Thursday, March 29, 2018
St. Petersburg as a choice in closing any US consulate, is a strategic issue.
March 29, 2018
By Matthew Bodner
Moscow - Russia will close the American consulate in St. Petersburg (click here) and kick out 60 U.S. diplomats in response to Monday’s coordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United States and a number of other countries, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
The move continues an ongoing escalation of tit-for-tat between Moscow and the West that began in early March with the alleged poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil with a Soviet-designed nerve agent.
U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman was summoned to the Foreign Ministry Thursday night where Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov informed him of Russia’s response.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, 58 American diplomats from the Moscow embassy and two from the consulate in Yekaterinburg have been declared persona non grata. The United States expelled 60 Russians on Monday....
St. Petersburg is very near Europe. It is also exposure for any strategic position. By closing St. Petersburg consulate, Russia is ready to create a front should a war break out without worrying about diplomats or spies.Those are train routes from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Moscow is not that far from Europe either.
Russia has ports on those waterways. Should there be a war they would fall vulnerable to attack by The West.
Russia has vulnerabilities to exploit and I would not think the USA's first focus would be NATO so much as the vulnerable areas of Russia to express the danger it is entering if it truly desires war. If I were a US General I would not hesitate to kick Putin in the ass, so to speak, to let him know there is more to war than nuclear brinkmanship. NATO might even sleep through what I would consider the real diplomatic relations of the USA military.
Governor Snyder is playing games with Michigan's economy.
March 26, 2018
State officials have given Enbridge Inc. (click here) permission to install 22 more
anchor supports along twin pipelines at the bottom of the waterway linking
Lakes Michigan and Huron.
The disgraced and derelict Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued
a permit last week allowing the supports of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac....
After Flint and the unwillingnes to stand up to the Governor's regulation czar,
there aren't many in Michigan that believe the MDEQ is actually worth the salaires
they are paid.
The supports Enbridge is using add pressure to the pipeline which is old and
deteriorated. Pipeline 5 needs to be shut down. A spill will cause a great deal of
damage to the state's and Canada's economies, not different than the damage
along the Gulf Coast as seen with the Deepwater Horizon spill.
The real tragedy in a Great Lakes spill is the loss of service of fresh water lakes. It'
has taken decades of dedicated investment to clean up the Great Lakes and even
today much needs to be done. A simple "Oops" by Enbridge and the Great Lakes
will no longer be great, or swimmable or fishable or even photographable.
Line 5 was built in 1953. Questions?
The population of Michigan in 1953 is two-thirds what it is today at 6.8 million
people and may of those 6.8 million people were working for the auto industry
and not fishing for a living.
May 9, 1979, there was a ruling against Michigan in allowing fishing rights to
Native Americans in the northwest region of the state.
US v. Michigan (click here)
I sincerely believe the Native Americans of northern Michigan are giving up their hard earned authority to protect the fishing rights of those fresh water lakes. Why?
State officials have given Enbridge Inc. (click here) permission to install 22 more
anchor supports along twin pipelines at the bottom of the waterway linking
Lakes Michigan and Huron.
The disgraced and derelict Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued
a permit last week allowing the supports of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac....
After Flint and the unwillingnes to stand up to the Governor's regulation czar,
there aren't many in Michigan that believe the MDEQ is actually worth the salaires
they are paid.
The supports Enbridge is using add pressure to the pipeline which is old and
deteriorated. Pipeline 5 needs to be shut down. A spill will cause a great deal of
damage to the state's and Canada's economies, not different than the damage
along the Gulf Coast as seen with the Deepwater Horizon spill.
The real tragedy in a Great Lakes spill is the loss of service of fresh water lakes. It'
has taken decades of dedicated investment to clean up the Great Lakes and even
today much needs to be done. A simple "Oops" by Enbridge and the Great Lakes
will no longer be great, or swimmable or fishable or even photographable.
Line 5 was built in 1953. Questions?
The population of Michigan in 1953 is two-thirds what it is today at 6.8 million
people and may of those 6.8 million people were working for the auto industry
and not fishing for a living.
May 9, 1979, there was a ruling against Michigan in allowing fishing rights to
Native Americans in the northwest region of the state.
US v. Michigan (click here)
I sincerely believe the Native Americans of northern Michigan are giving up their hard earned authority to protect the fishing rights of those fresh water lakes. Why?
There is danger for all at the Gaza Border Demonstrations. In the USA, we march and protest, but, are not lethal except politically as an example to the people as to why justice is fleeting.
There should be no naive people at the border. The leadership to the young people should reflect there is inherent dangers at the Gaza-Israel border. This is no faux face of Hamas, these are their young people that have survived long enough for mercy to their lives that want to live in a home they know and value.
There are many young men and women in the IDF. That is not only respectable, but, shows a well trained and ready force. They will be present along the border and there have been two arrests of Palestinians stated to be armed. I expect the soldiers of the IDF to respect freedom of speech and the right to protest to relay a message to Israel, the West Bank and the world.
There is to be no escalation of tensions. I doubt that is possible anyway. There will be no faux accusations and the media should have full view of the protest, protesters and compassion for their message. They are not sending Katusha rockets, they are sending their pleadings to the world and to President Abbas. Their lives are not going well and it is their souls they are interested in as well.
The protesters are to be recognized for their willingness to protest. They should be recognized for their struggle. They should have spokespersons that may be able to speak in all necessary languages or not. The best spokespeson is the one with a message of peace and prosperity and hope for a peaceful Middle East for their children and the generations to follow.
I think the world wants to hear what they have to say.
March 28, 2018
By Nir Gontarz
...Gontarz. (click here) Can you tell me a little bit about Hamas' plans for this holiday season in Israel?
What do you mean, holiday season in Israel?
To the best of my knowledge, there’s supposed to be a march to the fence [on the Gaza-Israel border] during the Passover holiday in Israel, and after that on Independence Day, your Nakba Day.
Aha.
Is Hamas moving from military action to civil action?
Actually, Mr. Nir, it is not Hamas who made the decision, but the youth. The main idea was thought up by the youth. There are people who think there is no hope, no future, and that we have to do something – ya'ani, to remind the whole world that we as Palestinians are still suffering, we are still living in the diaspora or in refugee camps, and there's a certain decision by the United Nations, [Resolution] UN 194, that we are trying to implement, ya'ani, and to send a message to the world community that our problem is not solved and we’re still suffering, and continue to see our land being abused by the occupation, or Israelis trying to squeeze us to the corner, punishing the Palestinians, and this is something that this generation of Palestinians is not going to accept. And so they’re doing their own civil march, they don’t intend to do anything belligerent, and I think this is the message they would like to carry to the whole world, about the situation and the suffering in Gaza....
The only reason to wear a mask is to hide recognition. The youth of Gaza need to be open to peace and hiding only raises suspicion as to why anonymity is necessary. The youth of Gaza need to be welcoming to ideas for peace and not the latest in fear mongering. They should show their faces of peace in their protest.
March 28, 2018
By Uri Dromi
When Hamas took over Gaza in 2006, (click here) I wrote in The International Herald Tribune that, perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise: “Things might now become much clearer. There will be no whitewashing, no Arafat-style double-talk or endless Abbas impotence. It’s better to deal with a pure enemy: Fight him ruthlessly while he is your enemy, and sit down and talk to him when he is genuinely willing to cut a deal.
“History has seen such things happen.”
Indeed, in the 12 years since, Hamas rotated between being Israel’s enemy and a de facto partner. Three times Israel fought Hamas, trying to stop the harassment of its south with rockets. In 2008-09, it was Operation Cast Lead; in 2012, it was Operation Pillar of Defense; and in 2014 — Operation Defensive Edge.
In between, Israel found itself forced to deal with Hamas, because it was the true ruler of Gaza. Israel and the rest of the world declared Hamas to be a terror organization and therefore didn’t have any formal relations with it. However, huge sums of money poured into Gaza during the years. They were funneled through the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, but eventually landed in the hands of Hamas, which practically governs Gaza. This masked ball helped alleviate the living conditions of the poor Gazans, while officially not recognizing Hamas....
There are many young men and women in the IDF. That is not only respectable, but, shows a well trained and ready force. They will be present along the border and there have been two arrests of Palestinians stated to be armed. I expect the soldiers of the IDF to respect freedom of speech and the right to protest to relay a message to Israel, the West Bank and the world.
There is to be no escalation of tensions. I doubt that is possible anyway. There will be no faux accusations and the media should have full view of the protest, protesters and compassion for their message. They are not sending Katusha rockets, they are sending their pleadings to the world and to President Abbas. Their lives are not going well and it is their souls they are interested in as well.
The protesters are to be recognized for their willingness to protest. They should be recognized for their struggle. They should have spokespersons that may be able to speak in all necessary languages or not. The best spokespeson is the one with a message of peace and prosperity and hope for a peaceful Middle East for their children and the generations to follow.
I think the world wants to hear what they have to say.
March 28, 2018
By Nir Gontarz
...Gontarz. (click here) Can you tell me a little bit about Hamas' plans for this holiday season in Israel?
What do you mean, holiday season in Israel?
To the best of my knowledge, there’s supposed to be a march to the fence [on the Gaza-Israel border] during the Passover holiday in Israel, and after that on Independence Day, your Nakba Day.
Aha.
Is Hamas moving from military action to civil action?
Actually, Mr. Nir, it is not Hamas who made the decision, but the youth. The main idea was thought up by the youth. There are people who think there is no hope, no future, and that we have to do something – ya'ani, to remind the whole world that we as Palestinians are still suffering, we are still living in the diaspora or in refugee camps, and there's a certain decision by the United Nations, [Resolution] UN 194, that we are trying to implement, ya'ani, and to send a message to the world community that our problem is not solved and we’re still suffering, and continue to see our land being abused by the occupation, or Israelis trying to squeeze us to the corner, punishing the Palestinians, and this is something that this generation of Palestinians is not going to accept. And so they’re doing their own civil march, they don’t intend to do anything belligerent, and I think this is the message they would like to carry to the whole world, about the situation and the suffering in Gaza....
The only reason to wear a mask is to hide recognition. The youth of Gaza need to be open to peace and hiding only raises suspicion as to why anonymity is necessary. The youth of Gaza need to be welcoming to ideas for peace and not the latest in fear mongering. They should show their faces of peace in their protest.
March 28, 2018By Uri Dromi
When Hamas took over Gaza in 2006, (click here) I wrote in The International Herald Tribune that, perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise: “Things might now become much clearer. There will be no whitewashing, no Arafat-style double-talk or endless Abbas impotence. It’s better to deal with a pure enemy: Fight him ruthlessly while he is your enemy, and sit down and talk to him when he is genuinely willing to cut a deal.
“History has seen such things happen.”
Indeed, in the 12 years since, Hamas rotated between being Israel’s enemy and a de facto partner. Three times Israel fought Hamas, trying to stop the harassment of its south with rockets. In 2008-09, it was Operation Cast Lead; in 2012, it was Operation Pillar of Defense; and in 2014 — Operation Defensive Edge.
In between, Israel found itself forced to deal with Hamas, because it was the true ruler of Gaza. Israel and the rest of the world declared Hamas to be a terror organization and therefore didn’t have any formal relations with it. However, huge sums of money poured into Gaza during the years. They were funneled through the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, but eventually landed in the hands of Hamas, which practically governs Gaza. This masked ball helped alleviate the living conditions of the poor Gazans, while officially not recognizing Hamas....
Another political appointee for Trump's populist followers.
Rear Admiral Jackson (click here) may be a very fine physician, but, can he handle administrative duties?
The reason Trump chose Admiral Jackson is that he wants the message to the voting public, "...what is good enough for the President, is good enough for the VA."
This is what populism looks like. All politics, greed and no policies.
March 29, 2018
By Amada Macias
David Shulkin, (click here) whom President Donald Trump fired as Veterans Affairs secretary, offered a parting shot in an op-ed for The New York Times – warning that privatizing the VA Department could hurt veterans.
"Privatization leading to the dismantling of the department's extensive health care system is a terrible idea," Shulkin wrote. "The department's understanding of service-related health problems, its groundbreaking research and its special ability to work with military veterans cannot be easily replicated in the private sector."
Trump fired Shulkin Wednesday, making the announcement over Twitter. The president picked the White House physician, Admiral Ronny Jackson, to run the department....
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