tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post1247295646320752427..comments2024-03-29T06:35:11.321-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Bullshit from Putin Deuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-40762773067207600592014-07-20T08:28:09.917-04:002014-07-20T08:28:09.917-04:00http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/07/the_va...http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/07/the_vacuum_left_by_obama_has_been_filled.html<br /><br />This is the kind of treatment the noble Hamas wishes to give to the Jews.<br /><br /><br />"Say a prayer for each and every Christian fleeing Mosul and struggling mightily throughout the Muslim world."<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-15022961053543688752014-07-20T08:24:30.625-04:002014-07-20T08:24:30.625-04:00July 20, 2014
The vacuum left by Obama has been fi...July 20, 2014<br />The vacuum left by Obama has been filled<br />By Carol Brown<br /><br />Obama’s one-two punch of incompetence and intentionally malicious acts have directly contributed to yet another horror unfolding in the Middle East.<br /><br />The headline at Catholic Culture reads: “Christians in Mosul told: leave, convert, or die”<br /><br /> Christians in Mosul, Iraq, have been told that they must leave, convert to Islam or accept dhimmitude, or die.<br /><br /> A communique from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) gave Christians a deadline of June (sic) 19, saying that if they do not leave or accept Islamic rule, "their destiny is the sword." The Aleteia web site, citing local sources, said that this message was being broadcast on loudspeakers by mosques in Mosul.<br /><br /> Bishop Saad Sirop, an auxiliary of the Chaldean Catholic patriarchate in Baghdad, told Aid to the Church in Need: "In the last hours, the jihadists of ISIL have forced the few remaining Christians in Iraq's second city to leave their homes."<br /><br /> Those who do leave the city have been stopped at checkpoints, where jihadists have confiscated some of their possessions and even their vehicles. In Mosul, homes belonging to Christians are being marked by jihadists, to be taken over and looted. ISIL has ordered that Christians may not be given food from relief shipments.<br /><br />Breitbart reports (with the full text of Sako’s letter in the piece):<br /><br /> Iraq’s Christian leaders have just made a desperate cry for help. Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, head of Iraq’s Catholic church, has issued an appeal “to all who have a living conscience in Iraq and all the world.”<br /><br /> The situation for Iraq’s Christians has been steadily deteriorating ever since the 2003 invasion, in part because the U.S. never acknowledged that Christians were being targeted by Islamists and did not prioritize protection of Christians or other minorities.<br /><br /> But with the recent sweep through Mosul and other Iraqi cities by the jihadi group ISIS, Iraq’s Christians look to be on the verge of genocide.<br /><br /> On June 16th it was reported that ISIS had marked the doors of Christians in red. Patriarch Sako’s letter confirms that rumor. While no one yet knows what this ominous sign foretells, Sako and other Christian leaders are pleading with the world to intervene before the meaning of the sign is made clear. (snip)<br /><br /> Bishop Habash said, “Christians throughout the Middle East have been targeted, and we are on the verge of being exterminated. The West stepped in to stop the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and Kosovar Muslims, so we know it can be done. The West must step in now and save the Middle East’s Christians, or we will be wiped out.”<br /><br />As reported The Right Scoop:<br /><br /> It’s being reported that for the first time in history, the Iraqi city of Mosul is now empty of Christians after a warning was blasted from mosque speakers, and flyers passed out. The ultimatum issued was to either flee the city, pay the ‘al-Jiziya’ tax for Jews and Christians living under Muslim dominance prescribed in the Koran, or “face the sword.” After seeing their bloodthirsty viciousness in dealing with the remnants of the Iraqi army, the Christians chose to leave.<br /><br />For. The. First. Time. In. History.<br /><br />A once vibrant Christian community in the ancient city of Mosul is no longer because they have been driven out by the growing call to subjugate or kill all infidels. With no Jews left in Iraq, that leaves only Christians to expel.<br /><br />And the world seems not to care. Or worse.<br /><br />This lays, in part, at the feet of Obama. He abandoned Iraq and left a vacuum which has been filled by Islamic terrorists. And as the vacuum is filled, Christians have been emptied from the land. The last remaining Christians in Mosul are running for their lives.<br /><br />Say a prayer for each and every Christian fleeing Mosul and struggling mightily throughout the Muslim world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-36524132366481329052014-07-20T08:16:40.298-04:002014-07-20T08:16:40.298-04:00And that's the difference between an 'O...And that's the difference between an 'O' and a 'Q'.<br /><br />One no can do, one can do.Uncle Gummy Bearnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-84462362434984280262014-07-20T08:12:38.047-04:002014-07-20T08:12:38.047-04:00http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/07/islami...http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/07/islamic_state_smashes_iraqi_government_offensive_to_retake_tikrit.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-54059165479658675882014-07-20T08:11:17.571-04:002014-07-20T08:11:17.571-04:00July 20, 2014
Islamic State smashes Iraqi governme...July 20, 2014<br />Islamic State smashes Iraqi government offensive to retake Tikrit<br />By Rick Moran<br /><br />In what is being described as the worst defeat for Iraqi arms since the terrorists took over half the country last month, forces of the Islamic State smashed the Iraqi government's ineffective effort to retake the city of Tikrit - Saddam Hussein's birthplace - taking up to 800 prisoners and destroying up to 8 helicopters.<br /><br />McClatchy:<br /><br /> Witnesses reached by phone, who asked not be identified for security reasons, said that by Friday morning the final pocket of government troops had collapsed, an ignominious end for a counteroffensive that had begun with a helicopter assault into Tikrit University but ended with troops trapped at Camp Speicher.<br /><br /> There was no comment from the Iraqi government. On Wednesday, the military had acknowledged that its forces had made what it called a “tactical retreat” to Ajwa, a town about 10 miles south of Tikrit, after the push into the city failed.<br /><br /> Interviews with Tikrit residents and statements on Twitter accounts associated with the Islamic State described massive government losses. One Twitter post said Islamic State militants had shot down or destroyed on the ground as many as eight helicopters, a number that if confirmed would be a catastrophic loss for the government. Another Twitter posting said Islamic State militants had set the base’s fuel storage tanks on fire and that a suicide bomber had attacked a “gathering” of government soldiers.<br /><br /> One resident said that as many as 700 government soldiers and 150 fighters he described as Iranians, but who may have been Shiite Muslim militiamen, had participated in the final battle. Sunni Muslims in central Iraq often inaccurately describe Iraqi Shiites as Iranians.<br /><br /> “They were being bombarded and mortared all night, and by Friday morning you could see burning helicopters everywhere and the fighting had stopped,” the resident said.<br /><br /> He said many of the captured soldiers had been executed. “They are parading prisoners through the streets of Tikrit,” the resident said.<br /><br /> A military officer from the Kurdish peshmerga militia, who until the recent political split between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad had served in the Iraqi military’s special forces, confirmed the defeat.<br /><br /> “The government forces, which were a mix of regular army, special forces units and Shiite militias, have been destroyed,” he said, speaking only on the condition of anonymity so as not to aggravate the already poisonous relationship between the Kurds and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in Baghdad.<br /><br /> “When they were unable to push past Ajwa with reinforcements on Wednesday, their fate was sealed,” the officer said.<br /><br />The fact that Shiite milita were involved in the battle at all tells us that the government doesn't trust most of its army to fight on their side. Iraq has a 500,000 man army and they couldn't muster more than 700 for an important offensive?<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Islamic State's terror campaign in Baghdad is proceeding. They took credit for a wave of bombings yesterday in the city that claimed 27 lives.<br /><br />But all is not peaches and cream for the Islamic State. Their Sunni allies are balking at their barbarity and there have been clashes between the terrorists and Sunni militias in recent days. But there is not likely to be a complete break - not until Bagdhad is secure.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-67049857216005588392014-07-20T08:04:52.959-04:002014-07-20T08:04:52.959-04:00We know 'O' ain't gonna do it.
He'...We know 'O' ain't gonna do it.<br /><br />He's golfing.Uncle Gummy Bearnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-79263039811331249482014-07-20T08:01:53.619-04:002014-07-20T08:01:53.619-04:00Border Patrol agents took .50 caliber machine gun ...Border Patrol agents took .50 caliber machine gun fire from drug runners on the Rio Grande the other day.<br /><br />Suppressing fire to help 40-50 wetbacks cross.<br /><br />Some are using jet skis to cross.<br /><br />We need to get Q and his boys down there to put a stop to all this shit.<br /><br />Uncle Gummy Bearnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-30412109018519647012014-07-20T04:54:04.423-04:002014-07-20T04:54:04.423-04:00.
A breakthrough?
A leader of the pro-Russia reb....<br /><br />A breakthrough?<br /><br /><i>A leader of the pro-Russia rebel fighters in Ukraine has said they will guarantee the safety of international monitors at the Malaysian plane's crash site if Kiev agrees to a truce.<br /><br />"We declare that we will guarantee the safety of international experts on the scene as soon as Kiev concludes a ceasefire agreement," said Andrei Purgin, deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in a statement. He urged Kiev to "immediately conclude such an agreement" with the rebels.<br /><br />His statement came as the international community increased pressure on Russia to get the Moscow-backed rebels to grant investigators full access to the crash site of the Malaysian MH17 jet.</i><br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/mh17-pro-russia-rebels-crash-site-kiev-ceasefire<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-90763064318295184012014-07-20T04:40:30.445-04:002014-07-20T04:40:30.445-04:00.
Oreo Bob: You ask Israel - with their experien....<br /><br />Oreo Bob: <i>You ask Israel - with their experience through history - to take risks that you would not take in your home near Detroit.<br /><br />Think of it this way - it would be like you welcoming MS-13 into your neighborhood.</i><br /><br />Your analogies are silly.<br /><br />Detroit has about 1/10 the population of Israel.<br /><br /><i><b>Murder</b><b>In 2009, 135 people were murdered in Israel.</b><br /><br />Two major motivations for homicide in Israel are violence against women (including honor killings in Muslim families) and politically motivated violence i.e. Arab terrorism against Israelis.[16][17]</i><br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Israel<br /><br /><br />In Detroit, <br /><br /><b>The annual homicide rate per 100,000 is 48.2.</b><br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Detroit<br /><br /><b>In 2012, Detroit had 411 homicides.</b><br /><br />http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/20493948/detroit-crime-stats-411-homicides-in-2012<br /><br /><br />I couldn't find the exact number in Detroit for 2009 for a real apples to apples but the 400 number is kind of an average in Detroit over the past few years and that is down from the good old days. And it's not unusual go. Look at most major cities in the US, New Orleans, Chicago, Camden, Philly, etc.<br /><br />411 vs. 67 with 1/10th the population. 48.6 per 100,000 vs 2.4 per 100,000.<br /><br />And by the way, MS13 is in Detroit. It is in most major cities in the US. It is officially been designated an international crime organization. <br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-28676916510747150182014-07-20T03:41:36.836-04:002014-07-20T03:41:36.836-04:00.
After the passage of some time, tensions would ....<br /><br /><i>After the passage of some time, tensions would ease, fruitful negotiations might take place.......</i><br /><br />It has been 45 years. How do you define the passage of time. Do you really believe their will be a political settlement in your or my life times?<br /><br />The PLO was formed in 1964 and soon was recognized by the majority of countries and the UN as the representative of the Palestinian people. What people seem to forget is that one of the main reasons they formed their own organization was because of the duplicity of the other Arab states. They have been having it stuck to them by their bros in the other Arab countries since '48, all of them looking to get their piece of the pie. The Palestinians have always been pawns to the other countries in the region, the same countries that fought Israel in '67.<br /><br />Hamas was formed in '87, twenty years, a full generation after the six-day war. <br /><br />The wall went up around Gaza in '94 as part of the Oslo 'peace process'. The people of Gaza have been in their own little prison for the past 20 years. An entire generation has grown up behind those walls. <br /><br />As for Hamas' Charter, the PLO didn't recognize Israel's right to exist either, that is until they did. In '88, as I recall. <br /><br />Most of the rest of the stuff you say is true. I am not arguing with that. It's just the phony euphemisms that you guys throw around that drives me crazy.<br /><br />I am not saying things couldn't change. However, given the history, given demographic and political trends in Israel, given the issue of the land, given religious issues and views, given future needs for resources, given Israeli security concerns, I just don't see it happening.<br /><br />Currently, the West Bank is being absorbed. The Israelis occupy and control it. The high points have been taken. I don't see them being given back. Gaza is an enclave the Israelis control but they don't want to physically occupy. The costs would be too high both in lives and treasure.<br /><br />That is the reality, IMO. Now if blaming the entire situation on the Palestinians and positing the Israelis as victims somehow makes you feel justified, fine go for it. Just don't expect me to jump up and shout "Ditto".<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-38146531867438696752014-07-20T03:12:24.831-04:002014-07-20T03:12:24.831-04:00out for tonightout for tonightAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-39134485940582965792014-07-20T03:11:57.232-04:002014-07-20T03:11:57.232-04:00Again, you are unresponsive.
Are the Israelis occ...Again, you are unresponsive.<br /><br />Are the Israelis occupiers or are they prison guards? <br /><br />Neither.<br /><br />They are defending themselves.<br /><br />They are in a defensive posture.<br /><br />Simple as that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-79088104310803282732014-07-20T03:09:14.720-04:002014-07-20T03:09:14.720-04:00Judge Jeanine Pirro on Fox was just saying it is t...Judge Jeanine Pirro on Fox was just saying it is time for Israel to clean out Gaza once and for all.<br /><br />Enough already !Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-7311402498428927822014-07-20T03:07:38.563-04:002014-07-20T03:07:38.563-04:00Why I Stand With Israel
A great many of us pride...Why I Stand With Israel<br /><br /><br />A great many of us pride ourselves on the subtlety of our minds, and on recognizing the complexities, both moral and practical, of the world, and this is a very good impulse.<br /><br />But when this impulse is raised to the level of dogma, it risks obscuring more than it clarifies. There are some occasions–yes, few, but some–when the moral calculus is exceedingly simple.<br /><br />I used to have a great personal interest in the policy detail of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I could lecture at length on the subtleties of Camp David, Taba, the Road Map; on the different kinds of settlements; on the security barrier, its precise shape and contours; on the various UN resolutions; on the history of Fatah and Hamas. By now, like Lord Palmerston and the Schleswig-Holstein Question, I have forgotten most of the details.<br /><br />What I have not forgotten is the following: the State of Israel is a democracy with the rule of law and respect for human rights (yes, imperfect, unlike the United States and Europe, which, as we all know, are perfect); demonic hatred of Jews is a real and persistent fact of history and when left unchecked it always leads to atrocities; this demonic hatred is absolutely clearly distilled into the enemies of Israel; and most, most importantly this: if tomorrow Hamas, Hizbullah and other enemies of Israel dropped their weapons, peace would break out; if tomorrow Israel dropped its weapons, a genocide would break out.<br /><br />There is, there can be, no moral equivalency. Sometimes there really are Good Guys and Bad Guys.<br /><br />That the Palestinians are weak and poor while Israel is comparatively strong and rich changes nothing. That Israel is often unwise and, yes, occasionally criminal, changes nothing.<br /><br />To take a purposefully provocative analogy: yes, during World War II, the Allies (even excepting the Soviet Union) committed war crimes. The strategic bombing of Germany and the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagazaki were war crimes. Elizabeth Anscombe was right to denounce Truman. It nonetheless remains true that if you lived through World War II and pretexted of Allied crimes to portray the sides as morally equivalent, or to refuse to take sides, you were guilty of moral cretinism and cowardice.<br /><br />This is a conflict where there really are Good Guys and Bad Guys and to pretend otherwise is indefensible. The chief culprit of the plight of the Palestinians is not Israel but the terrorists and fanatics who use them as tools of their ravenous bloodlust.<br /><br />Golda Meir was right then, and is right now. The conflict will end when the enemies of Israel start loving their children more than they hate Israel.<br /><br />Yes, it really is that simple.<br /><br />www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/07/18/why-i-stand-with-israel/<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-4042630471862734472014-07-20T03:03:27.319-04:002014-07-20T03:03:27.319-04:00And not taking special precautions for your own sa...And not taking special precautions for your own safety.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-50829540755126659572014-07-20T03:02:34.566-04:002014-07-20T03:02:34.566-04:00This guy says it well -
Why I Stand With Israel
...This guy says it well -<br /><br />Why I Stand With Israel<br /><br />A great many of us pride ourselves on the subtlety of our minds, and on recognizing the complexities, both moral and practical, of the world, and this is a very good impulse.<br /><br />But when this impulse is raised to the level of dogma, it risks obscuring more than it clarifies. There are some occasions–yes, few, but some–when the moral calculus is exceedingly simple.<br /><br />I used to have a great personal interest in the policy detail of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I could lecture at length on the subtleties of Camp David, Taba, the Road Map; on the different kinds of settlements; on the security barrier, its precise shape and contours; on the various UN resolutions; on the history of Fatah and Hamas. By now, like Lord Palmerston and the Schleswig-Holstein Question, I have forgotten most of the details.<br /><br />What I have not forgotten is the following: the State of Israel is a democracy with the rule of law and respect for human rights (yes, imperfect, unlike the United States and Europe, which, as we all know, are perfect); demonic hatred of Jews is a real and persistent fact of history and when left unchecked it always leads to atrocities; this demonic hatred is absolutely clearly distilled into the enemies of Israel; and most, most importantly this: if tomorrow Hamas, Hizbullah and other enemies of Israel dropped their weapons, peace would break out; if tomorrow Israel dropped its weapons, a genocide would break out.<br /><br />There is, there can be, no moral equivalency. Sometimes there really are Good Guys and Bad Guys......<br /><br />http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/07/18/why-i-stand-with-israel/<br /><br />Your problem, Quirk, is in not fully recognizing the special hatred mindset of Israel's enemies.<br /><br />Egypt has moderated(depending on who is currently Pharoah) <br /><br />Hamas, Hizbollah, Iran have not.<br /><br />You ask Israel - with their experience through history - to take risks that you would not take in your home near Detroit.<br /><br />Think of it this way - it would be like you welcoming MS-13 into your neighborhood.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-15245520570958145602014-07-20T02:56:02.742-04:002014-07-20T02:56:02.742-04:00.
Again, you are unresponsive.
Are the Israelis ....<br /><br />Again, you are unresponsive.<br /><br />Are the Israelis occupiers or are they prison guards? If neither, what are they vis-a-vis Gaza, or even the West Bank for that matter?<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-70326228833751714632014-07-20T02:51:25.777-04:002014-07-20T02:51:25.777-04:00.
Twenty-one Egyptian Border Guards Killed by Mil....<br /><br /><b>Twenty-one Egyptian Border Guards Killed by Militants Along the Libyan Border</b><br /><br /><i>Security officials say militants operating from Libya are trying to forge ties with Islamists in the Sinai, an alliance that could prolong Egypt's instability and scare away investors that are badly needed to help fix the battered economy.<br /><br />Tribal smugglers told Reuters they charge up to one million Egyptian pounds (£81,000) to move weapons in four-by-four vehicles along desert routes.<br /><br />Five border guards were killed in a similar attack in the same area a few months ago.<br /><br />Security officials say militants along the Libyan border harbor ambitions similar to the al-Qaida breakaway group that has seized large swathes of Iraq – they want to topple Sisi and create a caliphate in Egypt.</i><br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/19/egyptian-border-guards-killed-armed-smugglers<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-88468443659761088732014-07-20T02:47:51.854-04:002014-07-20T02:47:51.854-04:00Israel gets nothing of any value from Gaza. It is ...Israel gets nothing of any value from Gaza. It is just a big headache for them.<br /><br />If there were Danes living there, no problem would exist.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-11693074647341733342014-07-20T02:43:58.183-04:002014-07-20T02:43:58.183-04:00Read the Hamas Charter. They want to push the Jews...Read the Hamas Charter. They want to push the Jews into the sea.<br /><br />It is not a normal situation.<br /><br />The blockade is necessary to try and prevent even more missiles and other war stuff from getting into the area, which abuts Israel.<br /><br />It is not a 'normal' situation.<br /><br />Recall for me how Israel got involved in Gaza in the first place.<br /><br />Via victory in a defensive war.<br /><br />If you were an Israeli would you lift all caution, which might result, and soon too, with an Iranian nuke right on your doorstep?<br /><br />That could be tunneled into Israel and blown up?<br /><br />If Hamas wants peace all they have to do is be peaceful. After the passage of some time, tensions would ease, fruitful negotiations might take place.......<br /><br />But they won't. It is not in their Charter.<br /><br />I am glad to read many of the Gazans seem to be getting sick and tired of Hamas.<br /><br />When is the next election?<br /><br />Will there be one?<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-64337618713176400942014-07-20T02:33:59.192-04:002014-07-20T02:33:59.192-04:00.
When advancing Islamic State militants launched....<br /><br /><i>When advancing Islamic State militants launched mortar attacks in late June, nearly all of Bakhdida’s 50,000 residents fled overland to Irbil, the capital of the Iraqi region of Kurdistan, for protection. Were it not for Kurdish pesh merga forces that swept in to beat back the onslaught, this historic Christian enclave, known to locals as Qaraqosh, would be deserted.<br /><br />In recent days, most people have come back to their homes. But dire water and fuel shortages, electrical blackouts and a lack of work are strangling returnees who must also grapple with the mental strain of living within firing range of al-Qaeda-inspired Sunni jihadists.<br /><br />With Iraq at risk of fracturing along sectarian fault lines, local leaders fear the loss of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities and its heritage as more and more residents move to Kurdish cities and neighboring countries. On Friday, the exodus was accelerated when the Islamic State decreed that Christian holdouts in the city of Mosul must convert to Islam or pay a special tax — with death as a “last resort.’’<br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br />Iraqi Christians have endured greater persecution since the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. In the sectarian conflict that followed, a surge of harassment, church bombings and other deadly attacks caused the population to shrink from 1.5 million to about 400,000.</i><br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-northern-iraq-gains-by-islamic-state-threaten-centuries-old-christian-town/2014/07/19/7088f3b6-0f53-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html?hpid=z11<br /><br />You have to wonder if Obama is thinking about helping out the 'moderates' in Iraq.<br /><br />.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-18735026203447495862014-07-20T02:15:15.824-04:002014-07-20T02:15:15.824-04:00.
When you see the various crisis Obama has been ....<br /><br />When you see the various crisis Obama has been facing this year, you have to think it is taking a toll. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Normally, I would be feeling sorry for him (and in truth I am) but the guy just makes it so damn hard. From a public relations standpoint the guy is a walking disaster.<br /><br />Yet, he still has his supporters.<br /><br />Go figure.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-61004626328661470902014-07-20T02:05:11.347-04:002014-07-20T02:05:11.347-04:00.
Nonsense, Bob. It is no more silly than WiO....<br /><br />Nonsense, Bob. It is no more silly than WiO's claim that Israel is not an occupier which he went out of his way to do.<br /><br />When you enclose and confine a population, blockade their coast line, control their air space, control their movements, control their economy including imports and exports, control their utilities, water, electricity, control what food they get and how much, control how they can use their natural resources, well hell, you control them. You are either an occupier or a prison guard.<br /><br />If not, give me another definition and I will be glad to debate it with you.<br /><br />And don't give me the bull about being anti-Semitic. As WiO might say, that would be 'non-responsive'.<br /><br />.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-27214132296381112522014-07-20T01:52:30.012-04:002014-07-20T01:52:30.012-04:00.
One of those? One of those what?
An Israeli m....<br /><br />One of those? One of those what?<br /><br />An Israeli military Jeep?<br /><br />A segue?<br /><br />Or a Segway?<br /><br />Psychology business?<br /><br />No need to worry. Just studying you could keep her busy for the rest of your life and provide research material for numerous books well into the future.<br /><br />.Quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272168240606512672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-20030922462889193082014-07-20T01:43:12.241-04:002014-07-20T01:43:12.241-04:00Stop with the prison guard non sense.
If Hamas wo...Stop with the prison guard non sense.<br /><br />If Hamas would play checkers in the afternoons instead of building bombs, missiles and digging tunnels all would be well.<br /><br />Such an analysis as you offered is below you, Quirk, and I am sorely disappointed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07877200182060537865noreply@blogger.com