COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Remember when the Turks were so pleased to call in NATO to further destabalize Syria? The new Republic of Kurdistan will be the unintended consequence for the Turks

The Kurds no longer have to seek independence. They just did it.

Background on how it happened



Here is where it Gets interesting sports fans:



Iraqi Kurds strengthen their positions while Isis advances on Baghdad

As Iraq's government teeters before Isis insurgents, the Kurds now control the oil hub of Kirkuk – and have national ambitions


Martin Chulov in Baghdad, and Fazel Hawramy in Irbil 
The Guardian, Wednesday 25 June 2014

Iraqis in Baghdad and the country's south are already calling the events of the past two weeks "the catastrophe". Not so inhabitants of the would-be Iraqi Kurdish capital of Irbil, where joy is unrestrained and a long-held sense of destiny is ever closer to being realised.
As the central government teeters under the insurgent onslaught, the fate of Irbil appears more assured than ever. Kurdish politicians, in the past not shy to criticise Arab Iraqi leaders, but coy about their national ambitions, are now openly touting "a new reality".
To Kurdish officials and locals alike, a tectonic shift in the balance of power between Iraq's two power bases, and peoples, has taken place. And Kirkuk, the bitterly contested oil hub, is at the epicentre.
In the heady days following the fall of Mosul and Tikrit, the Kurdish Peshmurga forces crossed into Kirkuk to head off the fast advancing jihadist group Isis. The Iraqi army, meanwhile, was fast retreating south, abandoning in hours a city that had been at the heart of the dispute between the Kurds and the Arabs for more than 70 years.
For the Kurds, the army's stunning capitulation has now settled the matter for good.
"Kirkuk will finally produce oil for the Kurds," said Muhama Khalil, the Kurdish head of the economic committee in Iraq's national parliament. "For 70 years oil has been used to buy weapons to kill us. Finally we have our own oil and it will only be for the Kurds."
The significance of Kirkuk changing hands sits uncomfortably with Iraqis in Baghdad. Many express shame at the Iraqi military's collapse. Others blame the rout on a conspiracy concocted between generals and Kurdish leaders and involving vast amounts of cash. Whatever the cause, most hold little hope that the city will return to Iraqi control anytime soon.
And nor do they believe the fast crumbling state can assert its control over oilfields that the Kurds have long coveted.
The Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, helped stoke those fears this week, with his most outspoken comments yet since Isis launched its headlong offensive. "Iraq is obviously falling apart," he told CNN. "We did not cause the collapse of Iraq. It is others who did. And we cannot remain hostages for the unknown."
Pressed on whether Iraqi Kurds would seek to push for their 'holy grail' of independence, Barzani added: "The time is here for the Kurdistan people to determine their future and the decision of the people is what we are going to uphold."
Barzani has long calculated that having a state in all but name has served both his and the Kurdish peoples' interests. His role as leader of Iraq's Kurds has also made him one of several defacto leaders of the 40 million strong Kurdish population, scattered between northern Iraq, eastern Syria, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran, all of whom seem happy enough with Kurdish autonomy, but – Turkey especially – would feel gravely threatened by a proclamation of statehood.
The fate of the Kurds, who were denied a state when the Middle East was carved up almost a century ago, has greatly influenced the region ever since and their steady consolidation in northern Iraq has been watched by neighbouring states with keen interest.
The Kurds had employed a dual strategy of forging close strategic ties with Turkey, while relentlessly testing their boundaries with Baghdad, which has vehemently tried to retain control of the northern oilfields and, in return, given Irbil 17.5% of national budget revenues.
Now though, Kurdish officials and locals alike appear more tempted than ever before to make a direct play for Kirkuk's oilfields and to consolidate their grip on the disputed territories to the south of the city, which were also abandoned by the Iraqi army. Baghdad had twice pledged it would hold a referendum on the territories, which would enable residents of the area to vote on their allegiance.
Saddam Hussein had enticed Arabs to the area from the early 1970s in a bid to shift the fragile demographics. Since Baghdad fell 11 years ago, Kurds have returned to the area and Kurdish officials believe the territories would return to them if a referendum was held now.
Such is the new power base, however, that holding a plebicite now seems redundant.
"People in Kirkuk and Singar should be the decision makers about their destiny," said Khalil. "Now we are applying this right. The people in Kirkuk called for our help after the Iraqi Army fled. Now we are not leaving until they hold a referendum."
Safeen Dizayee, Kurdish regional government (KRG) spokesman, was at pains on Wednesday to highlight the region's resources. "In the governorates under KRG administration, vast quantities of natural resources have been discovered over the last few years – estimates point to more than 45bn barrels of oil and significant quantities of natural gas.
The Kurdistan region has already landed on the global energy map. Regarding the so-called disputed territories, Peshmerga forces have entered these areas after the Iraqi army abandoned their positions. The KRG had and still has an obligation to protect civilians in these areas and to ensure that army bases, cities, and land areas do not fall into the hands of terrorists.
Aref Maroof, 52, a Kirkuk school inspector, said: "I think 85-90% of Kurds want independence. Kurdistan has two options; one is to declare independence without 'separated territories' [disputed territories] in which case it will fail, or to declare independence by including the 'separated territories' in which case the Kurds will face a war with [Nouri al-]Maliki.
"It is in the interest of Kurds (to do so) if the central government and its army is weak. (But) If the KRG assists Iraq ... to rebuild their army, it is like committing suicide."
In Baghdad, a sense of gloom pervades many in government who see little chance of shifting the Kurds from Kirkuk, or even defending their interests while an insurgency and political crisis rages.

"They are getting what they want," said one minister. "While Baghdad burns, and while we all sit back and watch the fire."

133 comments:

  1. We will see what happens in Instanbul when a good chunk of Turkey decides to leave for a greater Kurdistan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will see what happens in Constantinople, I mean Moslem Occupied Istanbul when a good chunk of occupied kurdistan, that Turkey exploits decides to tell Turkey to go stuff it and go home and join greater Kurdistan.

      The Kurds, whose lands are occupied by the Turks, Iraqis, Iranians and Syrians are more authentic than most modern day fake nationalistic oriented arabs.

      BTW The Turks also occupy Cyprus. That should be a interesting story as well...

      Delete
    2. In an apparent act of meltdown, Iran has instructed Hamas to try to hit the Ashkelon and Eilat oil depots.

      It's getting good. KURDISH oil FROM Kurdistan's Kirkuk via Turkey is now being processed and shipped in Israel.

      This opens up the query about Turkey accepting Kurdistan as a fellow nation. The "prize" of Kirkuk is settled. Turkey will not gobble it up. It is the Kurds. Now the Turks, facing an ever depressed economy are playing ball with their long hated minority, the Kurds.

      http://www.debka.com/article/24032/Gaza-rockets-aim-at-Kurdish-oil-route-via-Israel-More-security-for-Ashkelon-and-Eilat-depots

      Of course? Turkey was going thru an Islamist revolution it's self. But thanks to the Iranians/hezbollah/Syria hegemony play things change and make strange bedfellow....

      Now Turkey is allowing oil to flow to Israel. Of course Turkey makes a pretty dollar or more per barrel. Take the transport fees that the Syrians & Iraqis USED to make...

      LOL

      this shit keeps getting funnier and funnier...

      Delete
  2. Jerusalem Post

    The Peshmerga are heroes – a beacon of hope and peace not only to the people of Kurdistan, but also to the rest of the Middle East. A Facebook/Instagram campaign in support of the Peshmerga is in the making, called “We Are All Peshmerga” to express admiration for the Peshmerga’s resilience and effectiveness in the face of terror.

    The bravery and courage of the Peshmerga forces has been evident in world media in recent weeks, with reports saying they’ve protected innocent civilians from terrorist attacks leaking into Iraq from Syria. The terrorists go by the name “Islamic State of Iraq and Sham” (ISIS), indicating their intention to establish a Sharia state based on Wahabi-Salafist interpretations of Islamic law – rules which can be deemed backwards at best.

    The Iraqi army is reported to have fled en masse, leaving vehicles, weapons and equipment – they even shed their military attire in fear of being recognized.

    Peshmerga forces stepped in to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the Mosul, Kirkuk and Diyala provinces.

    Most of the Iraqi military equipment, it appears, has fallen into the terrorists’ hands, making them better equipped than the Peshmerga. For this we can thank the US, which refused to arm the Peshmerga out of fear that a mighty Kurdish army would lead to Kurdish independence.

    Alas, Polat Talabani, commander of the counterterrorism unit of the Peshmerga, said in a recent interview with The Christian Science Monitor, “We are in it 100 percent, but wars are not fought without ammunition. We can only hold out for two weeks in Khanaqin with current supplies.” The commandos under Talabani’s leadership are a 160-strong battalion that received Delta Force training under US supervision in 2003.

    However, what the Peshmerga lack in weaponry they make up in courage and endurance. Moreover, as last weeks’ events proved, no weapons can overcome their sheer determination. It is not for nothing they are called “Peshmerga,” which means “those who face death” in Kurdish. This name was awarded the fearless warriors during the establishment of the Kurdistan Republic, with had its capital at Mehabad in Iranian Kurdistan in 1946.

    The president of the republic, Qazi Mohammed, was charged with “treason” and, along with his cabinet ministers, hanged at the main city square, Çwarçira. Immediately after hanging the “traitors,” the Iranians set fire to all Kurdish books and libraries.

    This was not the first or the last time Kurds would be tortured, hanged or shot for “treason” by a state for which they held no allegiance or loyalty. Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq have all punished Kurds for simply being Kurdish for centuries.

    and speaking Kurdish “Iraq,” “Syria” and “Turkey” are all states with shorter lifespans than the Kurdish aspiration for statehood, which was first set on paper by Ehmed Khani in his epic love story, Mem û Zîn, in 1692.

    {...}

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    1. {...}

      One can argue that the tolerance and acceptance that Kurds display toward ethnic minorities, despite their own history of being discriminated against, is astounding. Kurdistan is a mosaic of ethnicities and religions. Assyrians, Armenians, Chaldeans, Turkmens, Shabaks and Arabs are in the ranks of Pehmerga forces, and they fight side by side with their Kurdish compatriots to defend their families, hamlets and a peaceful future for their people. The region includes more than five religious denominations: Christians, Jews, Muslims of both Shia and Sunni allegiance and adherents of Kurdistan’s own indigenous religions, Zoroastrianism and Yezidism, all of whom live serenely as neighbors. Few other nations in the Middle East, if any, can boast that church bells and mosque muezzins can be heard simultaneously in one and the same hamlet.

      With roots in such diversity, the Peshmerga are an example of unity in the face of growing sectarianism for the rest of the Middle East. More recently, the Peshmerga and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have taken in half a million refugees fleeing from ISIS in Mosul alone. A staggering number, considering the KRG itself has a population of just 5.2 million according to the KRG’s own official numbers.

      Not only are the Peshmerga diverse in ethnic and religious backgrounds, but since the very early days of the Kurdish struggle for independence, women have had an important role in protecting Kurdistan from marauding vultures and thieves while the men were away. The women of Kurdistan are famous in literature for their seductive beauty, and more so in oral tradition for their strong character and intellect, with many heroines and brave women populating Kurdish children’s stories.

      The record shows women in Kurdistan have a history of serving in prominent positions; Asenath Barzani was the first Jewish woman to become an ordained rabbi, in the early years of the 17th century.

      Assyrian (and Christian) Margareth Shello was the first woman to serve in the ranks of the Peshmerga, joining in 1960 under the command of General Mustafa Barzani, having returned to South Kurdistan after a decade in exile in the Soviet Republic.

      General Mustafa Barzani, who was the head of the 1946 Kurdistan Republic’s army, is often quoted as having said, “Sêr sêr e, çi mêr e çi nêr e,” meaning, “Whether male or female, a lion is still a lion.”

      The Elite Women’s Unit has 600 registered recruits, yet there are no accurate numbers available for how many women currently serve in the Peshmerga. One can only assume that they number in the hundreds, if not the thousands.

      Although from Margareth Shello to today’s head of the Elite Women’s Unit, Colonel Rasheed, there have been thousands of women Peshmergas in Kurdish history.
      {...}

      Delete
    2. {...}
      Kerkûk, a deal breaker during the 1975 negotiations between General Barzani and Saddam Hussein, is now under Kurdish control again. Previous naïve policies of appeasement toward the US and the central Baghdad government saw the Peshmerga leave the city to the Iraqi army, after having liberated it from Saddam Hussein’s clutches, in favor of a political solution enshrined in article 140 of the Iraqi constitution. Naïve because none of the conditions described in article 140 have been fully implemented since the inauguration of the constitution in 2005.

      The Peshmerga currently control all of the historic and majority Kurdish areas of South Kurdistan, or “Iraqi Kurdistan.”

      Still, as you read these words, hundreds of refugees are making their way to the safe and serene Kurdistan Region, which is defended by the brave Peshmerga.

      At a time when the US is wary of war and cautious of aiding the Iraqi government with military personnel to fight the terrorist threat, ISIS terrorists are ever making new advances. The only resistance the terrorists have met has been from Peshmerga forces on the barricades, stepping up to defend their liberty, their homeland and their people.

      The Peshmerga are heroes.


      The author is a student of Political Science at Østfold University College, Norway and a scholar on Kurdistan and the Kurds.

      Delete

  3. We've been short on Heroes for awhile.

    It's nice to know there are some around.

    But perhaps the author is a Kurd him/her self.

    Anyway the market for heroes is up these days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm gonna go share a brewsky with the Veep. This is what we said needed to happen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The interesting part is that Greater Kurdistan includes part of Turkey and Iran. I’ll put up a map.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it needs a seaport. Where is the sea port?

      Give them a seaport.

      Delete
  6. The ass stabbers will not be pleased.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have LONG advocated an independent and sovereign Kurdistan, long before Biden ever did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAThu Jun 26, 08:40:00 AM EDT

      Since 1982 and the publication of the "Yinon Plan", It is an Israeli program coming to fruition.
      The conceptualization of fragmenting Syria, Iraq and Turkey is over thirty years old.

      No doubt about that.


      Delete
    2. Winston Churchill, the fellow that drew the maps that fragmented the Kurds, in the first place.
      He'll be turning over in his grave.

      Allowing the formation of ethnic enclaves, as nation states violates the basic premise of "Divide and Conquer" colonialism which served the British so well, for so long..

      Delete
    3. Did ShitJack try and make a comment again? He just doesn't shut up.

      Nothing he can't find something stupid and useless to say..

      Delete
    4. We know who you are, where you live and even the name of your horse.Thu Jun 26, 08:47:00 AM EDT

      ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAThu Jun 26, 08:40:00 AM EDT
      Since 1982 and the publication of the "Yinon Plan", It is an Israeli program coming to fruition.
      The conceptualization of fragmenting Syria, Iraq and Turkey is over thirty years old.
      No doubt about that.


      Israel also has plans for your arrest, conviction and incarceration. Don't worry, They will succeed.

      Delete
    5. ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAThu Jun 26, 08:59:00 AM EDT

      Freedom of religion and of the press, those are unknown in Israel.
      Foreign concepts to the despots, there.

      They are afraid of words and thoughts;
      words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home
      — all the more powerful because forbidden — terrify them.

      A little mouse of thought appears in the room,
      and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.
      They make frantic efforts to bar our thoughts and words;
      they are afraid of the workings of the human mind.
      - Winston Churchill

      Delete
    6. ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAThu Jun 26, 08:59:00 AM EDT
      Freedom of religion and of the press, those are unknown in Israel.
      Foreign concepts to the despots, there.


      LOL

      Now you are just being funny.

      Delete
    7. ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAThu Jun 26, 02:39:00 PM EDT

      Orthodox Jews Burn New Testaments Given by Christian Missionaries in Israel
      ERUSALEM – Orthodox Jews have burned hundreds of New Testaments in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in Israel.

      Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of the central Israeli town of Or Yehuda, says he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and urged people to turn over hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material recently distributed by missionaries.

      The books were dumped into a pile and religious students set them afire in a lot near a synagogue, he said.

      The Maariv newspaper reported Tuesday that hundreds of students took part in the book-burning.
      http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/05/20/orthodox-jews-burn-new-testaments-given-by-christian-missionaries-in-israel/

      Are christians allowed to preach in Israel nowadays?

      No; there are strict laws against it. You cannot teach Christianity in any setting where a Jew - even an atheist or "secular" Jew - might be "exposed" to it.


      LOL

      Delete
    8. Since when is burning a book violence against a person.

      the act of burning the book is violence against the specific book...

      Pull your head out of your ass Jack.rat you are grasping at straws in your desperate attempts...

      Now in your jihadist homeland? They BURN the missionaries...

      LOL

      Delete
  8. Oklahoma recorded nearly 150 earthquakes between January and the start of May. Though most have been too weak to cause serious damage or endanger lives, they've raised suspicions that the shaking might be connected to the oil and gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Now after years of being harangued by anxious residents, governments in three states are confronting the issue. 

    Remember ...
    Frackicide: Colorado ‘Mudslide’ Looks Like Fracking Nightmare
    3 June 2014

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi my name is: Jack, Rat, FarmerRob & I love Al quedaThu Jun 26, 08:58:00 AM EDT

      Now ShitJack is an expert at fracking....

      Will wonders ever cease?

      Delete
    2. Bob has never had an original idea.Thu Jun 26, 09:20:00 AM EDT

      Really, Bob, if you are going to continue to mimic your betters, at least raise to the Standard.

      You quality of input, under the wide variety of monikers is so weak. ...
      Even your choice of Name/URL monikers is, shall we say, lame.

      I don't think you're the victim of a stroke, along with the bad hip and cancer.
      So step it up, get with the program, quit trying to prove

      You can't fix stupid

      At least quit waving your sign

      Delete
    3. Jack, you have dozens of original thoughts each day, all them boned-headed.

      Delete
    4. He he, now there's an original thought, and true too - all Jack's original thoughts are bone-headed.

      Wish I had thought of that.

      Delete
    5. Hi my name is Jack, and I am a special needs person.Thu Jun 26, 03:41:00 PM EDT

      Jack.rat.shit has never had an original thought...

      Delete
  9. Allowing the formation of ethnic enclaves, as nation states violates the basic premise of "Divide and Conquer" colonialism which served the British so well, for so long..

    Lately they've been allowing ethnic "no go" enclaves to form inside Old Blighty itself, because anything else would be racist.

    ReplyDelete
  10. India now has a common language among the educated: English.

    Just this alone is a great thing.

    They also peacefully change governments, run elections, have more rights than previously, the caste system is withering.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob needs to expand his information sourcesThu Jun 26, 11:57:00 AM EDT

      Leaders of India assassinated,since its founding. No elections required

      Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - 1948
      Leader of the Indian freedom movement (1920-1947)

      Pratap Singh Kairon - 1965
      Chief Minister of Punjab

      Lalit Narayan Mishra - 1975
      Union minister of Railways

      Indira Gandhi - 1984
      Indian prime minister

      Rajiv Gandhi - 1991
      Indian prime minister

      Vidya Charan Shukla - 2013
      Minister of External Affairs

      Mahendra Karma - 2013
      Leader of the Opposition, Chhattisgarh

      The plurality of speakers in India speak Hindi.
      Less than one in five Indians speak English fluently, it is the language of colonialism, not of India.

      There are 22 official languages in India. Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Urdu

      Delete
    2. English is the language that educated Indians use to communicate among themselves, more than any other.

      Delete
    3. India just elected a guy named Modi, with practically no violence at all.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous does not read much, eitherThu Jun 26, 01:42:00 PM EDT

      India: Election Violence in 2 Regions Leaves 7 Dead - The ...
      www.nytimes.com/.../india-election-violence-in-2-r...
      The New York Times
      Apr 24, 2014 - A major day of voting in the world's biggest elections was marred by violence on Thursday as gunmen killed four paramilitary soldiers and three ...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous does not read much, eitherThu Jun 26, 01:47:00 PM EDT

      Street fighting as India heads for April-May election | Reuters
      www.reuters.com/.../us-india-election-idUSBREA240CM201403...
      Reuters
      Mar 5, 2014 - India election polls provide more confusion than clarity ... The violence broke out after police detained the leader of the anti-corruption Aam ...

      Policing Electoral Violence in India - Foreign Policy
      www.foreignpolicy.com/.../policing_electoral_violence_in...
      Foreign Policy
      Mar 21, 2013 - In past elections, the state -- India's fourth most populous -- encountered widespread fraud and political party violence, complicated by a ...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous does not read much, eitherThu Jun 26, 01:50:00 PM EDT

      India's election voting concludes on May 12. Results are due to be announced on May 16.

      Modi’s campaign is tainted by accusations that he turned a blind eye to, or even encouraged, anti-Muslim pogroms in 2002 in Gujarat, the state he has governed for 13 years. More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed during those attacks.

      Modi has rarely spoken of the 2002 violence, but a New York Times correspondent who spoke with him about the episode recalled recently that his primary regret during the violence was that he could have better handled the international media.


      Media relations trumps stopping the violence, for Mr Modi

      Delete
  11. .

    We will see what happens in Instanbul when a good chunk of Turkey decides to leave for a greater Kurdistan.

    A Greater Kurdistan sounds like a good idea. The Kurds, like many peoples were promised a homeland after WWI. A treaty was even signed but that all went up in smoke when Ataturk took over in Turkey in 1923.

    The Kurds have historical ties to their land and they are different from their neighbors in language, ethnically, and culturally, and even though they are Sunni Muslims they practice a different form than the Arabs or Turks. All of this has led to the their quest for independence. On the other hand their differences also are the reasons the Arabs, Persians, and Turks view them with suspicion.
    But that is just one of the reasons none of the countries involved want to see an independent Kurdistan. For instance, in Iraq the Kurdish area contains vast oil and water resources needed by the state.

    The Kurds also have their own internal problems. Any 'Greater Kurdistan' would require some kind of modus vivendi between the various political parties involved, the PUK, KDP, and People's Labor Party and the various separatist groups like PKK, ARGK,ENRK, KOMALE, IKL, and the PDK. Some of these groups like PKK are terrorist groups. All would be looking for their piece of the pie probably a very large piece and maybe the whole thing.

    Then you have international and treaty issues. Turkey is a US ally. How would they view a civil war in Turkey? During the Iraq war, the US pressured Iraq and the Iraqi Kurds to allow Turkey to enter Iraq for clean up missions on the PKK.

    If the Kurds want an independent Kurdistan, they will have to fight for it. All the countries involved (Iraq, Iran, Turkey) with the possible exception of Syria will fight it. And in Syria, the Kurds will have no trouble finding numerous other enemies to fight. For geopolitical reasons I am not sure what allies the Kurds would have in the fight.

    While the Iraqi Kurds have the best chance at independence, it won't come easy if at all. As for a greater Kuristan, I suspect that is a long way off.

    .

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Same is true for a greater Israel. It should be theirs.. But the likelihood is zero.

      Israel accepted the borders offered (then attacked and won more land)

      The Palestinians refused offers of statehood 5-6 times? Since 1948. Now the offers get smaller by the day.. (GOOD)

      So there will be no option for another arab state.

      In fact, at the rate we are going? the 22 arab nations? Might just self erode into 3-4 sooner than later.

      Delete
    2. "For geopolitical reasons I am not sure what allies the Kurds would have in the fight."


      Maybe the Israelis.

      Delete
    3. .

      "For geopolitical reasons I am not sure what allies the Kurds would have in the fight."

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      Wiki says the Kurds have occupied Kudistan since 2400 B.C.

      They do have some things in common with Israel. For instance, their were times in their history when Kurds were the ruling force there; however, like Israel, for most of their history they were subject to other powers.

      A major difference is that Kurds have occupied Kurdistan as a majority population since the beginning.

      .

      Delete
    5. The Kurds are the remnants of the Sumerian culture.

      E1b1b is all over the place up there.

      DNA

      Delete
    6. A major difference is that Kurds have occupied Kurdistan as a majority population since the beginning.


      Sorry if the Persians, Syrians, Romans, Christians coveted our land and drove us into exile.

      But we are back...

      and historical claims mean nothings it's who controls and stewards the lands...

      Israel IS.

      The arabs? Are wacking themselves...

      Delete
    7. .

      ...and historical claims mean nothings...

      Finally, you get it.

      .

      Delete
    8. Then recognize the Land of Israel and all it controls as Israel

      Then you will get it.

      And if the arabs attack again? and lose more land? They will not get it.

      Delete
  12. Always bet on a greater blood bath and you are usually placing a winning bet.

    ReplyDelete
  13. .

    More good news out of the courts albeit little baby steps.

    The US Supreme Court today limited a president's power to make recess appointments when the White House and the Senate are controlled by opposite parties, scaling back a presidential authority as old as the republic.

    The case arose from a political dispute between President Obama and Senate Republicans, who claimed he had no authority to put three people on the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012 when the Senate was out of town.


    http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-narrows-presidents-recess-appointment-power-n141601

    .

    ReplyDelete
  14. Security experts have been pounding the drum about the importance of encrypting not just data in transit, but information stored on laptops, phones, and portable drives. But the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put a dent in that armor on Wednesday, ruling that a criminal defendant could be compelled to decrypt the contents of his laptops. The case centers on a lawyer who was arrested in 2009 for allegedly participating in a mortgage fraud scheme. The defendant, Leon I. Gelfgatt, admitted to Massachusetts state police that he had done work with a company called Baylor Holdings and that he encrypted his communications and the hard drives of all of his computers. He said that he could decrypt the computers seized from his home, but refused to do so. The MJSC, the highest court in Massachusetts, was considering the question of whether the act of entering the password to decrypt the contents of a computer was an act of self-incrimination, thereby violating Gelfgatt's Fifth Amendment rights.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The trick is never talk to the police. Ever.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ...a new partnership between American Mensa and online dating giant Match.com offers a new, enticing reason to join the society of geniuses: true love. Beginning this week, members of the brainiac group can connect through a separate, exclusive dating service called Mensa Match. In addition, Match.com members can add a special Mensa badge to their profiles, signaling a specific interest in connecting with a single person with a confirmed genius-level IQ score.

    ReplyDelete
  17. O come on that is just silly, unless perhaps you are always the defendant.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Kurds have a powerful ally in the region and may have already been up-armed. It is possible that Iraqi Kurdistan has two powerful regional allies. Yesterday’s report of an oil shipment from Kurdistan through Turkey to Israel may convey more than a message of trade expansion.

    Two weeks ago, I advised keeping an eye on Baiji instead of Baghdad. Capture of Baiji by ISIS would complete the consolidation of a defense line at the Tigris River, creating a natural border with Iraqi Kurdistan in the northeast. It would also give ISIS control of Iraq’s largest refinery plant, a substantial energy generating complex, and a vital communications node via rail, road, and telephony. To the formation of a viable Sunni caliphate, Baiji is more important than an unmanageable Baghdad. Of course, keeping pressure on Baghdad is the key to the incorporation of the northeast under the aegis of ISIS. Pressure on Baghdad additionally keeps Iran focused on Baghdad.

    All this puts Iraqi Kurdistan in a potentially enviable position. Should the Baghdad government and ISIS fail to secure Baiji and are seriously weakened by the attempt, Baiji could become another Kirkuk, i.e. a political vacuum to be filled by eager Kurds. With both Kirkuk and Baiji under Kurdish control, the Kurds will be able to manage two of Iraq’s major pipeline systems, resting atop about 25% of Iraq’s gas and oil reserves (+/-), with the wherewithal to very profitably refine that raw material and export to the world by pipeline, road, or rail. Only the lack of a Kurdish run seaport prevents the maximization of Iraqi Kurdistan’s enviable position. Given Turkey’s need for petroleum products, a number of Kurdish majority cities and towns along the Mediterranean but within Turkey might be made available with negotiation. Turkey has need of a docile Kurdistan and Kurdistan has need of a needy Turkey. The diplomacy needed to make this happen will not be a walk in the park, but it is by no means impossible given the advantages to both parties. It bears mentioning that the disintegration of Syria might open Kurdish controlled corridors to the sea. It is not out of the question for a relatively short, autonomous route to be opened to the Black Sea. Time and cautious care will tell.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It is gratifying to bring sweet news of a colossal-sized political takedown.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/appeals-court-strikes-down-nycs-155155388.html
    Appeals court strikes down NYC's big-soda ban
    Appeals judges say NYC's ban on big, sugary drinks at restaurants is unconstitutional

    Mikey, with all due respect, “Bite me.”

    With a return to sanity, one day it may happen…Ah, a double Scotch, neat, and the luxurious words, “The smoking lamp is lit…Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.”

    ReplyDelete
  20. Obama approval rating hits toilet bowl bottom.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/06/25/gallup-cbsnyt-poll-show-obama-approval-heading-toward-historic-lows/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So what?
      He is not running for reelection.

      Midterm elections are local elections and Obama is not a local issue, anywhere.

      Delete
    2. I'll tell you who is running for reelection, a bunch of soon-to-be, Republican ex-governors.

      Delete
    3. Obama has some long reverse coat tails these days.

      Don't fool yourselves.

      Delete
    4. .

      So what?
      He is not running for reelection.


      He was a lame duck before. Now he is a dead duck.

      He at least had the bully pulpit before. What has he got if he loses that? Unless the Dems have a surprising turnaround in November, things will remain bad and could get even worse. His chances of getting any major legislation through are pretty slim and the courts are starting to draw a line on the prerogatives he has assumed to himself.

      He will likely have a lot more grey hair before he leaves office but at least his golf game may improve.

      .

      Delete
  21. Will it be a tango or a waltz? Or... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adUkn51t0lc

    “Aydar also made some fascinating and far-reaching comments about Israel and its place in the region. His tone was one common among Kurds, yet probably without parallel elsewhere in the region.

    “There is an Islamic approach toward Israel in the Middle East,” he said. “Before that, there was a leftist point of view. But both of these were based on Arab nationalism. This view was saying that Israel has no place in the Middle East, and Jews have no rights in the Middle East.

    “The other nations in the Middle East – Arabs, Turks, Iranians, Kurds – have to accept the existence of Israel in the Mideast. They have to recognize that these people are from the region, and are indigenous people of the region. And whatever rights Arabs have, Israel also has. This nation has the right to live on its own soil.”

    Aydar went on to call for “breaking the walls between Kurds and Israelis, and getting to know each other. If we can continue our friendship, both sides will benefit from it. The region needs the Israeli experience.”
    http://www.jpost.com/Features/Front-Lines/Behind-the-lines-Kurdistan-emerges-344603
    …Top PKK official Zubeyir Aydar tells the ‘Post’ that "Kurdish sovereignty is on the way" and calls for "breaking the walls" between Kurds and Israelis…




    "Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion," Lieberman's spokesman quoted him as telling Kerry.

    A day earlier, Israeli President Shimon Peres had a similar message for U.S. President Barack Obama, who hosted the dovish elder statesman at the White House.

    Briefing reporters, Peres said he had told Obama he did not see unifying Iraq as possible without "massive" foreign military intervention and that this underscored Kurdish separation from the Shi'ite Muslim majority and Sunni Arab minority.

    "The Kurds have, de facto, created their own state, which is democratic. One of the signs of a democracy is the granting of equality to women," Peres said.”
    http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=86787
    Israel tells U.S. Kurdish independence is foregone conclusion


    “Shared challenges make Kurds and the Jewish state good potential allies. Like Jews, the Kurdish people have lived under foreign domination for millennia. Kurdish suffering under Arab and Iranian rule infuses them with a natural affinity for Jews and Israel. There are an estimated 35 to 45 million Kurds in the Middle East, many of whom have been secretly sympathetic to Israel for years and have even been labeled “Zionist agents” in Iraq, Syria and Iran. The addition of millions of potential Kurdish friends, for micro-sized Israel with a mere eight million inhabitants, could enhance the Jewish state’s security and regional position. While Jews were always considered politically and socially inferior in the Arab Middle East, Kurds generally did not discriminate against Jews, nor have they demonized Israel. In short, geography, history and destiny create natural affinities and interests between Kurds and Israelis.”
    http://unitedwithisrael.org/kurdish-students-call-for-relations-with-israel/
    Kurdish Students Call for Relations with Israel



    “Kurds are deeply sympathetic to Israel and an independent Kurdistan will be beneficial to Israel,” argued Kurdish journalist Ayub Nuri in July. “It will create a balance of power. Right now, Israel is one country against many. But with an independent Kurdish state, first of all Israel will have a genuine friend in the region for the first time, and second, Kurdistan will be like a buffer zone in the face of the Turkey, Iran and Iraq.”
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/is-a-free-kurdistan-and-a-new-israeli-ally-upon-us/
    Is a free Kurdistan, and a new Israeli ally, upon us?

    ReplyDelete
  22. The Kurds are the remnants of the Sumerian culture

    And so are the Jews. They got their Noah story straight from Gilgamesh, Tablet 11, the ten commandments from Hammurabi, and even their sabbaths are based on the four unlucky days of the Babylonian lunar calendar when no one ventured out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're all the same people - Transplanted Ethiopians

      :)

      Delete
    2. Just as you are a transplanted asian. And Ms Ugly ass is a island hopping savage.

      Delete
    3. Rufus IIThu Jun 26, 02:44:00 PM EDT
      They're all the same people - Transplanted Ethiopians

      :)


      The young lady who cuts my hair is Ethiopian. She is also gorgeous. Last time we talked I admit to thinking of some transplanting.

      Delete
  23. U.S. Air Force suspends all F-35A flights, pending fire probe.

    $304.15 million dollars a plane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. About half a day in Iraq. :)

      Delete
    2. the Presbyterian church divested a whole 21 million from companies doing business with Israel.

      that would maybe purchase about 1 hour and 10 minutes in Iraq. LOL

      meanwhile the federal reserve printed 55 BILLON this month in free money for the banks.

      Delete
    3. The Presbyterians are a dying church.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous does not read much, eitherThu Jun 26, 03:52:00 PM EDT

      It will survive far longer than Anonymous will live.

      Delete
  24. The SCOTUS ruled UNANIMOUSLY that Obama violated the Constitution in 2012 by appointing officials to NLRB during a short break in Senate’s work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They also ruled that every President since Washington violated the Constitution by making recess appointments.

      Delete
    2. Good for the Court.

      yippeee

      Delete
  25. The Presbyterian Church USA voted 310 to 303 to sell off its investments in three major American companies — Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions — on the grounds that Israel uses goods or services purchased from the firms in enacting security measures that affect the lives of Palestinians...like bulldozing women to death.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. teresita works for the USA military, helping them blowing up civilians in the Arab world...Thu Jun 26, 03:05:00 PM EDT

      Gee I would expect more from someone like you that personally helps murder thousands and thousand of civilian babies on a yearly basis

      Delete
    2. To be accurate. Rachael "the pancake" Corrie is the one and only human pancake in the history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

      To be fair? She was a retarded nitwit that put herself in front of an armored bulldozer trying to bulldoze down the empty home of a terrorist in a closed military zone. She, not the IDF but her stupid, ill-informed ass in front the bulldozer thinking that she could defy physics.

      As for the other 2 companies? they have nothing to do with the "pancake" gal.

      As for the Presbyterian church's idea of condemning and or divesting in other unsavory companies that deal death to innocents? the Presbyterian church still have never divested in any other company that did business with Iran, Cuba, Russia. China, Nigeria, Uganda, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Nicaragua, El Salvador...

      The other interesting point is that the Presbyterian church as over 1.2 billion in investments and it's total divestment was 21 million.. LOL

      Meanwhile the rate of members leaving the flock is projected to be an additional full 25% within the next 4 years. It will be less than 800 thousand members then. LOL

      The dying Presbyterian church sends a moral message to only Israel and none other.

      The Presbyterian will invest in any mass murdering nation as long as it's not Jewish run.

      Delete
    3. 310 to 303.

      Well it was a good turnout and a real close vote.

      Delete
    4. Teresita RedingerThu Jun 26, 02:54:00 PM EDT
      The Presbyterian Church USA voted 310 to 303 to sell off its investments in three major American companies — Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions


      The Presbyterians are headed for a schism, if not already there. That is a bad thing for a dying denomination. A vote that close should have been shelved until a strong consensus could be reached.

      From 2006 -2012, membership declined by 22.5% at an accelerating rate (nearly doubling from 2011-2012). The median age is 63 and growing older at an accelerating rate. At the current rate of decline, the church will be gone in about 12 years.

      Israel is terrified as are the three affected businesses.



      Delete
  26. Maybe the Armenians could help out the Kurds on the edges?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous is inaneThu Jun 26, 03:54:00 PM EDT

      Why don't them you call and ask?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous is inaneThu Jun 26, 03:54:00 PM EDT
      Why don't them you call and ask?

      That is not Indo-European.

      Delete
  27. Old Kurdish saying:

    Our only friends are the mountains.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mountains and Allah, of course.

      Delete
  28. It's possible, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, if I were you.

    ReplyDelete
  29. You mean the 'sub-division', it's not a farm any more.
    Except for property tax evasion purposes.

    heh heh, heh

    ReplyDelete
  30. .

    Then recognize the Land of Israel and all it controls as Israel

    Then you will get it.

    And if the arabs attack again? and lose more land? They will not get it.



    Why in the world would I do that?

    More importantly, what difference would it make if I did.

    Israel has no intention of allowing a Palestinian state. Never has.

    The goal of a 'Greater Israel' has been there since the beginning of the Zionist movement. Of course, there have been periods where leadership was willing to settle for what they could get but for the past 25 years it has been obvious Israel had no intention of allowing the Palestinians to set up their own state.

    Those who say otherwise are either fools or just taking part in the kabuki.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course Israel would let the Palis set up a State as long as it is on Israel's terms. The Israelis need a place to send the Arabs so they can keep Israel ethincally pure.

      Delete
    2. They did give them Gaza already.

      Delete
    3. .

      No way.

      The West Bank (and for that matter Gaza with its natural gas) has resources Israel wants, land, oil, water. Any displacement process would be to surrounding countries. But why would they do that? The Palestinians are customers, they provide a market for Israeli goods. The PA police keep order there, a job that Israel would have to take on at great expense in their absence.

      .

      Delete
    4. Yes, Quirk, there is already a Palestinian state called Gaza.

      And it was Arafat that turned down a workable offer on the West Bank earlier.

      Delete
    5. Jesus Quirk, have you contracted some odd disease or something?

      Middle eastern brain wasting disease?

      And you don't even have a Palestinian girl friend.

      Maria is Spanish.

      Delete
    6. .

      That is a surprise to me. I was under the impression that Israel merely withdrew from Gaza under Sharon's unilateral 'disengagement' plan. As far as I know the only ones who would recognize Gaza as a state would be as a part of a unified Palestinian state in partnership with the PA in the West Bank something Israel certainly wouldn't recognize or allow.

      Arafat? Please. The guy was a non-player, exiled to Tunisia before Israel brought him back as a figurehead for the Palestinians. Anyone familiar with the Oslo process knows this. The guy was a venal thug whose sole goal in life was making a buck.

      .

      Delete
  31. .

    Those who say otherwise are either fools or just taking part in the kabuki.


    John Kerry may be the exception that proves the rule. The guy is either exceedingly idealistic or exceedingly vainglorious.

    I have to give him credit though. Though his accomplishments may be sparse it is not for lack of trying. He is one of the hardest working guys in the administration.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  32. Quirk:
    Israel has no intention of allowing a Palestinian state. Never has.

    The goal of a 'Greater Israel' has been there since the beginning of the Zionist movement. Of course, there have been periods where leadership was willing to settle for what they could get but for the past 25 years it has been obvious Israel had no intention of allowing the Palestinians to set up their own state.

    Those who say otherwise are either fools or just taking part in the kabuki.


    Sometimes your ignorance is amazing.

    You really don't have a clue as to what you are talking about, but you can make it sound good..

    Just like Obama can read from a teleprompter, you can make bullshit sound pleasant, but you still don't have a clue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      If you doubt me try reading the words of Israel's own prime ministers over the last 25 years.

      Easy Peasy. It is not rocket science.

      .

      Delete
    2. If I doubt you?

      You don't have a clue, the concept of a greater Israel has been dead for decades.

      As for the palestinians? they could have had a state anything they wanted it, if they sought true peace.

      It's totally up to them, but no state for savages.

      Again, you just don't have a clue, but you are one terrific writer.

      Delete
  33. https://news.yahoo.com/prominent-female-activist-killed-libya-105517084.html
    Prominent female activist killed in Libya

    ReplyDelete
  34. This can make you think:

    The many interrelationships noted above reinforce the conclusion that this is a faithful cross-section of a population. No such mix could have resulted from post-1492 European gene flow into the Cherokee Nation. So where do our non-European, non-Indian-appearing elements come from? The level of haplogroup T in the Cherokee (26.9%) approximates the percentage for Egypt (25%), one of the only lands where T attains a major position among the various mitochondrial lineages. In Egypt, T is three times what it is in Europe. Haplogroup U in our sample is about the same as the Middle East in general. Its frequency is similar to that of Turkey and Greece. J has a frequency not unlike Europe (a little less than 10%). The only other place on earth where X is found at an elevated level apart from other American Indian groups like the Ojibwe is among the Druze in the Hills of Galilee in northern Israel and Lebanon. The work of Shlush et al. (2009) demonstrates that this region was in fact the center of the worldwide diffusion of haplogroup X.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phoenicians. On the Y chromosome side of Shlush et al.'s study, male haplogroup K was found to have a relatively high frequency of 11% in the Galilee region (2008:2). K (renamed T in the revised YCC nomenclature) has long been suspected to be the genetic signature of the Phoenicians. A TV show by National Geographic appeared about a year ago titled Who Were the Phoenicians?, in which Spencer Wells of the National Genographic Project, unveiled this theory. Without a doubt it was the Phoenicians, whose name among themselves was Cana'ni or KHNAI 'Canaanites', not Phoenikoi 'red paint people' (Aubet 2001:9-12; cf. Oxford Classical Dictionary s.v. "Phoenicians" ), who are referenced by James Adair when he observes that "several old American towns are called Kan?ai," and suggests that the Conoy Indians of Pennsylvania and Maryland were Canaanites and their tribal name a corruption of the word Canaan. The Conoy Indians are the same Indians William Penn around 1700 described as resembling Italians, Jews and Greeks. By about 1735 they had dwindled to a "remnant of a nation, or subdivided tribe, of Indians," according to Adair (1930:56, 67, 68). One of the oldest Cherokee clans is called Red Paint Clan (Ani-wodi).

      So do the two subclades of X and other haplogroups represent Old World and New World branches diverging from each other as long ago as 30,000 years, or do the Native American "anomalous" haplotypes come more recently (but not as late as Columbus) from the same source in the East Mediterranean? The answer probably depends on how open one is to new evidence and revisionary thinking. According to Jett, "The splits may have taken place well before transfer, with one only or both being transferred to a new place and then one dying out in the home area (and the other in the new area, if both were transferred)." The distinction, at any rate, is irrelevant to the Cherokee who exhibit these not-so-rare haplogroups, although to those denied authenticity on the basis of anthropologists' hardened ideas about the genetic composition of American Indians it is welcome vindication either way.

      Delete
    2. Solutreans ! is the solution !

      Solutrean - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solutrean Cached
      The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Palaeolithic, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Contents 1 Details 2 Solutrean ...
      Solutrean hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solutrean_hypothesis Cached
      The Solutrean hypothesis, first proposed in 1998, is an alternative scientific theory about the settlement of the Americas that claims Europeans may have been among ...
      SOLUTREANS: The First Ancient Settlers in North America
      viewzone.com/solutrean.html Cached
      Scallop fishermen net historic artifacts. Tasty deep-sea scallops like to burrow deep in the ocean floor. Fishermen plow and trawl the sea bottom far off shore ...
      Solutreans Are Indigenous Americans - YouTube
      www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNTXCMYjwEk Cached
      In the Ice Age Columbus DVD, fascinating new archaeological data and DNA research Discover's that Europeans discovered the Americas 17,000 years prior to ...
      .Play Video
      The Solutrean-Clovis Connection - Archeology Hypothesis
      archaeology.about.com/od/skthroughsp/qt/solutrean_clovi.htm Cached
      The Solutrean-Clovis connection suggests that at least some of the Clovis people from the North American continent were direct descendants of Solutreans from Europe.
      Radical theory of first Americans places Stone Age Europeans ...
      www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/radical... Cached
      At the height of the last ice age, Stanford says, mysterious Stone Age European people known as the Solutreans paddled along an ice cap jutting into the North Atlantic.
      Solutreans: The first Americans - 1 of 9 - YouTube
      www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZrXQy2tJDw Cached
      Were the Solutrean people of stone age southern France the first inhabitants of North America? This compelling docu-drama unravels the long lost history of ...

      ;)

      Delete
  35. In November 2012 the UN General Assembly recognized Palestine as a “non-member observer state”. This is the same status accorded The Holy See and Switzerland. There was one technical wrinkle to be ironed out, Hamas’s coup in Gaza. It was adroitly handled by being ignored. That’s how smart people solve problems dealing with Jews: they change the rules.

    In 1974, the General Assembly gave the PLO much the same status.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      UNITED NATIONS The United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday, by an impressive margin, to upgrade Palestine from its status as an "Observer Entity" to an "Observer State," a change greeted by celebration in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and with an unusual display of emotion at U.N. Headquarters -- a Palestinian flag unfurled on the Assembly floor.

      But what exactly did the Palestinians really gain at the world body? The resolution referred to the "right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine."

      For Palestinians, statehood in name only
      U.N. votes to label Palestine a state
      Video: Palestinians celebrate U.N. vote

      So, is Palestine now a State?

      Here's what the U.N.'s own charter, and international law have to say on the matter:

      "The recognition of a new State or Government is an act that only other States and Governments may grant or withhold. It generally implies readiness to assume diplomatic relations. The United Nations is neither a State nor a Government, and therefore does not possess any authority to recognize either a State or a Government," according to the United Nations.

      A state may be considered a state by other countries, but not be a member of the U.N. -- as is the case with the Holy See and Kosovo, for example. The United States recognizes 195 states, whereas there are only 193 members of the U.N.

      U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice made the U.S. government's stance on the Palestinians abundantly clear after Friday's vote, telling the assembly: "This resolution does not establish that Palestine is a state."


      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-palestine-now-a-state/

      .

      Delete
  36. Analysis and comments[edit]
    Blaming Arafat[edit]
    Most of the criticism for the failure of the 2000 Camp David Summit was leveled at Arafat.[27][28] Ehud Barak portrays Arafat’s behavior at Camp David as a “performance geared to exact as many Israeli concessions as possible without ever seriously intending to reach a peace settlement or sign an “end to the conflict.[14]

    Clinton blamed Arafat after the failure of the talks, stating, "I regret that in 2000 Arafat missed the opportunity to bring that nation into being and pray for the day when the dreams of the Palestinian people for a state and a better life will be realized in a just and lasting peace." The failure to come to an agreement was widely attributed to Yasser Arafat, as he walked away from the table without making a concrete counter-offer and because Arafat did little to quell the series of Palestinian riots that began shortly after the summit.[28][29][30] Arafat was also accused of scuttling the talks by Nabil Amr, a former minister in the Palestinian Authority.[31]

    Two books published in 2004 placed the blame for the failure of the summit on Arafat. They were The Missing Peace by longtime US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross and My Life by Clinton. Clinton wrote that Arafat once complimented Clinton by telling him, "You are a great man." Clinton responded, "I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you made me one."[32] During a lecture in Australia, Ross suggested that the reason for the failure was Arafat's unwillingness to sign a final deal with Israel that would close the door on any of the Palestinians' maximum demands, particularly the right of return. Ross claimed that what Arafat really wanted was "a one-state solution. Not independent, adjacent Israeli and Palestinian states, but a single Arab state encompassing all of Historic Palestine".[33]

    In his book, The Oslo Syndrome, Harvard Medical School professor of psychiatry and historian[34] Kenneth Levin summarized the failure of the 2000 Camp David Summit in this manner: "[D]espite the dimensions of the Israeli offer and intense pressure from President Clinton, Arafat demurred. He apparently was indeed unwilling, no matter what the Israeli concessions, to sign an agreement that declared itself final and forswore any further Palestinian claims."[29] Levin argues that both the Israelis and the Americans were naive in expecting that Arafat would agree to give up the idea of a literal "right of return" for all Palestinians into Israel proper no matter how many 1948 refugees or how much monetary compensation Israel offered to allow.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_2000_Summit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Other opinions from the same article:

      Robert Malley, present at the summit, noticed the strained relationship between Arafat and Barak and the core issues not discussed by the leaders prior to the summit. He stated that it was not the dream offer from a Palestinian perspective. Israel would retain sovereignty over some Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the Haram al Sharif, and the ideas about the refugees were vaguely described as satisfactory solution. Malley found that the Palestinians had made many concessions.[35]

      In reaction on the U.S. media, which often portrayed Barak's offer as being "generous," the Israeli group Gush Shalom stated that "the offer is a pretense of generosity for the benefit of the media", and included detailed maps of what the offer specifically entailed.[36] Among Gush Shalom's concerns with Barak's offer were Barak's demand to annex large settlement blocs (9% of the West Bank) with no Israeli land given to a proposed Palestinian state in return, the lack of contiguity that the settlement blocs would cause for a Palestinian state, lack of trust in the commitment and/or ability of the Israeli government to evacuate the thousands of non-bloc Israeli settlers in the 15-year timeline, limited sovereignty for Palestinians in Jerusalem.

      Clayton Swisher wrote a rebuttal to Clinton and Ross's accounts about the causes for the breakdown of the Camp David Summit in his 2004 book, The Truth About Camp David.[37] Swisher, the Director of Programs at the Middle East Institute, concluded that the Israelis and the Americans were at least as guilty as the Palestinians for the collapse. M.J. Rosenberg praised the book: "Clayton Swisher's 'The Truth About Camp David,' based on interviews with [US negotiators] Martin Indyk, Dennis Ross and [Aaron] Miller himself provides a comprehensive and acute account – the best we're likely to see – on the [one-sided diplomacy] Miller describes."[38]


      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_2000_Summit

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      There was no single moment when the Oslo Accords can be said to have broken down. Instead, they saw a steady process of decline as both sides accused one another of failing to implement key aspects of the agreements.

      A 1994 massacre by an Israeli settler in Hebron fueled Palestinian anger, and then, in 1995, a right-wing Israeli gunman assassinated Rabin at a peace rally. The following year, after a series of Hamas bomb attacks on civilian targets had fueled outrage in Israel, Rabin's successor Shimon Peres was beaten at the polls by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who had led opposition to Oslo.

      Netanyahu was ousted in 1999 by Ehud Barak, but by then mutual distrust and hostility ran deep, and President Bill Clinton's effort to broker a final-status agreement at Camp David in 2000 ended in failure. The peace process was now eclipsed by an increasingly violent second intifada that inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, and which shifted the international diplomatic tide against the Palestinians. The following year, Israel elected another Likud leader, Ariel Sharon, who vowed to end the Oslo Accords.

      Although Sharon withdrew unilaterally from Gaza in 2005, he avoided a return to final-status negotiations. Sporadic attempts to restart talks over the past decade have produced no further progress towards a final-status agreement. Instead, the Oslo Accords' interim arrangements have become a new status quo.

      Factors often cited for the failure to conclude the Oslo process include:
      • Imbalance of power between the two sides
      • Failure of the United States to serve as a tough but impartial mediator
      • Growing influence of opponents of compromise -- settlers on the Israeli side, Hamas on the Palestinian side
      • The gulf between the maximum Israel has been willing to offer and the minimum that Palestinians are willing to accept


      http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/13/oslo-accords-explained.html

      .

      Delete
    3. .

      Remarks from Benjamin Netanyahu

      In a 2001 video, Netanyahu, reportedly unaware he was being recorded, said: "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]... I said I would, but [that] I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."[9][10] Netanyahu then explained how he conditioned his signing of the 1997 Hebron agreement on American consent that there be no withdrawals from "specified military locations", and insisted he be allowed to specify which areas constituted a "military location"—such as the whole of the Jordan Valley. "Why is that important? Because from that moment on I stopped the Oslo Accords", Netanyahu affirmed.[11]

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_I_Accord

      .

      Delete
  37. Arafat? Please. The guy was a non-player, exiled to Tunisia before Israel brought him back as a figurehead for the Palestinians. Anyone familiar with the Oslo process knows this. The guy was a venal thug whose sole goal in life was making a buck.

    The Buck: A sexual position in which the PLO chairman lies flat on his back with his legs extended at a 90 degree angle from his torso, with his ankles positioned somewhere near his lover's ears or locked around his neck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once again you show your perverted sick side.

      Delete
    2. Vintage Teresita - non sense coupling with lewdness.

      Delete
  38. That’s how smart people solve problems dealing with Jews: they change the rules.

    ruse

    ro͞oz,ro͞os

    noun

    an action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

    "Eleanor tried to think of a ruse to get Paul out of the house"

    synonyms: ploy, stratagem, tactic, scheme, trick, gambit, cunning plan, dodge, subterfuge, machination, wile

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If Israel is doing so fine maybe we can cut off their allowance, eh?

      Delete
    2. And you have no idea how many lols erupt on this end every time you guys trot out the "fake lesbian" comeback when you get pwned on a topic. That something so absurdly irrelevant is important to you and WiO is a mystery of the highest order.

      Delete
    3. It's not about whether or not you like snatch.

      It's about the fake that you are a serial liar.

      You make things up, you deceive, you misdirect and take out of context, you slander and libel.

      You are simply a shit of a person, regardless of your sexual preferences.

      Delete
    4. The difference between you and me, WiO, being shits, is that I do not resort to personal attacks, unless you have somehow internalized the State of Israel to the point that any criticism of their policies is a personal attack on you, which like any other neurosis is something I cannot help.

      Delete
    5. You don't resort to personal attacks?

      Do you actual believe the shit you write?

      Good god lady you are one river in egypt...

      denile... that is...

      Delete
    6. Israel prefers homosexual tourismThu Jun 26, 11:37:00 PM EDT

      Don't forget, MS T, the Israeli are promoting the "Gay Tours" of Israeli Army bases ....

      They bring in the studs from New York to service those Hebrew Homos.

      Pornographic filmmaker Michael Lucas has turned Israeli soldiers into an attraction for gay tourists while Omer Gershon — the gay flotilla hoaxer and hasbara activist — has said that tourists find Israeli men “very exotic.”
      http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3871457,00.html

      Delete
    7. Israel - damned their country for moneyThu Jun 26, 11:41:00 PM EDT

      Unlike many countries, prostitution in Israel is legal.

      To many people it is shocking to learn that in the "Holy Land" prostitution is allowed.

      Prostitution in Israel is legal and not kept on the down low.
      Everyone knows about it and where to go to find a prostitute.
      It is a choice whether they decide to pay for sex or not.
      Prostitutes are known to be discrete.
      They do not go around talking about the men they have sex with.
      Some of the places where prostitution is more popular is in cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa.


      Spengler's Universal Law #9: A country isn't beaten until it sells its women, but it's damned when its women sell themselves.

      Delete
    8. Israel prefers homosexual tourismThu Jun 26, 11:43:00 PM EDT

      No one cares about sexual preferences in Israel, they sell everything.

      Delete
  39. Then there is the ongoing catastrophe of Christian communities in the Middle East. In Iraq alone, the Christian community has declined by 60 percent since 2003, the victims of targeted murder and violence. One would think that an American Church would use its wealth and influence to save its Christian brothers in the world’s most dangerous places. But it turns out that rather than come to the rescue of endangered co-religionists the Presbyterians remain obsessed with the Jews.

    http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/No-holds-barred-By-condemning-Israel-Presbyterians-are-condemning-themselves-360328

    No holds barred: By condemning Israel, Presbyterians are condemning themselves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe by supporting the descendants of the firstborn son of Abram, Presbollah is fulfulling Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you" etc.

      Delete
    2. I don't have a clue, but you're the one restricts the word "anti-Semite" to mean only opposition to the State of Israel.

      Delete
    3. Hardly.

      But go and argue with yourself some more and tell who won later...

      Delete
    4. And now that's settled, before bedtime Linuxgal opines on the teleological argument...

      http://badinage1.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/the-teleological-argument/

      Delete
    5. Prostitution is legal, in the kosher state of IsraelThu Jun 26, 11:45:00 PM EDT

      Spengler's Universal Law #9: A country isn't beaten until it sells its women, but it's damned when its women sell themselves.

      Israel has damned itself.
      No help required from Presbyterians

      Delete
    6. rat would have made a wonderful good fucked up fundie preacher. It was his true calling, but he missed it. So we have to listen to his shit here.

      Delete
  40. Ann Coulter says she hates soccer. Maybe it's because she has a soccer ball stuck in her throat.

    SCOTUS unanimously rejects 35 foot no-free-speech buffer zone for abortion clinics. That means even Kagan. Gaius Imperious Golfus is mad enough to eat a dog.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Michigan: Insurance companies release preliminary 2015 premium rates; mixed bag all around








    Submitted by Charles Gaba on Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 9:01pm.



    Source:


    Detroit Free Press, 06/25/14: 2015 Michigan health insurance rates

    Detroit Free Press, 06/25/14: Some hikes, some cuts sought in 2015 Michigan health insurance rates
    .

    Hat Tip To:


    Mark N.
    .




    All 17 of the insurance companies participating in the federal ACA exchange this fall for Year Two of open enrollment have released their preliminary rate requests for 2015. It's important to stress preliminary, since the rates still have to be approved by the HHS Dept.


    There could be some sticker shock, but some welcomed price cuts as well, when consumers go shopping for insurance this fall on the Michigan Health Insurance Marketplace, according to numbers the state released earlier today.

    Overall, it appears that Michigan’s proposed average rate increase of just 2.2% is modest compared to changes in some other states, according to an ongoing analysis by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers that so far has compared insurance pricing on more than a dozen state marketplaces.

    That means the average premium cost in Michigan — $326.74 — remains lower than the national average premium of $360.

    ...At least four companies propose boosting premiums 9% or more, while others plan to slash those monthly costs by double-digit percentages. (See table: 2015 Michigan health insurance rates)

    In Michigan BCBSM and Blue Care Network are king, with a combined 74% of the market this year; both want to bump up their rates by around 9.5%. While this isn't great, it's almost nominal considering that BCBSM jacked up my own familie's rate by nearly 100% in the prior 3 years. Meanwhile, 6 of their competitors are proposing to slash their rates by up to 21%.

    ACA Signups

    ReplyDelete