"Good Night, Moon"

The waning crescent

4.4% lit/full

27.5 days old

Now, this is not fairy dust, it is pure star duct.

September 18, 2014
By Amina Kahn
Sometimes (click here) big surprises come wrapped in tiny galactic packages. That’s the strange find from a team of astronomers who discovered an enormous supermassive black hole in a very unlikely place: at the center of an ultracompact dwarf galaxy.

If I were Putin I'd be doing the same thing.

I'd be pulling in all the welcome mats, protecting the borders and calling in all the favors from friends. 

But, I am not him. I am an American who thought he would be the man for Russia's new century. If his friends are sincerely his friends, they would be advising him to end this silly back and forth over Ukraine and simply honor the treaties and allow the economies to balance.

Russia has been too much of a friend to The West in fighting the same enemies and coming to the rescue when it was needed. It signed treaties to save this planet and tried it's best to keep it's people from succumbing to terrible disasters. An entire species of wildcat owes it's thanks to the people who decided saving it fit into the plan for the nation's future and that of it's children.

Ukraine is not worth this. It is not worth isolationism to protect an old culture. The old culture is not going anywhere. It will stand the test of any new generation or any new economic development. Ukraine is not turning against Russia, it is opening the door to new opportunity. 

No one is attempting to dismantle the strides that Russia has gained. It is happening due to objection of the return of the old regime that sees confrontation and war as a reasonable outcome.


Old friends sometimes have differences and it takes longer to heal, but, it should never destroy what has sustained, but, for the reasons it has sustained. 

I wish Russia well with it's new economic alliance. The rest of the world will be waiting to be a part of open and fair trade when Russia is ready for it's leap of faith.

Vladimir Putin and the Russian Duma may be the smartest country on the planet.

September 16, 2014

By Calum MacLeod

BEIJING – You might be millionaires, (click here) but please spend wisely. In recent months, as the IPO of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba loomed into view, founder Jack Ma kept warning his employees. "We've worked so hard, but not for the sake of turning into a bunch of uncouth new rich," he wrote in a late July e-mail.

With Friday's eye-popping, record-breaking $167 billion listing in New York, China's nouveau riche just swelled some more as more than 5,000 current and former Alibaba employees were selling their shares in this IPO. And they won't lack for places to splurge their new-found wealth....

This is an economy killer. There are water cannons for sale and something called "Quality hot sale herbal incense bags with tear gas" that sells for 2 to 5 cents US.

This is Wall Street's dream come true, a discount online store where anyone can buy anything. It is ultimate control of merchandise to those with money and if this is the way the world is going to purchase anything it won't last for long.The world, I mean. Every other merchandiser will be out of business for the inability to attract customers.

For 5% of the order amount Alibaba will provide an escrow service. The monies pad will be held (collecting interest in their bank, of course) and then released when the buyer confirms delivery. 

An unverified member can sell up to 50 separate products for no cost. (click here) Good-bye E-bay.

Besides selling your products on Alibaba.com, (click here) you are suggested to use our sourcing platform “AliSourcePro” to post buying requests and source easier online. After your buying request is approved, you could receive up to 10 quotes from accredited suppliers.

This thing is a nightmare and probably breaks every USA trade law on the books. I'll never purchase anything from this service. I am appreciative of my local economy.

The protests in Albuquerque continue, while police insensitivity to the community is celebrated.

September 17, 2014
By Julie Turkewitz

...Ted Beaver (click here), 42, a staff sergeant at the Oklahoma City Police Department, called the competition “the grand hurrah,” a camaraderie-building event he looks forward to every year.

But protesters have been agitating for weeks about the six-day tournament, sponsored by the National Rifle Association. Although it has taken place in Albuquerque annually since 2006, this year’s circumstances are unusual: The Albuquerque Police Department was reprimanded in April by the Justice Department over a spate of fatal shootings, many of which were declared to be unconstitutional uses of deadly force. And several local officers are participating in the National Police Shooting Championships, which will end Thursday with trophies and prizes....

The celebration of brutal tactics against unarmed citizens is inappropriate. The games should have been moved from Albuquerque to Fairfax, Virginia, the headquarters of the NRA.

Obviously the training police officers have been getting since 2006 has created a militarized domestic force that is very dangerous to every citizen of the USA. 

Any prize for this six day police event should go to a trust fund to present to the families of those murdered by police.

Turkey received preference by preventing war.

September 20, 2014
By Dorian Jones

...Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (click here) announced in a written statement that 49 Turkish hostages held by Islamic State had been released through the efforts of Turkey’s intelligence agency.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry says all the hostages are in good condition.

The hostages are Turkish diplomats and their families, including women and young children, who were taken in June when Islamic State militants overran Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and seized the Turkish consulate.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who cut short a visit to Azerbaijan, said the release was the result of a protracted process.

Davutoglu said after days and weeks of intense work, Turkish officials returned their citizens to Turkey early in the morning. He said he was honored to share the happy news after the developments, which made up for weeks of sleepless nights and worry....

Congratulations to American Airlines Gate and Ticket Agents.

September 18, 2014

(Reuters) - Passenger service agents at American Airlines backed union representation for the first time in their history on Tuesday, with about 86 percent of members voting in favor of collective bargaining, the union said.

The vote affects about 14,500 agents who work at both American and US Airways. The workers will be represented jointly by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represented agents at US Airways for more than a decade prior to its merger with American last year to create the world's largest airline by passenger traffic.

The CWA said 9,640 agents voted in favor of the union while another 1,547 opposed it....

At a time in the country when Wall Street and government seeks to undercut employees, I strongly believe this is the venue for most workers.

I saw an ad about a substitute teacher complaining that her hours were cut back since the Affordable Care Act took effect and therefore candidates backing that measure should not be in office.

What?

When employers, be they private sector or public, are respected for the benefits they deserve it is progress to a better and more thriving America. 

Wall Street has realized that undercutting employees is profitable. Why hire a full time teacher when substitutes are cheaper and don't demand benefits? Forcing Wall Street and ruthless government to look at their practices will bring about change. If a substitute teacher wants full time and guaranteed employment they need to apply for a full time position and not undermine the status of full time teachers.

The USA is more and more a part time employment society because it benefits Wall Street profits. Electing people willing to stand up for the Middle Class and pass minimum wage laws as well as requiring open forums, without interference from government, for unions to organize and bring about better pay, benefits and working conditions is what America has always been about.

Part time employment is suppose to serve those seeking only part time work. Part time employment is not suppose to destroy the economic fabric of the USA which brings families security. Families have no security anymore. It is wrong.

In order to achieve a living wage with benefits citizens have to unionize and put the balance back in America. It will return tax base revenues as well as provide a stable economy. Unionization is best for the USA and when it achieves status abroad it levels the playing field in international trade.

The USA has created a monster.

I think Mr. Goodell is sincere. This is a new benchmark.

September 19, 1014
By Mark Maske
...Facing criticism (click here) extending from corporate sponsors to the White House, Goodell said the league’s response in the wake of recent legal troubles involving players Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy had been inadequate and that it will work with its players’ union and outside experts to implement improved protocols....

Progress has already been made, everyone involved that protested the lenient conduct policies of the NFL should be congratulated. I didn't see where he set a date for completion of the review and release to the public of the new standard for conduct. It isn't as though there aren't women within the league. They should be a focus of respect as well. I look forward to the outcome of the new standards.

The AUMF never authorized military power by the USA anywhere in the world, except, where al Qaeda was on the tongues of people.

It's target was al Qaeda. The Executive Branch's military abused the document to allow it's autonomous power from the people of the USA.

...Although its delegation of power (click here) to the President was sweeping, the AUMF in fact reflected a compromise between Congress and the Bush 
Administration, which had sought an even broader and more open-ended 
grant of authority. Even as fires continued to burn at Ground Zero, Congress 
pushed back, only authorizing military force against those who could be tied to the groups directly responsible for the September 11 attacks....

As long as a military target could be affiliated with al Qaeda in any distant relationship the US military didn't need Congress approval for starting wars. This document and the Bush agenda included an invasion into Iraq because Saddam Hussein was affiliated with al Qaeda CAUSED the Iraq invasion. In reality without this blanket excuse to invade a country the Iraq War would not have happened. 

Where the NSA listens and the words al Qaeda are spoken there is a threat.

Without the death of Osama bin Laden, the hunt for al Qaeda influence could have gone anywhere.

Bush lies and people die.

IS/IS/L is the new al Qaeda as it was considered the former al Qaeda in Iraq. IS/IS/L is a problem for the region. Whether a sovereign Iraq survives it's 8 year occupation is irrelevant to the outcome of stability and the survival of the people. 

It is best for France to lead in this troubled area of the world, not the USA. The USA's military has deadly permission and it will increase radicalism rather than diminish it, hence, recruitment.

The crisis in Syria is definitely a regional problem.

The Arab Spring was the impetus to sectarian power struggles throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East. 

The region has to stop the hatred of any religious minorities in the region. The region is Sunni in it's majority. It is the region that has to change it's policies and people to accept difference. The regional Sunni majority does not have to wave a white flag in surrender, but, it has to bring about acceptance of different populations. 

All the allies of the USA in the region have always accepted diversity as a strength to their countries, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt. The challenge is to bring the other countries on board to end the deadly trend of a very powerful Sunni group that has the ability to threaten any country and possibly the entire region.

The Arab Spring opened the door to all groups to become members of a democratic process. That was the goal of it's leaders. But, what actually manifested was the rise of sectarian violence.

The best example of these sectarian divides is Libya as it struggles still today to being about stability.

June 14, 2012  

Tribal clashes in western and southern Libya have left at least 15 people dead over the past 48 hours as old grievances between Libyan tribes and cities resurface in the absence of strong leadership in post-revolution Libya.

Dozens of Libyans held a protest on Wednesday in the eastern city of Benghazi, expressing dismay at the security situation and demanding to dissolve the militia groups and integrate them into the army, according to the Libyan news agency, LANA.

They raised banners reading, "Yes to security and safety, no to weapons and chaos", LANA said....

Tribal conflicts (click here)

Also in Zintan, militia members have been engaged in gun battles with a rival tribe called el-Mashisha.

That tribe did not join the uprising, and Zintan fighters accuse them of maintaining loyalty to Gaddafi.

Zintan is the home of the rebels who were the first to sweep into the capital of Tripoli in August, dealing the decisive blow to Gaddafi's regime,

The July elections are supposed to be a milestone on the path to democratic rule after the overthrow last year of Gaddafi's rule of four decades.

However, chaos and tribal conflicts have badly marred the transition.

"Everyone should stand united behind building a state of institutions, law and justice," Abdul-Jalil, the transitional ruler, said on Tuesday, "to overcome this agony and reach our dream and the dream of all Libyans: free and fair elections which will be a real beginning in the history of Libya."

Abdul-Jalil's appeal is seen as another example of weakness that has plagued the country's leadership since it declared the liberation of Libya in October after toppling Gaddafi.

In the past The West has indirectly supported dictators in economic trades and the interest of Wall Street and in return the dictators provided stability. 

The USA has always touted it's democracy as the ultimate arrangement of government. Oddly, today the USA's democracy is in the worst condition it has ever been. Even today, the US Congress has called a vacation for two months with so many problems still unsettled. The USA democracy no longer is conducted to solve the country's problems, but, is simply used as a power brokering strategy to multi-national companies like Koch. It is highly questionable as to the democratic standing of the USA so much as it's plutocratic standing.

That said, countries like Libya, oppressed the people and disconnected from them as wealth and creature comforts took over leadership. The former dictators of the Middle East enjoyed being the 1% of their countries and the condition of the people was horrible. A return to the good ole days will not solve the strife for people such as those in tribes in Libya.

If there is an example of success in the Middle East it is Saudi Arabia followed by Jordan and Turkey. 

Muslim (click here) (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.) 

The Kingdom does not provide for genocide of any religious difference. Not only that, but, the current King when Prince Abdullah met with President Assad as a show of diversity and acceptance.

The instability across North Africa and from Lebanon eastward in the Middle East is due to the oppression of the masses. It is legitimate for these people to seek relief from their former government. The problem is the deep seated fear of a return of the oppression that continues the chaos. 

Where the Middle East has been successful is where there are ruling families that have alliances with The West and open their borders to global trade. This is the common denominator of successful leadership to date in the Middle East. 

The USA has to begin to assess each Middle Eastern and North African country autonomously and not only the intelligence provided by Israel. The region has to solve these problems and soon. IS/IS/L is a danger to them and they are Sunni moderates. There is much wrong here. I think Secretary Kerry has been successful to bring about an understanding to every nation and every ethnicity and every faith there exists a common enemy.

Those countries allied with The West have an appreciation for diverse cultures by osmosis. It has nothing to do with terms of agreements. Diversity is peace. 

If the USA is stating the Syria people do not want Assad in power it should know they are taking a sectarian position with Syria.

Major ethnic groups: (click here) Arabs (90%), Kurds (9%), Armenians, Circassians, Turkomans.

Religions: Sunni Muslims (74%), Alawis (12%), Christians (10%), Druze (3%), and small numbers of other Muslim sects, Jews, and Yazidis.

400,000 Palestinian refugees

The Kurds, many of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well. Armenian and Turkic are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations. 

Assad is a religious minority in Syria. One of the reasons Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups have been involved with Syria is due to the fact they are the minorities. Assad always had power because of the minority extremist groups throughout Syria and Lebanon.

What is of concern is the elimination of minorities in Syria due to the new threat of radical Sunni militias. The most extreme of these militias is IS/IS/L. The methodology will eliminate any minority in Syria.

When the USA states Assad does not have the backing of the Syrian people they are also fueling anti-Shea motives by Sunni militia. 

When dealing with decent in the Middle East it is extremely complicated and it is that nuance the USA never gets right. The USA has always considered itself as a "Melting Pot" and boasts diversity. The people of the USA does not realize how that is rather unique in the real world. The people of the USA and it's government believes the entire world should reflect the USA's uniqueness and exclusivity. That is very naive and under assessed.

The Middle East is a powder keg on even the best of days because of the lack of acceptance of diversity.

The Assad regime has, (click here) until now, refused to allow United Nations humanitarian assistance to flow through border crossings it does not control, something members of this Security Council address with this resolution.

Today, aid workers are kidnapped by IS/IS/L and brutally killed. It may be the only way to safely provide humanitarian aid is by helicopter. The idea helicopters would be successful without being downed is naive. So, the safest statement is that Syria is facing famine and death of citizens due to it's chaos and anarchy.

The USA has to be very careful as does NATO when the political rhetoric is backing Sunni forces in Syria. The reason there is a civil war is because Assad is Shi'ite. When the USA backs rebels of any vernacular in Syria it has to also protect the people within Syria that are Shi'ite. Their status will be tentative if they are not included in concern by The West.

Those that want to build a nuclear power plant are accusing the Green Party of unpatriotic demands for alternative energy sources.

Niinistö: Finland giving Russians leverage (click here)

On Wednesday Niinistö told the Financial Times that building a new nuclear reactor with Rosatom, the contractor selected to deliver the Fennovoima plant, would increase Finland’s energy dependency on Russia. Rosatom currently owns some 34 percent of the plant.

“There is a sense of Finlandisation here. We are giving the Russians the very leverage they are looking for with the west and the EU. This puts us into a very vulnerable position . . . Bluntly speaking, it is totally bewildering that the rest of the government thinks this is OK,” he added.

On Yle’s A-Studio discussion programme Wednesday evening, veteran politicians Mauri Pekkarinen of the Centre Party, Pertti Salolainen of the National Coalition and the Social Democrats’ Jouni Backman unanimously roasted Niinistö for the comments, calling them “less than patriotic”.

Minister Vapaavuori also weighed in Thursday, condemning the Green chair’s statements as ”low” and  “below the belt”.

“It’s very confusing to talk about Finlandisation and these kinds of things when we consider that for example that I myself have long been a staunch supporter of NATO membership,” Vapaavuori added....

September 9, 2014
...The head of the Green league, (click here) who walked his party out of government on Thursday in opposition to a proposed new nuclear reactor, told Yle’s breakfast show that his party should have left cabinet in 2010, when an agreement-in-principle was reached over the construction of a plant in Pyhäjoki, western Finland....

Now, Putin is leading the Russian people down the path of war. I'm worried this is more than simply preparedness.

Russia has been creating a war threat from The West for at least the past year. There is the Russian Speaking People thing, the registration dual citizens and now there is the idea Russia is under threat for attack. I worry about Russia's potential for being stupid about war, but, I worry more about the people of Russia and the potential for human rights violations.

September 19, 2014

...The measure (click here) is aimed at strengthening the Russian segment of the World Wide Web (Runet).  A special internet administration could be put in place to be able to cut off Russia from the global network in order to avert any breaches in its work in the event of an “unfriendly attack”.

That is not about being permanently cut off , the providers say, but how the equipment could be aligned, so that it could be rapidly shut down in the event of an emergency situation..

Such emergency situations would include any military activities against the country or any serious mass protests within the country, says one of the newspaper’s sources. He gave Egypt as an example, which cut off the internet and cellular phone communication during its mass disturbances in 2011.

The second issue to be discussed is the policy of shifting responsibility for the administration of domains to the state from its current administrator, which is currently a public organization: “The Coordination Center for TLD RU, RF (top national domains)”.

The purpose of this move is to protect the Russian Internet from being forcibly isolated by the US, in the event that Washington wants to cut Russia from the IP-address system.

Presidential press-secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the meeting of the Security Council is scheduled for Monday, September 22. However he did not specify what issues are set to be discussed, as part of the agenda of similar meetings has, as a rule, been closed to the public....

If any group of Russians have the potential to carry dual citizens it would be the oligarchs.

March 31, 2014

Lawmakers (click here) have prepared two bills that forbid senior state officials having dual citizenship and make it a criminal offence to conceal one.

State Duma deputy Aleksey Kazakov of the Fair Russia caucus submitted the bill banning foreign citizenship for “all officials whose position allows making decisions considering Russia’s sovereignty and national security”, their spouses and underage children. They would also be banned from possessing permanent residence permits in foreign countries or any documents allowing permanent residence.

On the same day MP Sergey Ivanov of the nationalist party LDPR submitted a bill which makes any Russian criminally responsible for concealing their foreign citizenship.

When presenting his draft Ivanov said that the constitutional right to obtain foreign citizenship without rejecting the Russian one will remain. Life will become more difficult only for those Russians who face certain restrictions concerning foreign citizenship – mainly those who work in secret spheres but also those who run for various political posts....

Some of the people most capable of running for office in Russia, is the wealthy. Not that, but, when language such as "work in secret spheres" is introduced to the Russian paranoia about the larger world, it provides a platform to arrest anyone that can be labeled with such interests. There is every reason to believe Russia politics will become danger in the near future.

...Another move was the law that obliged all non-government organizations that received foreign sponsorship and were engaged in political projects to register as foreign agents....

What is a Syrian Moderate Rebel?

Are you for real? You mean to tell me there is no definition in the resolution that specifies what exactly comprises a Moderate Syrian Rebel. Not surprising and it only goes to prove the USA has no clue what it is doing so much as throwing money at a problem and hope it goes away.

To begin, there is no such thing as a Moderate Syrian Rebel. A rebel is a rebel and that is all that is necessary. This is not an election of rebels.

This is Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (click here). She is from the 46th District in California. Her committee assignments are interesting.

House Armed Services Committee

• Ranking Member, Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee
• Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Committee on Homeland Security

• Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
• Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

She was at the House Armed Services Committee meeting today when Secretary Hagel was speaking. Along side of Secretary Hagel was LTG. Maysville. I have to say that General Maysville did have a conceptual model and idea of what was to come for the Syrian Rebel force.

But, Congresswoman Sanchez was unafraid and not a bit inhibited to verbalize her understanding of what exactly a moderate Syrian rebel would look like.

According to Rep. Sanchez this is exactly what the moderate rebels in Syria looks like. The Congresswoman has a district where Syrians live. They have spoken with her because to them the idea of a moderate rebel was IS/IS/L. It was the moderates in Syria that formed the most deadly force in Syria.

The committee hearing was interesting but also broken. Two members were interested in only campaign ads and it showed. There was no doubt Secretary Hagel is a Republican and threw the occasional bone to the ad seeking Congressman. But, that aside, the questions mostly were answer by the Secretary when in fact it was the General that needed to respond. He had an opportunity to speak twice, one time at the insistence of the Secretary.

While the Congress has no clue as to what a moderate Syrian rebel looks like and how all that money will develop a fighting force, the General had a better understanding. He stated there would be a vetting process and then the candidate for soldier would be assigned to a unit to learn to be a soldier. It was from there they would be a unit and ultimately a unit serving a leader of a new nation. 

I have confidence the USA military is sincere in developing a fighting force that will remove IS/IS/L from Syria. It will not happen overnight. And according to the General not everything will go perfectly and not ever vetted soldier will be what they hope for, but, he was confident it would go well.

I don't know what role the General played in Iraq or maybe didn't at all, but, when the entire country of the USA had confidence in the strategy to train and equip an Iraqi forces so the USA had at least increment of success, it failed. Today more than half of the Iraqi forces trained by the USA are a failed element in Iraq and questionably loyal.

If General Maysville is an example of the military we have among our enlisted and officers, I want something from him. He needs to tell his Secretary of Defense exactly what is transpiring in this effort and if it is failing, that has to be on record. I would really appreciate that.

This is not an autonomous bill, it is an authorization for the President for the next 90 days.

September 18, 2014

By Arlette Saenz

The Senate (click here) passed a stop gap funding measure tonight, which includes authorization for President Obama's plan to train and arm Syrian moderates in the fight against ISIS.

The Senate voted 78-22 on the continuing resolution, which will fund the government and authorizes Title X until December 11.

Many Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the continuing resolution, making this a rare bipartisan showing in the Senate....

President Obama has the idea that this is going to work. Our Air Force has made it possible to end the occupation of Iraq by IS/IS/L and that is what is primarily reflected in this authorization. This does not include any movement of the USA into Syria.

The USA has attempted for 8 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 5 days to train and equip Iraqi forces to protect the sovereignty of their land and they didn't have the leadership or preparedness to sustain a fight against a terrible rebel force out of Syria. There is nothing that tells me there is going to be a difference in training Syrian rebels.

Saudi Arabia is the only truly successful country in the Middle East to grow a military and contain radical elements in their society without the presence of the USA anywhere in the region. Saudi Arabia can stand on it's own and has a proven track record.

The Saudi forces weren't grown up over night. The stability of that country is due to a long standing government and a steadfast military. Syria is so broken the able bodied that can be soldiers are very divided to their loyalties. I don't see the fall of IS/IS/L without a strong central government and a military to insure complete dissolution of it's loyalists. That is not at all the picture of Syria in the near future.

The USA is completely out of it's element in the Middle East and always takes the Israeli position as a default setting. That is not correct. It is because of the USA's inability to establish a sincere understanding of the Middle East outside of Israel that it fails to have a cohesive policy.

No one wants to admit the anti-Assad policy of the USA is completely wrong, but, it is. Assad and his family have ruled in Syria for a long time. He knows the country and it's people and his Shea minority ethnic identity maintained itself as the leader of that country all these many years.

Assad was accepted as a leader in the Middle East by most Arab countries and they did not complain about him. Israel complained about him. 

The best use of the money being spent over the next 90 days is for the USA Air Force to continue to run sorties for the Iraqi fighting forces including the Kurds. As far as training Syrian rebels, that needs to be left up to advisers in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis don't want this instability and will sort through the ability of rebels to best serve the new militia to end the presence of IS/IS/L. The Saudis will be loyal leaders to the effort and be sure all those that join as individuals will finish their training loyal to their unit and to a political leadership. If there is no political leadership that can provide an effective sovereign presence in Syria the United Nations Resolution in forming a power sharing government will fail.

The untouchable.

Chris Christie blasts bridge scandal committee, says to wrap it up. (click here)

I told you so. The New Jersey Democrats are going to be eating crow until the end of his term. He just is not that guy.

Chris Christi took the long road to political success. He served at the local level and then became a US Attorney and then figured he was ready for the big time. He is not the man that is in politics for what he can get out of it. Chris Christi is in office for governing. There is a huge difference in character and HISTORY when a person wants something out of the office he or she aspires to and he ain't that guy. 

You know what this does? He knows. It makes him and his policies bullet proof.

Never, ever turn on a man with high esteem for the public. Chris wanted to change the way government did things in NJ and he did. You have to read the signs along the way. 

I don't necessarily like some of his policies and he does have issues on a national stage, but, nothing he won't over come. He is a challenger for every office he seeks. Everyone better watch out, the Chris Christi railroad is coming to a town near you.

Leading toward peace...

...I never thought I'd see the day when US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (click here) and I saw so much in the same vision of the USA. I can honestly say I am proud of his thoughtful consideration of the foreign policy issues we face today and he is closer to President Obama's strategy than I ever realized a conservative could be.

US Rep. Rohrabacher was on C-Span 3 today. It is amazing he has grasped the heart of the issues in our foreign policy set down by President Obama and articulated it so well. I appreciate it.

I would like to address some of his words. No negativity intended, but, simply the way I see the world. (In my words, not his.)

President Assad is not the enemy and Syria is no threat to the USA. I could not agree more. What has resulted in Syria is the rise of a radical faction into a power dimension and it is the enemy of all of us. I was more than relieved to hear the words of that while Syria's governance is not pleasing it is no threat to the USA and to that end we have no grievance, except, as with any other country that is primarily a dictatorship and guilty of human rights abuses. China, by the way, falls into the category of human rights abuses and we continue to be it's largest customer.

One other dimension to the rise of IS/IS/L is the fact it has occurred in a civil war now three years on. BUT, the distribution of weapons into Syria headed by Senator John McCain is only one year ago. If any circumstances point in the direction of IS/IS/L and it's rise to power it is the distribution of weapons to so called Syrian rebels. I think the USA needs to take a great deal of caution in distributing weapons to any rebel forces. 

Once upon a time, it was the scandalous methodology of the USA CIA to cause such instability in nations we did not see as friends, but, mostly enemies. That methodology of arming rebels has to stop. It is too wide spread globally and creates deaths and not necessarily a governance the USA would appreciate. I also don't like the idea that once a country is unstable the USA then sends in our troops to attempt nation building. It is out of the question anymore. The world's population is growing, hence it's resources growing ever smaller, the land masses more challenged to provide for citizens and we cannot introduce instability on to lands that are dearly needed to solve the problems of people.

US Rep. Rohrabacher also addressed the Ukraine. I would like to bring forward some events that he may not have considered before.

18 September 2014

In an address to a joint session of Congress, (click here) he said ill-equipped young Ukrainian servicemen were fighting a "war for the free world" against Russian aggression.

US President Barack Obama has condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine.

But he has said that military support will only include non-lethal equipment.

Mr Poroshenko told the joint session of Congress in Washington that Ukrainian government forces needed more equipment - both lethal and non-lethal.

"Blankets, night-vision goggles are important, but one cannot win the war with blankets."

His impassioned plea for US support brought applause and several standing ovations....

Rep. Rohrabacher stated President Poroshenko was elected after Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power after a ligitimate election. He stated he thinks the USA got caught up in Europe's design engineering of the present circumstances. (Again my words not his.) He believed the people of Ukraine should be respected and governed best at the local level allowing east and west to find their choices.

I would like to remind US Rep. Rohrabacher of a few facts.

The Ukraine people took great pains in writing a constitution that reflected the wishes of the people in it's majority as it existed 2004 which included Crimea. That constitution was trashed by the administration of Viktor Yanukovych and was replaced with one that would ultimately deny any relationship with Europe by Ukraine. The new constitution under Yanukovych also took away many, many rights from the 2004 constitution. 

Previous to 2004 were The Budapest Memorandums. These were the agreements between Ukraine, Northern Ireland, Britain, the USA and Russia. The treaty incorporated in that memorandum was Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. It specifically called for retention of the current borders of Ukraine and its sovereign right to peace within those borders without aggression of any kind, including the use of the nuclear material removed under the memorandum to NEVER be turned on Ukraine. 

Then there were the problems in the Maidan. I don't want to hear how the people primarily responsible for the disturbance were NeoNazis. They were Ukrainians and had been demonstrating peacefully up to the point where rifles were turned on the crowd. I REMIND, Viktor Yanykovych was still in power. The peaceful gathering was more than one day old. The people involved in that gathering had been complaining about the removal of the 2004 Constitution while their once Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko sat in a Russia prison on completely false charges. Not only that but Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko was falling into ill health while in that prison. If it weren't for her family being vigilant she may even have been dead by now.

What followed was a travesty to any major agreement between the NATO nations and Russia. A complete travesty. 

Viktor Yanukovych ABANDONED his Prime Ministership and ran off to Russia. He not only abandoned Ukraine because he was scared of being arrested for murders that he may have supervised or given permission or one of his personal militias carried out, but, he alerted his militias THROUGHOUT Ukraine and the first of them took the airport as a staging area in the Crimea.

Viktor Yanukovych had completely removed the power of the national military and replaced it with his personal militias staged throughout the country in order to carry out violence against the citizens of Ukraine at his whim. If it weren't for the determination of Ukrainians to have their democracy back and intact the rest of the world would never know the terror these people lived with.

It isn't as though the government replacing Yanukovych was a dictatorship. There were elections set for May 2014 and were observed by UN observers. Crimea's elections previous to those of Ukraine were not legitimate according to UN observers. Besides that, the memoradum guaranteed Ukraine to keep it's borders intact with Crimea and as soon as Yanukovych abandoned the country Russia did a complete 180 and through it's Duma annexed Crimea. Even today Russia is claiming eastern Ukraine is lined with Russian speaking people that belong to Russia. Russia completely abandoned the Memorandum and any treated noted within that legal document.

What put the frosting on the cake was the fact Yanukovych was accepting huge sums of money from Russia for his personal comfort. When Yanukovych abandoned Ukraine they got their first look at the opulence of their Presidential grounds. It was a real eye opener. With Yanukovych receiving such riches from Russia it was obvious where his loyalties lie and Ukraine would be trapped and without recourse to pursue their longing to be conducting economic interests with Europe. They wanted little else except their freedom as they longed for it under the 2004 constitution, the return of a Former Prime Minister to her homeland and family and the right to conduct economic venture with Europe. The people's demands were completely benign of any aggression and I might add, completely innocent of hatred of Russia.

President Poroshenko came to the USA seeking help with his country. He has come to the USA to secure this people away from a tyranny which has haunted them for generations. They want to have their own country and be able to protect it's borders and carry out economics with any country that is interested in them and practice freedom as they wrote it in 2004. That is NOT unreasonable. 

"...the ones of the community that came back got it out of their system."

I learned about this last night while it was breaking news on the Sydney Morning Herald site. The reason I didn't want to post it is because I was scared for the Muslim community around the world. I think every country needs to instill confidence in their Homeland Security before this becomes a exploited issues politically. 

Australia might be safer (click here for video) if the authorities let would-be ISIL fighters go to Iraq and Syria instead of keeping them here, according to terrorism expert Professor Clive Williams.

The knowledge of a potential terrorist attack in Sydney came when the authorities gather surveillance through a phone conversation.

One of the men (click here) arrested in this morning's anti-terrorism raids in Sydney has appeared in court on a charge of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

Prosecutors allege that he was part of a plan to commit an act to "shock, horrify and terrify" the community. He was refused bail.

Isolated incident.

A Christian school (click here) in Sydney's west has reported death threats aimed at Christians this week. 

The principal of the Maronite College of the Holy Family in Harris Park told police that men made the threats from a car outside the school about 2pm on Tuesday. 

Sister Margaret Ghosn said the threats were general and then directed towards a staff member of the school.

Price of Life

According to the Times, (click here) some of the young Britons who travelled to Syria to join the fight against President Assad's forces have been left "despondent" that they have instead become embroiled in battles between rival rebel groups. The paper says one man contacted London's International Centre for Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence and "effectively sought amnesty, saying that the group feared long prison terms but would be willing to enrol on a deradicalisation programme and submit to surveillance".

Anthropologist Scott Atran writes in the Guardian about the lure of jihad as an "egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer: fraternal, fast-breaking, glorious and cool" to Western volunteers he describes as "mostly youth in transitional stages in their lives - immigrants, students, between jobs or girlfriends". He adds: "They are self-seekers who have found their way to jihad in myriad ways: through barbecues or on the web; because they were perhaps uncomfortable with binge-drinking or casual sex; or because their parents were humiliated by form-checking bureaucrats or their sisters insulted for wearing a headscarf."

There are differences in culture and government between Australia and the USA and Great Britain. Those differences are realized when issues like this manifest themselves.

I think a realistic 'profile' should be impressed by the government as well as the cooperation of the Muslim communities within the country. 

When it comes to the 'Right to Possess Guns," I might add, the gun community is in complete agreement with the USA population that guns should not get in the wrong hands. This redefines the issues of guns in the USA and how the country addresses it. I think the gun community needs to realize, mass shootings in the USA happen. If the USA is to provide for personal guns within it's society it also has to handle Homeland Security in a way that protects all people. This is a challenge for the USA and it is complicated by the huge number of guns in the country while balancing the right to own. Homeland Security has to work for everyone, not simply gun owners.