Allies or Enemies?

Given the tangled internecine nature of the wars going on in Iraq, and Syria; the budding proxy battle between Sunni and Shia, Russia and the US....it's time to sum up who's who in the region and where our interests ultimately lie.

And lie we do. To ourselves mostly, but also to those we call "ally".

Reality is America, those we call "ally" in the region, are the very governments that exacerbate the wars we have been trying to extricate ourselves from. In fact, were it not for our staunchest "ally" in the region, we're not even at war.
September 11, 2001, hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City, a portion of the Pentagon, and another fell to the ground in Pennsylvania, when valiant passengers rose up and sacrificed their own lives in order to prevent another building being targeted. Our US Capitol building.
They were commandeered by Saudi Arabian citizens, not Iranians, Iraqi's, Kurds, Turks, Israeli's, Palestinians, Russians, or anyone else.
The rationale used by these cretins, promulgated at the highest levels of the Saudi Arabian Wahhabi theocratical establishment. Their funding provided by followers of this faith, citizens of the kingdom.

Though the Saudi citizen bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan then Pakistan (another "ally"), the vast majority of his initial followers and financial support emanated from Saudi Arabia, not just from ordinary citizens, but the royal family and wealthy influential individuals across the kingdom. People whose very ability to wreak havoc was built on the protection afforded by America.

Iran on the other hand, the nation in the region we villify the most, had nothing to do with it. Neither did Iraq.
Yet in the aftermath, both countries have suffered enormously at our hands. Why?
Why did we allow the Saudi's to come out unscathed? Their citizens, their funding, their ideology, their continued support of ISIS. Yet we depose Saddam, tackle the Taliban, economically embargo Iran, prop up Uncle Ernies efforts to start a civil war in Turkey...and Saudi Arabia gets new jet fighters?!

So here we are America, supposedly the great democratic power on Earth, promoting human rights, and representative government in our words, yet we won't tolerate true democratically elected governments among our "allies". No, we allow Uncle Ernie Erdogan to fiddle about, destroying the only NATO allied democracy in the region; while we arm repressive monarchies from Bahrain to the UAE.
Nations like Saudi Arabia, where women are forbidden from doing just about everything except existing as chattle.

When will our words and actions finally coalesce into one true meaning?
After 14 years of war we have sown chaos not clarity, demagoguery not democracy.
Duplicitous and USA have become synonymous terms to many in the world.
Are you still wondering why?

Crimea River

I know the title's lame, and altogether too obvious...but then why shouldn't it be when we're discussing "Vladimir's Folly".
Clearly we were not far off the mark in our last post where we accused Vlad of slicing off a chunk of Ukraine for Mother Russia, annexation of Crimea is now a foregone conclusion. With Donetsk and Kharkiv awaiting their warm embrace from Vlad.

Speaking solely for myself, the mental image of Vlad embracing anyone makes me want to hurl.
Could it be I'm not alone?

Here's our reality America, other than sanctioning Russia diplomatically, our only recourse is to sink the Russian state economically. We did it before, and we're in a very unique position to do so again.
Given Vlad's penchant for stripping his nation of it's natural resources, and his neglect of anything remotely resembling real industry; his vulnerability is a clear and fortuitous target.

Namely, natural gas; we the US of A, sit on more gas than we can use. Pretty much more than any other country on Earth. Given a substantial joint effort of government, industry and environmentalists, we could very easily disrupt or even destroy Russia's chokehold on Europe through natural gas sales.

Think of all the gas that's just being burned off in North Dakota right now, more than one million dollars worth per day, because we did not have the foresight to build infrastructure capable of exporting that asset. As that asset goes up in smoke, so does our best weapon for putting Putin out of power.

Vlad, how long can you hold out if we suddenly flood the market with cheap gas?

I keep hearing an old Mellencamp tune in my head: "The walls, keep tumblin' down, the walls..."

Ukraine III

I knew you wouldn't let us down Vlad; that phony pretext of Russian's being threatened by Ukrainian mobs is straight out of Hitler 101. Or is it Stalin 101, maybe it's just despot 101. No real difference evil is evil anyway you slice it. The country Vlad, the way you slice the country.

Donetsk, Kharkiv... where exactly will you draw the new boundary? So exciting, sitting in the Kremlin redrawing maps at your whim. What it must be like to play king... with so many inconsequential serfs to grind to dust.

So what's your next genius move? Cut off gas to the western portion of Ukraine? Can't do that, unless you want to cut off your cash cow in the rest of Europe; you know that growing list of nations lining up to sanction you and your capos. Yes the same countries who have been supporting your regime through the trade of stolen Yukos natural gas; those same countries are looking like they may finally nut up and face you down.

Today the list of economic and political sanctions at the disposal of your trading partners far surpass those at the hands of 1930's Europe, and perhaps these same countries will finally exhibit a proactive will to prevent further episodes of "Vladimir's Folly". Point is Vlad, you're treading on thin ice, your stock market is in freefall, the ruble rumbling down the slope of equity to it's lowest point in years. All the while, you fiddle while Kiev burns.

Immigration Reform: Welfare for Defense Contractors

Is it just me or is history repeating itself?? Source: Google Images

With our decade long War of Terror on the world slowly winding down; we now find ourselves with a very troublesome quandary.

Question: How does a nation ween itself from an economy heavily weighted towards the waging of war, and the production and export of war material?

Answer: We don't.

We take those weapons, sensors, and manpower and use them to militarize one of our two peaceful borders.

Why? Two reasons; first we have to satisfy the governments' manufactured xenophobia permeating the old angry white people among us, who simply fear people with brown skin.

Second, and perhaps even more insidious; we have an economy based on building and using tools of destruction.

If our nation is not involved in a war directly, our proxies provide a ready market for some of our excess capacity.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? Source: Google Images

But here's the rub, with so many of us drawing our incomes from government and the industry of war, it becomes political and economic suicide to reduce spending in these sectors.

Naturally the solution is to use these tools at home in new "Wars of Paranoia" by building a larger, more obtrusive Big Brother State.

Witness the IRS training agents to use AR-15 assault rifles, Department of Homeland Security buying all the hollow point ammo they can get their hands on.

Let's all sign up today!
Source: Google Images

Department of Homeland Security...so reminiscent of the German Gestapo protecting the Fatherland.

Can we get more Orwellian?
Really?

What happens after we have "secured" the border with Mexico; Boeing, Lockheed et al, will still need more war work to satisfy their millionaire and billionaire shareholders.
Does Mexico then become a "legitimate" target for drone strikes under the ruse of providing safe haven to the drug cartels we created?
When will Barry or one of his successors apply the use of "signature" strikes to the "War on Drugs"?
Have we already crossed that line Barry?
Considering we operate freely around the globe, I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Holy crow! The Canadians are coming!

Will we then militarize our border with Canada?

Under what guise?

Imminent invasion of the Canucks?

In reality, these expenditures are not about keeping the Mexicans out, it's about keeping US in line.

Tragic Accident or Assassination?

Author/reporter Michael Hastings 1980-2013. Died suspiciously just hours after an email warning to colleagues of Feds investigating journalistic practices. Source: Google images

Today we all received the news about the untimely death of journalist Michael Hastings.
I guess I could have used all kinds of adjectives in that first line describing, shock, surprise, amazement that a life so young was snuffed in it's prime...
In reality, I'm not surprised at all.
Neither should anyone be surprised who's paying attention to the U.S of King Barry.

People are dying all over the planet in Barry's War of Terror.
Yeah, Barry's War of Terror.
Barry is the Terror.
Constitutional Law Professor Barry.
Barry the President, making his own rules in such a way, that Dickless Cheney's salivating like a pit bull on a side of raw beef.
Barry who OK's the killing of US citizens without due process.
Then kills their kids.

Michael Hastings, the journalist who wrote the article in Rolling Stone that killed General Stanley Mc Chrystal's career, was also killed.
In a single car crash in Hancock Park, Los Angeles.
Is that perhaps the first single car fatality in Hancock Park's history?
If you're not familiar with the area, Hancock Park is probably the most expensive part of the City Of Angels proper.
Nice wide, well lit streets, clean smooth pavement.

Healthy 33 year olds who can drive, don't just die in single car wrecks in Hancock Park.
In my experience the only cars that catch fire after hitting trees in quiet residential neighborhoods are Ford Pinto's.
Or they've been rigged to burn by someone ensuring death.

Pretty sure Mr. Hastings was not driving a Pinto.

Michael Hastings' Mercedes
Source: Google Images