In different words, President Obama stated it is ill advised to fight a war where the only governance is anarchy and/or Islamist terrorism. The USA is not going to occupy a country costing trillions to do so either.

I really remember the words, "Nation building doesn't work." Iraq and Syria need political solutions, not war that will never end, they have that already.

France is at war and so is the USA. Why is it the media, even at the news conference today with President Obama, saying that the USA is not engaged to destroy Daesh?

The USA just ran a raid in Syria. The USA Air Force has been engaged with the Arab Coalition for months. I am sure any country of NATO that wants to join the USA is welcome.

We lost one of the country's best in that raid. The USA has been engaged in Iraq and Syria. Perhaps the media forgot Russia and the USA have recently met about flights over Syria. Right?

I am sure the USA Navy will welcome the "Charles De Gaulle" as a friend in the Mediterranean.

November 16, 2015
By Sam LaGrone

France is sending (click here) its nuclear aircraft carrier to the Middle East on Thursday for its second deployment this year against the combined forces of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, president François Hollande told the French parliament during an emergency Monday meeting.
The deployment of Charles de Gaulle (R91) was planned before the ISIS-claimed terror attack in Paris on Friday and will buttress the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve currently conducting airstrikes against targets in Syria and Iraq.
The carrier’s deployment “is going to triple our military power [as part of the operation against the Islamic State],” Hollande said.
“I am not talking about deterring the Islamic State but about eliminating it totally.”...

What the heck is wrong with everyone? There are American lives involved in that region of the world. Not enough USA lives on the line perhaps to entertain the news media enough, huh? A little more sensationalism perhaps, right? NO!

There is a real problem in the USA, both with Congress and the media. Both listen to the US Department of Defense selectively.

The Republican Congress and the media listen to the drum beat of war. The DOD clearly stated on more than one occasion there are other aspects to the defense of the USA. One is the national debt. The other is the Climate Crisis. So, given the ENTIRE picture of the USA DOD, there are far more considerations than simply putting soldiers into a forever war.

Now, I strongly suggest the USA media add to any column of equations leading to war, add, the Climate Crisis and the National Debt. It might bring better understanding with questions to President Obama.

There is one other column of equations to add as well. It is the fact Quantitative Easing X3; added trillions of debt to the big banks. What happens to the international theater if these behemoths turn up at the White House door ready to go belly up again. Where is the national debt of any country at that point? If that occurred we will all start to look like Syria.

The Fed added billions and billions of liquid cash supposedly to assist in any debt so the banks can loan and rebuild jobs. That isn't want QE 1 or 2 did and QE 3 did that marginally. What QE X3 did was to make everyday Christmas for Wall Street. Rather than adding liquidity to their balance sheet to solve problems and add jobs to the USA market through lending; they blew their billions on trillions of investment and now their debt is worse than ever.

Bailing out GMC was nothing compared to what the spoiled CEOs of Wall Street got. GMC was the best investment the USA ever made.

Brussels, Belgium is about 40 percent Muslim. There is going to be a few extremists among them. The thing is that this is not France or Paris. President Hollande has declared radical mosques closed. I think that is fine. I don't have a problem with that at all. There should be no religious person fomenting hate in a pluralistic society. The point is while France and Paris get their act together, Brussels is not. There needs to be a diplomatic mission to Belgium to bring about an understanding of the effect of extremism coming out of Brussels. As a matter of fact there needs to be an understanding of extremism within any country's borders.

There is an oddity in the statics of age balance of gender in Brussels. (click here)

Now, to begin with the average age of men and women in Brussels is about 44 years old. Middle Age is the majority of the population in Brussels. In the graph above there are more males per female by a fraction, until the age of 55-64 years old when women are at higher percentages than men. I think that is odd.

This is a strange demographics from my perspective. There is something that happens with men to cause them to die faster during late middle age.

Now, there was an observation that the section of Brussels where the Islamists of the Paris deaths lived has a high poverty rate. It is not uncommon for a small population of some cultures to have poverty visit this age group as they become older for employment and find themselves without opportunity for work.

If men that are Muslim find they do not have any opportunity for work why not travel to a country like Syria to find an option Brussel doesn't offer. The other possibility is that those within that age group actually turn to organized crime and drug trafficking. They would run into higher mortality rates from police shootings to gang land deaths.

Regardless of off the cuff evaluation of statistics there needs to be an anthropological study of this community. In particular to find where society is failing them to reduce the poverty and bring these people back to being a citizen with a strong loyalty to the law and to Brussels and to Belgium.  

There is always a discussion in Europe in general of the Muslim population and their intent within the country/government.

Antwerp: 40% of elementary school students are Muslim (click here)

40% of the students in the Antwerp municipal elementary schools (4,150) chose Islam as their religion class subject this year, according to data provided by the Antwerp alderman for education Robert Voorhamme (SP.A) upon request by Vlaams Belang.

According to Filip Dewinter (Vlaams Belang), by extrapolation, in 2012 a majority of the students in the Antwerp elementary schools will be Muslim. Voorhamme says this is an hypothesis. "People see a threat where there is none," says the alderman for education.

31.5% chose a non-confessional morals class (3,235 students) and 26.5% chose Catholic religion (2,751 students). Other religions (Protestants, Orthodox) were chosen by a small number of students.

In secondary schools, morals class is still more popular than Islam: 47.5% compared to 30.5%.

Voorhamme confirms the numbers reported by Vlaams Belang yesterday. "It is a statement that the composition of our school population is changing. But that is not a reason to be schizophrenic and to exclusively aim at students who choose Islam for their religion class subject. Has anybody ever seen it as a threat that children choose Catholic religion, or for morals class?"...

Some say the dialogue is prejudice and elitist. The concern as I understand it isn't based in hate of religion or ethnicity, it is based in fear. If fear can become the dialogue there might be a greater domestic peace. I think Europe needs to sort this out and come to decisions about the sovereignty of countries and a more diverse sovereignty of the EU.

I think the fear is based in a real worry about sovereignty and generations growing up in Europe. Paris is not fiction. It is very real. 

The EU is a sovereign contract between countries that covers many common issues. If a country changes it's affiliations of demographics in a way that is adverse to the sovereign fiscal status of the EU and the Euro; then Europe has a real problem. There is significant economic importance on tourism. If the statues, museums and art of Europe is diminished or disregarded as moral importance in many, many ways to the people of Europe there goes tourism.

I don't think there needs to be hate between any peoples in Europe. But, the movement that visited Paris is diabolical and palpable. 

Today at the UN Security Council there was witnessed atrocities in Syria. There is no doubt this is genocide and cruelty beyond imagination. No rational person in France or Belgium wishes that on their country.  

I think Europe has a legitimate reason to declare any citizen or migrant that has traveled to or come from Daesh territory as treasonist and undesirable for continued presence in the country. Absolutely.

Europe needs to have a dialogue and perhaps pass a law or two. Preventing murder, especially mass murder, is a noble cause. Fear is not what tourists expect when they come to visit Europe and it's magnificent history.

Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations Security Council stated half of the refugees are children.

UN Security Council

Russia states it has been somewhat successful in delivering humanitarian aid to Syrians.

Jordan states the humanitarian crisis is indiscernible.

The Under Secretary reported human beings are put in cages and placed outside of buildings as human shields. 

Lithuania states women are treated as cattle for sale. Children are traded for food.

All countries on the council is expressing sincere condolences to the people of Paris. There is not a country that abhors the violence in Syria.

Angola asks for a ceasefire in Syria for the purpose to deliver humanitarian aid, food, water and medical aid.


The USA makes their argument of human rights abuses. 1449 barrel bomb used, medical personnel are attacked. Children are no longer in schools. These are multipliers to human tragedy and reduce human need to preserve fiscal assets. Rape and sexual violence is used as a weapon of war in Syria.

China agrees with the USA that all documents by the Council has a consensus to humanitarian crisis and all members demand a ceasefire for humanitarian aid deliveries.

"Action Group for Syria" - Final Communique (click here)

Venezuela states it is important to act on reducing arms shipments into Syria. "No terrorist is a benevolence." He asks the small arms treaty be viewed as vital to the resolve to a ceasefire. Venezuela condemn the attacks in the strongest understanding possible. 2.3 children are to receive vaccines and having access to provide assistance is important. Explosive car bombs are a problem from ISIS/Daesh. Summary executions are another measure to crimes against humanity. Negotiations with Bashar Assad is ongoing in Geneva and Venezuela is monitoring this meeting. History will judge those responsible for this atrocity.

...As far as international law goes, (click here) Western states’ unilateral or joint military action in Syria could be legalised on three grounds: a UN Security Council resolution (but that would be vetoed by Russia and China); invitation by Assad (but, unlike with Russia, that has not been forthcoming); or in defence of another state. The US and UK have invoked Iraq’s request for military assistance to justify their intervention in both Iraq and Syria. But, because Isis is not recognised as a state, this ground is problematic. In 2005, the International Court of Justice found Uganda’s intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo against anti-Ugandan rebels to be illegal – it would have been legal only if the DRC had backed the rebels, but they were among a plethora of anti-government militias active in eastern Congo. Clearly, Assad is not backing Isis. Sovereign states’ title to strike against non-state militias outside their jurisdiction on self-defence grounds remains to be established....

Malaysia states women and girls are used as sex slaves, bought and sold as a means of economy. Women are given to foreign fighters when they come to the country.

Nigeria states the delivery of humanitarian aid is extremely difficult because of the conflict.

In listening to the testimony I am more convinced every country in the world needs to find alliances that will protect them from any influence of Daesh. Smaller countries would be more vulnerable to attacks. I would encourage every country on Earth to find alliances that will work to protect their sovereignty should the national forces fail to be capable of defeating militants affiliated by Daesh. Some countries would be challenged to end the violence of terrorists in a way as France did.

When countries are sincerely united in a struggle to protect civilization there is every reason to secure allies.

Chad endorses the Geneva Communique.

Chile is concerned for the children of Syria. Chile extends it's condolences to the people of Paris and France. The attacks were completely indefensible and all those involved needs to be brought to justice. It is difficult to remain indifferent to the attacks in France and to the victims in Syria. The gender/sexual violence used as a weapon of war is resolved to action by a UN resolution already existing.

UN documents on Syria (click here)

France states the enemy is Daesh. It is driven by hate. It is destroying cultural heritage of people and this is a loss to every country on Earth. President Hollande has called for a resolve among the countries of the world with a determination to end such a mission of hatred. The countries of regions have to unite to achieve concrete progress for humanitarian issues. The circumstances on the ground are deteriorating quickly. It is never been more important to help the countries surrounding Syria. Daesh is responsible for a great movement of refugees. The determination of France is absolute.

Syrian Arab Republic - "There is an elephant in the room." There is a huge visible issue that some members are not willing to address as the trouble. There are several areas in Syria with a scourge. The scourge of terrorism was unleashed into areas in the region. There have been attacks around the world. There are members that have prevented the UN Security Council from addressing the attacks on innocent people in Syria. This did not happen by chance or in a vacuum. It is the certain attempt of parties that caused this. Terrorism is a gigantic atrocities upon the world. Some parties called terrorists as reasonable when it comes to Syria. Would you commit these crimes against your own people? Every time Syria kills a foreign terrorist it is protecting lives. Syria will cooperate with any country that will combat terrorism. That effort has been found with Russia. We cooperated with Mister Kofi Annan and his six point plan....have cooperated with every effort that sincerely was to combat terrorism. The Syrian government has not used any indiscriminate weapons. The weapons were according to international law. The humanitarian crisis of our women and children are well known. Mr. O'Brien's visit next month is welcome.

Meeting adjourned.

UN aid convoys are not reaching their destinations.

The United Nations Stephen O'Brien has reported repeated attempts to seek passage for their aid to the people in Syria.

Under-Secretary General O'Brien also reports all humanitarian efforts to safe guard children in delivering immunizations have stopped.

Along similar lines are the UN deliveries into Ukraine's Donetsk only after three months have been able to gain entrance to the region.

October 21, 2015
United Nations, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) (click here) began to deliver food to the non-government-controlled areas in the Ukrainian eastern city of Donetsk after three-month suspension, a UN spokesman said here Tuesday.

Two truck convoys, carrying enough food for nearly 16,000 people for one month, reached Donetsk in the past five days, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

It is the first time that the UN humanitarian aid had reached these areas in three months.

"More convoys bringing food are being planned so that the total number of vulnerable people to receive assistance will be 20,000," he said.

"As another winter approaches, the humanitarian community is concerned about the needs of the most vulnerable people, especially those who had to flee their homes," Haq added....

There are reports Russia has been delivering aid to this region. The concern with Russian deliveries is the opportunity to import weapons to Donetsk with or without the knowledge of Russian leadership.

November 8, 2015

According to Russia’s Emergencies minister, the humanitarian situations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions remain very complicated

Moscow, November 9. /TASS/. Trucks of the Russian (click here) Emergencies Ministry carrying humanitarian cargo for Donbas have left their base near Moscow to head for southern Rostov region, where the 44th convoy for Donbas is being formed now, the ministry’s press service told TASS on Monday.
"This morning, from the ministry’s Noginsk (near Moscow) rescue center trucks left for the Rostov region, where they will become a part of another convoy with humanitarian aid for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service said....

Killer Robots are viewed as a danger to humanity. In a recent hearing of the US Senate military appropriations committee US Senator John McCain stated to a member of the panel, "It looks as though the F35 will be that last manned aircraft."

November 12, 2015
By Hamaz Shaban
This summer, (click here) Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking tried to warn us about killer robots. They were joined by more than a thousand researchers in artificial intelligence and robotics pleading for a ban on autonomous weapons. In recent years, Musk has described the development of AI as “summoning the demon” and “potentially more dangerous than nukes,” with humans working as a “biological boot loader for digital super-intelligence.” Hawking told the BBC that “artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” But the rise of the machines and AI continues apace.
Ahead of a United Nations weapons convention in Geneva, Amnesty International is calling for a pre-emptive ban on the development and deployment of lethal robots. “These aren’t outside the realm of possibility,” Rasha Abdul Rahim, Amnesty’s advocate on arms control, told BuzzFeed News. “They are only one step away from being autonomous and this is why people, and more importantly governments, need to start taking this issue seriously.”
In an op-ed to coincide with the first day of the U.N. convention, Amnesty will argue that autonomous weapons present a frightening challenge to international and humanitarian law. Deploying weapons that can kill without meaningful human control, the group will say, will provoke a sprawling, dystopian arms race, presenting an affront to human dignity....

It is needless to say, when the USA armed services committee met none of the people mentioned above by Amnesty International was invited to make testimony to the members of the Senate committee.

The Future of War (click here)

Flint, Michigan and lead poisoned water.

The residents of Flint need to understand any food grown receiving contaminated water could have been compromised as well.

October 19, 2015
By John Wisely and Robin Erb 
The State of Michigan (click here) has removed its top drinking water quality official and admitted it botched corrosion control in Flint water pipes, which resulted in elevated lead levels in the city's water system.
"Simply stated, staff employed a federal protocol they believed was appropriate, and it was not," Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said in a statement. "The water testing steps followed would have been correct for a city of less than 50,000 people, but not for a city of nearly 100,000."
Wyant announced that his top deputy, Jim Sygo, would step in as interim chief of the department's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, replacing Liane Shekter Smith, who has been reassigned while the state reviews the problems in Flint.
Wyant said that Gov. Rick Snyder has called for a third-party review of the process but Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D–Flint) said in a statement that the state short-changed the safety of Flint residents....

22 veterans commit suicide everyday. Bill Rauch, "We don't know how to talk about it."

Our soldiers are taking illegal prescription drugs while in a war theater. Why and where are they getting them? From home? From complaining about difficulty sleeping and/or pain. When they return to the states they either go cold turkey and become a candidate for suicide or they develop a drug addiction and begin their lives of crime affiliated with prescription drug abuse.

Hello? What is going on here? How wide spread is the use of prescription drug abuse in our military? Are the pilots of drones susceptible to abuse as well because we already know they burn out.

November 18, 2015
By Julian Sadur

Laurel, Del. -
Suicide is something all too familiar (click here) for our military veterans with reports from the Department of Veteran Affairs that 22 veterans commit suicide per day. However one Delaware group, Operation Yellow Spear, is trying to help curb that number by spreading awareness and offering coping strategies for dealing with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pvt. Richard Pope knows first-hand how PTSD can affect not only veterans, but also their family members. Pope said his father, a marine, dealt with it as Pope was growing up....

...Saturday the group held a Veteran Suicide Awareness Rally at Laurel Wesleyan Church in Laurel, Del. The awareness is vital, because many veterans and their family members are unsure on how to address the topic of PTSD.

"We're trained that way, we're trained to be strong, be the tough guy, never let your guard down and that's the problem that we have, and it's soldiers, it's sailors, it's all of us," said retired 1st Sgt. Allen Mansfield, who served in the National Guard.

The group said that veterans can do things such as joining a community group, finding a hobby and just talking to others in general about their experiences to help them cope. If need be, the group will even act as vehicle to get veterans that help....

A panel on Suicide Prevention was conducted by Senator Joe Donnelly. They want to add additional layer of prevention in an annual mental health review as part of the benefits to the veteran and his family.

Some veterans are yet to be diagnosed, but, are at risk to developing PTSD.

Another identified problem is the transition from Tri-Care to VA benefits. When a soldier leaves active duty and enters VA benefits their medical regime is not maintained. The VA begins the assessment process all over again and often changes the medications because of a different medication formulary.

November 20, 2015

Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) (click here) and mental health advocates talked about suicide prevention efforts targeting veterans and members of the military. They focused on the need to boost federal support for suicide prevention efforts, particularly for recently deployed soldiers and reservists.

The military suicide rate exceeded the civilian suicide rate from 2009 forward.

Fort Carson has the highest suicide rate and highest homicide rate. The article below is from "Rolling Stone."

November 12, 2009
By L. Christopher Smith

Soldiers returning from Iraq (click here) have been charged in at least 11 murders at America's third-largest Army base. Did the military's own negligence contribute to the slayings?

The troops are substituting alcohol for mental health. Mental health deterioration begins while serving.

It was just after closing time on Saturday night when the four soldiers staggered out of the Rum Bay nightclub ("Southern Colorado's largest supply of rum!"), piled into a gray Audi A4 and lit a blunt. Since they had returned from fighting in Iraq, where they had seen some of the bloodiest action of the war, nights like this had become common. There are more than 50 bars in downtown Colorado Springs, and on some nights thousands of people, many of them troops from nearby Fort Carson, pour out onto the streets after last call, looking for trouble. Rum Bay was one of the worst dives in town: Infamous for brawls involving drunken soldiers, locals called it "Fight Club." That night, the bar offered a special dispensed by shooter girls in denim cutoffs, who carried trays filled with test tubes of vodka mixed with apple schnapps. "We drank an ungodly amount," one of the men, Kenneth Eastridge, later recalled. "Like, hundreds of shots."...

The problem doesn't necessarily stop with youth and addiction, but, can extend into the full length of a life.

May 6, 2013

By Dale Archer, MD

Suicide, (click here) once thought to be associated with troubled teens and the elderly, is quickly becoming an age-blind statistic. Middle aged Americans are turning to suicide in alarming numbers. The reasons include easily accessible prescription painkillers (link is external), the mortgage crisis and most importantly the challenge of a troubled economy. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (link is external) claims suicide rates now top the number of deaths due to automobile accidents.
The suicide rate for both younger and older Americans remains virtually unchanged, however, the rate has spiked for those in middle age (35 to 64 years old) with a 28 percent increase from 1999 to 2010. The rate for whites in middle-age jumped an alarming 40 percent during the same time frame. According to the CDC, there were more than 38,000 suicides in 2010 making it the tenth leading cause of death in America overall (third leading cause from age 15-24)....

"60 Minutes" is buidling a reputation of assault. They can't get their act together?

There was plenty of information regarding the mother. There was no need to victimize the older sibling. Oh, wait, "60 Minutes" were getting ready to stone the parents in public. Did I get it right?

A father (click here) who complained about a privacy breach when a television programme identified his son, has had his complaint upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Current affairs programme 60 Minutes broadcasted Mother's Difficulties after the accidental death of her 18-month-old younger son.
Her older son was identified and his full name accompanied by photos and footages were shown in the episode.
He was also linked with details of his mother's drug addiction and prostitution.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) concluded this information was private and its disclosure was highly offensive and his identification wasn't necessary....
...Freedom of expression needed to be weighed with other rights especially if children were involved, BSA concluded.
"In our society and in our law, when there are clashes between rights and when included amongst the rights in clash are the rights of children, the rights of children almost always prevail?
"Children are especially vulnerable. They cannot protect themselves and societies have the most powerful of obligations and reasons to look after their children who are their future," BSA concluded.

"...the taking of innocent lives is forbidden."

Australian Diaa Mohamed states he formed the Muslim political party to air issues Muslims have. 

Diaa Mohamed, the founder of Australia's first Muslim political party, in Parramatta. Photo: Wolter Peeters

November 18, 2015
By Heath Aston

Australia's first Islamic faith political party (click here) intends to field Senate candidates in all states and territories at next year's federal election and also contest upper house seats at state level.
The party, to be announced Tuesday, will be known as the Australian Muslim Party, Fairfax Media can reveal.
Founder Diaa Mohamed defended the timing of the announcement days after the Paris terrorist atrocities, insisting there had never been a more critical time for the Muslim community to have a political voice in Australia....

New Zealand has the best and only approach. Bring the troops home and secure the homeland.

November 17, 2015

By Alecia Rousseau

...He said (click here) there were no safety threats and his team had been set up well to cope.

"We had a lot of contingency plans in place for any potential situation. We were prepared well by both the New Zealand Defence Force and the government."

The troops have trained over 2000 Iraqi army personnel and Mr Gall said the results had exceeded expectations.

"When you left no one knew what the conditions would be like? The Australian New Zealand contingent is well respected."

The NSA is worthless. The attacks were completely missed by national and international agencies.

Morning Papers

The Rooster

"Okeydoke" 

"Paris terror attacks: Faces of the Lost" (click here)

I want the surveillance programs of the USA government to end. I want communities empower in whatever measure they need to protect themselves from extremists.

The funding for the NSA can be distributed to communities and states to better monitor any adverse activities to the Homeland. The NSA has been aloof and unwilling to recognize their are the lamest agency in the federal government. Local authorities are far more vested in protecting the people from danger. 

November 15, 2015

Seventy-two hours (click here) before the attacks in Paris began, messages including images of weapons and the Eiffel Tower began to appear on social media.
Fox News reports four credible social media accounts linked to ISIS shared the content, which also included blessings for the attackers.
The messages translate to "God bless you in your mission" and "support the deployment".
There is also a reference to "our sister", which may suggest that an operative or member of the support group is a woman....

"Good Night, Moon"

Waxing Crescent

4.2 day old moon

18.8 percent lit

The Moon today (click here) is in a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon's surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

And

An international movement (click here) working to preserve our dark night skies has released an interactive map of sites that everyone can visit. The International Dark-Sky Association's accredited "Dark Sky Places" provide visitors with the sparkling views of the night sky that our recent ancestors enjoyed as a matter of course. The parks are about more than just providing a place for astronomers and the public to look at the stars. They're also there to raise awareness of the problems that light pollution poses for the environment and even to human health.

And

November's annual meteor shower (click here) — the Leonids — often boast a spectacular showing. This year should be no different.
The shower peaks between midnight and dawn on Nov. 18, Rhiannon Blaauw, a scientist with NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, told weather.com in an email. But that's not your only chance to spot a meteor this month.
“You can see Leonids anytime between now and November 30th by going outside during a clear dark night ... sometime between 3 a.m.and dawn, letting your eyes adjust to the dark and taking in as much sky as possible (no telescopes/binoculars),” Blaauw said.