Sunday, July 20, 2014

I started a conversation a few weeks ago I believe is very important. It is the story that grew the Roman Catholic faith. So often our country engages in 'Jesus Speak' but rarely is there an inclusion of the great saints of the Catholic faith. And it is a great story. One of hope and bravery.

I think it is a great discussion for a Sunday night. So, next week. 

Thank you and have a good night.

Russian politics has to aspire to re-inclusion as a peaceful power globally.

July 20, 2014

The prime minister of Australia, (click here) currently presiding over the G20, has hinted the Russian president could be dropped from the next summit in Brisbane over the MH17 crash in Ukraine. This came even before international investigators made it to the scene.
“We take a very, very dim view of this and the idea that Russia can wash its hands of responsibility because this happened in Ukrainian airspace just does not stand serious scrutiny. We all know what's happening in the Ukraine,” Tony Abbott said at a press conference on Saturday.
It was “Russian-controlled territory, Russian-backed rebels, quite likely a Russian-supplied weapon. Russia can't wash its hands of this,” Abbott reiterated on Sunday.
The Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight went down crashed in Ukraine Thursday. Among the 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board the perished were 28 Australians.
The Australian government “takes a very dim view of countries which facilitate the killing of Australians, as you'd expect us to,” Abbott said...

Is the end of violence too much to ask?

A sad truth about the Middle East which has no clear solution within the State Department or USA intelligence is that many of the long standing 'terrorist group list' involves organizations that are Shia. They are solely one religion that have lasted for generations. Their tenacity speaks to more than flash in the pan violence and power brokers such as al Qaeda. The longevity of these groups speaks to issues of potential genocide if they were eliminated from Earth.

The reason many of these groups manifested and had the loyalties of such leaders as Assad is due to the fact they were genetically based as well as religiously isolated. There is absolutely no doubt there exists a great deal of hatred between people of differing religions in the Middle East that go back millennia.

The only other problem globally that has manifested itself in this way has been Northern Ireland.

I have witnessed leaders such as Syria's Assad, an Alawite and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a son of the house of Saud, agree to understandings between the two countries. It is possible. The King of Saudi Arabia is a great leader.

The struggles of the Shia may come to a close with the establishment of a governance in Iran and southern Iraq. If these areas are stable and considered a homeland the violence that has dominated their existence may actually end. 

July 17, 2014
Bassal Oudat
Damascus

The Syrian Alawite community (click here) has tended to take the side of the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in the current conflict. Not only do Alawites serve in the top echelons of the Syrian army and police, but civilians from the community have been implicated in some of the worst practices of the irregular militia the regime has formed to shore up its position.
As what started in Syria as a revolt against tyranny turns into a sectarian conflict, the position of the Alawites is becoming more and more untenable, say members of the Syrian opposition.
In its efforts to recruit the Alawites, the regime has tried to convince them that any other government will turn them into second-class citizens. Yet, opposition members recall that the Alawites lived in peace with the rest of the Syrians until Hafez Al-Assad, Bashar’s father, took power in the country some 40 years ago....

425 Palestinians dead and the only option they have to escape death is leaving the country.

In the recent past, in Syria, short ceasefires allowed citizens to leave and NGOs the ability to deliver humanitarian aid. That is mostly likely what is happening here.

There is a huge disparity in what Palestinians face when this violence breaks out as opposed to the average Israeli. No different than most other areas in the region violence is often a day to day existence. When generation after generation is validated with hatred of others and violent actions that enforce that validation, Gaza is the same as every other region in the Middle East. The only hope anyone has in ending the violence is to provide protections to the Palestinians no different than that of Israelis. Currently, the only method of protection the Palestinians have is to enter into refugee status.

Sorry, but, when innocent men, women and children die because Israel has the political opportunity to do so there has to be measures to prevent these deaths. 

July 20. 2014
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel agreed (click here) to allow a two-hour humanitarian truce in a Gaza City neighborhood.
The Red Cross on Sunday requested the two-hour humanitarian truce in the Shuja’iya neighborhood near Gaza City, where heavy fighting has been reported in recent hours, with at least 40 Gazans reported dead.
Hamas reportedly requested the truce through the Red Cross in order to evacuate the dead and injured. The truce began at 1:30 p.m.
The IDF spokesman said in a tweet that it ordered civilians in the neighborhood “days ago” to evacuate for their own safety. “Hamas ordered them to stay. Hamas put them in the line of fire,” he said.
Residents of the area on Sunday were again called on to evacuate the city, with instructions to move west and cross the Salah ad-Din road to Gaza City.
Any attempt to violate the cease-fire “will not be tolerated,” the IDF said in a statement.
Rocket fire on Israel continued from the area during the cease-fire, according to the IDF....

No one is going to war with Russia or any other country.

There are two type of reports in the USA regarding Malaysian Airlines 17, inflammatory with half truths and hysteria and the truth.

The truth is the bodies being removed better be removed, otherwise, they will become carrion to wildlife. 

My understanding of the truth is the bodies are many that are being found and they are being placed in refrigerated receptacles to prevent decomposition. That is the way civilized society would handle such problems. They are being prepared for transport to their countries of origin/homelands. There is probably concern for the fact this occurred over a war zone and the land has not been consecrated. That problem manifested in the USA and other areas before where innocent people may or may not have ALL their remains reclaimed. The largest example of that was the attacks within the USA on September 11, 2001. Consecrating the ground is very important. 

There is an issue of unfettered access as was promised. I understand during one of the investigator's visits there was gunfire heard. So much for promises of unfettered access. 

I do not believe Russia was directly involved with the downing of the jet. I do believe Russia was attempting to consult with the separatists and not necessarily for it's own sovereign purposes. I do believe Russia had a problem at it's border and to the extent it could inhibit the violence spilling over into Russia was a sovereign obligation to it's citizens. (I remind, the USA has militarized it's southern border.) Supplying state of the art equipment is a different story and facilitating the violence still has to be answered. I do not believe the separatists had state of the art weapons. I do believe they, as Ukrainians, had a great deal of military prowess and used it. Whether weapons were supplied by Russia remains to be seen. Supplying weapons is not helping end the violence. It escalates it.

Russia is still defined as a valuable partner to peace in the case of North Korea and Iran and most probably Syria. Russia is still upholding treaties with this exception of Ukraine and as a result it shows why treaties exist and why. This tragedy in Ukraine clearly illustrates when treaties are broken there are outcomes dangerous and undesirable. 

If people are seeking a reason to hate Russia there are plenty within these circumstances alone and in isolation of all else it is easy to label them as 'evil.' The reason Ukraine blew up and now is an economic anchor to the Russia economy is because of the Russian politics. The politics is horrible. It leaves no room for anything except flag waving and hatred of all else not Russian. The politics is terrible and has lead to these circumstances the world still is confused about.

There are stories now coming out of this tragedy. Young people loved. Beloved family members gone. Scientists never to contribute to the outcomes of diseases. It will be a long time before this is forgotten. 

The idea the USA is hanging on to circumstantial evidence of Russia's direct involvement in this tragedy is nothing more than returning to the Pre-Iraq political environment. It is ridiculous, proves nothing and there will be no war inspired by separatists.Wouldn't it be a separatists dream come true to actually begin the war to end all wars. I don't think so.