[Federalist] Over the last six years, we have seen what an emboldened Vladimir Putin is willing to do with his military forces. In the George W. Bush years, Putin shrewdly played the ally. But at the end of the second Bush term when the American president’s unpopularity had weakened him globally, Putin took advantage and invaded Georgia—sloppily and unimpressively, but successfully. Then he hit the jackpot with the election of Barack Obama, who in demeanor, word, and deed demonstrated he had no interest in opposing a revanchist and aggressive Russia. Putin has been clawing back the standing Russia lost after the fall of Soviet Communism, and he’s doing so with gusto: from invading Ukraine to buzzing the European perimeter with fighter jets to claiming the Arctic for Russia, he creates facts on the ground.
But what is he doing on the cultural front in Russia—apart from the use of military force—which makes it possible for him to lead Russia this way? After all, even dictators need cultural support for their actions if for no other reason than to quell bothersome dissent. And how do culture and geopolitical strategy reinforce one another?
#1
D *** NG, so we're NOT talking about how a certain very young African-American boy saving the life of another very young Russian boy on a certain tropical island in front of a another very young Madonna fan???
Everything in tragedy happens for a reason, and the result always is sad; most things in comedy happen by accident and the outcome typically is happy. Sino-American relations are not destined for conflict, although that is possible. The misunderstandings that bedevil relations between the world’s two most powerful countries remain comedic rather than tragic. That probably is as good as it gets, for no amount of explanation will enable Chinese and Americans to make sense of each other.
#1
Iff the US under Globalist POTUS Obama is now in a MSM-Net verified, de facto state of Detente' or "Mutual Co-Existence" wid fellow Globie-desired OWG "Co-Superpower" Iran, then its prolly safe to say ditto as per CHINA + PUTINIST RUSSIA, etc. Co-Superpowers to come.
* Once again, TOPIX > CHINA HAS NOW ASSUMED
"GREAT POWER" STATUS.
Historically, newbie Great Powers often try to prove or validate their new status by engaging in various MilPol aggressive behaviors or actions, most notably via fighting Wars.
China has several issues to permanently settle before she can feel comfortable being a new "Great Power" andor "Co-Superpower", namely strategic access into WESTPAC vee JAPAN = East China Sea, + Taiwan reunification; + SOPAC, vee South China Sea + ASEAN Nations.
Can now also China's desire for access into the Indian Ocean Region [IOR] vee several land + ocean "bridges" or corridors.
THE ABOVE BEING SAID, GLOBALISM = NO ONE HAS YET ANSWERED OR PRECRIBED HOW MUCH IS "TOO MUCH", OR HOW FAR IS "TOO FAR", ETC. FOR THE REMAINING COLD WAR "SOLE" SUPERPOWER USA TO UNILATER GIVE UP AROUND THE WORLD TO NEWBIE "CO-SUPERPOWERS" + OWG GLOBAL FED UNIONS, SO THAT THE LATTER CAN RISE TO GLOBIE-DESIRED "PARITY"???
Perhaps like good Politicos, we'll have to PCorrectly-Deniably wait until after the shooting wars begin to slowly but begrudgingly find out.
#1
Since that incident, which the Atlanticist media have carefully covered up despite the widespread reactions sparked among defense industry experts, no US ship has ever approached Russian territorial waters again.
#5
If there is any truth to this story I suspect the crew of the USS Donald Cook were spooked because they were told to stand down and not defend themselves and the crew realize that if the attack had been real they were just targets as far as Washington was concerned.
#10
A Fencer: "A-tisket, a-tasket;
The Yankees will all blow a gasket!
My teasing their Aegis
Is really egregious...
Oops! Two hard-boiled eggs in my basket!
Many people in Europe understand that supporting a Palestinian state – although it does not even exist, and has no vitality either – means the destruction of the Jewish state, the State of Israel.
So raising the issue in the parliaments of different countries carries a double meaning: Anti-Semitism and Islamization. It has nothing to do with the Palestinians.
Yes, while the victims of the Holocaust are still alive and the majority of European countries have failed to clarify how they helped with the annihilation of Jews in the continent, the anti-Semitism monster is raising its head again in an institutionalized manner. Not just in dark dens of racism, or in stylish salons of a poisonous left, but in parliaments, taking institutionalized Europe back to the 1930s and 1940s.
There is no greater shame for the hypocritical continent, which often talks about "human rights," but has again forgotten the rights of its Jews. Europe, which examines others according to their human rights situation, ignores what takes place on its own premises.
#1
quite frankly I think many people are getting sick of Israel allowing new settlements to be built on land that is not theirs.
Thieving land is not going to lead to peace. I for one am sick of it.
I don't think the ultraconservative jews are any better than the islamofascists. They are just as supremacist and dogmatic.
I don't care for their imaginary god, and I would like them to simply stop building new settlements. Don't have enough land? Have 2 kids instead of 6 or 7.
#4
Anon1, they bought the land, every damn inch they are building on. No property rights, no freedom. Although to cover myself in total hypocrisy I'd a next the West Bank and give the occupants a rather stern choice, sterilization or immigration. Both to be nicely compensated.
#7
Palestinan state! Wonder who would have too support that one. Arabs would PLEDGE billions, give hundreds. Every year another famine, medical or some other crisis. What do the paleos contribute to society? Tunnels? If you give them an inch they will try and take a foot.
Posted by: chris ||
11/13/2014 8:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Right after the Russians and Poles return Prussia and Silesia (see-ethnic cleansing). Wars have consequences.
#9
anon1, generally I am quite fond of you, as you know, and greatly admire your analytical thinking.
But on this you are so wrong I want to shake you until your teeth rattle... as a start.
You are factually wrong on every count, and functionally -- though I assume out of ignorance rather than belief --antisemitic.
First of all, it is obscene that you equate the ultra-orthodox Jews -- who for the most part impose restrictions only on themselves within the borders of their communities -- with the Islamofascists, who have been viciously conquering as much territory as they can manage, pillaging, beheading, raping, kidnapping, enslaving, and forcibly converting all who do not manage to flee, with the goal of bringing the rest of the world under their vicious rule as quickly as can be managed. If you really mean that, I have seriously misread you. If you do not mean precisely that, you need to ask yourself why you are spouting antisemitic memes.
Second, stop being one of those rude atheists. Whether or not one believes in the God of Abraham, the fact is that there is a great deal of verified history in the Jewish Bible, as confirmed by archeology as far afield as Egypt and Iran. There are Egyptian inscriptions referring to the royal family of King David, just to start, and the Romans respected not only the lived morals of the Jews of their time but the long history of the Jews in the land encompassing from the Sinai desert to the Galilee. As g(r)omgoru pointed out, it is the Jews who are native to the land, not the Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians, some of whom arrived as recently as 1945 A.D. from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
Third, starting in the time of the Ottoman empire, the Jews have bought not only every inch they now live on, but a good deal of it more than once, and a good deal more that they don't live on as well. Not to mention the bits that were Jewish for millennia, until the Arabs drove out the native Jewish owners over the course of the 20th century.
Fourth, according to international law Israel can do anything they please with conquered territories until a final peace treaty is signed. This is designed to encourage the losers to get on with serious negotiating. But the Arabs want it all -- not just the West Bank and Gaza, but Tel Aviv and Haifa and the new city of west Jerusalem, too, whether acquired by violence by Hamas or by pressure from the hypocritical nations of the world that Israel give up her territory inch by inch, nibbled away at the behest of the PLO wearing the figleaf of the Palestinian Authority .. and all of it completely free of the taint of Jews, just as their current territories are, though they're willing help remove the taint by killing all Jews foolhardy enough to remain. Have you truly forgotten that a decade ago Jews lived in the Gaza Strip, until PM Ariel Sharon removed them all? And then the Palestinians tore down and trampled into dust the homes and greenhouses the Jews left behind, wanting not even the gift of a successful industry worth millions if Jewish hands had worked it first.
Fifth, there is literally nothing Israel can do to gain more than a hudna, a temporary peace with the Palestinians. The religious Palestinians remember that the Muslim Ottomans once ruled there, and therefore cannot allow any of it to be ruled by unbelievers. The secular Palestinians think of the situation as the Algerians driving out their French rulers, and are willing to keep upping the ante until all the Jews leave or are killed. Unfortunately, it is the Jews who are the natives here, not the Arabs. Also, you know about the rising antisemitism around the world, including your own Australia -- there is literally nowhere for Israel's six million Jews to go, though no doubt some of the clever computer programmers and scientists could find asylum easily enough.
You hate the Islamofascists, my dear anon1, but you demand of the Jews that they bare their neck to a sword that you refuse for yourself. Give up the land Australia stole from the Aborigines, open your country to six million Jewish and another million Christian, Baha'i, Druze, etc. Israeli refugees, and then you'll have standing to criticize Israel.
#11
When Mark Twain visited the region he described it as basically vacant. That was before the Jews moved back with the Zionist movement and masses of Arabs followed to enjoy the economy the Jews created.
Australia did give land back to the Aborigines. We recognise that we did wrong taking it away. Gough Whitlam gave the first of the land back in the early 1970s and it's been handed back ever since under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. And good thing, too. I support that, 100%.
And I totally agree that the Islamofascists are obscene in their goals as well as their tactics. And I strongly think we should be fighting their non-violent political arm that is entrenching itself in our countries.
And Israel has a right to exist and a right to defend itself, and is in an extremely difficult situation.
But every time Israel allows new settlements to be built in occupied territories that is just ripping the scab off a wound so it never heals.
Same goes for the Islamofascists that reject every olive branch of peace offered by Israel and I know they've offered them 99.9% of what they want and they still persist in fighting on.
And I do think unrelenting obedience to some quite silly doctrines is to blame - on both sides.
Secularism is a good thing - it lets people follow their religions or none at all in freedom. It seems to me the biggest obstacles to peace and tolerance in the world at large is too much olde tyme religion getting in the way.
The Islamofascists are worse than everyone. But some of the things I've seen from the quite fanatical ultra orthodox jews is not encouraging.
So I really think that perhaps Israel should batten the hatches, patrol the lands they have, stop provoking with new settlements.
But on the other hand they should also expel the Muslims from their land because like Shipman said: they must be separated.
#20
plus there is not any anti-Semitism in Australia that I've seen unless it be from the Islamofascist colony. But nobody else partakes of that particular disease.
#21
Plus i would say there is truth on both sides.
As i understand it the following was the originator of the situation:
The land sparsely populated, but it had fuedal-style settlements where Palestinians farmed the land producing olives. Ruled by the Muslims for a thousand years, the ottoman empire had it last. There were jews living there continuously as through all the arab world, but small numbers.
Jews from Europe began buying the land and settling in 1870. No matter they had it 1000 years before that is long enough to be out of anybody's direct living memory. So they can fairly be considered newcomers. Also fair enough is that they bought the land: it was theirs. But one of the first problems came from the different entitlements of land ownership.
European land ownership: you buy the land, you own the land and structures and trees on the land.
Feudal palestinian arab ownership: you buy the land from the feudal overlord but the trees still belong to the peasant farmers.
so thus the first arguments began as they were not party to the transaction and did not appreciate being dispossessed of their livelihoods.
On the jewish side, against great opposition including from the evil British who prevented those fleeing the holocaust from finding sanctuary there in WWII, the jews made the desert bloom.
And of course as soon as Israel was declared every Muslim state surrounding it attacked. And like a miracle, tiny Israel won.
So nobody can fairly deny their right to exist. And you're totally right about the Muslim end game to wipe them off the face of the earth for the religious nutbag reason that their imaginary friend told them that any land that a Muslim owns has to be Muslim land forever.
And you are right, the occupied territories are only occupied because subsequent laws were foisted on Israel.
But for any long term peace to be attained there needs to be a good separation, a good fence and Israel also needs not to expand by settlement which is aggravating the situation
Yitzhak Rabin realised this but was assassinated - not by a Muslim but by an Israeli religious nutter.
And yes many jews around the world, it's good for them to be able to call Israel a homeland - but there are also Israeli ultra orthodox having 9 kids on purpose because they want to increase the population to take land by settlement demographics.
that is just irresponsible, and I hope that Israel can rein in that element.
Much respect for all present, especially trailing wife, who has a fine sense of history
[DAWN] HOW much is a human life worth in Pakistain? Not more than peanuts, given the impunity with which people are being killed in this benighted country of ours. The state's failure -- or lack of will -- to protect the life of its citizens is at the root of this tragedy.
In this context, I am reminded of two women -- one dead, the other on death row. One was a dear friend. The other is a stranger whose community has been my benefactor. I owe my education to Christian missionaries who gave me knowledge and taught me, by example, to respect and be tolerant of all faiths.
Perween Rahman and Asiya Bibi have nothing in common except that they are symbols of our quest for justice and sanctity of life in a society that thrives on hate and violence.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
HOW much is a human life worth in Pakistain? Not more than peanuts
Just Pakistan? Try from the Straits of Gibraltar, across the entire African continent, up the western shores of Med, to the eastern shores of Asia.
[DAWN] The recently launched military operation in Bara may have been overshadowed by the bigger, months-old campaign in North Wazoo, but it is an important piece in the overall fight against militancy in the country for two reasons.
One, Bara tehsil's proximity to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. allows murderous Moslems based in that part of the tribal areas to have an outsize effect on the security and stability of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
In Canada, there were two terror attacks within two days. The first was a run-over attack, and the second was an attack on the parliament in the capital city of Ottawa.
In New York, police officers were assaulted with an axe. In London, a cell of four members planned to murder Queen Elizabeth last week, armed with knives. A few months ago, France foiled a plot to blow up the Eifel Tower.
In Israel, we have had a little of everything. Both run-over attempts and murder in a stabbing attack. Welcome to the global intifada.
John Brennan, current head of the CIA converted to Islam while stationed in Saudi Arabia.
Obama's top advisor, Valerie Jarrett, is a Muslim who was born in Iran where her parents still live.
Hillary Clinton's top advisor, Huma Abedin is a Muslim, whose mother and brother are involved in the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development for Homeland Security, Arif Aikhan, is a Muslim.
Homeland Security Advisor, Mohammed Elibiary, is a Muslim.
Obama advisor and founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Salam al-Marayati, is a Muslim.
Obama's Sharia Czar, Imam Mohamed Magid, of the Islamic Society of North America is a Muslim.
Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships, Eboo Patel, is a Muslim.
And last but not least, our closet Muslim himself, The Champ.
It's questionable if The Champ ever officially took the oath of office when he was sworn in. He didn't repeat the oath properly to defend our nation and our Constitution. Later the Democrats claimed he was given the oath again in private?
CIA director John Brennan took his oath on a copy of the Constitution, not a Bible.
Congressman, Keith Ellison took his oath on a copy of the Qur'an.
Considering all these appointments, it would explain why The Champ and his minions are systematically destroying our nation, supporting radical Muslim groups worldwide, opening our southern border, and turning a blind eye to the genocide being perpetrated on Christians all over Africa and the Middle East.
[DAWN] THE mass murderer was reportedly dressed to kill -- not in military fatigues but in a school uniform, and a backpack containing explosives that, when detonated in the midst of a Monday morning assembly, killed nearly 50 schoolboys and injured dozens more.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion inevitably fell on Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , given the terrorist attack was perpetrated in north-eastern Nigeria at the Government Technical Science College in Potiskum, in the state of Yobe.
Potiskum is not too far away from Chibok in neighbouring Borno state, which attracted international attention earlier when Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls. The outrage occasioned by that incident spurred vows of Western assistance for a government out of its depth in terms of tackling the Islamists. There is no clear indication that any materialised. If it did, it does not appear to have helped very much.
The turban mindset is not likely to go away.
The Nigerian government of President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... has laid claim to various military successes against Boko Haram, and in mid-October it announced that a ceasefire had been agreed that would, inter alia, entail the release of the Chibok girls. Last week, though, the purported leader of the terrorist outfit, Abubakar Shekau, denied that any ceasefire talks had taken place, and declared that the kidnapped girls had been converted to Islam and "married off".
The fact that his announcements carry somewhat more credibility than official pronouncements offers a hint of the contempt with which many Nigerians view their government.
The Potiskum atrocity was not by any means the first of its kind. Dozens of students died, for instance, in an attack last February on a dormitory in nearby Mamudo village. And just last week, another jacket wallah claimed 15 lives in an attack on a Shia ceremony in Potsikum itself.
Boko Haram is also believed to have captured several villages in the north of Nigeria in recent months, and Shekau's latest intervention has led analysts to conclude that any attempt at negotiations is bound to be futile, and that ultimately only a military solution could prove tenable.
That is not by any means a pleasant conclusion, but one must concede that the chances of any sort of negotiated solution are exceedingly grim. The trouble, of course, is that the Nigerian military is yet to demonstrate it is up to the task. And, sadly, there is no dearth of parallels elsewhere.
For instance, an American Arclight airstrike near djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... in Iraq in recent days is said to have struck a significant blow against the outfit that calls itself Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , amid suggestions that the self-ordained caliph His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... may have been injured, even killed. The possibility cannot be dismissed, and if true it would qualify as a considerable achievement in "degrading" IS, even though no one seems to have a particularly clear idea of what such an outcome would entail for the group, which has wreaked havoc in two countries and apparently won allegiance in others from like-minded outfits.
On the other hand, while serious concerns remain about the capacity of local forces, from Iran-backed Shia militias to the Kurdish Peshmerga, to take advantage of airborne international assistance, the momentum of IS does appear to have been thwarted in both Iraq and Syria.
The threat to Baghdad appears to have receded, and the Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish border has at least not fallen to IS.
One should hesitate, however, to read too much into these undoubtedly welcome setbacks for Baghdadi's forces. Even the most optimistic analysts envisage a long conflict ahead, with the situation inevitably complicated by concerns such as the prospect of the Western intervention bolstering Bashir al-Assad's regime in Syria, and the fact that the most determined anti-IS combatants in Iraq owe allegiance to Iran.
An even closer parallel to Boko Haram can be found in Pakistain's Taliban, who appear thus far to have withstood a months-long military assault, complemented every now and then by drone strikes. Whatever is actually going on in the areas targeted by the Pak military's Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... remains shrouded in murk, with occasional declarations of success inviting scepticism -- not least in the wake of atrocities such as the Wagah bombing on the border with India.
What's arguably even more alarming is the kind of mindset that last week facilitated the unspeakable atrocity whereby Shama and Shehzad, a young Christian couple falsely accused of blasphemy, were burned to death by a frenzied mob in Kot Radha Krishan.
Unless such attitudes can somehow be neutralised, there is plenty of cause to fear that the black and white flags of those who believe themselves to be upholding the similarly hued tenets of their faith are unlikely to be lowered anytime soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Salafists
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Boko Haram
#1
Methinks the war on education waged in the West is both more subtle and more successful. Instead of killing students you convert them to fellow travelers.
[DAWN] THE sensational rise of IS, also known as Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... has caused global panic. It has also dramatically altered geopolitics, producing strange bedfellows. Putting aside their hostilities, the US and Iran now stand on the same side of the divide joining efforts to beat back the IS juggernaut. Also on the same side are the Arab countries.
The anti-IS campaign has created a coalition of 62 nations that includes Soddy Arabia
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
To defeat the rising threat from KSA/Arabian Peninsula-based Shia rebels, will Base-too-far Qatar ask the Qaeda + ISIS Boyz to mil intervene agz Iran-backed local Shia Rebs on the Peninsula, thus provoking a Qatar-Iran mil confrontation which in turn leads to a Saudi-Iran war which in turn provokes a US-Iran war???
#2
If ISIS followers are 12ers, they believe they can precipitate the return of the 12th Imam by starting the end time through a world wide religious war between Islam and everyone else.
Hence the appearance of irrational behavior by ISIS which actually makes sense to them based on their belief in the return of the 12th Imam...something the Saudis have promulgated through their evangelizing of Wahhabism.
#3
* WORLD NEWS > [National Journal] MOVE [Obama] TO AUTHORIZE MILITARY FORCE AGZ ISLAMIC STATE UNLIKELY IN LAME DUCK.
Lest we fergit, as an anti-US US Globalist, the Bammer's job as POTUS is to take no mil action or only minimum mil action, or otherwise to fall back before the tide.
HOW MUCH IS "TOO MUCH", HOW FAR IS "TOO FAR", ETC. BEFORE THE US, AS A SOVEREIGN NATION ANDOR AS AN IDEA, BECOMES EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED?
#4
Mystic, ISIS are the Sunni flavor of homicidal maniacs, as such they don't worry about Timmy in the well the hidden Immam. It's your Shia flavor of homicidal maniacs that want Lassie to die the occulted one to emerge from his well and commence scalp cutting in the name of a peaceful and righteous gawd.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DAWN] The recently launched military operation in Bara may have been overshadowed by the bigger, months-old campaign in North 
Goodluck Jonathan
[DAWN] THE sensational rise of IS, also known as 
