Former Israeli Nat Sec Council dir Uzi Arad : "Pres Obama has bitten off more than he could chew."

Former Israeli National Security Council director Uzi Arad : "President Barack H. Obama has bitten off more than he could chew."HT: INN.

Former National Security Council director Uzi Arad said Sunday that he was not sure an attack on Bashar al-Assad's forces would be successful, or a good idea altogether.

Speaking Sunday at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism's (ICT) World Summit on Counter-Terrorism, taking place at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Arad said that President Barack H. Obama had bitten off more than he could chew, and that the best thing he could do now was extricate himself from the corner he had backed himself into with as much dignity as possible.

“Syria is not a signatory to international conventions against the use of chemical weapons,” said Arad, so the legal basis for intervention by the West was somewhat shoddy. “You cannot say that Assad violated an international convention Syria is not signed onto.” Assad, therefore, sees no reason not to use such weapons against anyone he feels threatens his rule.

As a result, Arad said, there is a real possibility that any country that takes on Assad may find itself mired in a very ugly situation. “I find it hard to believe that intervention will bring about a substantially better situation,” he said. “The best thing now would be for Obama to carefully bring the crisis to an end, without creating negative ramifications in the region and the world, whether before or after an attack,” Arad added.

US plans for 3 days of intensive attacks on Syria: Report.

US plans for 3 days of intensive attacks on Syria: Report. (HD).

The Pentagon is readying more intense and longer attacks on Syria than originally planned, set to last three days, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

War planners now aim to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by additional attacks on targets that may have been missed or remain standing after the initial launch, the Times cited officials as saying.

Two US officers told the newspaper that the White House has asked for an expanded target list to include "many more" than the initial list of around 50 targets.

The move is part of an effort to obtain additional firepower to damage Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's dispersed forces. Pentagon planners are now considering using Air Force bombers, as well as five US missile destroyers currently patrolling the eastern Mediterranean Sea, to launch cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles from far out of range of Syrian air defenses, according to the report.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group with one cruiser and three destroyers positioned in the Read Sea can also fire cruise missiles at Syria.

"There will be several volleys and an assessment after each volley, but all within 72 hours and a clear indication when we are done," an officer familiar with the planning told the Times.

The intensified military planning comes as President Barack Obama prepares to personally make his case to the American people and further press reluctant lawmakers on the need for action after Assad allegedly used chemical weapons on his own people last month.

Obama is scheduled to tape interviews Monday with anchors of the three major broadcast networks, as well as with PBS, CNN and Fox News.

The interviews, to air that night, will precede Obama's address to the nation Tuesday ahead of an expected full Senate vote.

The president favors a limited attack with only a reduced number of warplanes to drop bombs over Syria, according to the Times.

Amid doubts that a limited US offensive would sufficiently hamper Assad's military capabilities, one officer told the newspaper that the planned operation would amount to a "show of force" over several days that would not fundamentally change the situation on the ground.

The planned US strike "will not strategically impact the current situation in the war, which the Syrians have well in hand, though fighting could go on for another two years," another US officer said.


Hmmm.....Kerry on 04 September: US President Barack Obama is not asking the United States to go to war but to authorise him to “degrade and deter” Syria’s capability to use chemical weapons, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Reid faces double-digit defections on Syria strike measure.

Reid faces double-digit defections on Syria strike measure.HT: TheHill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is bracing for double-digit defections in the Democratic caucus on the resolution authorizing military strikes on Syria, which will get a vote this coming week.

The Syria resolution presents Reid with one of the biggest tests of his leadership this Congress and the outcome has significant effects for President Obama’s domestic and foreign policy agendas.

Failure of the measure in the Democratic-controlled upper chamber could spur House Republicans to pick a fight with the weakened president over the budget, as well as embolden the regimes of Iran and North Korea.

“The president’s team has really given him a tough one this time but, as always, when the president asks him to do something, Sen. Reid quickly tries to get it done,” said Jim Manley, a former senior advisor to Reid.

With already four Democratic senators saying they will likely oppose the measure, the pressure is building on Reid to reach out across the aisle.

“If this vote were to fail, it will have huge consequences not only for the president’s domestic policy but also his foreign policy and for the people of Syria. This is about as high stakes as you can get,” Manley added. “How’s Iran and North Korea going to react to a defeat? How are House Republicans going to deal with the debt limit?”

“The goal is not to keep the caucus together, it’s to pass this resolution,” said a senior Senate Democratic aide. “I think we’ll lose a fair number of Democrats. We’ll probably lose double-digits Democrats.”

Liberal grassroots activists are ratcheting up the pressure on Democratic senators.

“I would hope and expect to see opposition build among Senate Democrats and House Democrats in the next few days,” said Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org Civic Action.

Galland said members of MoveOn.org would hold Democratic lawmakers accountable for their vote in future elections.

“It is a consequential vote for the future and our members will look back at this vote when trying to figure out whom to vote for in future elections,” she said.

She said MoveOn.org polled its entire membership before taking a position against the resolution.

Reid remains confident he will be able to pass the controversial measure by relying on Republican votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold required. Read the full story here.

‘Syria, Iran, Hezbollah set up situation room’.

‘Syria, Iran, Hezbollah set up situation room’.(TOI).

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have set up a joint situation room in preparation for a potential US-led strike in Syria, with Hezbollah mobilizing “tens of thousands” of fighters for the occasion.

The military operations coordination between the three is meant to plan for the monitoring of targets and organizing of retaliation, the Lebanese Daily Star reported Friday, citing senior Lebanese political and diplomatic sources.

“Iran, Syria and Hezbollah don’t have a clear picture about what Americans have planned,” said one diplomat,“but [they] too are prepared for various scenarios.”

Political sources said Hezbollah put “tens of thousands” of fighters and reservists on alert in anticipation of a US strike.“Everyone in Hezbollah who has been trained to use weapons has been put on high alert,” one political source told the Lebanese daily. “The party is ready for all eventualities.”

Iran and Hezbollah have repeatedly indicated that they would back Syria’s Bashar Assad regime in the event of a strike in response to the reported use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb on August 

21, which the US says killed 1,429 people.

Lebanese officials cited in the Daily Star report warned that Iran and Hezbollah see the targeting of Syrian army posts, airfields and weapons depots as a strategic threat to their interests and of course to Assad, which would give them a reason to intervene. But the officials indicated that they were likely to do so only if the US strike seriously threatened the regime’s rule.

But Syria too has a bank of targets, according to the Lebanese report, having already threatened to strike Israel, Turkey and Jordan in retaliation for any attack.

Meanwhile, the US is also preparing for an expansion of targets should the decision to carry out an attack come through. On Friday, it was reported that US President Barack Obama instructed the Pentagon to add Syrian sites to its target list, with the order coming in response to intelligence indications that the Syrian government has moved troops and equipment used to employ chemical weapons.

The US is considering employing Air Force bombers in addition to ship-launched cruise missiles.Hmmm.....'Limited strike'....yeah whatevah.

Obama: As Commander-in-Chief I've decided we should attack Syria.

Obama: As Commander-in-Chief I've decided we should attack Syria. HT: Investor's Business Daily.

Almost three weeks ago in Syria, more than 1,000 innocent people — including hundreds of children — were murdered in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century. And the United States has presented a powerful case to the world that the Syrian government was responsible for this horrific attack on its own people.

This was not only a direct attack on human dignity; it is a serious threat to our national security.

There’s a reason governments representing 98 percent of the world’s people have agreed to ban the use of chemical weapons. Not only because they cause death and destruction in the most indiscriminate and inhumane way possible — but because they can also fall into the hands of terrorist groups who wish to do us harm.

That’s why, last weekend, I announced that, as Commander in Chief, I decided that the United States should take military action against the Syrian regime. This is not a decision I made lightly. Deciding to use military force is the most solemn decision we can make as a nation.

As the leader of the world’s oldest Constitutional democracy, I also know that our country will be stronger if we act together, and our actions will be more effective. That’s why I asked Members of Congress to debate this issue and vote on authorizing the use of force.

What we’re talking about is not an open-ended intervention. This would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan. There would be no American boots on the ground. Any action we take would be limited, both in time and scope — designed to deter the Syrian government from gassing its own people again and degrade its ability to do so.

I know that the American people are weary after a decade of war, even as the war in Iraq has ended, and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. That’s why we’re not putting our troops in the middle of somebody else’s war. Hmmm..........'My Military',  Obama Cuts Hazard Pay for Soldiers Serving in Harm’s Way Read the full story here.

Putin - Russia will help Syria in case of external aggression

Putin - Russia will help Syria in case of external aggression.(ItarTass).

The United States, Turkey, Canada, France, Saudi Arabia and Britain back the strike on Syria at the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Speaking at a final press conference, Putin said Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa and Italy came against military actions in Syria.

The U.N. secretary-general and Pope Francis also came against the use of force against Syria, the president said, adding that the population in these Western countries were against the military operation in Syria.

Putin had spoken to President Barack Obama for about thirty minutes but neither of them had changed his positions as a result of the meeting.

“This was a meaty and fruitful conversation and it took place in a friendly atmosphere but each of us remained clinging to old positions as a the result,” he said.

Putin noted that despite disagreements, he and President Obama understood each other’s arguments. “We listen to them and try to analyze,” Putin said.

The Russian leader said that he and his U.S. counterpart had agreed on ‘some options’ of a peaceful settlement of the Syrian problem. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department will discuss the theme soon.

He indicated that the problem of the former CIA technology analyst Edward Snowden, whom Russia had granted asylum, was not discussed at the meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also said he had spoken to President Barack Obama for about thirty minutes but neither of them had changed his stance.

At the same time, Vladimir Putin said Russia will help Syria in case of external aggression,

“Will we help Syria? We will,” the Russian leader said recalling that Russia had already been helping Syria through arms supplies and economic and humanitarian cooperation, including provision of humanitarian aid.

In reply to the question what other country in the world may theoretically be subjected to aggression similar to that Syria is facing, Putin said, “I do not want to think that any other country will be subjected to any external aggression.”

A military action against Syria will have a highly deplorable impact on international security at large, Putin emphasized.

He said he was surprised to see that ever more participants in the summit, including the leader of India, Brazil, the South African Republic, and Indonesia were speaking vehemently against a possible military operation in Syria.

Putin cited the words of the South African President, Jacob Zuma, who said many countries were feeling unprotected against such actions undertaken by stronger countries.

“Given the conditions as they, how would you convince the North Koreans, for example, to give up their nuclear program,” he said. “Just tell them to put everything into storage today and they’ll be pulled to bits tomorrow.”

He underlined the presence of only one method for maintaining stability – “an unconditional observance of international law norms.”

Infographic: Picturing Where Congress Stands On Syria.

Infographic: Picturing Where Congress Stands On Syria.HT: Wapo.


As WaPo illustrates in the great infographic below, lawmakers appear to be tentatively dividing into four camps over military action in Syria.

Each dot represents a lawmaker who has indicated how he or she might vote, and the sentiment of the quote is mapped across the four categories.

Rebel leaders in Syria were Muslim advisors to Obama admin.

Rebel leaders in Syria were Muslim advisors to Obama admin.HT: Ibloga.

Bill Gertz’s Geostrategy Direct:

WASHINGTON — The leaders of the Sunni revolt in Syria included Saudi-financed advisers of the United States, a report said.

The Gloria Center asserted that Muslim advisers to the administration of President Barack Obama defected and became leading members of the Sunni revolt in Syria.

In a report titled “Blind to Terror: The U.S. Goverment’s Disastrous Muslim Outreach Efforts and the Impact on U.S. Mideast Policy,” author Patrick Poole identified a handful of Muslim advisers to the Defense Department, U.S. military and FBI now linked to Syrian rebel militias inspired by Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Among the leaders of the Islamic groups favored by the U.S. government are even wanted international war criminals," the report said.

Dated June 10, the report cited Louay Safi, who for years advised the Pentagon on Islamic affairs, including the approval of chaplains. In August 2011, after a meeting at the White House, Safi appeared in Turkey as a leader of the rebel Syrian National Council. The report said Safi, now based in Qatar, has become the council’s political director.

The report said the Pentagon made Safi into an adviser despite a federal investigation that linked him to financing such groups as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, deemed a terrorist organization by the State Department. In 2005, Safi was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of Jihad leader Sami Arian.

"Safi’s involvement with the Pentagon became an issue following the Fort Hood attacks, when 13 members of Congress sent a letter to Defense Secretary Gates complaining that not only was Safi endorsing Muslim chaplains for the Defense Department on behalf of ISNA, but also teaching classes on the ‘Theology of Islam’ to troops departing for Afghanistan at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss under a subcontract with the Naval Postgraduate School," the report said.

Another Syrian opposition leader who began as an Islamist lobbyist in the United States was identified as Ghassan Hitto, a businessman from Dallas. In March 2013, Hitto, supported by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and aligned with Qatar, was selected interim prime minister of the Sunni revolt against Assad.

Poole, a counter-insurgency consultant, also said the administration was courting those indicted on war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Nafie Al Nafie, invited by the State Department in May 2012, has been charged with planning the mass killing of civilians in Sudan’s Nuba mountains and Darfour province. The State Department invitation was canceled when more than 100 Holocaust scholars urged Obama to intervene.

A leading Muslim group that advises the administration on outreach has been headed by a Sudanese accused of crimes. Abu Bakar Al Shingieta, head of the American Muslims for Constructive Engagement, was the adviser to Sudanese President Omar Bashir during the regime’s massacre of Christians in the south.

"As these examples demonstrate, the U.S. government’s ignoring the terrorist support of its Muslim outreach partners has had a slippery-slope effect in its foreign policy by inviting members of terrorist groups and war criminals to Washington, D.C. for ‘dialogue,’" the report said.

Safi was born in Damascus where he received his early education. He moved to the United States in the early eighties where he received his B.Sc. in civil engineering, and later a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He has written books on social and political development, modernization, democracy, human rights, and Islam and the Middle East.

Safi has served as Executive Director and Director of Research for the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), editor of the Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, and President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (1999–2003). He has also taught at Wayne State University inDetroit, Michigan, the International Islamic University in Malaysia and George Washington University in Washington, DC.

ANY QUESTIONS?????

Related:

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Leader Central Figure In Newly Formed Syrian Opposition Council

The Dallas Morning News Discovers Louay Safi Is Syrian Opposition Leader; We Told You About It Two years Ago

WhoDunneIt? Collected Chemical Weapon Posts.

WhoDunneIt? Collected Chemical Weapon Posts.HT: BrownMosesBlog.


Interviews with chemical weapons specialists
A Chemical Weapon Specialist's Thoughts On The UN Visit To Syria
Three Chemical Weapon Specialist Answer Questions About Chemical Weapons In Syria
Chemical Weapon Specialists Talk Sarin, Saraqeb, and Khan Al-Assal - Part 1
Chemical Weapon Specialists Talk Sarin, Saraqeb, and Khan Al-Assal - Part 2

Damascus August 21st Attack
Are These The Munitions Used In Today's Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack?
More Videos Emerge Of Chemical Attack Linked Mystery Munitions
Claims Of Opposition DIY Weapons Used In This Week's Alleged Chemical Attack
Finding The Exact Location Of An Alleged Chemical Munition, And What It Could Mean
Were The UN Inspectors Examining A Chemical Weapon In Medmah Al Sham?

The White Grenades
Links Between Alleged Chemical Attacks In Saraqeb, Idlib, and Sheikh Maghsoud, Aleppo
Jabhat Al-Nusra Photographed With "Chemical Weapons"
Devices Linked To Alleged Chemical Weapon Attacks Captured By The Syrian Opposition
More On The Gas Grenades Linked To Chemical Weapon Attacks In Syria
The Hunt For Chemical Weapon Attack Linked Gas Grenades In Syria

Saraqeb
Video Of An Unknown Object Reportedly Dropped From A Helicopter During The Alleged Chemical Attack In Saraqeb, Idlib
Was The Attack In Saraqeb Chemical Weapons, Or Something Else?

Other
Comments On The Use Of Chemical Weapons In Syria
A Great Example Of How Not To Write About Chemical Weapons And Arms In Syria
DIY Weapon Linked To Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack in Adra, Damascus
Video Claims To Show A Chemical Bomb Dropped On Al-Bab
This Is Not A Chemical Weapon

Majority of Turks , Europe and U.S. against Syria intervention: Survey.

Majority of Turks against Syria intervention: Survey.(HD).

A majority of Turks disapprove of any potential military intervention in Syria, much like their European and American counterparts, a survey has revealed.

In Turkey, 72 percent of respondents to the Transatlantic Trends 2013 survey, which was conducted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), said their country should stay out of Syria, up 15 percentage points from last year, while only 21 percent – down 11 percentage points – favored intervention.

The respondents were told that there had recently been discussion about intervening in Syria, where the government has been using military force to suppress an opposition movement. They were then asked whether their government should stay out completely or intervene.

Apart from Turkey, 11 European Union member states were surveyed: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States. Polling was conducted between June 3 and June 27.

In the U.S., a two-thirds majority, 62 percent, up 7 percentage points from 2012, along with nearly three-fourths of respondents in Europe, 72 percent, up 13 percentage points from 2012, preferred to stay out.

Only one-in-three respondents in the United States, 30 percent, down 5 percentage points from 2012, and even fewer in Europe, 22 percent, down 10 percentage points from 2012, felt their countries ought to intervene in Syria.

In a separate question about recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East, respondents to the survey were asked to choose between two propositions: “stability is more important even if it means accepting non-democratic governments” and “democracy is more important even if it leads to a period of instability.” A majority in Europe, 58 percent, and a plurality in the United States, 47 percent, preferred democracy over stability.

A majority of Turkish respondents, 57 percent, preferred democracy in North Africa and the Middle East, 25 percent said they preferred stability, while 18 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.

Video - Putin: "Kerry lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,"

Video - Putin: "Kerry lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,"HT: RT.

Russia needs convincing proof, not rumors, from UN experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria, said the Russian president in an interview with First Channel and AP. It is up to the UN Security Council to decide on the next course of action, he said.

Speaking to journalists from Russia’s state Channel 1 television and Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of decisive statements regarding the supposed use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, which evoked a threat of a US-led strike on Syria.

“We believe that at the very least we should wait for the results of the UN inspection commission in Syria,” Putin said, adding that so far there is no information about what chemical agent exactly was used in the attack in Damascus’ suburbs and who did it.

“I’ve already said I find it absolutely ridiculous that [Syrian] government’s armed forces, which today are actually on an offense mission and in some regions have already encircled the so-called rebels and are finishing them off, that the Syrian army has used prohibited chemical weapons,” Putin said.

“They know all too well that this could become a cause for sanctions and even for a military operation against them. That’s stupid and illogical.”

“We proceed from the assumption that if anyone has information that chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regular army, then such proof must be presented to the UN Security Council and the UN inspectors,” Putin said, stressing that the proof must be “convincing” and not based on “rumors” or any sort of “eavesdropped intelligence data,” conversations etc.

“Even in the US there are experts who question the reliability of the facts presented by the administration. These experts do not exclude the possibility that the Syrian opposition has conducted a pre-planned provocation in order to give their sponsors a reason for military intervention,” he acknowledged.

Putin later leveled criticism at US Secretary of State John Kerry as he spoke to human rights activists on Wednesday, saying Kerry “lied” by claiming there was no Al-Qaeda militants fighting in Syria and that the military strike against President Assad will not boost the terrorist network’s presence in the region.

“They lie, plainly. I watched the Congressional debate. A congressman asked Mr. Kerry: “Is there any Al-Qaeda [in Syria]? There are reports they have been growing stronger.” He [Kerry] replied: “No. I say with all responsibility: there is no [Al-Qaeda] there,” Putin explained.

The Russian President then said the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization, which pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has been at the forefront of the rebel groups fighting Assad’s forces, and that the US is well aware of that.

“Well, he [Kerry] lies. And he knows that he lies. This is sad,” Putin remarked.

Speaking of Kerry’s confidence in that Assad’s forces used chemical weapons, Putin recalled former US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s rhetoric on the eve of American invasion in Iraq.

Powell even brandished some test tube with a white powder as he attempted to persuade the international community that Iraq has chemical weapons, Putin said, stressing that it later turned out that “all these arguments did not hold water.”

Putin says he “does not exclude” that Russia may agree with a military operation if it is proved that the Syrian government is behind the attack, however he emphasized that in accordance with international law a decision of the UN Security Council is needed for that.

“All other reasons and means that excuse using military force against an independent sovereign state are unacceptable and cannot be classified otherwise but as an aggression,” Putin noted.

“We would be convinced by a detailed investigation and direct evidence of who exactly used chemical weapons and what substances were used. Then we’ll be ready to take decisive and serious action,” said the president.

Answering a question about video records of dead children that allegedly died in the chemical attack in Damascus, Vladimir Putin called the material with dead children “horrible”.

“The questions are what exactly was done and who is to blame. This video does not answer these questions,” Putin said, sharing an opinion that this video is a compilation made by the militants who – even the US acknowledges – have links with Al-Qaeda and are notorious for extreme atrocities.

Putin recommended to pay attention to the fact that in the video with dead children there are no parents, children’s relatives or even medical personnel, while people who do appear in the video remain unidentified. However terrible the picture could be, it cannot be proof of anybody’s guilt, Putin said, and called for investigation of the incident.

Russia is fulfilling arms contracts with Syria “because we believe that we are working with the legitimate government and we are violating neither international law, nor our obligations,” assured Putin, stressing that the UN had imposed no sanctions on the export of weapons to Syria.

He confirmed that Moscow has a signed contract with Damascus to deliver S-300 air defense missile complexes to Syria. The S-300 system is kind of outdated, said Putin, “though they might be a little better than Patriot missiles.”

Russia already has deployed S-400 and forthcoming S-500 systems, “[and] these are all certainly very efficient weapons,” Putin noted.

“We have a contract to supply S300 missiles, and we’ve already supplied some parts, but not all of it, because we decided to suspend the supplies for a while. But if we see international law being violated, we will reconsider our future actions, including supplies of such sensitive weapons to certain regions of the world,” he promised.

Hmmm....Obama: "And by the way, Iran doesn’t deny it. Even Syria doesn’t actually deny that they were used. And that is what the U.N. investigators are supposed to be determining. And frankly, nobody’s really disputing that chemical weapons were used. The only remaining dispute is who used them -- which is outside the parameters of the U.N. investigation. So the U.N. investigation will not be able to answer that preliminarily. They’re not supposed to.

The Pentagon estimates it will take 75,000 “boots on the ground” in Syria to secure the chemical weapons.

The Pentagon estimates it will take 75,000 “boots on the ground” in Syria to secure the chemical weapons.HT: AmericanWatchtower.

Regardless of what Barack Obama is saying he, and not the world or humanity, drew a red line in the sand regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Now that either the Syrian government, or the al-Qaeda rebels we are about to support, used chemical weapons Barack Obama is seeking authorization from the Congress to conduct military operations in the war-torn country.

  The president is assuring the Congress, and the American people, that this will be a limited strike and will include no boots on the ground in Syria, however when John Kerry was pressed on this he hedged his bets:

It would be preferable not to, not because there is any intention or any plan or any desire whatsoever to have boots on the ground,” Kerry said.

“But, in the event that Syria imploded, or in the event there was a threat of a chemical weapons cache falling into the hands of” someone who should not have chemical weapons, “then clearly in the interest of our allies … to prevent those weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of the worst elements,” Kerry said later. “I don’t want to take that off the table an option that might or might not be available to the president of the United States

  When pressed even further John Kerry stated that “there will not be American boots on the ground with respect to the civil war.”  That statement does leave the issue open-ended, doesn’t it? While the United States will not put boots on the ground to interfere with the Syrian civil war it leaves the possibility open that we would actually put boots on the ground for some other issue related to Syria, but for what purpose would that be?

  We may now know the answer to that question.

    Let me ask you a couple of questions: What good does it do to simply send a message to Syria that chemical weapons are not to be used if we leave these weapons in the hands of whichever group comes to power if and when this war ever ends? Shouldn’t the action taken by the United States also include the securing of these weapons if we really want to ensure they are not used again?

  According to this story the Pentagon has already considered this action and is estimating that it will take 75,000 boots on the ground to secure the chemical weapons.

  In addition, it appears as if the resolution now being debated in the Congress might actually allow the United States to put these boots on the ground in spite of what the president, and Congressional leaders, are saying.

Meanwhile, the draft text of the resolution authorizing President Barack Obama to use force in Syria that is being taken up by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today prohibits the president from putting ground troops in Syria “for the purpose of combat operations”–but appears to leave open the possibility that the president could put troops in Syria to secure chemical weapons.

“The authority granted in section 2 does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Syria for the purpose of combat operations,” says the text of the draft resolution.

However, Section 2 of the resolution gives the president the authority to use the Armed Forces in Syria “as he determines necessary and appropriate” for a limited set of purposes, including “to protect our allies and partners against the use of” weapons of mass destruction.

  So yes, in spite of what we are being told, it does appear as if the Obama regime, and its willing accomplices in the Congress, are prepared to escalate our involvement in this war far above what we are being led to believe.

Why the United States should leave the United Nations

Author: Noah
The United Nations is a worldwide organization which was founded during World War II in the year 1942. The term was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt when representatives from 26 nations pledged on behalf of their government and country to fight against the Axis powers in WWII. In 1945, representatives from 50 nations across the world met at a conference in San Francisco and signed the United Nations Charter.  The United Nations officially came into existence on October 28th, 1945 which is now celebrated worldwide as United Nations Day. In the aftermath of WWII, the United Nations helped rebuild Europe and adopted resolutions to make sure such unconventional weapons like the atomic bomb will never be used again and took steps to end genocide around the world. In 1948, the United Nations voted and established the State of Israel on the land of the Palestinian Mandate to finally give the Jews a homeland after the horrors of the Holocaust. The United Nations did well at the time but its usefulness has expired since then. While the United Nations was supposed to take steps to prevent genocide, conflict and racism, the United Nations has not only failed to fulfill its duties, but has fueled such actions around the world.
Since 1945, estimates as high as almost 15 million have died of genocide worldwide. The Rwanda Genocide, the Bangladesh Atrocities of 1971, the Cambodian Genocide and the Nigerian Civil War account for 10 million deaths maximum. In all these conflicts, the United Nations have done next to nothing to help the poor people being murdered in these countries. The United Nations (UN) pretends to help by passing resolutions condemning the countries which cause the genocide. In reality, this does absolutely nothing. There is no actual punishment for not following a UN resolution. Since 1945, there have been over 200 wars across the globe and the UN has done little to end them. The UN will send peacekeepers and spectators to these countries as if that will actually help them one bit. A fine example of this is the Syrian Civil War. The UN has attempted to pass resolutions against Syria but have been stopped by China and Russia who care for nothing more than their arms sales. This proves how dysfunctional the organization is. While nations such as Syria who has been killing its own people for over a year get by due to corrupt governments exploiting the system of the UN, Israel gets stuck with more UN resolutions than any country in history, condemning it for ridiculous reasons such as claiming Jerusalem as its capital, despite the fact that Jerusalem is the location of its government. Another famous resolution passed against Israel is Resolution 242, the resolution forcing Israel to withdraw from territories conquered during the Six Day War. While it is true that you may not conquer in a war of aggression and that it is a violation of international law, a country may conquer in a war of defense. One may say that this is irrelevant because Israel made the first attack in the Six Day War and was the aggressor, but what they don\'t know is that the aggressor was actually Egypt who blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel\'s only port to the Red Sea. As for fueling racism, the UN attempts to disguise this with names such as 'World Conference against Racism 2001' otherwise known as Durban I. the UN sponsored this event with an attempt to combat racism, or so it says. Instead of combatting racism as it was supposed to do, it became a racist conference labeling Israel as apartheid and linking Zionism to racism. This was followed again by Durban II in Geneva which included a racist speech by President Ahmadinejad of Iran. The meeting was boycotted by numerous western nations.
Even after laying resolutions against allies, failing to do their job and proving to be controlled by corrupt nations such as Russia, China and others, the United States continues to fund the UN, accounting for about 23of its core budget and about 25of its system-wide spending which is estimated to be as high as $25 billion. The ultimate question is why the US continues to fund such an organization which stands against American values and doesn\'t even get anywhere with the money spent. The only place the money is going is in the pockets of international dictators who say that they will help their people and goes towards resolutions that stand against what the US stands for. The spending is completely pointless. The simple solution is to leave the United Nations, cut off all government funding to them and expel the UN headquarters from US territory in New York City. With this being done, the UN will ultimately collapse on itself and nothing will happen that significantly changes the world because the UN, its resolutions and its peacekeeping barely helps anyone in any place. By leaving the UN, the US does not need to worry about sanctions and condemnations on its allies and can continue without spending so much money on such a useless organization. The UN, although failing to do so, wishes to create a permanent alliance of all countries around the world. George Washington warned the American people of this, saying we should 'steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world' in his farewell address.
The United States wastes billions of tax dollars every year on funding an organization which doesn\'t do its job, and if it were to do its job it would just be going against the American way of life. For these reasons, the United States should abandon the United Nations and expel the United Nations Headquarters from New York City so the United States and its allies can be more prosperous.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/international-studies-articles/why-the-united-states-should-leave-the-united-nations-6618500.html
About the Author
I am a 14 year old (Almost 15) from Canada, but born in Kentucky. I have been interested in Politics since I was 11 and I am a critic of the United Nations.HT: Scaramouchee.


MFS: Great insight, thank God there are still young people with good common sense around.

'Only the Educated Are Free' -  Epictetus, Discourses Roman (Greek-born) slave & Stoic philosopher (55 AD - 135 AD). 

France Hints it Will Support PA's UN Bid.

France Hints it Will Support PA's UN Bid.(INN).France is considering voting in favor of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations, its foreign minister hinted on Thursday. Speaking at a hearing in the French senate, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius reminded that French President Francois Hollande promised during his election campaign to promote the issue of Palestinian statehood. "I would like to mention that in his election campaign, President Hollande said he would work toward international recognition of a Palestinian state," Fabius said. While he did not specifically say how France would vote when the PA submits its request, a French government official said Fabius’ remarks are a hint that France would support the PA’s request for recognition as a non-member observer state. Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called Abbas to back off from his plans to ask for UN recognition, saying, "While there is any chance of achieving a return to talks in the coming months, we continue to advise President Abbas against attempts to win Palestinian observer state status. "We judge that this would make it harder to secure a return to negotiations, and could have very serious consequences for the Palestinian Authority," Hague told the British parliament.
Meanwhile, Channel 10 News reported on Thursday that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have asked Jerusalem not to punish Abbas as a result of his UN bid. Previous reports indicated that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has threatened that if the PA goes ahead with its unilateral statehood bid he “will work to ensure the PA will collapse.” Lieberman reportedly stressed that a unilateral statehood bid by the PA will "put an end to the chances to resume peace negotiations." 
Channel 10 reported that the international community is trying to come up with a compromise which would allow Abbas, on the one hand, to return from New York to Ramallah with UN recognition, but at the same time would prevent him to file lawsuits against Israel in the International Criminal Court. Abbas recently announced that the PA will present its bid for non-state UN membership on November 29. That date was chosen on purpose, as it is the anniversary of the day in 1947 in which the United Nations voted in favor of the partition plan.
The resolution recommended the creation of two states, one Arab, one Jewish and granted a small portion of the area, under the British Mandate, to the new Jewish state. U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that he opposes the PA bid and asked Abbas not to go through with it. However, Abbas responded to Obama with a direct “no”.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has told its ambassadors to explain that the PA’s plan to ask for UN recognition is a violation of the Oslo Accords and may cause Israel to officially announce that it is “canceling them partially or completely.” The agreement commits the PA to negotiate with Israel for the establishment of an independent PA entity. Lieberman, meanwhile, insisted on Thursday that Israel would not back down and would sanction Abbas if he goes ahead with his bid. “We respect the American government," Lieberman told Channel 10 News, “but we act according to Israeli interests, and I do not think we should it let it slide if Abbas takes such a far-reaching unilateral step, and there must be a serious Israeli response.Hmmmmm......"War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst." ~ Carl von Clausewitz.Read the full story here.

"The Chickens come home to roost".Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey,become the highest in the world.

"The Chickens come home to roost".Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey,become the highest in the world.(HD).Gasoline and diesel oil prices in Turkey, the highest in the world, have hit another record high. As of Thursday, the price had hit 2.68 US dollars per liter. (Almost $10/Gallon).The gasoline itself costs only 1 US dollar per liter, but taxes make up 60% of the cost at the pump.Turkish consumers have woken up to a costlier life in April, with the Minister of Energy announcing that natural gas prices have been raised by a staggering 18.7 percent, while electricity prices also increased about 9.3 percent over the weekend. The natural gas and electricity price hikes come just after gasoline prices rose for the third time late last month, putting the cost of one liter of gas at nearly 5 Turkish Liras.
“There is a cost increase of about 17 percent in natural gas due only to changes in the exchange rate. In the last 19 months oil and natural gas prices have risen 29 percent, excluding the exchange rate. The reason for the latest price increase is the difference in the exchange rate and rising oil prices,” Minister of Energy Taner Yıldız said, speaking in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri March 31, according to Doğan news agency. “The government used to purchase [one barrel of] oil for $22 ten years ago, now it cannot purchase one even for $122. Energy costs are up six-fold versus a gross domestic product growth of three-fold,” he said.Turkey produces nearly half of its electricity from natural gas power plants. The energy sector pays the price for political instability caused by tensions in North Africa, Syria, and between Israel and Iran, Yıldız said yesterday. Turkey is in talks with the Libyan government to arrange a goods-for-oil barter, Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying. “We will construct buildings in exchange for petroleum coke,” he said. Citizens pay the price while the government manages the economy with price hikes, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said yesterday, speaking in the northwestern province of Eskişehir. “They used to say ‘Turkey sets an example to the whole world,’ and ‘there is no problem with the economy.’ What kind of an example is this?Hmmmm.......Anyone has an idea why Turkey is eyeing the Nobel Gas field near Cyprus?Would it be worthwhile to go to War?Read the full story here.

Overnight Music video - War - Edwin Starr

MFS - The Other News

                       Morning Posting.

• Syria Live Blog - June 21. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Libya Live Blog - June 21. Here (Al-Jazeera). 

• Yemen Live Blog - June 21. Here. (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Japan  today 4.9. More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 134.On 20.06.2011 at 08:40 GMT+2
  
  The Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced plans to open a main door at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Sunday's plan is aimed at ventilating contaminated air, and allowing workers inside to set up equipment. They plan to establish a cooling system, and reduce the risk of hydrogen explosions. The March 11th earthquake and tsunami knocked out power to the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, incapacitating its crucial cooling systems, and causing three reactor cores to melt. To allow work to resume inside Unit 2, TEPCO is set to open the main double-door. and ventilate the contaminated air with nearly 100 percent humidity. Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO Spokesman, said, "We have decided to open the double-door, starting today at 8 PM. From today at 8 PM, until 4 AM tomorrow, we will open the door partially, to control the dust in the reactor building. Then, at 4 AM, we will open the door fully, if we don't see any problems." The reactor suffered a torus rupture, but its outer containment building has survived, and contains moisture and radioactivity. TEPCO wants to quickly inject nitrogen into the reactor, to prevent hydrogen explosions like those that already blew off several roofs and walls at other units. The operator will leave the door partially open overnight, before fully opening on Monday morning. Officials claim the amount of radiation released into the air will be small enough to not pose any danger to human health. Meanwhile, more radioactive water is pooling in the tsunami-stricken nuclear plant, as workers scramble to restart a key clean-up system. It was shut down on Saturday, because a component reached its radioactivity limit faster than expected. TEPCO aims to move the reactors to a stable cold shutdown state by early January. Japan has 54 nuclear reactors. More than 30, including six at Fukushima Dai-ichi, and several others that stopped running due to the quake, are out of operation.Source : Here .

                                                                      

• Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog.Here.

• Obama To Jewish Donors: I’ve Done More For Israel’s Security Than Any Administration In 25 Years.(Reuters).President Barack Obama reassured Jewish donors on Monday he strongly supports Israel, stressing close ties between the United States and the Jewish state, but also emphasizing that changes in the Middle East will require a fresh look at the region.“Both the United States and Israel are going to have to look at this new landscape with fresh eyes. It’s not going to be sufficient for us just to keep on doing the same things,” Obama said at the first of two big-ticket fund-raisers where he was speaking on Monday evening.He addressed the crowd of about 80 people a month after a speech on the Middle East that exposed a rift between the United States and Israel. At Monday’s dinner, hosted by Americans in Support of a Strong U.S.-Israel Relationship, he said his administration had done more than any for 25 years to support Israel’s security.Hmmmm........Better Lay off the magic Mushrooms?Read the full Fairytale story here.

• White House loosens border rules for 2012.(DailyCaller).President Barack Obama’s administration is quietly offering a quasi-amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, while aiming to win reelection by mobilizing a wave of new Hispanic voters, say supporters of stronger immigration law enforcement.The new rules were quietly announced Friday with a new memo from top officials at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The “prosecutorial discretion” memo says officials need not enforce immigration laws if illegal immigrants are enrolled in an education center or if their relatives have volunteered for the US military.“They’re pushing the [immigration] agents to be even more lax, to go further in not enforcing the law,” said Kris Kobach, Kansas’ secretary of state. “At a time when millions of Americans are unemployed and looking for work, this is more bad news coming from the Obama administration… [if the administration] really cared about putting Americans back to work, it would be vigorously enforcing the law,” said Kobach, who has helped legislators in several states draft local immigration-related laws.The Hispanic vote could be crucial in the 2012 election, because the Obama campaign hopes to offset its declining poll ratings by registering new Hispanic voters in crucial swing states, such as Virginia and North Carolina.To boost the Hispanic vote, the administration has enlisted support from Hispanic media figures, appointed an experienced Hispanic political operative to run the political side of the Obama reelection campaign, and has maintained close ties to Hispanic advocacy groups, including La Raza. For example, La Raza’s former senior vice president and lobbyist, Cecilia Munoz, was hired by the Obama administration as director of intergovernmental affairs in 2009.On Friday, officials at ICE announced several new administrative changes to immigration enforcement.The primary document was the six-page “prosecutorial discretion” memo, which provided new reasons for officials to not deport illegal immigrants.“When weighing whether an exercise of prosecutorial discretion may be warranted for a given alien, ICE officials, agents and attorneys should consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to – the circumstances of the person’s arrival in the United States … particularly if the alien came to the United States as a young child; the Person’s pursuit of education… .. whether the person, or the person’s immediate relative, has served in the U.S. military,” said the memo.“The factors are extremely broad and very troubling … [it] look like a stealth DREAM Act enforcement through non-enforcement,” said Kobach.The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act has been repeatedly rejected by Congress from 2001 to 2010. “The deliberate non-enforcement of our immigration laws in this administration certainly seems politically motivated,” said Kobach, adding “how exactly they expect to win votes by doing this is beyond me.”Immigrant advocacy groups said they want to get more from the administration. “We’re continuing to work with the administration for them to show strong leadership and advancing immigration reform,” said Vasquez. “We think there are further steps the administration can take.” For example, the administration should allow people to stay in the United States while their immigration cases are settled, she said.The administration should end the “Secure Communities” program, which allows state and local police to detain illegals for subsequent deportation by federal authorities, said Loewe. “Secure Communities is an experiment they unleashed on the public without any safeguards or regulations… local law-enforcement of immigration laws is a bad idea,” he said.But the overall goal of the new memos is victory in the 2012 election, not law enforcement, said Vaughan. It is “kabuki theater… designed [by the administration] to send a signal to these groups that they are taking their concerns very seriously.”“Latino voters are very engaged and watching carefully what is happening with immigration policies,” said Vasquez, “because they’re deeply effected by it, either because they know someone impacted by it, or themselves are impacted by it.”Hmmmm......"We don't want to upset potential Democrat voters",to hell with the Constitution, Congress and the American taxpayer?Read the full story here.

• Obama Campaign to Unveil Adorable, Fuzzy Mascot to Distract Voters From President's Unblemished Record of Economic, Foreign Policy Failures.(DougRoss).Washington (DRNS) - Citing concerns over its disastrous poll numbers, the Obama 2012 Reelection Campaign today unveiled Failosaurus, its new mascot designed to appeal to liberals and children."Our hope is that we can really pump up turnout with 'Failie'," said Obama Senior Campaign Adviser David Axelrod, "that's what our focus groups told us: everyone has failures in their past, and this president is no different.""Look at that insurance company's duck. It's a f***ing duck! It increased sales like a gazillion percent for them. And how about those cavemen? You're telling me a cute, fuzzy mascot won't swing voters to Democrats, no matter how f***ed up the economy is?"The Democrat National Committee and George Soros helped fund the mascot design effort, along with laundered taxpayer dollars through the SEIU. The Senate majority leader also played a key role in the focus groups that approved the new mascot."Harry Reid, who is a true creative genius, really helped us craft the approach," said Axelrod, "We could tell when 'Failie' danced into the room that we had a winner. Harry was clapping and laughing and squealing like a little girl as the mascot launched into a series of Party anthems including F*** the Constitution, the Soviet National Anthem (Гимн Советского Союза) and Democrats über alles.""Look, anyone with an ounce of sense knows that we've f***ed America up beyond recognition. We had a Stimulus program that destroyed our balance sheet... we passed a 'health care reform' bill that stole half-a-trillion from Medicare and bankrupted Medicaid... and we passed a 'financial reform' bill that didn't address Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Plus, as an added bonus, we started a 'war of choice' in Libya. Best of all, we did everything against the direct will of the people! So we thought: hey, it's time for a mascot!"Axelrod explained that, given the infantile thought processes of the left, Democrat pollsters were predicting that turnout among progressives would increase roughly 3.9% with a marketing campaign heavy on 'Failie' and light on the facts.Hmmmm......."To appeal to liberals and children"kindred spirits....Yup that covers it.Read the full story here.

• President Obama Rejected DOJ and DOD Advice, and Sided with Harold Koh, on War Powers Resolution.(Lawfare)by Jack Goldsmith.Charlie Savage has the amazing story that President Obama “rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without Congressional authorization.” The Acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Caroline Krass, and the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Jeh Johnson, advised the President that military activities in Libya constituted “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution and thus Section 5(b) of the WPR required him to terminate or scale back the mission after May 20. The President – himself a lawyer – rejected this advice and instead sided with the White House Counsel, Robert Bauer, and the State Department Legal Advisor, Harold Koh, who argued that the actions in Libya fell short of “hostilities” and thus did not implicate Section 5(b)’s termination provisions.There are many things to say about this.This episode makes me wonder how all of this is being taken by the U.S. military. It must be strange to many involved in Operation Odyssey Dawn to be told that not only are they not involved in “war,” they are not even involved in “hostilities.” A midshipman at the Naval Academy wrote to Tom Ricks to say, in light of the original unilateral resort to force in Libya, that he wondered whether the soldiers fighting in Libya “are breaking their oath to obey only legal orders.” I think this is a large overreaction to the initial use of force. And despite my views of the WPR here, I do not think that disobedience would be a proper reaction to the President’s decision under the WPR. The President gets to make the call and his decision is not so far out of bounds to warrant disobedience. But it cannot be pleasant for the men and women involved in this “kinetic military action” to know that the Defense Department General Counsel and the head of OLC think the intervention in Libya as currently executed is unlawful.Read the full story here.

• "Obama Advisor" Fareed Zakaria: Today's Conservative Movement Like 'the Old Marxists'.(NewsBusters).CNN's Fareed Zakaria regurgitated his conservative-bashing Time magazine piece on his Sunday show Fareed Zakaria GPS. He opened up his program with the same barrage against conservatives that he launched in Time on Friday, namely that today's conservatism is woefully divorced from reality like the Marxists of the 19th century.Ironically, Zakaria claims that "market-friendly, conservative reforms" are needed, but only ones that are "rooted in reality." This is from a man who in 2008 took time on-air to explain why he was voting for Obama, and has had face-to-face conversations with the president recently on foreign affairs.And yet Zakaria fails to credit, or at least critique, the role of President Reagan's economic policies in the two decades of growth, as he demands evidence for the theory that "massive tax cuts are the single best path to revive the U.S. economy". He argues that the United States has some of the lowest tax rates of any industrial powerhouse and is still trying to jumpstart its economy.Zakaria points to China for direction as the "world's fastest-growing economy." He touts that they have "managed to use government involvement to create growth and jobs for three decades."

A transcript of the segment, which aired on June 19 at , is as follows:

FAREED ZAKARIA: Now, here's my take. I've been watching the Republicans on the campaign trail and what strikes me so far is that conservatives in America have gone through a strange transformation. It used to be that conservatism was a hard-headed set of ideas rooted in reality. Unlike the abstract theories of Marxism and socialism, it started not from an imagined society, but from the world as it actually exists. This is the way things work, conservatives would patiently explain to wooly-headed liberal professors. Whatever you may want it to look like, this is what it really looks like.But consider the debates over the economy these days. The Republican prescription is cut taxes, slash government spending, then things will always bounce back. Now, I would like to see lower tax rates in the context of simplification and reform, but what is the actual evidence that massive tax cuts are the single best path to revive the U.S. economy? Taxes as a percentage of GDP are at their lowest levels since 1950. The U.S. is among the lowest taxed of the big industrial economies. So the case that America is grinding to a halt because of high taxations is not based on facts, either past or present, but is simply a theoretical assertion. The rich countries after all that are in the best shape right now, with strong growth and low unemployment, are ones like Germany and Denmark and Canada, none characterized by low taxes.Many Republican businessmen have told me that the Obama administration is the most hostile to business in 50 years. Really? More than that of Richard Nixon, for example, who presided over tax rates that reached 70 percent, regulations that spanned whole industries like airlines and telecommunication, and who actually instituted price and wage controls? In fact, right now, any discussion of any government involvement in the economy, even to build vital infrastructure, is impossible because it is a cardinal tenet of the new conservatism that such involvement is always and forever bad.That's the theory. Meanwhile, in practice across the globe, the world's fastest growing economy, China, has managed to use government involvement to create growth and jobs for three decades. From Singapore to South Korea to Germany, evidence abounds that some strategic actions by governments can act as catalysts for free market growth.But conservatives now resemble the old Marxists who refuse to look at actual experience. I know it works in practice, the old saw goes, but does it work in theory? Republicans often praise businessmen. Well, one of the first steps any business now takes when confronting a problem is to ask how are other companies around the world handling this? Is there a best practice we can learn from? But in any area, from infrastructure to health care to education, that is heresy on the right.Hmmmmm......The 'One man obama think tank'.Read the full story here.

• Fareed Zakaria: Let’s use Facebook and Twitter to create a 21st century Constitution.(DailyCaller).One of President Barack Obama’s most scrutinized statements prior to the 2008 election was one in which he concluded that the U.S. Constitution was a flawed document since it was “a charter of negative liberties.” But according to CNN host and Time magazine’s Fareed Zakaria, the president might have been on to something.On his Sunday “Fareed Zakaria GPS” program, Zakaria explained how the island nation of Iceland is scrapping its entire longstanding constitution and is starting from scratch, even accepting suggestions from its citizens via social media.“We all know how Americans revere the Constitution,” Zakaria said. “So I was struck by the news that tiny little Iceland is actually junking its own constitution and starting anew and using an unusual, some would say, innovative mechanism. The nation decided it needed a new constitution and it’s soliciting ideas from all of Iceland’s 320,000 citizens with the help of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and this social media method has worked. Ideas have been flowing in. Many have asked for guaranteed good health care. Others want campaign finance systems that make corporate donations illegal. And some just want the country to make shark finning illegal.”But he said the Icelandic process is also significant because it highlights how different their process is from what America’s founding fathers did.“By contrast, any talk of revising or revisiting the American Constitution is, of course, seen as heresy. The United States Constitution was, as you know, drafted in a cramped room in Philadelphia in 1787, with shades drawn over the windows,” he said. “It was signed by 39 people. America at the time consisted of 13 states. Congress had 26 senators and 65 representatives. The entire population was about one percent of today’s number, about 4 million people. America was an agricultural society, with no industry, not even cotton gins. The flush toilet had just been invented.”And Zakaria has his problems with the Constitution, as it is interpreted in its current form.“These were the circumstances under which this document was written,” he continued. “And let me be very clear here, the U.S. Constitution is an extraordinary work, one of the greatest expressions of liberty and law in human history,” he said. “One amazing testament to it is the mere fact that it has survived as the law of the land for 222 years. But our Constitution has been revised 27 times, some of these revisions being enormous and important, such as the abolition of slavery. Then there are areas that have evolved. For example, the power of the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, is barely mentioned in the document. This grew as a fact over history.”One solution to these flaws: Mimic Iceland and use social networking to revise how the U.S. government operates.“So we could use the ideas of social media that were actually invented in this country to suggest a set of amendments to modernize the Constitution for the 21st century,” he continued. “Such a plan is not unheard of in American history. After all, the delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 initially meant not to create the Constitution as we now know it, but instead to revise the existing document, the Articles of Confederation. But the delegates saw a disconnect between the document that currently governed them and the needs of the nation, so their solution was to start anew. I’m just suggesting we talk about a few revisions.”Hmmmmm.....Who died and made him Emperor of the United States of America?.......The Muslim Brotherhood?Read the full story here.

• Iran Scam to Evade Terror Sanctions Busted, NYC Official Says.(ABC).Eleven companies, including Iran's state-sponsored shipping line, were indicted in New York City today for allegedly conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran by duping major U.S. banks in order to funnel more than $60 million through the Manhattan banks. "The defendants falsified the records of banks," said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who filed the indictment, in a conference call, "and in so doing the defendants deceived the Manhattan banks." The conspiracy indictment seeks to enforce a U.S. ban on trading with Iran that was imposed because, according to the federal government, the country harbors terrorists and participates in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Iran's national shipping company is alleged to play a key logistical role in that nation's ballistic missile program as well as to serve as a conduit for supplying weapons to terrorist organizations. The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its regional offices and affiliates as well as five individuals were charged in the 319 count indictment with using corporate shells and aliases to "exploit the services of financial institutions located in Manhattan," said Vance."As the private sector around the world increasingly turns its back on Iran's national shipping line, IRISL's efforts to evade international sanctions and increased scrutiny have grown more and more desperate," Szubin said. Szubin also announced today the sanctioning of ten additional shipping companies and three individuals. The sanctions prohibit trade and authorize the freezing of assets of companies doing business with companies that harbor terrorists or proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Still, Vance acknowledged the difficulty officials face in attempting to extradite the newly indicted individuals. "Will anyone ever face judgment in New York courts? Possibly," he said.Read the full story here.

• Muslims to abandon Scottish education system,want more 'Islamic' schools.(Express).Muslim leaders are planning to break away from the Scottish education system and create their own schools because the current curriculum does not include enough about Islam.The Sunday Express has learned parents are angry their children are not being given schooling according to their religious beliefs and claim teachers are even promoting “unIslamic principles and behaviours”.Some have even threatened legal action to force councils to open state-funded faith schools at taxpayers’ expense.Others want the “relatively affluent” Muslim community to take matters into its own hands, starting with Scotland’s first Islamic high school. Parents and supporters are being rallied on an Internet chat room called glasgowmuslims.com. One father explains the plan is to “form a steering group of individuals who wish to contribute towards the creation of an Islamic Secondary School for Girls in Glasgow”.The anonymous man – TariqM – adds: “I have spoken to a number of Imams representing the primary Masjids (mosques) in Glasgow and in principle everybody agrees the ideal solution to education for Muslims would be within an environment that has at its core an Islamic ethos.”Another member proposes legal action over the city council’s refusal to fund an Islamic state school, stating: “There is a case to be made by the Muslim community against Glasgow Council claiming religious bigotry and discrimination.”Sajid Quayum, president of the Glasgow branch of the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB), said he was aware of the group and its plans.“Education is something close to the heart of all parents,” he said. “They are venting their frustration over not being able to ‘play the system’ as other religious groups have in the past.“There is a lot of disagreement in the wider community whether having an Islamic state school is what we want. Some say it would be a good thing but others say there is enough separation from the main community as there is. Mr Quayum, a TV producer, also claimed children of all religions and backgrounds are not learning enough about Islam in school.He said: “A lot of teachers are a little bit worried about trying to cover Islam because it has so many social and political issues. “We have set up a teacher training programme called Islam Information Scotland. When we have approached RE teachers, they say they will often focus on a particular religion for a year, such as Hinduism, but it will rarely be Islam because they are worried about offending Muslims. “There is a perception that we are consistently getting offended, but there are only a few groups out there who do that. Unfortunately, it is them who always appear in the news.“This is not about pushing our religion into schools, just a feeling that there is not enough understanding of the issues.”Scotland currently has one Islamic primary school, the private Qalam Academy in Glasgow.Two other private primaries, in Glasgow and Dundee, closed after damning inspection reports.Hmmmm.....One wonders why they might be closed down?Read the full story here.

• Syrians call Assad 'liar' following speech.(Ynet).Protesters take to streets immediately after presidential address, chant, 'No to dialogue with murderers'.Protesters took to the streets across Syria on Monday to denounce a speech by President Bashar Assad they said did not meet popular demands for sweeping political change, activists and witnesses said. "No to dialogue with murderers," chanted 300 protesters in the Damascus suburb of Irbin, a witness told Reuters by telephone, with the slogans echoing in the background. In a speech at Damascus University dominated by security concerns, Assad accused "saboteurs" among protesters demanding and end to his 11-year rule of serving a foreign conspiracy to sow chaos. Under mounting international pressure and facing wider street protests despite a military crackdown that has killed more than 1,300 people, Assad, from Syria's minority Alawite sect, said political reforms he had launched since the 3-month uprising would stabilize the country and diffuse grievances.  "What is happening today has nothing to do with reform, it has to do with vandalism," Assad told a crowd of supporters. "There can be no development without stability, and no reform through vandalism. ... We have to isolate the saboteurs." But in the Sunni Sleibeh and Raml al-Filistini districts of the mixed coastal city of Latakia, where several Sunni neighborhoods have been surrounded by troops and armor for weeks, protesters chanted "liar, liar". "People were still hoping he would say something meaningful that would result in tanks and troops leaving the streets. They were disappointed and started going out as soon as Assad finished talking," one activist in Latakia said. In the city of Hama, scene of a 1982 attack to crush an uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood that killed thousands of civilians during the rule of Assad's father, Hafez Assad, protesters chanted "damn your soul, Hafez". Demonstrations also took place in the eastern city of Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq, the southern city of Deraa and other towns in the Hauran Plain, cradle of the uprising, now in its fourth month, and at the campus of Aleppo University, activists said.Meanwhile Defense Minister Ehud Barak predicted Monday Assad will reach his "demise" within six months because he has lost his legitimacy."It's my personal judgment that Bashar Assad crossed the point of no return towards his demise," Ehud Barack said in an interview with The Associated Press."(Assad) ended up using too much brutal force, too many graves have been dug and he lost practically his legitimacy in the eyes of the Syrian people," Barak told the AP. "He probably will stay around for another quarter or two but that will not change his fate."Also Monday, the European Union said it was preparing to expand its sanctions on Syria in response to worsening violence by its regime."The EU is actively preparing to expand its restrictive measures by additional designations with a view to achieving a fundamental change of policy by the Syrian leadership without delay," a statement agreed by EU foreign ministers said.Hmmmmm........Toooo many 'reforms'.Read and see the full story here.

• Women and free fashion ...you can't stop them,no matter which faith.Neqabi Woman in Her Underware.(Faithfreedom).A woman in her underwear and scarf worn as a niqab, queues outside a Desigual fashion store for the ‘Arrive Half-Naked, Leave Fully Dressed’ offer, in central London, on June 16, 2011. Desigual gave away a free outfit to the first hundred individuals who arrived at their Regent street store in London, dressed in just their underwear. Hmmmm......Lord forgive them ....for they are women?Read and see the full story here.

• Turkey: After 'Halal' Internet now 'Halal' universities?Critics charge Turkey's government infringing on academic, artistic freedoms.(WorldTribune). ANKARA — Turkey has launched a crackdown on university projects that do not meet Islamic standards.University professors have accused the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan of blocking academic freedom at the nation's institutions of higher education. They said Erdogan, re-elected on June 12, has ordered the Interior Ministry and security forces to raid universities suspected of un-Islamic behavior. "Erdogan is turning out the light — not all at once, but very slowly," Bedri Baykam, a leading Turkish artist, said. "He is dimming it until one day it will be completely dark."In January, Turkish security forces raided Istanbul's Bilgi University amid reports that a student had produced a pornographic film for his dissertation. At least three university lecturers were dismissed amid pressure by Turkish prosecutors. Critics said Erdogan has launched a crackdown on university freedom as well as the arts. In a recent visit to the Armenian border, the prime minister called for the destruction of a monument that depicted friendship between Ankara and Yerevan. So far, authorities have not released any evidence that the student film was pornographic. The 53-year-old Baykam said this marked the latest evidence of official harassment of non-Islamic university professors and students. "Our government is trying, step by step, to turn our community inside out," Baykam told the German weekly Der Spiegel. "Professors are being intimidated, and university rectors are being brought into line ideologically. Things that ostensibly do not fit with Islam are being eradicated." The government this year also moved to restrict alcohol sales and consumption. Erdogan has maintained that the new regulations were meant to protect youngsters from alcohol. "I might have a certain attitude against alcohol in my personal life and within my family," Erdogan told a business group on Jan. 20."But as we are democratic, in addition to conservative, we are very sensitive about not imposing our personal judgments on society."Hmmmmm......Given enough time the whole of Turkey will become "Halal",welcome to the New Turkey ....iranian style..Read the full story here.

• Canada - Montreal : Soccer referee sidelined for wearing hijab.(CTV).A former Lac St. Louis soccer referee is blowing the whistle on rules she said prevent her from practising her religion.Sarah Benkirane, 15, was told after two years of refereeing for the soccer association that she was out of a job, after a complaint surfaced over her wearing her hijab while calling games."For me it's not really an option to take it off," she explained of her traditional Muslim head scarf. "It's part of my religion. It's part of who i am. It's the way I express myself, so I think I should be allowed to wear it as long as I'm not causing any harm to anybody else and I'm not."Under Rule 4 of the FIFA guidelines, which govern the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association, players must not only avoid wearing any item which threatens to cause choking or injury, but also "must not have any political, religious or personal statements."All rules for players also pertain to referees under FIFA rules.Edouard St. Lo, executive director of the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association said he agrees with the regulations."It's not just safety, because it does talk about political, religious and any kind of personal feeling that the person wants to display on the field. That's why they're all wearing the same thing," he said.Some soccer parents agree with the call."I think that we made these rules and we can't break them… we break it for this what are we going to break it for next?" said one mother. "For instance, she cannot play with her earrings. She has to wear some Scotch tape (over them) because she had her ears pierced and everybody respects the rules simply. They are safety rules," said another.FIFA's refusal to overturn its position on hijabs is having an international impact. The Iranian womens' soccer team was disqualified from Olympic tryouts because players wore hijbas and not the approved caps.Read the full story here.

• Bahrain king’s son to wed Saudi king’s daughter.(GulfNews).Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, on Thursday got engaged to the daughter of Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.The ceremony, in Riyadh, was attended by Prince Mutab Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the head of the National Guard, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, the royal court minister.Shaikh Khalid, the fifth son of King Hamad, is the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport and President of Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation.Source.

• Saudi Arabia - Child overcomes serial rapist with Quran.(Emirates247).Man fails to rape little girl after she stayed awake all night reading Quran.Like the legendary vampire Count Dracula who backs off his victim when shown a cross in movies, a Saudi serial child rapist who managed to overpower 15 little girls was overpowered by his 16th victim. Her only weapon was the Quran.Maha, 9, was the last victim of the 42-year-old school teacher who had raped 15 girls aged below 10 years over a period of nearly four years before he was arrested by Saudi police early this month.The man, who is married with six children, snatched Maha late night from a wedding hall in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah, bundled her in his car and took her to his apartment in the Gulf Kingdom’s second largest city.The little Saudi girl was with her family in the wedding at a public rest house when the outside door was knocked late night.She went and opened the door to find a strange man who asked her to come with him and take a bag for the bride.Scared by his looks, she refused and was about to rush back into the rest house when he grabbed her and dragged her to his car. He slapped her many times, bundled her in his car and sped away.“At his flat, he tried to take my clothes off and rape me but God the Almighty inspired me to read Quran as I have memorized many verses in class…I was surprised when I saw him jumping away from me when I started reading…he then came forward, slapped me many time sand told me to shut up,” Maha said, quoted by the Saudi Arabic language daily Burnews.“When I stopped reading, he came slowly towards me and tried again to rape me but I started to read Quran verses again……he backed off then came forward and slapped me again…I did not sleep all the night as I kept reading Quran until the morning….despite his attempts, he could not rape me.”Maha said that after sunrise, he sat away from her smoking shisha and watching television before telling her to put her shoes on and follow him to his car.Saudi police said last week they had seized the teacher following a manhunt of nearly four years after they were told my Maha about his whereabouts. Some of his victims recognized him while DNA tests confirmed his crimes.Police had earlier said the man had raped 13 little girls but newspapers on Tuesday quoted a police spokesman as saying there are 16 victims.The papers said the rapist had stalked girls near rest houses and wedding halls in Jeddah and used to give them sweets or other items to lure them into his car.He had first used a Toyota Prado to hunt for victims but later changed it into a small car with black glass so his victims will not be seen by others.“He was taking the little girls to his house and rape them….before he goes out hunting for victims, he used to take his wife and children to a rest house far from his home and leave them there for some time.”Maha, whose father is a police man, last week told police how that man snatched her from a rest house late night, slapped her many times before bundling her in his car and took her to his apartment.“Kill him…kill him when you catch him,” the school girl told the police after recounting what she had been through and how she came back home.Read the full story here.

• Saudi Groom sleeps with birds on wedding night angry bride asks for divorce.(Emirates247).A Saudi woman filed for divorce from her husband one day after their marriage because he left her on their wedding night to sleep with his birds in another room in their house, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.The unnamed wife went to court in the eastern province of Qateef and asked the judge to divorce her, saying her husband “humiliated” her by leaving her on their first night to sleep with his birds.“After strenuous efforts, the judge succeeded in persuading the woman to change her mind in return for a pledge from her husband not to repeat this act and to take the birds out of the house,” Alriyadh Arabic language daily said.“The woman had told the judge that she had been very patient with him during their engagement but had not expected him to do so on their wedding night.”Hmmmmm........It's me or the other 'birds'.Read the full story here.

• Ahmadinejad Launches "Ghostbusters"to crack down on 'occult' in Iran.(The National) — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government is seeking to divert attention from hardline rivals’ allegations that some of the Iranian president’s allies, including his chief of staff, are involved in black magic and exorcism.The government is doing so by assuming the leading role in the battle against occult practices and nonconformist ideologies.Alireza Afshar, acting interior minister in executive affairs, told Nasim Online, a news website, that the ministry had commissioned a non-governmental organisation to identify those engaged in divination and exorcism as well as “deviant schools of thought and false Gnosticism”.Under Iranian laws various kinds of occultism are punishable by fines and jail terms of up to seven years.In a later interview Mr Afshar added “devil-worshippers” as subjects of the intended crackdown. Devil-worshipper is the collective term that authorities in Iran often use to refer to underground rock bands and young people dressing unconventionally or “western-style”.A political analyst from Tehran said: “By reducing the fight against occultism to the ordinary diviners and fortune-tellers, and of course launching an attack on nonconformist youth culture, Sufi sects, [and] non-Islamic Gnostic groups such as popular Indian theosophical cults, the government can divert attention, at least for a while, from their own involvement in practice of the occult against their rivals.”Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, Mr Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, is considered the main cause of the occult brouhaha.Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, a hardline cleric who was once thought to be Mr Ahmadinejad’s mentor, recently claimed that Mr Mashaie had cast a spell on Mr Ahmadinejad. As many as 25 men associated with Mr Mashaie were arrested last month on charges of sorcery and black magic.Hmmmm......Unleashing the 'Djinn in the bottle'?Read the full story here.

• And now for something completely different.NRK launches "The world's longest TV documentary".(NorwayPost).Public broadcaster NRK on Thursday evening launched "The World's longest TV documentary", lasting a full 135 hours, and starring the famous Norwegian costal steamers "Hurtigruten".Through a large number of cameras mounted on the ship and at key points along the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes, the documentary follows the cruise liner "NORDNORGE" every minute of the 5 1/2-day voyage, including glimpses from the life onboard and at the various stops along the way.Portions of the program has been sold to several other Nordic TV stations, and interested viewers around the world may follow the voyage on NRK's own web site However, NRK has warned viewers not to watch the whole program in one go.Beautiful documentary of Norway's fjords a must see.

• And now for something completely different.Japanese Defense Ministry unveils flying robot(Video).(HurriyetDaily).Japanese scientists have developed the world's first spherical flying robot for the country's Defense Ministry, CNNTürk reported on its website Sunday.The robot, slightly larger than a football, can travel up to speeds of 65 kilometers per hour. When on land, it can move around by rolling.The remote controlled robot can also be equipped with a camera. The cost of the flying robot is $1,000.Read and see the full story here.