recall also the following chart showing Ukraine's shale gas deposits, keeping in mind that the Dnieper-Donets basin which lies in the hotly contested eastern part of the nation and where as everyone knows by now a bloody civil war is raging, is the major oil and gas producing region of Ukraine accounting for approximately 90 per cent of Ukrainian production and according to EIA may have 42 tcf of shale gas resources technically recoverable from 197 tcf of risked shale gas in place.
Posted by: dk70 the scantily clad || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Freedom & Human Rights!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2014 4:27 Comments || Top||

#2  So our foreign policy is essentially a business plan for cronies...gasp...I am shocked I tell you shocked by this implication.

Of course that would explain a lot, but maybe not, there is a lot of oil and gas in Iraq some Democratic contributor would love to get his hands on...maybe George is working a deal with the Kurds? Who knows but the dollar is the language of this administration.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 07/26/2014 10:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Its only a problem for the Donks when it's Republicans and companies such as Haliburton; otherwise no problemo. It's that double-standard thing.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/26/2014 11:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Iff eastern Ukraine has enough Nat Gas to free them from Russian supplies, then Russia has no leverage. That's why Putin is going there - because if he fails, then he will be left only with military options, which would bring massive repercussions domestically and internationally.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/26/2014 20:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Some significant gas potential in the Ukraine offshore Black Sea. Maybe oil too.
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/26/2014 21:09 Comments || Top||


The Current Situation In Ukraine Is Eerily Similar To The Crisis That Started WWI
Yes, the Centennial brings comparisons out, but the article points out some rhyming.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wouldn't their have to be national leaders with nationalistic fervor?

Somebody name me one, besides Putin, that is.
Posted by: Bobby || 07/26/2014 10:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Putin is the new Kaiser Wilhelm with his Balkan strategy. That really started WWI, the Brits and the French were not going to go along with the Kaiser in coordination with Austria Hungary annexing vast areas of the Balkans for energy.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 07/26/2014 10:23 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
White House Fears Impeachment If Obama Unilaterally Grants Amnesty
Could this be the reason why the 'pubs have been anything but challenging with ValJar and Company, knowing they would eventually overplay their hand?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bank on it. Then we oil Handcuffs for Imprisonment.
Got the message yet, bitch?
Posted by: newc || 07/26/2014 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Just keep the ammo going to Issa and he IRS investigation.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 0:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Truth be told, the Bammer broke several major Federal laws sending SEAL Team Six to kill Osama.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/26/2014 1:07 Comments || Top||

#4  As the sociopath in chief withdraws deeper into his shell, those around him will find other pursuits. I still believe impeachment is the wrong approach at his late date. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him pull a Jesse Jackson Jr. and seek an early medical retirement [stress, PTSD, drug abuse] and resignation before the kak gets too deep. 'Triple J' still went to the slammer, but he's locked in a tax-free disability income and insulated himself from further legal action to some degree. Anyone seen or heard from Joe Biden lately ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 1:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Get this idiot out of the Oval Office by any means necessary.

Pulling a stunt like bringing people in from all over the world to over ride the votes of the citizens of this nation means immediate impeachment and prosecution is a no brainer.
Posted by: Thineng Angailet7166 || 07/26/2014 3:44 Comments || Top||

#6  Pre-emptive strike publicity by the White House. Sort of 'I dare you'. This is when we find out why the feds have been ordering millions of rounds of ammunition for domestic use.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/26/2014 7:13 Comments || Top||

#7  I agree Ed. No need to get suckered into something, he's built a career on being the victim. If he slumps along and simply resigns, the dems have a new candidate for 2016. With the Hildebeest's popularity waning, I wouldn't put anything past these people.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 7:26 Comments || Top||

#8  Obama wants the impeachment challenge for several reasons. He knows he cannot lose. The senate will never consider it and the impeachment threat or process will embolden the democratic base. In addition impeachment is political; and Obama lives to politic. He will be energized by the media defending him and another opportunity to speak about himself.
Posted by: Airandee || 07/26/2014 7:52 Comments || Top||

#9  I agree Airandee, and just think of the windfall PR distraction an impeachment would provide. He knows the first half-black president will never be impeached, and so should everyone else.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 7:56 Comments || Top||

#10  Fund raising money must be down even with all those golfing-hand shaking-meeting-with flights on Air Force One around the country. He can't be reelected, so why all the fund raising other than building the money pile for afterward. Move it all to a 'foundation' like the Clintons, and then hire yourself at a generous additional salary. So, get the word out to the faithful to make a tax deductible donation to the church one. Find anything to scare them, to stoke their '10 minutes of hate'(c.1984). Cause we know the Beltway Party doesn't have it them to rock the boat, just hang on for a piece of the action.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2014 9:09 Comments || Top||

#11  While people are coming up with reasons to sit on their asses and do nothing, the nation crumbles.
Posted by: Thineng Angailet7166 || 07/26/2014 9:18 Comments || Top||

#12  Part of this story is the progressives stirring up their base to get money and turn out the vote in November. They are saying don't let the vile conservatives take the Senate as this is what will happen to our dear leader. The other part is that they really do believe in amnesty and open borders. Oblablah will most likely try the amnesty route via the E.O.

McCain is one of those RINOS who are lurking in the background--he is a supporter of amnesty.

I don't think the Donks and fellow travelers realize the political dynamite they are playing with.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/26/2014 10:20 Comments || Top||

#13  I don't want him impeached for several of the reasons stated here.

He will become a martyr and the now demoralized leftists will rally around him.

If the Republicans take the senate, they can very easily limit the damage domestically this man can do. Also they can start impeaching the lower level goons in Obama's organization to help knock the legs out from under his criminal enterprise.

I want this man leaving office humiliated and broken and the policies he championed so tainted and reviled that no one will try to promote them for 20 years. Impeaching him will not accomplish that.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/26/2014 10:54 Comments || Top||

#14  the policies he championed so tainted and reviled that no one will try to promote them for 20 years

Hopefully longer and a return to a Constitutional and lawful government.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/26/2014 11:32 Comments || Top||

#15  Don't impeach Obama.

Impeach the head of the IRS.

If Champ still doesn't get the message, impeach Holder.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/26/2014 11:52 Comments || Top||

#16  Second and third tier impeachments, and a huge focus on ValJar and her scams and influence peddling. Never Champ, just make him toxic in every way possible.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/26/2014 12:30 Comments || Top||

#17  impeaching the lower level goons

That's the way as has been pointed out. BLM, EPA, DoJ, etc. Stomp them all and break their morale.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/26/2014 12:36 Comments || Top||

#18  and purge the bureaucrats practicing politics
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2014 13:16 Comments || Top||

#19  Impeach the lower level goons and defund the bastard.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 07/26/2014 13:29 Comments || Top||

#20  The Democratic party is in the red financially. They are bankrupt going into 2016. The president is the usual big fund raiser and he cant even get people to pay their bills at dinner. They are in big trouble. They need something to rally their base, impeachment is it. The republican should hold off on this. They should keep these hearings going, keep subpoenas flying and not go after contempt charges. Use it all as fodder for the elections. Then after round up all the criminals and prosecute. Make a deal with the dems, here's the bitter pill, to grant pardons for Obama and Holder in return for a good house cleaning in the government agencies and an agreement to not allow the dem party to use it as a rally cry. Sort of like how Nixon went down Lets fix this, not play politics with it.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/26/2014 13:45 Comments || Top||

#21  Give him more rope.
Then impeach him.
Posted by: Tarzan Glerenter1772 || 07/26/2014 13:52 Comments || Top||

#22  No pardon for Holder. Holder goes to jail or no deal. Obama's gotta throw him under the bus.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 07/26/2014 15:04 Comments || Top||

#23  Nah, extradite Holder to Mexico for conspiracy to arm the cartels and approximately a hundred plus murders (then maybe they'll give us our Marine back).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2014 15:43 Comments || Top||

#24  Generally i don't favor impeachment because i don't believe it actually removes him from office. However, by tying it specifically to executive action on amnesty (which a majority of Americans oppose) they are on safer ground. It also might slow up such an executive act.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 07/26/2014 19:51 Comments || Top||

#25  Start with a few lower in order to roll them, like you do with an organized crime family. Then impeach IRS boss, EPA boss, someone from State (Benghazi lies), and finally Holder. And be sure to bring down congressional helpers, like the bastard who was working with the IRS.

Expose and shred every bit of wrongdoing this administration has done. Lay the corruption bare so that even the press can no longer ignore it, spin it or play it off.

Leave Obama twisting in the wind.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/26/2014 20:57 Comments || Top||

#26  OS, I wish I believed what you suggest could actually happen, but I no longer have any confidence in the majority of Americans to see what is going on. Sadly, I fear it will come down to chaos and who survives it. We had a great thing going but got complacent and pissed it away.
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/26/2014 21:02 Comments || Top||

#27  I am being to believe the END GAME for Obama is for him to be impeached to precipitate violence enough to warrant him declaring martial law.

The lefties and their goons and minions will run amok and Obama will blame it on the Tea Party and send in the guard and suspend elections.

He's been trying to start SOMETHING for months to warrant a declaration of martial law, of course even his satrap drones in the Pentagon will balk at that.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 07/26/2014 21:33 Comments || Top||

#28  He's been trying to start SOMETHING for months to warrant a declaration of martial law, of course even his satrap drones in the Pentagon will balk at that. Posted by Bill Clinton

I'd not be too sure of that.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 22:57 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Removing Tunnel Threat Not A Matter Of Days
[Ynet] IDF commanders returning from Gazoo's underground front believe it could take forces two more weeks to complete their mission.

Colonel Amos Hacohen had been waiting for this past week for two years. He was supposed to spend it vacationing with his wife in Italia after completing one of the most difficult roles filled by a brigade commander — commander of the Gazoo Division's southern brigade.

But his unit, which has been dealing with dozens of Lions of Islam who infiltrated its district in the past few weeks through four offensive tunnels passing under the border fence, is at the forefront of the fighting in Gazoo. And Hacohen, like his soldiers, has no intention of going anywhere before completing his main mission — destroying the terror tunnels.

And it's neither a simple mission, nor a short one. If anyone in the political echelon wants to reach a ceasefire under any condition, they should go ahead and do that. It's legitimate. But let us make no mistake: The tunnel threat cannot be removed any time soon. Whoever says that is misleading the residents of southern Israel and all of Israel's citizens.

This view is shared by senior IDF officers. The army opposes a ceasefire without accomplishing the basic mission it has been tasked with: Thwarting the threat of Gazoo's offensive tunnels.

And just like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon will find it difficult to look the Gazoo vicinity residents in the eyes if the threat is not removed, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz will find it difficult to look into the eyes of the commanders and bereaved families of soldiers sent on an unaccomplished mission.

A message to Hezbollah
From my conversations with many of the brigade commanders operating on the ground, who have taken a short break, up to the IDF echelon, they all believe that the tunnel threat cannot be removed within less than a week. The estimates range from 10 days to two weeks.

Thirty offensive tunnels have been located so far, but only some have been dealt with and destroyed. The intelligence has pointed to many other tunnels which the forces have yet to reach. And this timetable does not include the length of the tunnel destruction operation itself.

That takes time too: Colonel Uri Gordin, commander of the Nahal Brigade, says that from the moment he reached a tunnel it took him many hours to completely destroy it.

But the tunnels, as opposed to what we think, are only part of the story: The army realizes that Hezbollah is closely monitoring the fighting in Gazoo, and that if it ends in a tie it will only damage the Israeli deterrence, which could bring the third Leb war much closer.

Several brigades are operating in Colonel Hacohen's district in an effort to locate the offensive tunnels which turned made the lives of nearby kibbutz residents into nightmare. In the past, the residents wouldn't hear about soldiers operating in their kibbutzim. Today, they can't move without them. "Take all the time you need, just remove the threat," they say to the army.

This is not a simple mission. The reports arriving from the ground point to complicated and dangerous fighting. There is not a single house around a tunnel which has not been booby-trapped. Even a house which looks clean from the outside could turn into a death trap in a flash if a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, antitank missile is fired at it, and this has happened quite often.

The tunnel destruction contractor
Colonel Hacohen, who has served as the commander of the Nahal's patrol battalion and head of the chief of staff's bureau, was given the demanding position after being sent to rest abroad. His rest was interrupted in the middle when he was called to return to Israel.

Since the fighting began, he no longer sleeps in the regiment's headquarters, but near the ground, ready to be alerted at any moment. But sleep is not the proper definition for the random nap he gets to take in his jeep, which could reach up to three hours in the best-case scenario, but is usually much shorter.

Apart from his responsibility to defend the communities, his and all IDF commanders' biggest nightmare stems from the threat of Lions of Islam infiltrating Israel through the tunnels.

Hacohen's main job is to destroy those tunnels. In fact, he has become the tunnel destruction "contractor" and an expert on the issue against his will. Most of the details related to the thwarting activity cannot be disclosed. I can only say that it's creative and that the Jewish mind is working very well. But patience is still needed. The solution for locating the tunnels is still nowhere in the horizon.

Although the IDF needs more time to destroy the tunnel threat, it appears to have already implemented a dramatic change in its perception of defending the Gazoo vicinity communities against the tunnels. If you want proof, take a look at the regimental police post in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, which is manned by fighters from the Maglan special forces unit. An elite unit force with a classified purpose securing one kibbutz.

Ofer, the community's military security coordinator, is defined in the southern brigade as "commander of the Kerem Shalom post." And that's exactly what the IDF is doing in light of the tunnel threat: Many soldiers are guarding every community, engaging in patrols, observations and ambushes.

And if that were not enough, a Merkava Mark IV tank takes the farmers to the fields every day to switch on the irrigation system, otherwise the crops will be destroyed.

Those of us with a good memory should be familiar with this image. The Gazoo vicinity communities are starting to look like a post in southern Leb, with one fundamental difference: This time the soldiers are looking after civilians.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Science & Technology
Rebuttal: Actually, the V-22 Ain't Half Bad
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It oughtn't to be half bad considering the amount of money that's been thrown at it over the years.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 07/26/2014 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  As long as the "bad half" doesn't happen during takeoff or landing. I think I'll pass, and take the truck convoy, if given the choice.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 1:32 Comments || Top||

#3  It's like half bad means its all good. Do you want to bet your life, or your son's life, that they never fly it in the half that's bad and only the good half? Cause its the half bad part causes funerals.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/26/2014 3:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Sorry, and I'm not comparing it to a helicopter, it is its own beast, and deadly when measured by and against itself.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/26/2014 3:11 Comments || Top||

#5  If it's only half-bad, let's rename it the V-11 and just move on.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/26/2014 3:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Not half, all?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2014 5:25 Comments || Top||

#7  Yeah, the part that builds them has a good deal. The part that uses them seems to have issues.
Seriously, the info on 'War Is Boring' seems to revolve around wishful thinking; there's no way once that V22's go into service that they'll spend the money to maintain the C46's. Simple supply chain thinking.
Ask yourself how, many F14's the fleet has now that the F18 has been improved? Or A6's, or Vikings. Navair has gone to a 'swiss army knife' mindset, one platform fits all, it's easier on the logistics. Call it McNamara's revenge. And the Navy will make the final determination on what the Marines get.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/26/2014 7:31 Comments || Top||

#8  I always thought the V-22 concept was the ultimate urban commuter aircraft solution better than a helicopter.

I've autorotated a Huey and had to clean out my pants. I crashed a Huey at Grafenwoehr and spent eight weeks in the hospital getting my nose and cheeks put back together SO there is no love lost between me and helicopters. Also flying in one of those things on a moon less night and listening to that damned transmission whine in the C-46...you can have those things.

The only problem I see with the V-22 is they need to figure out how to autorotate one of those buggers when they have an engine problem OR they need to figure out how to give the thing a glide angle more shallow than a brick.

I remember how everyone was peeing all over the F-111 for years but it turned out to be a pretty good bomber...of course the new sawing is what do you call a fighter build by a committee? A bomber.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 07/26/2014 10:20 Comments || Top||

#9  So from the article, the pilots cannot loiter, or hover (overheat) and have to protect 'the delicate prop box,' With known vulnerabilities and limitations that certainly restricts the missions. so if it is a fast insertion and extraction vehicle where there is no hostile fire, it is a good thing. but the 46 is still a better platform for the hot work.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 07/26/2014 10:49 Comments || Top||

#10  Perhaps they can start with the Army CH47 and navalize that. Proven design, better lift than the old 46, and a workhorse in the field. Decent range, good durability, lots of lift capacity including sling loads. And it can hover quite a while, with the bonus of not melting the deck.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/26/2014 11:53 Comments || Top||

#11  Terrafugia's next flying car envisioned as tilt-rotor.

Posted by: Dino Bourbon4967 || 07/26/2014 16:06 Comments || Top||

#12  By the way, you can order a brand new CH47 from Boeing. Trump's got one set up luxo.
They don't run the line all the time, but they still have the fixtures and maintain them.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/26/2014 18:50 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
US Isolationism Is Feeding A Global Free-For-All
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Intentional???

OWG GLOBALISM = can be ascribed as HOW MUCH OR HOW FAR CAN THE SUPERPOWER US SAFELY FALL BACK OR RETREAT ACROSS THE WORLD WIDOUT BEING EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED BY WANNABES.

WIDOUT THE US DEVOL INTO AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO ITSELF???

* 1990'S CLINTONISM = Truly patriotic or good "Arrogant Fascist Male Amerikan Brutes, etc. demand their OWG-NWO + Sacred National Communist right to be attacked + destroyed.

The "Great Game" goes on, Globalism or no Globalism.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/26/2014 1:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, whether or not the US plays, or leads, or whatever, Somebody has to be in charge, in front, the leader. People and groups of people naturally form hierarchies for their own protection. And if you're not the lead dog, you get to look at the lead dog's butt.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/26/2014 7:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Can we not escape blame for fok'n anything? I'm not at all convinced the 'global free-for-all' wouldn't be playing out right now whether we were 'engaged' or not. If you see a man and a woman quarreling at the pub, find the door.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2014 7:36 Comments || Top||

#4  The problem is that a pathological mix of US & Western masochism, pathological altruism and zero cultural self confidence ensures that interventions will be bloody and costly and that they will ultimately lead to a humiliating defeat for the West.

It was a hawkish interventionist who called for the importation of alien tyranny as a price to be paid for success in Afghanistan.

That's not a convincing argument against isolationism.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 07/26/2014 7:44 Comments || Top||

#5  I just keep remembering all the anti-American demonstrations in Europe, particularly during the Reagan era, and sometime from the campuses around Seoul and take comfort in that this world's generation (not to mention all the cheap suit local politicians who sat by if not encouraged such behavior) is going to get to answer the question - What have the Roman's ever done for us?

Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2014 9:03 Comments || Top||

#6  What have the Roman's ever done for us?

I mean, besides sanitation, rule of law, etc., etc.,
Posted by: AlmostAnonuymous5839 || 07/26/2014 9:48 Comments || Top||

#7  They wanted a world without the US, now they are seeing what it is like.

Enjoy.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/26/2014 10:48 Comments || Top||

#8  It will be interesting to watch the European left seamlessly transition from

"All the world's problems are the result of US intervention!"

to

"All the world's problems are the result of America's abandonment of its moral responsibilities!"

At the Guardian they won't skip a beat.
Posted by: Matt || 07/26/2014 10:54 Comments || Top||

#9  We're not in an isolationist period, Obama just surrenders to whoever listens. So it's more surrenderism than isolationism.

Posted by: Silentbrick || 07/26/2014 10:55 Comments || Top||

#10  Re: that youtube video... I think Graham is part of the same mafia that Obama, Putin, Assad, and the Gulf State Monarchies belong to. THey don't like each other and sponsor violence against each other but don't want anyone else to be free. They believe in fantasies where the rest of the world can be sold into servitude to their enemies but that the sale will never come back to bite them.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 07/26/2014 15:30 Comments || Top||


The Return Of The Axis Of Evil
[Ynet] After Syrian civil war created rift between Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, Gazoo conflict may be bringing them all back together.

Is Hamas making a public comeback into the axis of evil? Amid its disappointment at the stance taken by many Arab countries, particularly Egypt, in regards to Israel's Operation Protective Edge in Gazoo, the Islamic movement is being embraced by its natural allies in the resistance axis — especially Iran and Hezbollah.

The relations between Hamas and its two natural allies cooled off after Hamas leaders spoke in favor of the Sunni rebels in Syria, as the Hamas members are Sunni as well, and against the Bashir al-Assad regime, which is supported by Alawites and Shiites. Iran is a mostly Shiite state and Hezbollah is a Shiite organization.

The Hamas leadership abroad, led by political bureau chief Khaled Mashal, left its headquarters in Damascus after the start of the civil war. The Syrian regime is showing no signs of forgiveness towards Hamas and Mashal, but it is taking advantage of the escalation in Gazoo to divert the world's attention from what happening in Syria.

As he began his third term as president last week, Assad used his inauguration speech to mock the Arab states which are failing to help Gazoo, calling on them to send weapons and fighters to the Strip just like they aided the rebels in Syria.

Assad's advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, was quoted in recent days as saying that "aggression against Gazoo is aggression against Syria."

Iran and Hezbollah did not settle for declaring their support for Gazoo, but made direct contact with the person leading the current battle in Gazoo from Qatar, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who has been monitoring the situation from Leb, spoke to Mashal and Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
Secretary-General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah on the phone. He also met with Shalah in Beirut during Operation Protective Edge.

In these conversations, Nasrallah praised Hamas' performance, expressed his organization's willingness to cooperate against Israel and voiced his satisfaction at what he heard from Mashal, that the battle could lead to "the second victory of July." The first "victory of July," according to Nasrallah, was the 2006 Second Leb War.

The conversation itself should not be taken for granted, especially in light of the fact that in the past few months Mashal has not been receiving much praise in Hezbollah's media outlets in Leb on the backdrop of the events in Syria and Egypt and Hamas' automatic link to the (Sunni) Moslem Brüderbund movement.

During Operation Protective Edge, Hezbollah's journal gave the credit for what is happening in Gazoo first of all to the Islamic Jihad's military wing and only then to Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, although Hamas' military wing is clearly leading the battle.

Gazoo uniting resistance
Nasrallah, who is still rolling in the Syrian mud and losing fighters in the Syrian civil war as Hezbollah continues to aid Assad's army, hopes that the developments in Gazoo will divert the fire towards Israel, at least in the intra-Lebanese arena. The first signs of that in the Lebanese arena could be seen in the united show of support for Gazoo's residents by both pro-Hezbollah and anti-Hezbollah media outlets.

The Hezbollah-affiliated As-Safir newspaper has also detected this trend. According to the headline of one of its articles on the talks between Nasrallah, Mashal and Shalah, "Gazoo is uniting the resistance."

According to the Lebanese paper, the Islamic Jihad movement — and particularly its leader Shalah — is playing a key role in bringing Hamas closer to Hezbollah and Tehran in recent months. Shalah, unlike Mashal and his leadership, did not burn the bridges with the resistance axis following the events in Syria, but remained in touch with it.

In addition to his conversation with Nasrallah, the newspaper reported, the Hamas leader has received as many as three phone calls from Tehran in the past few days — from Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and from one of the Revolutionary Guards commanders.

Sources in Hamas' politicianship said Monday that Mashal had received another phone call from the Iranian foreign minister, who expressed Tehran's support and appreciation for "the Paleostinian resistance" in the face of "the Israeli aggression." Mashal thanked Zarif and stressed that the Paleostinian people were defending themselves against "the Israeli war machine."

Sources quoted by the Lebanese newspaper said that before Zarif's latest call, the Iranian officials had expressed their willingness to aid Hamas in different ways in its battle against Israel. They also praised the performance of Hamas and the other factions and the "surprises" they had in store for Israel, which "restored the faith in Hamas' role."

The newspaper further quoted knowledgeable sources who claimed that "the battle in Gazoo plays a significant part in restoring the status of the resistance factions in Leb, Paleostine and the region. It requires a new type of cooperation whose first signs are terminating the misunderstandings of the previous period and reuniting the resistance front based on Paleostine being the key issue and Israel being the greatest threat to the region's Arab and Islamic people."

A senior Hamas source told the newspaper that "the conversation between Mashal and Nasrallah is a very important step towards rebuilding the Arab and Islamic resistance front in the battle against the Zionist enemy."

Nasrallah smelling blood
Osama Hamdan, who is in charge of Hamas' international relations, addressed the issue in recent days, saying that "the relationship with Hezbollah and Iran today is much better than people tend to think. The relationship with Hezbollah is a few levels better than the optimists would expect. There is one enemy and it has one tactic. That is why an ongoing effort has been made to exchange knowledge. There is permanent cooperation and coordination on the ground."

Sources close to the Hezbollah organization told the El-Nashra website on Tuesday that "we must not let the resistance in the Gazoo Strip fall." They added, however, that in light of the current performance of the resistance in Gazoo, there was no need for Hezbollah to join the battle. They also claimed that Hamas' military wing had never abandoned the resistance, even over the disagreement on the Syrian issue.

The same sources argued that the weapons being used by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the rockets they have in store were received after the beginning of the crisis in Syria. As for the conversation with Mashal, one of the sources said that "it's not that Hezbollah went to Mashal, it's he who came back to the resistance."

The building relationship between Hezbollah and Hamas has also been detected by Tariq al-Hamid, the editor of London-based Saudi newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, who is known as one of Nasrallah's strongest critics over Hezbollah's involvement in Syria.

In an article he published Wednesday, titled "Nasrallah smelled the blood," al-Hamid wrote: "Like a shark in the sea, the Hezbollah leader smelled the blood in Gazoo and moved closer using his head, in order to take the opportunity to try to erase his Arab past stained with the blood of Syrians."

According to al-Hamid, Nasrallah sees the war in Gazoo as an opportunity to polish the image of his bloodstained organization and an opportunity to attack the Egyptian stance and Egyptian initiative, which has gained international and Arab support.

"If Nasrallah's statements are sincere, what he should do is not open a front with Israel but only withdraw from Syria and leave its residents alone, instead of murdering the Syrians more brutally than the Israelis are doing in Gazoo. It's enough to say that the number of Syrians killed so far has crossed 170,000 people.

"Hezbollah's plan is clear. It wants to use the Paleostinian blood to achieve its goal (improving Hezbollah's image)."
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  While they are killing each other, the only thing that diverts them from this task is the little Satan or the big Satan--the infidels. Seems to be a unifying cause.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/26/2014 11:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Bookmarking for later.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 07/26/2014 15:31 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2014-07-26
  Islamic Jihad number 3 killed in Gaza
Fri 2014-07-25
  Key Taliban commander among five killed in Orakzai blast
Thu 2014-07-24
  295 Suspects Arrested For Jerusalem Riots
Wed 2014-07-23
  Clashes in Libya's Benghazi kill 16, injure 81
Tue 2014-07-22
  At Least 572 Palestinians Killed During Gaza Operation
Mon 2014-07-21
  'Islamic State' Kills 270 in Syria Gas Field Takeover
Sun 2014-07-20
  Battle for Syria gas field after jihadists execute hundreds
Sat 2014-07-19
  IS-led Militants Storm Iraqi Air Base near Tikrit
Fri 2014-07-18
  Insurgents Attack Kabul Airport
Thu 2014-07-17
   IDF starts Gaza ground invasion
Wed 2014-07-16
  20 militants killed in US drone attack in Pakistan
Tue 2014-07-15
  Israeli airstrikes kill 40 Palestinians in 24 hours
Mon 2014-07-14
  "Libya Dawn" Islamist movement orders Qaaqaa and Sawaq brigades to leave Tripoli
Sun 2014-07-13
  Air strikes kill 13 suspected terrorists in Mirali: ISPR
Sat 2014-07-12
  Gaza toll hits 100 as truce efforts waver

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