Putin Is hard at work

His 30 year project to destroy Russia is nearly completed.

Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, starting out as an analyst in hydrocarbon production, rising to the rank of podpolkovnik,( lieutenant colonel) before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. While there as head of customs security, he was given a “heads up” by westerners about a Major Drug smuggling operation into his city. A shipping Container full of “canned beef” cocaine was “Discovered”. After great fan fare about this cocaine, capture from the Russian Mob, it was to be used at a lab in Moscow, as a base to create medications for the Russian people. It then disappeared. He moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of president Boris Yeltsin. He briefly served as director of the FSB (Federal Security Bureau) and secretary of the Security Council, handling the attempted secession of Chechnya and Georgia. After putting down rebellion of those people, he installed groups friendly to his leadership , before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and, less than four months later was elected to his first term as president. By this time he had also become the head Oligarch (Mob Boss) and richest man in Russia.

A great deal of his power was his control of State Security, and control over Military spending which he spread out to his former KGB associates. We can now see that they so looted the Russian Military that the 1.2 million Military, armed with vast amounts of New and older Soviet weapons. was a 200 thousand man army, poorly lead and supplied. Warehouses are empty of the supposed to be, paid for supplies, Vast army payrolls of non-existant troops seems to be the case., Huge modern fleets of Armored war machines that don’t exist, backed up with left over 30 -60 year old Soviet era equipment. After 240 days of a 3 day war over a nearly weaponless Ukraine Military. Putin’s military is Losing ! Armed with hand me down Soviet era Weapons donated by Eastern Europe “and the Russian military”( abandoned equipment and munitions easily make Russia the biggest donor to the Ukrainian Army., and a few new high tech Artillery pieces with munitions from the West, Ukraine is winning and driving the Russians out. Putin has called up 200,000 more men to serve as a new army to bolster his badly damaged old army, but, that vast bottomless pit of Soviet era weapons and supplies is exhausted, so they are scrapping the bottom of that barrel for supplies. The new conscripts are being told that they must supply themselves, dress warm, and they might get paid…..some day..!. And Winter is beginning,,,,,,,,,,,The Cold Russian Winter that breaks ill prepared Armies. The Ukraine Army is being well supplied with food, warm clothing and munitions and they are fighting on their home turf for their freedom.

This war is Putin’s war. There is a prophecy that “A Muslim Group will assassinate the head Oligarch, A loss to them because he is the one that empowered them”. The Russian Federation will ask for peace because everyone will realize that this war of conquest is no longer an acceptable thing for the world to allow. Both NATO and the United Nations has stated recently that war will no longer be allowed to be used to settle Political or boundary disputes. Another prophecy is that “The Brothers of the North will unite and outlaw the use of war.” Putin has forced the Brothers of the North, NATO, to unite against his dream of conquest. This is no longer a contest between Putin’s dream and Ukraine’s independence. this is the Western world against the old way of doing things. Stop Putin and you stop all other would-be conquers. All of the wealth confiscated from the Oligarchs , about $300 billion I think, will be utilized as reparations, Ukraine will be returned to their International recognized boundaries.

26 October update:; I may have made a mistake on Who is the head oligarchic.

Yevgeny_Prigozhin appears to be the head MOB boss and Putin is the head politician that he helped install.

Also known as “Putin’s Chef” because he owns a catering service that has had very large contracts of supplying food to government agencies including to the Russian Army. He took over the Wagner Group, a para military group, some time before the 2014 seizure of Crimea and Donbas from Ukraine by Putin.

This would make Prigozhin the head Oligarch that Ramzan Kadyrov head of the Chechen Republic, will have his people assassinate.

Happy Birth Day Vladimir Putin

President of Russia is now 70 years old. and his dream for Greater Russia is crumbling due to his greed.

Kerch bridge 10/8/2022

Vladimir Putin’s prized bridge spanning the Kerch Straits was damaged by truck bombs and fuel tanker rail car fires for his 70th birthday.. One lane’s two spans were broken up and the rail cars above were set afire. the actual damage to the underlying concrete and steel by the fuel fire remains to be seen. It may look fine after cleanup but still have lost much of it’s strength. Putin had the bridge constructed after he “Annexed” the Crimea area so he would have an invasion supply line for his 20 year project to conquer Ukraine and make it part of Russia.

u-tube with video of damage and truck bomb blast; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpkIsi2EMwU

Surveillance video looks to me to be of 2 tractor/trucks pulling semi-trailers. Semis blew down against road bed, odd there is a car next to each truck. Two spans were broken in the outbound from, Crimea, side lane. Early report, Russian, was that the lead truck driver survived ?!? He was an independent, hired thru the Internet to drive…… How did 2 truck bombs get sent from Crimea?? “To Russia with love” from Russian controlled area to Russia??? By Ukrainians !! to coincide with a group of loaded Railroad tank cars on the above nearby rail road bridge. Boy them NATO directed Ukrainians are awesome to pull this off !

an Australian gives his evaluation of events, this is a good history on the Kerch Bridge; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lpm-UvY2kI&t=99s

Putin began the latest conquest February 25 with the intent to present his successful inclusion of all of Ukraine into the Russian Federation for his big planned celebration of the 75th anniversary of Russia’s Victory over the Nazi’s during the Great Patriotic War. We are 226 days into that attempted conquest and it is appearing to be that Putin’s Special Army is doing badly in that effort. Ukraine has demonstrated that the once highly Vaulted Russian Military has become a Paper Tiger after 20 years of the Putin Oligarchy Kleptocracy. It’s vast stock piles of old Soviet equipment has proved to be shallow, while massive, on paper, numbers of trained solders and modern equipment have proved to be nearly nonexistent. On the other hand Putin and his Oligarchs have looted the military to build vast estates and fleets of Huge yachts to prove their importance to each other. Putin’s fall back was to force the weak lazy Western Democracies to force Ukraine to surrender to his demands. That doesn’t seem to be working ether.

an Australian gives his evaluation of events : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laOy8v3dQ04 he gives good presentation of all the facts in his V-blog postings I don’t always agree with his conclusions but a good man to follow.

He threatens Nuclear War if he doesn’t get his way! Nobody important seems to be impressed as Russian Nuclear doctrine does not permit him to launch on his orders. that doctrine only permits use after Russia is attacked with nuclear weapons and the West has stated that they will not use Nuclear weapons first.

See this former Russian’s report , V-blog U-tube on Russian Nuclear Doctrine : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBXEbIUefnY

Now after the botched callup to conscript a new Army, that he can’t pay or supply, Revolts are beginning to brew as well as Putin’s private War is rapidly becoming personal problem to the people of the Federation. Putin does not have legal power under the provisions of the Federations Charter to do these things.

Save Ukraine, saves the Russian Federation, Putin must be put down!

A Propheice says that the “Head Oligarch will be assassinated by a Muslim group”. ” foolish on their part as he was the one that empowered them.” Sounds to me that Ramzan Kadyrov and his Chechen’s are good candidates for doing that double-cross. Kadyrov is dumb enough to go for it. Dreaming of using his new statise in Putin’s system to grab power and become military dictator while arranging Putin’s removal.

In the end Russia will leave all of Ukraine as ordered by the world’s body politic. International borders can not be changed by force. International disputes no longer will be settled in armed conflict. War is outlawed!

Update 12 October 2022

Notice Road bed blast damages, left and right spans likely jerked off their supports by the blast over the center one, As well as Rail Road tanker cars fire damage to the rail road bed. The fire was so hot the rails were melted and the concrete damaged

Kilauea Eruption May 2018

Hawaii

Leilani Estates-East Rift Zone

p.g.sharrow May 16, 2018 at 8:50 pm Edit

Kilauea is a separate volcano grafted onto the side of Mauna Loa and has it’s own magma supply from 60 miles below. They are not well connected as Kilauea is just piled onto the side of Mauna Loa, so the whole thing could slip free! The East and West Rifts are the result of movements as the mass of overburden accumulates. As can be seen on the sea floor this has happened before and will happen again.

Watch this simulation of the area in question!

[https://youtu.be/VvMUJKFjAiA]
This already started in 2000 and is getting worse. The present “New outburst” is Kilauea dumping it’s lava into the spreading crack, The “Pink” dust and red lava of the outburst was old wet decomposed volcanic rock of the crack remelting and being pushed out ahead of the new lava from the Kilauea vent lake. The people evacuated from the effected area are being moved down slope to a community on the coast! What the ####! If this moves sloooowly there would be time to evacuate. If a fast slip happens It could be BAD for everyone on the Pacific Rim. A 100ft tsunami at Long Beach.California! …pg

borrowed this from “Tallbloke”   thanks oldbrew,  ht

This Thursday, May 17, 2018, aerial image released by the U.S. Geological Survey, shows a view of ground cracks on Pohoiki Road during an overflight of the eruptive fissure area at about 7:00 a.m. HST near Pahoa, Hawaii. Cracks continued to open and widen, some with horizontal and vertical offsets, in the area during the past 24 hours. These cracks are caused by the underlying intrusion of magma into the lower East Rift Zone in the Big Island of Hawaii. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) [bold added]
.That “slump” has created a crack or void that is filling with melt and magma from the Kilauea main vent. As soon as the voids are filled and the main vent begins to refill, it will hydraulic the crack and push or lift the top of the slump. There will be quake swarms as the slump starts to travel. This is a huge train and will take time to get it rolling. Look for increased elevation of lava fountains at the cracks as a first warning of the voids being full, the main vent beginning eruption out burst as it refills.
I would be monitoring deformation just below that fault or fracture line for both linear and elevation changes. The deformation of the road illustrates the spreading as the slip moves.
This may be a false start or might become a Pacific coast disaster of massive proportions. This could take a few days or even millennia if the magma chamber fails to refill before cooling freezes the intrusion and temporarily locks the slip. I fear the worst…

There is Geological evidence of 200 ft Tsunami Waves all up and down the Pacific Coast.
I just talked to a friend that gathers interesting information. There are psychic indications of some major disaster, financial/physical, around September.. .pg

Map links,

these will open new tabs to latest maps

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_earthquakes.html   earthquakes map

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/status.html    Daily status report

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_maps.html  lava flow maps

update:  Lava coverage as of 28 May 2018

added 28 may 2018. Looks like PGV is about to be covered as it is now the lowest area down stream from  the most active vents.

Thermal image created from pixelation of helicopter over flight data. Dark pixels are cold, white are hot    From the stitch together this looks to be of 2 flights.

Earthquake map above, for the week of 28 May 2018. Orange indicates latest quakes, Yellow, are the earlier quakes of this week. The size of the blips indicates the quake force. The red lines are surface fractures. The lava outflows are taking place just below the fork in the road in the pictures upper right corner. That band of quakes just to the southeast of the volcano is the head of the slip…pg

 

Korea, the Hermit Kingdom

I had a vision of this coming possible conflict, So I called up a map of the area. 600 miles to Peijing, 200 miles to Vladivostok and 400 miles to Japan, all from the main missile base and atomic bomb facilities of North Korea. The North Koreans have been at war with their neighbors for a 1,000 years. This is a point of real contention, real danger to local peace. Both the Russians and Chinese will fight to control this, vital to them, area. Both are in an expansionist mood. Neither needs a crazy little pipsqueak playing with atomic weapons in the area or worse inviting the Americans to take an interest. Look at the local area from an on the ground POV.

Vladivostok is THE most important Russian Pacific base and city.  Just over a hundred miles from the border with the DPRK.

Tell the DPRK Military “Eradicate this guy or they will be eradicated.”
Lets make a Deal!  Best for everyone, except for Un.

South Korea is no military threat to anyone…pg

Volcano in Rome has signs of life

A volcano in Rome has come back to life

Scientists are saying a dormant volcano on the outskirts of Rome is poised for an eruption. However, this may not occur for a number of years.

Researchers were stunned after they discovered Colli Albani, a volcano that was presumed extinct, is active once again.

This comes after a new report showed new steam vents, earthquakes and a rise in hill level in surrounding areas leads.

Alban Hills wikipedia

The Alban Hills (Italian Colli Albani) are the site of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome and about 24 kilometers (15 mi) north of Anzio.

The dominant peak (but not the highest) is Monte Cavo at 950 m. There are two small calderas which contain lakes, Lago Albano and Lake Nemi. The rock of the hills is called Peperino (lapis albanus) a particular Tuff, a combination of ash and small rocks that is useful for construction, and provides a mineral-rich substrate for grape vines.

The area was inhabited by the Latini during the 5th to 3rd centuries BC. The ancient Romans called them Albanus Mons. On the summit was the sanctuary of Jupiter Latiaris, in which the consuls celebrated the Feriae Latinae, and several generals celebrated victories here when they were not accorded regular triumphs in Rome. The temple has not survived, but the Via Triumphalis leading up to it may still be seen.

The hills, especially around the shores of the lakes, have been popular since prehistoric times. From the 9th to 7th century BC there were numerous villages (see the legendary Alba Longa and Tusculum). In Roman times these villages were inhabited as a way to escape the heat and crowds of Rome, and there are many villas and country houses in the area.

Studies have found the volcano operates in a cycle of a 31,000-year dormancy to eruption period. Colli Albani last erupted 36,000 years ago. Fabrizio Marra, a volcanologist, believes the next eruption could be in 1,000 years.

Scientists are also saying that when the volcano does erupt, it has potential to be equally as destructive as Mount Vesuvius, which caused mass destruction in Pompeii back in 79 A.D.

Marra hopes these findings will serve as a “wake-up call,” and encourage fellow scientists to more closely monitor the volcano moving forward.

Volcanic activity

Examination of deposits have dated the four most recent eruptions to two temporal peaks, around 36,000 and 39,000 years ago.[1][2] The area exhibits small localized earthquake swarms, bradyseism, and release of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide into the atmosphere. The uplift and earthquake swarms have been interpreted as caused by a slowly growing spherical magma chamber 5-6 kilometers below the surface; some think that it may erupt again; if so, there is risk to Rome, which is only 25 to 30 km away.

The volcano emits large amounts of carbon dioxide.[6] This can potentially reach lethal concentrations if it accumulates in depressions in the ground in the absence of wind. The asphyxiation of 29 cows in September 1999 prompted a detailed survey, which found that concentration of the gas at 1.5 m above the ground in a residential area on the northwestern flank sometimes exceeded the occupational health threshold of 0.5%.

There are prophecies that say, Rome will be destroyed by earthquake and fire…pg

Senate votes to ban taxes on internet

Senate votes to permanently ban taxes on internet services

By Jon Martindale — February 12, 2016

Running in line with some people’s thinking that Internet access should be a basic right, the U.S. Senate has voted to ban taxes levied on Internet access from ever being enacted. Known as the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, it replaces and extends an already existing 18-year ban on Internet-related taxes that came to an end in October last year.
Although Internet access is a major component of the legislation, it also covers other aspects of the Internet. It prevents, for example, anyone from levying taxes that could target Internet-based services which are not otherwise available.
Several organizations have praised the legislation, with the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste in particular voicing its approval. It called it a “taxpayer victory,” suggesting that it would help prevent overbearing charges placed unfairly on consumers (as per PCWorld).
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/senate-votes-to-permanently-ban-internet-access-taxes

California, Drought or poor management

Victor Davis Hanson

The Scorching of California

How Green extremists made a bad drought worse

Winter 2015

MICAH ALBERT/REDUX

The drought has threatened to turn large tracts of farmland into dust.

In mid-December, the first large storms in three years drenched California. No one knows whether the rain and snow will continue—only that it must last for weeks if a record three-year drought, both natural and man-made, is to end. In the 1970s, coastal elites squelched California’s near-century-long commitment to building dams, reservoirs, and canals, even as the Golden State’s population ballooned. Court-ordered drainage of man-made lakes, meant to restore fish to the 1,100-square-mile Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, partly caused central California’s reservoir water to dry up. Not content with preventing construction of new water infrastructure, environmentalists reverse-engineered existing projects to divert precious water away from agriculture, privileging the needs of fish over the needs of people. Then they alleged that global warming, not their own foolish policies, had caused the current crisis.    For the rest of the article

_________________________________________________

Very good but long read for the history of the present California water shortages.

Our main problem is politically directed bad management and not an unprecedented water shortage. California historically is very wet or very dry and the paradise that people here expect to enjoy is the creation of man and not god. The natural California is one of swamp or desert often in the same place during the same year.

Lake Sacramento the book pdf. History of the major floods 1700s though 1900s in the Central Valley.

Friends of Governor Brown plan to create two new cities in the south state, connected by the fast rail line. They need water for those cities and are establishing the legal system to take that water from Central Valley farmers that own those rights.
Follow the money! And the taxpayers of the state will PAY vast billions into the pockets of these developers.
Ecoloons and Federal Judges are just convenient tools…pg

Survay of peaceful Muslims

Another Email from Keith:
The Clarion Project video is the most succinct explanation of proportionate Islamist risk and clarity of numbers that I have ever seen. It is and well worth the time to view and help in future conversations.
Many Thanks, Keith
—————————————————————–
This is very, very informative. It’s not left wing or right wing. It’s just an accounting told by a Muslim woman and basically reveals the percentages and numbers of jihadists, Islamists, and Fundamentalist groups amongst the Muslim population. It’ll make you ponder.

The President insists that 99.9% of the Muslims in the world are “just like you and me” and should not be feared. And, yet, Trump wants a temporary ban on allowing all Muslims entering the country until we can figure out a way to determine which ones are radical. The argument against his proposal is that it would prevent the 99.9% of peaceful Muslims from entering our country.
Some have wondered why those 99.9% of peace loving Muslims have never spoken out to denounce all the worldwide carnage rendered by the .01% of the radical Muslims who they claim have “hijacked” their religion. This excellent video, produced by a Muslim woman, explains why no one has spoken up. After you watch it you might have reason to believe that Trumps proposal just may not be so outlandish after all.

http://go.clarionproject.org/numbers-full-film/

Support for Suicide Bombing
An average of 14% of Muslims surveyed believes suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets in defense of Islam can be often justified or sometimes justified. This
translates to 119 million people.
Based on actual
population sizes (i.e., the sum of the Muslim populations of each country surveyed by Pew multiplied by the average for that particular country), the number is 136 million.

Among young, Western Muslims aged 18-29, the percentages who believe that suicide bombings against civilians can be justified are as follows:
42% of French Muslims
35% of British Muslims
and 26% of American Muslims.

Honor Killings
An average of
39% of Muslims surveyed think it is often, sometimes or rarely justified to kill a woman if she engages in premarital sex or adultery.
This translates to 345 million people.

——————————————————–

OMG!…pg

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

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.”
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Article from Fox News