Valerie Jarrett

Val has been at Barack Obama’s side for many years and is his most trusted adviser.

“When things get bad I will stand with the Muslims” Barack Obama

E.M.Smith’s Middle East Program

Russia, Syria, ISIL, IRAQ, IRAN, Saudi, program and popcorn

Posted on 15 September 2015 by E.M.Smith

At US ball games there is an often heard barker refrain: “Program, Program, GET your PROGRAM here! Can’t tell the players without a PROGRAM!”. Somehow I think we need a bigger supply of popcorn and programs to follow the action in the Levant.

Most recently, Russia (nominal historical foe) from whom we get our access to space and rent rides to the space station has started building a forward operating base in Syria and is flying in loads of staff and supplies.

© Sputnik/ Dmitriy Vinogradov
Middle East
10:17 22.07.2015(updated 10:44 22.07.2015

Russia is doing a lot to increase the combat readiness of the Syrian Army to fight ISIL militants, Russia’s Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak said. According to him, it is in Russia’s interest to support fight against terrorism in Syria.

Smoke rises in the Syrian town of Kobani, as pictured from the Turkish side of the border near Suruc, Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 27, 2015
© REUTERS/ Stringer
Syrian Prime Minister: US-led Coalition Actions in Syria ‘Unproductive’
DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Moscow provides sufficient assistance to Syria in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, Russia’s Ambassador to Syria said.

“I think that we are anyway doing a lot to raise the level of combat readiness of the Syrian Army. In particular, we sometimes help [them] with advice when it is necessary,” Alexander Kinshchak told RIA Novosti in an interview.

It is in Russia’s interest to support Syria in the fight against terrorism, he added.

[…]

ISIL is a Sunni militant group in control of vast territories across Iraq and Syria. The jihadist group is also attempting to branch out to other countries in the region.

The Syrian government has been fighting ISIL jihadists on the ground to curb the group’s advance. A US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL positions in Syria and Iraq. The strikes are being carried out without permission from Damascus.

So first off, we need to remember to sort folks into Sunni vs Shia as that is the basic divide driving conflict between Arab / Muslim States in the region. These folks have been fighting and killing each other for about 1200 years now and show no sign of slowing down.

So Syria (foe) is mostly Sunni as is Saudi Arabia (ally) but the government of Syria is dominated by Alawites who are just like the Shia, only different a little, and are supported by Iran (foe) who IS Shia, mostly.

Now Obama (Dad was Shia) and Kerry just made a great “Nuclear Deal” with Iran (foe) letting them get $100 Billion+ to fund more Radical Militant Islam so maybe we’re sort of not seeing them as a foe so much any more though they continue to chant “Death To America” so maybe not so much…

Saudi (ally) was where most of the 9/11 attackers (foe, Sunni) came from. They are attacking Yemen (ally) but not the Government of Yemen (ally) the rebel part (foe) who are funded by Iran (foe). We’ve moved most of our stuff out of the facilities we had in Yemen (ally) so maybe more it’s not so much an ally as a smoking hole in the ground…

Turkey (NATO member, ally) has just let us use an air base there to better bomb ISIL (foe) who used to be ISIS (foe) but then changed from just wanting Syria (the last S) to wanting the whole Levant (that reaches from Lybia (old foe) through Egypt (ally, then foe, now ally, maybe – though they just shot up a dozen tourists and killed a few Mexicans (ally) so maybe not really what we want in a friend…), Israel (ally), Jordan (ally) and on around even to Greece (ally with an empty wallet and begging bowl).

So Turkey (ally) is bombing ISIL (foe) now and also bombing the Kurds (ally) in the PKK (Communists, so sort of foe, but ally to Obama, and fighting ISIL). The PKK Kurds (ally) have also blown up a few things in Turkey (ally) so who knows…

We have a major naval base in Bahrain which is a good ally of ours despite the rulers being Sunni and most of the people Shia and them not liking each other much…

Saudi (ally) is mostly Wahhabi which is a particularly strict form of Sunni, and doesn’t get along well with Shia much (unless they are the masters and overlords as in Bahrain, then they’re OK with that… sort of…) and Saudi has a small minority population of Shia up toward Kuwait (ally) who’s bacon we saved some years back from Iraq (foe) before it was Iraq (defeated) and now Iraq (ally). Even though they don’t like bacon. Or saving it. But then Saudi had a bomb go off up there blowing up a bunch of Shia in a Mosque… but nobody noticed much.

Now Iraq (ally) is more complicated…

It was mostly Sunni in the south and Shia in the north with some scattered Christians (as in Syria) some decades back. Now we have the Government (Shia ally) and the South (ISIL Sunni foe) divided and the Christians are mostly dead though some just got run out. (As in Syria, as was the case in “Christian Lebanon” some decades back). Lebanon (foe) is used as a staging ground for attacks on Israel (ally) now that the Christians are all dead or gone and Iran (foe) is funding things. Jordan (ally) had a pilot BBQed by ISIL (foe) so is pretty much clearly on our side, though only neutral toward Israel (ally) for now and up to their eyeballs in refugees from Syria (foe) and Iraq (officially ally large parts foe).

When ISIL (foe) attacked Iraq (ally after we bombed them enough) some time back in the south, the largely Sunni troops in that area handed them the keys to a few thousand HummVees, some very high tech armored cars and a few of THE BEST tanks in the world ( likely sold to Russia [foe] or China [‘trading partner’ – i.e. subtle foe] by now… to join the stealth helicopter parts Pakistan [reluctant ally] sold them after the Bin Laden raid we did on Pakistan [ally?] but I digress…) and headed out for a light snack and some R&R away from things like actually fighting their Brother Sunni in defense of their nation. Iran (foe) did offer to help the Iraq Government (Shia ally) but we didn’t like that idea… In the end, ISIL has some of THE best military gear on the planet that we could provide, free, to our ally-foes in the region. But what’s a few hundred $Billion among frienemies?

Glad I could clear the up for you…

So, as of now in the bottom of the 7th inning, I think I’ve covered most of the players in the Levant. There are some loose ends, like Libya where the country is divided into two major factions and it is still a race to see if The Muslim Brotherhood (foe) or ISIL (foe) wins, and Egypt, who were our allies before they became our foe but are back to being allies, when they aren’t murdering tourists or each other; maybe. But that’s a bit away from the main action.

Also I’ve not said anything about the flood of Libyan, Syrian, etc. etc. “refugees” invading Europe. Having done such a great job of it with their culture and “Religion of Peace” making their homelands paragons of peace and stability, they now want to escape to Europe; but don’t want to dump the belief systems that had them crapping in their own punch bowls in their own countries. Nope, they just want the good European Lifestyle until they can install Sharia and ‘fix it’…

But ignoring those omissions, I hope this listing of foe and ally has helped make it all clear just who’s on first as our ‘besties’… and who isn’t quite.

;sarc> of course…E.M.Smith

Middle East Refugee Solution

Proposal to solve the Refugee problem as well as the Radical Muslim war.
A vast army of young men are being driven from their homelands by the Radical Muslim Warlords in their effort to “cleanse” and create their vision of a new Muslim caliphate that will conquer the world and enslave humanity to their princes.
Most of these young men want to escape control of the Warlords and get a job. Examination of writings from around the world indicate that the moderates are tiring of the smell of their children’s blood and want another way. But they greatly fear the radicals.

So I would suggest,
Enlist young the refugee men into brigades at NATO Bases. This will provide the necessary isolation, control and security. NATO is the only Western organization that can supply the necessary logistics immediately as well as initially needed command and control.
This will give them a paid job, get them off of the streets and likely be less expensive then putting them on welfare.
Get them under military supervision and military justice.
Mix and train them so that they acquire unit esprit de corp.
Minimize national, tribal, sect identification.
Think French Foreign Legion or American Marines
This will get them away from the radicalizers and intimadators.
To help with the corp indoctrination,Teach them Western English under full immersion, English only.
Indoctrinate them in American military ethics and values.
For those that balk at this Idea I would point out that the American military has a 250 year history of honorable treatment of others. Honorable treatment of others is of foremost need . This concept of demonizing everyone, not of ones group, brings out the worse in human behavior. Ethical treatment of others, not of ones group, is of greatest importance.
NO religious activities allowed for the initial training period.
This will help weed out the hardcore believers in absolute doctrines.
After a year begin actual military combat training to create the Liberation Army.
All of this should take 2 years. Years needed to weed out and sidetrack the trouble makers.
Time to create a liberation army to begin spreading a new civilized Muslim gospel
and start eradicating the radical Warlords.
At the same time a new Muslim doctrine must be created to be carried by this Liberation Army.
Gather moderate Muslim mullahs to create a new gospel that is to be used to drive out the murderous followers of death and slavery. Once this is done allow them to minister to the new Muslim Brigades. These brigades will protect the moderates as well as hunt down the radicals.
Westerners can only enable this reformation. Only Muslims can enforce it…pg

Spread the word world wide. Link or reblog this message…pg

No end in sight to refugee wave

Associated Press Writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Sarah El-Deeb in Beirut, Lebanon, and Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, Macedonia, contributed to this story.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

ZAGREB, Croatia –  One month after the body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach — and a week after the European Union agreed to secure its borders — the refugee crisis has largely fallen off the front pages and reporters are going home.
But the human tide keeps rolling northward and westward, and aid agencies are preparing for it to continue through the winter, when temperatures along the refugee trail will drop below freezing. They fear the crisis may get worse.
“One thing is clear, the movement is not going to die down,” said Babar Baloch, the U.N. refugee agency’s representative in the Balkans. “What we are seeing right now … it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
While more than 500,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, more than double the figure for all of 2014, that is only a fraction of the people who are on the move. Some 4 million have fled Syria after more than four years of civil war, and 8 million have been displaced inside the country. And it’s not just Syrians. It’s Iraqis and Iranians, Afghans and Eritreans.
The EU acknowledged the scale of the problem last week, even after it approved a plan to toughen border controls and provide at least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to help Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan care for refugees living in their countries. The first new border measures won’t take effect until November, and a proposal for strengthening the EU border agency is due in December.
“Recently I visited refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan and I heard only one message — we are determined to get to Europe,” European Council President Donald Tusk said after the agreement was announced. “It is clear that the greatest tide of refugees and migrants is yet to come.”
While the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday reported a “noticeable drop” in migrants entering Greece by sea — as weather conditions deteriorated this week — agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said “any improvement in the weather is likely to bring another surge in arrivals.”
About 1,500 people arrived in Greece on Thursday, down from 5,000 a day in recent weeks, UNHCR said.
Before the EU can stop the influx, it must convince the world that it has regained control of its borders after months of news coverage showing the virtually unimpeded flow of people traveling from Turkey to Greece, then north through the Balkans to Austria, Germany and Sweden.
The surge came as donors cut back on funding for groups supporting Syrian refugees. The World Food Program in August said funding shortfalls forced it to cut food aid by 50 percent for 1.5 million refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. EU members pledged to restore funding for the WFP as part of their agreement last week.
The aid is important. Most refugees are unable to build new lives in their Middle Eastern host countries because they are barred from working. And as they watch their resources vanish, even people who hadn’t planned to go to Europe are now considering it.
“There’s no hope at all, so moving on seems the only option,” Baloch said. “It could be an exodus in the making.”
Take, for example, Zafer, a Syrian refugee who spoke on condition that his last name not be used for fear of reprisals. Zafer, 43, fled his country three years ago for Istanbul and is now contemplating Europe, encouraged by a friend who made the illegal crossing to Greece and is now in Germany.
“I don’t have a future here, it is very hard. I had a budget but it is running out,” he told The Associated Press. “I am worried about my children’s education. Now they are young, but what will happen later when they are older? I am worried.”
He isn’t alone.
With a migrant path clearly established, complete with signposts on how to get to Europe, aid groups say it’s almost as if a message has gone out: This is your chance. Now or never.
“In normal conditions, you will think twice about crossing the Mediterranean with your children because it is dangerous,” said Gianluca Rocco, western Balkans coordinator for the International Organization for Migration. “But now you go with the flow. The flow is there and it is moving very quickly.”
Macedonia, the main corridor for people traveling north from Greece, is preparing for the flood to continue through the winter.
Authorities are installing floors and heating in tents at the Gevgelija refugee camp, and aid agencies will provide warm clothes and blankets for the migrants, said Aleksandra Kraus, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Macedonia.
The Macedonian parliament in September extended the state of emergency on the country’s borders until June 2016. The country of 2 million people is spending about 1 million euros a month on migrants.
“Conditions and capacities for migrants depend on the budget,” said Ivo Kotevski, a police spokesman. “We appeal for assistance.”
All over the region, groups are already struggling to keep pace with arrivals, especially with winter drawing close.
“It will get much colder still, and the provision of adequate shelter is not even close to matching the number of people crossing into Serbia every day,” Doctors Without Borders President Meinie Nicolai told The Associated Press.
It’s unclear whether the EU actions will stem the flow, particularly in the short term.
Social media savvy asylum seekers are now aware the new border measures may take effect in November; and that effectively gives potential migrants a deadline that could spur them to make a dash for Europe, making the events of recent weeks a mere prelude to an even larger flood of humanity.
The EU is moving in the right direction, but the new programs will take time to implement, and the conditions that have pushed the refugees toward Europe haven’t changed, said Maurizio Albahari, author of “Crimes of Peace: Mediterranean Migrations at the World’s Deadliest Border,” and a social anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame.
“People in Turkey and in Libya are on top of the news. This includes both smugglers and refugees,” he said by email. “The winter months and the promise/threat of additional border control/patrols at the EU’s external borders might motivate them to move earlier than they would.”
___

Article from Fox News

California water crisis is manmade

By Steven Greenhut

SACRAMENTO, California — I was walking through downtown Sacramento recently when raindrops started falling. People on the street stopped dead in their tracks, looked up at the sky and began acting giddy. “What’s that?” I asked a man. “I think it’s something called rain,” he responded. Such is the gallows humor in a state that hasn’t seen substantial rainfall in years.

The obvious lack of rain is the seemingly obvious reason for the state’s lack of sufficient water. Water levels in state reservoirs are falling, officials are cracking down on “excess” water use (lawn-watering, etc.), and voters passed a water bond on the 2014 ballot to help fund more storage. The Capitol crowd is obsessed with the water issue, while local planners use the crisis to clamp down on building permits.

State officials say California’s drought is “one of the most severe droughts on record” and they warn that even an El Nino rainy season is unlikely to fix the situation. In fact, nothing seems to fix the situation. Californians have slashed their water use by 31 percent during July — well above the 25-percent reduction targeted by the governor. And there’s still not enough water.

But as this Watchdog series will show, California’s drought is largely a man-made crisis. It is caused by a series of policies — some from the past, many that are ongoing — which has prioritized environmental demands above the basic provision of water resources to the public. More than half of the state’s water resources simply flow out the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.

To read more, Originally published on watchdog.org

Army Veteran shot 7 times shielding students from anti-christian killer

By Yaron Steinbuch

October 2, 2015 | 8:06am

Modal Trigger

Vet shielded students from anti-Christ killer

Hero Army vet Chris Mintz is brought to an ambulance after being shot seven times at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.. Photo: Aaron Yost/The News Review

A tough-as-nails Army veteran with training as a mixed martial arts fighter acted as a human shield during the deadly Oregon college rampage and was shot seven times, it was revealed on Friday.

“You’re not getting by me!” Chris Mintz, 30, told gunman Chris Harper-Mercer as Mintz blocked his path Thursday in front of a classroom at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, according to local reports.

“[He] hits the floor, looks up at the gunman and says, ‘It’s my son’s birthday today,’ [and he] gets shot two more times,” his aunt, Wanda Mintz, told Fox 8.

Chris Mintz, a student at the college, was shot in the back, ­abdomen and hands and suffered broken legs.

Hero Army vet Chris Mintz is brought to an ambulance after being shot seven times at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.. Photo: Aaron Yost/The News Review

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