Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Thank you, President Putin. Your words should not be taken lightly.

I first have to apologize for the ignorance of the USA Congress. They did not appreciate your delegation to bring the Russian message to conduct peace talks. The USA Congress is to say the least shameful these days and it is more than the issue than Syria. They only think about politics. 

5 September 
...The unwillingness of US Congressmen (click here) to meet with a Russian parliamentary delegation in Washington, DC to discuss Syria displays US uncertainty about the availability of sufficient grounds to justify beginning a military campaign against Syria, State Duma heads said. 

"By rejecting this dialogue the U.S. Congress shows that it is afraid of demonstrating the illegitimacy of its position towards Syria," said State Duma Vice-Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak (United Russia) on Thursday....

This is not the first time Great Russian Presidents have tried to appeal to the better side of foreign relations to prevent direct conflict.

By David Hoffman Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 25, 1999; Page A31


MOSCOW, March 24 – President Boris Yeltsin (click here) suspended Russian cooperation with NATO tonight and recalled his chief military representative to the alliance to protest the airstrikes on Yugoslavia, the Kremlin said.
The decision came after NATO military operations began and after Yeltsin made a televised appeal against the use of force. Yeltsin, described in a statement as "deeply angered" by the bombing, called for a session of the U.N. Security Council to stop it. Such a session was convened last night, but Russian arguments failed to sway the 15-member group.

The Kremlin statement offered few details, but Yeltsin appeared to be ordering a suspension of key aspects of cooperation between Russia and the Western alliance that were put in place at the end of the Cold War and followed NATO's decision to admit former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Yeltsin said he was suspending Russian participation in the Partnership for Peace, a military cooperation program involving 27 non-NATO countries. He said he was also suspending the Russian-NATO cooperation program that was established in the aftermath of alliance expansion. In both cases, the efforts at cooperation had gotten off to a slow start, diplomats have said...

It is a matter of respect by the USA to carry out diplomatic meetings with a country we value as a partner in a secure and stable world. Sometimes the demands for respect are not enough and the USA plows ahead instead. We have witnessed that before in recent times with Iraq. Russia was of the first at our side 13 years ago and that loyalty to global stability and peace was cast off as a malady less two years later. 

We know the greatness of Russian peacekeepers when 1000 innocent people were killed by a renegade Polish President, yet today the rants out of NATO and the USA still don't recognize the strength of the Russian resolve in forming two new countries for the safety of human life. 

The relationship between the USA and Russia has been hideous in the way victimization of a once great ally is forgotten for Cold War rhetoric still lingering in USA's dysfunctional political system.

It is more than sad. Two great nations cannot find their way out of a maze of faux hate facilitating war. Unbelievable, actually.

By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN 
Published: September 11, 2013

...The potential strike by the United States against Syria, (click here) despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance....

I agree. There is too much at stake to risk this. Syria is in a precarious place in the Middle East for the USA to seek greater instability. It makes no sense. I realize we have Congressmen like Keith Ellison that have heart wrenching witness accounts of the brutality that currently exists in Syria, but, in the balance there is nothing that requires rockets and missiles. Quite the contrary there is every reason for peace talks and resolutions for power sharing relationships to insure stability and not dissolve it. This entire idea is counter to the best outcomes.

...Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world...

Exactly. The USA is disregarding it's own rules and demonstrates great emotional distress over the death of children. No one denies the death of any child is tragic and Russia understands that, but, this? What will ultimately be the outcome to the children of Syria with terrorist linked heads of state. It didn't go over well in Egypt and then there will be instability among the nations at Syria's borders.

And quite correct, this is hardly about democracy in Syria. It is ethnic. It is religious. The history of this conflict reeks of ethnic tensions. Sympathy is a good tool for these rebels. But, sympathy without sound policy and governance only leads to faux fronts for illegal and deadly regimes.

...From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression...

The loss of civility. The assumption of the Powell Doctrine that all power is forever the power that will rule all of the world without harm to USA soil. It has a great deal of folly in that assumption. The USA has lost it's rudder and the American military is a danger to all, including citizens.

Today, President Obama signed for another year an emergency measure that takes away citizen's rights. We criticized Pakistan's Musharraf for the same exact oppression of the rights of people for the sake of national security, but, the USA is exempt from ignoring the rights of it's people since bin Laden flew commercial airliners into tall buildings. 

It would seem as though the USA once a victim is always a victim. Shame on the Japanese.

...No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored....

There is information Germany has come forward with regarding President Assad's transmissions about the use of chemical weapons. Yet, Germany is not one of the five permanent member nations at the Security Council. It leaves a huge gap in the protestations of the USA against the Syrian President. The peace table is where all this belongs.

...But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes....

I believe Iraq started this slippery slope, even the borders of Turkey have not been the same since.

...We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement....

...I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations.

If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues. 

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal. 

Exactly. What good is touting exceptionalism at the end of a missile. That was the nationalism theme of nations once engaged when Russia and the USA were allies in arms. I don't find comfort in being the world's last superpower. It has proven a burden to this country and to the world. It is time to return to simpler times when countries found common ground rather than one nation rampaging over the sovereign rights of others in a moment's notice.

Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.

Let's hope this terrible chapter between our two countries ends on a happy note and better settled in victories at Sochi. I thank you again. This is the second time Russia has called on Americans to be reasonable in a measured way other nations can respect. I can only hope the USA returns to a posture of deserving of respect, rather than fear.

Wish you and your family well.

This is no real surprise, is it? The USA is threatening Syria and Libya wants nothing to do with any outside influence.

The deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, (click here) which took place a year ago Wednesday, symbolized the violence, chaos and struggles that have defined Libya since the ousting of dictator Moammar Gadhafi two years ago.
The country is split along regional and tribal lines. The government of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who is considered a liberal, has little control over either security or the various militia groups that are often better armed than police. The economy has stalled as oil production plummeted recently and is now at about 10 percent of capacity. As Reuters notes, "many Libyans feel little has changed since the 2011 war that toppled" Gadhafi....

20 years of war is more than enough. Troops out now.

Here is some easy math regarding the wars that were spawned after September 11, 2001.

We have not been at war for just 13 years. 

The Iraq war lasted 8 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 4 days.

The war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001  and is ongoing. Today the Afghan war is 11 years, 11 months and 4 days old.

That is a total of 19 years, 19 months, 3 weeks and 8 days.

That is equal to 20 years, 7 months, 4 weeks and one day of war.

It is 20 years of failed nation building as well.

Was there too much media saturation? This vote will harden Pro-Gun lobbies.

This is about anger. The Colorado Gun Laws are not that restrictive. From some of the reports it was more about a "Power Grab" than anything else.

Of all places, Colorado. It has the worst public safety record on mass shootings in the country. Anyone would think it was time for gun reform. It is unfortunate the voters can't see the forest for the trees.

If the Pro Gun Lobby can label their message as a 'character issue,' hence, 'power grab,' it would seem to work. The voters didn't focus on their own public safety concerns, they focused on a supposed character flaws. Social media wins. The voter sees themselves empowered by 'judgement' and their own definition of safety. There are many people convinced their life lies in the hands of the availability of their weapon. It is a false sense of security and no one bothers to teach them that reality.

By COLLEEN SLEVIN 
Updated 5:06 am, Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Senate President John Morse lost by just 343 votes (click here) Tuesday in a swing district in the Republican stronghold of Colorado Springs but Sen. Angela Giron lost by a bigger margin in a largely blue-collar district that favors Democrats....

...CONTRIBUTIONS BACKFIRE (click here)

The recall battle drew more than $3.5 million in campaign contributions. But the vast majority of the funds - nearly $3 million - came from opponents of the recall drive who support stricter gun control, figures from the secretary of state's office showed.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, wrote a $350,000 personal check to the anti-recall campaigns. Los Angeles billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad kicked in another $250,000 to stave off the recalls.

After claiming victory late on Tuesday, Herpin said the push to derail the recall had "backfired" on the gun control lobby.

"In Colorado, we don't need some New York billionaire telling us what size soft drinks we can have, how much salt to put on our food, or the size of the ammunition magazines on our guns," he said.

Only about $500,000 came from the pro-gun lobby, mainly $368,000 donated by the National Rifle Association, the nation's biggest pro-gun lobby, which feted Morse's ouster late on Tuesday....



 What are Colorado's laws concerning firearms? (click here)
Colorado allows a person to carry a firearm in a vehicle, loaded or unloaded, if its use is for lawful protection of such person or another's person or property. [C.R.S. 18-12-105(2)] Colorado law also allows a person to possess a handgun in a dwelling, place of business, or automobile. However, you cannot carry the weapon concealed on or about your person while transporting it into your home, business, hotel room, etc. Local jurisdictions may not enact laws that restrict a person's ability to travel with a weapon. [C.R.S. 18-12-105.6] The Act permits the nationwide carrying of concealed handguns by qualified current and retired law enforcement officers and amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 (Pub. L. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1213) to exempt qualified current and retired law enforcement officers from state and local laws prohibiting the carry of concealed firearms.

The changes are intended to limit death in a rampage. 

POSSESSION (click here)

On and after July 1, 2013, it will be unlawful to possess, sell or transfer a "large capacity magazine." The definition of a "large capacity magazine" includes those magazines or any devices that are fixed, or detachable and can hold more than 15 rounds or be readily converted to hold more than fifteen rounds.

A shotgun may not accept more than eight shotgun shells, or hold more than twenty-eight inches of shotgun shells in an extension device.  A .22 caliber rimfire rifle that can hold more than 15 rounds in a fixed tubular magazine is not included as a "large capacity magazine." 

It is unlawful for any person convicted of a felony or conspiracy or attempt to commit a felony, or misdemeanor domestic violence or adjudicated delinquent for a felony to possess a firearm.

It is unlawful for any person under 18 to possess a handgun, and it is unlawful to provide or permit a juvenile to possess a handgun, with exceptions for attendance at a hunter's safety course or firearms safety course, or engaging in lawful target shooting, or hunting or trapping with a valid license, or traveling with an unloaded handgun to or from any of these activities, or while on real property under the control of the juvenile's parent, legal guardian or grandparent and who has the permission of the parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun, or while at the juvenile's residence and with permission of parent or legal guardian possesses a handgun for self-defense.

"Mother Jones" did a "Myth Buster" all their own based on Fact-check. 


...Myth #2: Guns don't kill people—people kill people. Fact-check: (click here) People with more guns tend to kill more people—with guns. The states with the highest gun ownership rates have a gun murder rate 114% higher than those with the lowest gun ownership rates. Also, gun death rates tend to be higher in states with higher rates of gun ownership. Gun death rates are generally lower in states with restrictions such as assault-weapons bans or safe-storage requirements....

Colorado falls in about 12 gun deaths per 100,000. Colorado is about midway and I find this rather interesting. When one walks a mile in the gun owner's shoes there is AN ACCEPTANCE of death not found in the non-gun owner.

Sportsman/women are different. They don't accept their own death as a means to enjoying the sport, HOWEVER, hand gun owners accept pre-mature death as a possibility to their ownership. 

If one examines interviews of people in Colorado after these heinous shootings occur what is frequently stated is acknowledgement that death is a part of life. It is a form of helplessness. It is the bastion of a gun culture. The gun is the equalizer. It is just 'one of those things' that the 'right gun' wasn't in place when the tragedy occurred.

When examining this graph it is the states that have high regard to quality of life with the fewest gun deaths per 100,000.

The states with higher quality of life and INVEST in infrastructure to protect human life have the fewer gun deaths while the states with higher and sometimes the highest poverty rates have the higher numbers of deaths.

It is quality of life. I haven't looked into this statistic, but, it is my estimation the more police per 100,000 citizens the less gun violence and the less gun deaths. 

This is from "Michigan Dashboard" (click here)

It isn't necessarily the number of police on the street. It is quality of life. The more people appreciate their lives and regard human life as important without compromises, the less guns are owned and the less deaths occur.

There is no correlation between number of police and number of deaths per 100,000; but; there is a correlation with poverty. That is the case globally as well. The more police per country does not translate into less deaths per 100,000 citizens. 

IT IS POVERTY and the MORAL IMPOVERISHMENT of helplessness and hopelessness that drives higher gun deaths per state. It is why 'Hope' has such powerful political outcomes.

The USA is not at all good at war. The USA is good at producing war hardware, therefore the USA is the best prepared to cause war.

This is from two years ago. It is the only accounting of the Afghan war still today.

The USA is not good at war and enters it without any exit strategy, it's engagement is achieved with all the hubris the propagandists can muster, then the USA military brass 'figures it out' as the chaos begins.

That is not a country that has a purpose for war, that is a country in dire need to JUSTIFY it's military spending in it's national budget.

The country of Afghanistan was free of it's worst residents when the USA entered to capture and kill those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001. The bad guys literally headed for the hills. The progress to ending the lives of those responsible waned when the USA forces were diverted to a war of convenience and revenge in Iraq. 

The USA is not only not good at war, it has an attention deficit when it comes to focusing on the mission. We need to end this hideous industry in the USA to the extent it exists. The 'justification' for The  USA Military Industrial Complex doesn't exist. It is time for the war mongering political leadership to end their chorus and the USA military machine fall in line with it's allies. The USA should never be able to carry out a war by itself. It is the only nation on the face of Earth that can and it does a lousy job of it. 

The USA is so lost for it's military identity, it now wants to automate it's entire military forces and operate any and all assaults by computer terminal. It is out of control and without a vision or purpose. The costs are hideous and ridiculous and far exceeds any need or purpose of the USA.

USA forces are defeated NOT by computer driven enemies, but, by IEDs and Road Side Bombs. Hello? How many Soldier Robots is the USA going to need to defeat an enemy exactly. This is getting to be moronic and pathetic.

10 years in Afghanistan: the data showing how the country has changed (click here)

Which US states have been hit worst by the war in Afghanistan? Over 1,600 Americans have died in the country since 2001 and we wanted to examine the impact on lives in the US. We've collected this data from the US official casualty site (it also includes figures for each state of deaths in Iraq). It shows that Texas and California have lost the most people in Afghanistan - 103 and 120 by the end of May this year. They have also had the most wounded - 836 and 951, respectively. But they are also the most populous states and if you look at deaths per capita, a different picture emerges, with tiny Maine hit the hardest - 1.52 deaths per 100,000 people....

Practical applicaitons that facilitate day to day life work best in Afghanistan to resolve local tensions.

Elections are approaching in Afghanistan and Dr. Abduallah Abduallah nearly won the Presidential elections in 2009. He is young and has held a clear vision for Afghanistan long before the USA troops arrived in 2001.
By Frud Bezhan


...Key figures (click here) in the Afghanistan Electoral Alliance include the runner-up in the 2009 presidential vote, Abdullah Abdullah; Ahmad Zia Masud, a former vice president and brother of legendary Tajik commander Ahmad Shah Masud; General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former ethnic Uzbek militia leader; Atta Mohammad Noor, the powerful governor of Balkh Province; and influential Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqeq....

An Editorial by the distinguished Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. Great hope and a vision. The next President of Afghanistan.

By Abdullah Abdullah
January 8, 2013

In the year 2000, well before the tragic Sept. 11attacks on the United States (click here) and the subsequent liberation of Afghanistan, a secret meeting took place in northern Afghanistan, one of the few areas not conquered by the Taliban. A man named Hamid Karzai, as part of a delegation representing the former king of Afghanistan, flew in to meet Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the anti-Taliban United Front, and me to discuss the future of the country.

The Land Mafia is corruption. It still exists under Karzai. There is too much unpredictable outcomes for the people in Afghanistan and they need leadership that understands them.

4:45 PM Wednesday Sep 11, 2013
 
ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan has decided (click here) to release the most senior Afghan Taliban prisoner it is holding and could do so as soon as this month to jumpstart the struggling peace process, a senior Pakistani official said.

The Afghan government has long demanded that Pakistan release Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's former deputy leader. He was arrested in a joint raid with the CIA in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010.

Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the Pakistani prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, said Tuesday that the government has agreed to release Baradar to help the peace process but has not yet set a date.

"He could be released this month or very soon," said Aziz. "It is part of confidence building measures, and we are hopeful he can play a role."
Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai welcomed Pakistan's decision to set Baradar free, saying "we believe his release will help the Afghan peace process."

But he said Baradar must be "accessible, secure and with a known address" if he remains in Pakistan....

The Congressional resolution to create a surge in Afghanistan had nothing to do with the death of Osama bin Laden.

September 11, 2013

The 12 year war: 73% of all US casualities in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch (click here)

...On Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”

By October 2001, U.S. forces were engaged in Afghanistan, seeking to remove al Qaeda from the sanctuary it had used there to launch the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Since then, most of the leaders and participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been killed or captured. But the United States not only remains at war in Afghanistan, it continues to suffer significant casualties there....

The United States of America has caused more hardship and insecurity with the Afghan people than it ever solved.

KUNDUZ, 10 September 2013 (IRIN) - Fifty years ago, (click here) Dost Mohammad's grandfather had 1,000 sheep grazing on the family's plot of land on the outskirts of Kunduz City, Afghanistan. The family's livestock numbers have since decreased significantly, but then, so has the size of their land....

...In a 2008 survey by Oxfam, respondents said land issues were the leading cause of insecurity. “With arms widely available, these disagreements can easily escalate and flare into violence,” Oxfam said. Higher-profile fights between government and international forces and anti-government militants were considered far less important.

Two months ago, in Deh Sabz, an area of land just north of Kabul, a gunfight between police and residents resulted in nine deaths and many more injuries, according to an Afghanistan Analysts Network report. The fight was over the construction of the Kabul New City in an area locals and Kuchis [a semi-nomadic Pashtun group], use for pasture; the community said they had paid for the land through local power brokers...


...“The ‘land mafia’ did not even exist in Kunduz two years ago, but now their presence is increasing day by day. It's very serious because the victims involved are civilians, especially people like Kuchis, who are not [politically] powerful. They can do nothing because the people taking the land hold top government positions.”...

...But USIP’s research showed that most communities resisted formal documenting procedures. There was a prevailing sense that formal procedures did not offer tangible results and instead carried high social, economic and security costs. Many feared documentation of land ownership in Afghanistan - the third most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International - could lead to their being targeted for land grabs, excess government taxes and bribes....

...The PEACE project has been one of the most successful to date, according to the Afghanistan Watch report and analysts who spoke with IRIN. Initiated in 2006, the project focuses on natural resource management, one of the root causes of conflict among pastoral communities. It provides information on pasture conditions, market prices and livestock enterprises, and facilitates conflict resolution, often leading to peaceful outcomes and stronger conflict-management skills in the community....
On Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
By October 2001, U.S. forces were engaged in Afghanistan, seeking to remove al Qaeda from the sanctuary it had used there to launch the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Since then, most of the leaders and participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been killed or captured. But the United States not only remains at war in Afghanistan, it continues to suffer significant casualties there.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dennis-m-crowley/12-year-war-73-us-casualties-afghanistan-obamas-watch#sthash.LGzlqT7d.dpufOn Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”

The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch

September 11, 2013 - 4:38 AM
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dennis-m-crowley/12-year-war-73-us-casualties-afghanistan-obamas-watch#sthash.LGzlqT7d.dpuf

The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch

September 11, 2013 - 4:38 AM
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dennis-m-crowley/12-year-war-73-us-casualties-afghanistan-obamas-watch#sthash.LGzlqT7d.dpuf