It Begins: Iowa and an Avalanche of Mayhem
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34630-it-begins-iowa-and-an-avalanche-of-mayhem
Reflections from news and commentary of the day
Sunday, January 31, 2016
It Begins: Iowa and an Avalanche of Mayhem
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34630-it-begins-iowa-and-an-avalanche-of-mayhem
Friday, January 29, 2016
Life in the Gray Zone
http://lobelog.com/life-in-
In the 13th century, the Italian town of Lucera was a Muslim island in a sea of Christendom. Here Frederick II, the head of the Holy Roman Empire, established his own shadow cabinet of scholars and advisors from among the Arabs that he invited to live in this walled city near the eastern coast of Italy.
It was a bold, unconventional move during a precarious time in Christian-Muslim relations. The Fifth Crusade had failed to retake Jerusalem. In Iberia, however, Christians had nearly taken back all of al-Andalus from the Muslims by mid-century. And in Sicily, Christians were persecuting the Muslims who remained from what had once been a thriving emirate before Norman mercenaries destroyed it in 1071.
Lucera was thus both refuge and reservation. Writes religion scholar Karen Armstrong inHoly War:
A gray zone, according to the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), is a place where Muslims have rejected an “us-versus-them” world of belief and unbelief that puts the caliphate in the right and the “crusader coalition” in the wrong. From the perspective of ISIS, the Muslims who live in predominantly Christian realms have to make a choice: They can drop everything, travel to Raqqa, and take up arms on behalf of ISIS. Or they can stay in the enemy camp. ISIS intends its bombings to make it more and more difficult for Muslims to choose the second option, because they’ll find their stay in “crusader countries” increasingly inhospitable.
A year ago, before the coordinated attacks in Paris, an article called “The Extinction of the Gray Zone” appeared in the English-language newsletter of ISIS. It lays out the stark choice available to Muslims in Europe:
Life in the Gray Zone
by John FefferIn the 13th century, the Italian town of Lucera was a Muslim island in a sea of Christendom. Here Frederick II, the head of the Holy Roman Empire, established his own shadow cabinet of scholars and advisors from among the Arabs that he invited to live in this walled city near the eastern coast of Italy.
It was a bold, unconventional move during a precarious time in Christian-Muslim relations. The Fifth Crusade had failed to retake Jerusalem. In Iberia, however, Christians had nearly taken back all of al-Andalus from the Muslims by mid-century. And in Sicily, Christians were persecuting the Muslims who remained from what had once been a thriving emirate before Norman mercenaries destroyed it in 1071.
Lucera was thus both refuge and reservation. Writes religion scholar Karen Armstrong inHoly War:
Yet though Frederick certainly enjoyed Lucera and his Arab friends there, this was a policy not of toleration but of exploitation. Lucera was certainly a city where Islam was tolerated and protected: Frederick would not allow papal missionaries there to harass the Muslims. But Lucera was also a refugee camp and a reservation. The Muslims had to live there and had no choice but to be loyal to Frederick because he was their only protector.Lucera, in other words, was the very definition of a gray zone. It was an enclave of Muslims in Europe who were more or less prospering. It had official support from the authorities in the person of Frederick II. But many Christians considered the city an outpost of the enemy.
A gray zone, according to the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), is a place where Muslims have rejected an “us-versus-them” world of belief and unbelief that puts the caliphate in the right and the “crusader coalition” in the wrong. From the perspective of ISIS, the Muslims who live in predominantly Christian realms have to make a choice: They can drop everything, travel to Raqqa, and take up arms on behalf of ISIS. Or they can stay in the enemy camp. ISIS intends its bombings to make it more and more difficult for Muslims to choose the second option, because they’ll find their stay in “crusader countries” increasingly inhospitable.
A year ago, before the coordinated attacks in Paris, an article called “The Extinction of the Gray Zone” appeared in the English-language newsletter of ISIS. It lays out the stark choice available to Muslims in Europe:
Muslims in the crusader countries will find themselves driven to abandon their homes for a place to live in the Khil?fah, as the crusaders increase persecution against Muslims living in Western lands so as to force them into a tolerable sect of apostasy in the name of “Islam” before forcing them into blatant Christianity and democracy.ISIS, in other words, views all forms of Islam that don’t correspond to its own peculiar Salafist interpretation as not only apostasy, but as way stations on the road toward the ultimate abandonment of the religion.https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/1528faee33081d39
Modern Grief ·Digital Ephemera and Coping with Loss
Modern Grief · thewalrus.ca
left behind by her husband Jonathan, who died of esophageal cancer at
the age of 50.
http://thewalrus.ca/modern-grief/?mc_cid=6a16a4b9e8&mc_eid=9528811089
Modern Grief: Digital Ephemera and Coping with Loss
Nancy Westaway | The Walrus | Jan. 28, 2016 | 10 minutes (2,509 words)
At The Walrus, Nancy Westaway finds comfort in the digital footprints left behind by her husband Jonathan, who died of esophageal cancer at
the age of 50.
http://thewalrus.ca/modern-grief/?mc_cid=6a16a4b9e8&mc_eid=9528811089
Who Knows Best
Who Knows Best
Lisa Miller | New York Magazine | Jan. 25, 2016 | 30 minutes (7,564 words)
The story of 19-year-old woman who had her daughter taken away from her
because the state had decided her intellectual disability made her unfit
to be a mother.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/01/how-intelligent-to-be-a-parent.html?src=longreads&mc_cid=6a16a4b9e8&mc_eid=9528811089
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Fraud
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership Fraud
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), negotiated in Atlanta in
October 2015 and to be signed in Auckland in February 2016, privileges
foreign investors while imposing substantial costs on partner countries.
Touted as a ‘gold standard’ 21st century trade deal, it is critical to
ascertain ...
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http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/01/the-trans-pacific-partnership-fraud/
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Bank of Japan Adopts Negative Rates, Keeps Asset-Buying Target
Bank of Japan Adopts Negative Rates, Keeps Asset-Buying Target
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-29/bank-of-japan-adopts-negative-interest-rates-by-vote-of-5-4
Among the Settlers
Phil Weiss tours Israeli settlements with Airbnb. In two parts::
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/01/
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/01/
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/01/
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/01/
Let’s Talk About Bernie Sanders and the Middle East
http://lobelog.com/bernie-
Foreign policy has taken a backseat to domestic issues in the Democratic primary thus far. There are two explanations for this. One is that the Democratic base simply doesn’t see foreign policy—apart from “terrorism,” which at least has a foreign policy component to it—as a key issue. The other is that neither of the party’s two realistic contenders (in other words, let’s leave Martin O’Malley out of this) has much to gain from any kind of detailed scrutiny of their own policies and records.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Eli Clifton pointed out in this blog several days ago, is a hawk. Although she often touts her foreign policy experience in general terms and has been increasingly comfortable attacking Senator Bernie Sanders from the right on foreign policy issues in recent weeks, her overall foreign policy views are substantially to the right of the average Democratic primary voter. This stance will do little to hurt her (and may even help) in the general election against a Republican nominee who will surely be more hawkish. But for now, at a time when she can’t afford to alienate any potential primary voters, she has little to gain from a thorough foreign policy debate.
For Sanders, the issue is more straightforward. Foreign policy simply isn’t an area in which he’s particularly comfortable. Nor has he paid much attention to the matter until his candidacy really began to gain at the polls. When he comments on foreign policy at all, Sanders often steers the discussion to topics like inequality, which he frequently discusses in a domestic context, or to questions of judgment rather than specific policies. He has, for example, cited Clinton’s 2002 Senate vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq (Sanders, then in the House, voted against the authorization) as an example of her poor judgment (the same issue that played such a large role in Clinton’s 2008 primary loss to Barack Obama). He has even gone so far as to compare her to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Clinton’s usual response to this attack—that then-President-elect Obama obviously trusted her judgment enough to ask her to become his secretary of state—is somewhat blunted by an examination of her record in that office, which includes a disastrous intervention in Libya, a failed surge in Afghanistan, the now-defunct “reset” with Russia, and a muddled (at best) response to the Arab Spring. http://lobelog.com/bernie-sanders-and-the-middle-east/#more-32799
Let’s Talk About Bernie Sanders and the Middle East
by Derek DavisonForeign policy has taken a backseat to domestic issues in the Democratic primary thus far. There are two explanations for this. One is that the Democratic base simply doesn’t see foreign policy—apart from “terrorism,” which at least has a foreign policy component to it—as a key issue. The other is that neither of the party’s two realistic contenders (in other words, let’s leave Martin O’Malley out of this) has much to gain from any kind of detailed scrutiny of their own policies and records.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Eli Clifton pointed out in this blog several days ago, is a hawk. Although she often touts her foreign policy experience in general terms and has been increasingly comfortable attacking Senator Bernie Sanders from the right on foreign policy issues in recent weeks, her overall foreign policy views are substantially to the right of the average Democratic primary voter. This stance will do little to hurt her (and may even help) in the general election against a Republican nominee who will surely be more hawkish. But for now, at a time when she can’t afford to alienate any potential primary voters, she has little to gain from a thorough foreign policy debate.
For Sanders, the issue is more straightforward. Foreign policy simply isn’t an area in which he’s particularly comfortable. Nor has he paid much attention to the matter until his candidacy really began to gain at the polls. When he comments on foreign policy at all, Sanders often steers the discussion to topics like inequality, which he frequently discusses in a domestic context, or to questions of judgment rather than specific policies. He has, for example, cited Clinton’s 2002 Senate vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq (Sanders, then in the House, voted against the authorization) as an example of her poor judgment (the same issue that played such a large role in Clinton’s 2008 primary loss to Barack Obama). He has even gone so far as to compare her to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Clinton’s usual response to this attack—that then-President-elect Obama obviously trusted her judgment enough to ask her to become his secretary of state—is somewhat blunted by an examination of her record in that office, which includes a disastrous intervention in Libya, a failed surge in Afghanistan, the now-defunct “reset” with Russia, and a muddled (at best) response to the Arab Spring. http://lobelog.com/bernie-sanders-and-the-middle-east/#more-32799
Layers of confusion choke internal Palestinian affairs
Layers of confusion choke internal Palestinian affairs
Friday 29 January 2016 | http://www.middleeasteye.net/
Disarray
traps all Palestinian life, from President Mahmoud Abbas to youth on
the streets, in dealing with the Israeli occupation
The Israeli occupation seeps into every aspect of life, including our internal affairs. This is not an excuse for our state of affairs, but rather a fact that has always been there and must be understood and taken into consideration as we plan our actions. It is these desired “actions,” or lack thereof, where lack of clarity enters.
First, there is President Mahmoud Abbas. Positioned more as a king governing by presidential decree, than president of an operating political system, President Abbas is at a loss as to how to address the multiple fronts imposed upon him.http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/layers-confusion-internal-palestinian-affairs-1792283242
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The Lesson from Davos: No Connection to Reality
Roberto Savio
The rich and the powerful, who meet every year at the World Economic
Forum (WEF), were in a gloomy mood this time. Not only because the day
they met close to eight trillion dollars has been wiped off global
equity markets by a "correction". But because no leader could be in a
buoyant mood.
...
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http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/01/the-lesson-from-davos-no-connection-to-reality/
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
Pro: Nuclear power is our safest, most efficient energy form
Pro:
Nuclear power is our safest, most efficient energy form - See more at:
http://www.gazettextra.com/20160128/pro_nuclear_power_is_our_safest_most_efficient_energy_form#sthash.trZFrUDO.dpuf
Pro: Nuclear power is our safest, most efficient energy form http://www.gazettextra.com/20160128/pro_nuclear_power_is_our_safest_most_efficient_energy_form
ISLAMIC STATE AND WMD: A FUTURE NIGHTMARE?
http://www.ozy.com/pov/
ISLAMIC STATE AND WMD: A FUTURE NIGHTMARE?
When
it comes to the intelligence profession, surprise is the ultimate enemy
— and surprise just happens to be the Islamic State’s specialty. The IS
has delivered one after another with wanton brutality, from dramatic,
border-busting early successes to urban conquests, and the attacks it’s
planned or inspired around the world. As much as we should resist
mongering fear, it behooves us to imagine what surprises are yet to
come, and whether the IS could take it up yet another notch.
One
clue worth pondering comes from U.S. military reports, which show that
the IS twice used a chemical agent called sulfur mustard – once with
Kurdish forces and another with rival rebel groups in August. It’s
unclear whether the IS was able to manufacture the agent, or whether
they grabbed Syrian agent at some point. Were the IS to acquire and use
unconventional weapons on a broader scale, or branch out into biological
agents or nukes, it would, of course, be a real game changer.
Counterterrorism specialists have long anticipated some group trying this.http://www.ozy.com/pov/islamic-state-and-wmd-a-future-nightmare/67538
UN chief redoubles criticism of Israel’s ‘stifling’ occupation
UN chief redoubles criticism of Israel’s ‘stifling’ occupation
‘You can count on me’ to speak up, achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace Ban Ki-moon says, but Palestinians ‘losing hope’
http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-chief-redoubles-criticism-of-israels-stifling-occupation/
China, U.S. should jointly promote solutions to more global issues: Xi - Xinhua
China, U.S. should jointly promote solutions to more global issues: Xi - Xinhua Xi
spoke about existing coordination and cooperation, spanning issues
including trade, military relations, culture, people-to-people exchange,
cyber security, climate change and the Iran nuclear issue. When China
and the United States work together, they can make big things happen
that is good for the world, Xi said. He urged the two sides to implement
consensus reached between their leaders, adhere to the principle of "no
conflict or confrontation, win-win cooperation and mutual respect,"
expand their cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels, and
push forward Sino-U.S. relations by a big step. // CCTV Evening News on Xi-Kerry meeting [视频]习近平会见美国国务卿克里
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/27/c_135051266.htm?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a88fb7dd2c-Sinocism01_27_161_27_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-a88fb7dd2c-29615013&mc_cid=a88fb7dd2c&mc_eid=5935182a65
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/27/c_135051266.htm?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a88fb7dd2c-Sinocism01_27_161_27_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-a88fb7dd2c-29615013&mc_cid=a88fb7dd2c&mc_eid=5935182a65
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
The Forgotten Benefits of Offshore Balancing
|http://lobelog.com/the-
Discussions of grand strategy often are too abstract and general to be of significant practical use in formulating sound decisions about specific foreign policy problems, but sometimes a concept drawn from such discussion points to an overlooked and fundamentally better way to approach such decisions. Such a concept is offshore balancing, which involves the United States not trying to do everything itself but instead exploiting rivalries between other states to prevent any one of them from acquiring hegemonic power and regional dominance. Scholars such as Christopher Layne and Stephen Walt have elaborated on the concept, and in the not-too-distant past the principles involved were applied to some actual U.S. policies with major regional import. During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, for example, the United States was officially neutral. When it appeared that Iraq would have difficulty keeping up the fight, the Reagan administration tilted toward Baghdad—a tilt that, in light of history that would unfold two decades later, made for strange bedfellows. Saddam Hussein’s role as the original aggressor, his use of chemical weapons, and humanitarian considerations involving the enormous costs of the war to both sides took a back seat to the idea that the United States would not benefit from either side being a clear winner. It would be better from the standpoint of U.S. interests and the prevention of anyone gaining regional hegemony to have both sides suffer from an exhausting stalemate. The idea was valid, although the same U.S. policymakers later mishandled policy toward the war with what became the Iran-Contra scandal. http://lobelog.com/the-forgotten-benefits-of-offshore-balancing/#more-32775
The Forgotten Benefits of Offshore Balancing
by Paul R. PillarDiscussions of grand strategy often are too abstract and general to be of significant practical use in formulating sound decisions about specific foreign policy problems, but sometimes a concept drawn from such discussion points to an overlooked and fundamentally better way to approach such decisions. Such a concept is offshore balancing, which involves the United States not trying to do everything itself but instead exploiting rivalries between other states to prevent any one of them from acquiring hegemonic power and regional dominance. Scholars such as Christopher Layne and Stephen Walt have elaborated on the concept, and in the not-too-distant past the principles involved were applied to some actual U.S. policies with major regional import. During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, for example, the United States was officially neutral. When it appeared that Iraq would have difficulty keeping up the fight, the Reagan administration tilted toward Baghdad—a tilt that, in light of history that would unfold two decades later, made for strange bedfellows. Saddam Hussein’s role as the original aggressor, his use of chemical weapons, and humanitarian considerations involving the enormous costs of the war to both sides took a back seat to the idea that the United States would not benefit from either side being a clear winner. It would be better from the standpoint of U.S. interests and the prevention of anyone gaining regional hegemony to have both sides suffer from an exhausting stalemate. The idea was valid, although the same U.S. policymakers later mishandled policy toward the war with what became the Iran-Contra scandal. http://lobelog.com/the-forgotten-benefits-of-offshore-balancing/#more-32775
Look Homeward, Democracy Promoter
http://carnegieendowment.org/
Look Homeward, Democracy Promoter
Deficiencies
of democratic governance in the United States raise questions about its
efforts to promote democracy abroad. U.S. democracy aid organizations
should begin working to strengthen democracy at home.http://carnegieendowment.org/2016/01/27/look-homeward-democracy-promoter/it91?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRovu67AZKXonjHpfsX66e0pX6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YsJSct0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
US Hawks Ignore Top Israeli Official on Iran
|http://lobelog.com/us-hawks-
Last week, Israel’s top military official made some staggering comments during the course of a security conference in Tel Aviv. Here’s how The Forward‘s JJ Goldberg reported the comments of Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s chief of staff, which seem as of yet to be unavailable in a full English translation from the original Hebrew:
The Silence of the Hawks http://lobelog.com/us-hawks-ignore-top-israeli-official-on-iran/#more-32769
US Hawks Ignore Top Israeli Official on Iran
by Ali GharibLast week, Israel’s top military official made some staggering comments during the course of a security conference in Tel Aviv. Here’s how The Forward‘s JJ Goldberg reported the comments of Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s chief of staff, which seem as of yet to be unavailable in a full English translation from the original Hebrew:
Eisenkot said there were two “existential threats” to Israel, and both are currently “declining.” One was the threat of nonconventional weaponry, including both Iran’s nuclear program and Syrian chemical weapons…These comments should be unremarkable, since Israel’s security establishment has long given support, if cautious support, to diplomacy with Iran and the accord reached as a result. But Eisenkot’s remarks are still worth pointing out because of the sad state of affairs in the American discourse about Iran.
First, he said Israel faces no existential threats right now, because Obama’s Iran nuclear deal has removed the greatest threat to Israel’s existence…
As for the Iranian nuclear agreement, he said it is “a strategic turning point” that includes “many risks but also opportunities.”
The Silence of the Hawks http://lobelog.com/us-hawks-ignore-top-israeli-official-on-iran/#more-32769
How the FBI Could Force DOJ to Prosecute Hillary Clinton
How the FBI Could Force DOJ to Prosecute Hillary Clinton
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430343/hillary-clinton-email-scandal-fbi-director-james-comey-resign-protest
Why the Justice Department Won’t Work with the FBI on Clinton’s E-mail Case
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430211/hillary-clinton-email-fbi-department-justice-obama?target=topic&tid=4571
Hillary Clinton’s E-Mail Scandal: Far Graver than First Thought
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430157/hillary-clinton-email-server-classified-state-secrets?target=topic&tid=4571
Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine form alliance in response to Russia’s rise
http://rbth.com/international/
Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine are planning to launch a joint brigade of 4,000 troops by January 2017, Defense News has reported.
The multinational military unit, with its headquarters in the Polish
city of Lublin, is being formed amid concerns over the development of
Russia's military might.
The three countries signed an agreement in September 2014 in Warsaw to form the so-called LITPOLUKRBRIG (Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade) brigade, which will mainly participate in peacekeeping operations.
The defense ministers of the three countries – Juozas Olekas (Lithuania), Antoni Macierewicz (Poland) and Stepan Poltorak (Ukraine) – attended the opening ceremony of the headquarters in Lublin on January 25.v
Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine form alliance in response to Russia’s rise
January 27, 2016
Yekaterina Zgirovskaya, Gazeta.ru
3 countries to launch joint brigade of 4,000 troops.
Defence ministers, of Lithuania
Juozas Olekas, left, of Poland Tomasz Siemoniak, center, and of Ukraine
Lt. Gen. Valeriy Heletei shake hands after signing an act forming a
joint military unit, during a ceremony in Warsaw, Poland, Sept. 19,
2014. Source: AP
The three countries signed an agreement in September 2014 in Warsaw to form the so-called LITPOLUKRBRIG (Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade) brigade, which will mainly participate in peacekeeping operations.
The defense ministers of the three countries – Juozas Olekas (Lithuania), Antoni Macierewicz (Poland) and Stepan Poltorak (Ukraine) – attended the opening ceremony of the headquarters in Lublin on January 25.v
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Greed is Clinton's Achilles Heel
Greed is Clinton's Achilles Heel
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/01/26/greed_is_clintons_achilles_heel_129443.html
Facebook Announces Newest 100% Renewable Data Center To Be Built In Ireland
Facebook Announces Newest 100% Renewable Data Center To Be Built In Ireland
http://cleantechnica.com/2016/01/26/facebook-announces-newest-100-renewable-data-centre-built-ireland/
Failed States and States of Failure
http://lobelog.com/failed-
One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy have, for instance, come up deeply short, or else I would now be flying my individual jet pack through the spired cityscape of New York and vacationing on the moon. And who, honestly, could have imagined the Internet, no less social media and cyberspace (unless, of course, you had read William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer 30 years ago)? Who could have dreamed that a single country’s intelligence outfits would be able to listen in on or otherwise intercept and review not just the conversations and messages of its own citizens — imagine the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century — but those of just about anyone on the planet, from peasants in the backlands of Pakistan to at least 35 leaders of major and minor countries around the world? This is, of course, our dystopian present, based on technological breakthroughs that even sci-fi writers somehow didn’t imagine.
And who thought that the Arab Spring or Occupy Wall Street were coming down the pike or, for that matter, a terror caliphate in the heart of the former Middle East or a Donald Trump presidential run that would go from success to success amid free media coverage the likes of which we’ve seldom seen? (Small career tip: don’t become a seer. It’s hell on Earth.)
All of this might be considered the bad but also the good news about the future. On an increasingly grim globe that seems to have failure stamped all over it, the surprises embedded in the years to come, the unexpected course changes, inventions, rebellions, and interventions offer, at least until they arrive, grounds for hope. On the other hand, in that same grim world, there’s an aspect of the future that couldn’t be more depressing: the repetitiveness of so much that you might think no one would want to repeat. I’m talking about the range of tomorrow’s headlines that could be written today and stand a painfully reasonable chance of coming true.
I’m sure you could produce your own version of such future headlines in a variety of areas, but here are mine when it comes to Washington’s remarkably unwinnable wars, interventions, and conflicts in the Greater Middle East and increasingly Africa.http://lobelog.com/failed-states-and-states-of-failure/#more-32748
Failed States and States of Failure
by Tom EngelhardtOne of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy have, for instance, come up deeply short, or else I would now be flying my individual jet pack through the spired cityscape of New York and vacationing on the moon. And who, honestly, could have imagined the Internet, no less social media and cyberspace (unless, of course, you had read William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer 30 years ago)? Who could have dreamed that a single country’s intelligence outfits would be able to listen in on or otherwise intercept and review not just the conversations and messages of its own citizens — imagine the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century — but those of just about anyone on the planet, from peasants in the backlands of Pakistan to at least 35 leaders of major and minor countries around the world? This is, of course, our dystopian present, based on technological breakthroughs that even sci-fi writers somehow didn’t imagine.
And who thought that the Arab Spring or Occupy Wall Street were coming down the pike or, for that matter, a terror caliphate in the heart of the former Middle East or a Donald Trump presidential run that would go from success to success amid free media coverage the likes of which we’ve seldom seen? (Small career tip: don’t become a seer. It’s hell on Earth.)
All of this might be considered the bad but also the good news about the future. On an increasingly grim globe that seems to have failure stamped all over it, the surprises embedded in the years to come, the unexpected course changes, inventions, rebellions, and interventions offer, at least until they arrive, grounds for hope. On the other hand, in that same grim world, there’s an aspect of the future that couldn’t be more depressing: the repetitiveness of so much that you might think no one would want to repeat. I’m talking about the range of tomorrow’s headlines that could be written today and stand a painfully reasonable chance of coming true.
I’m sure you could produce your own version of such future headlines in a variety of areas, but here are mine when it comes to Washington’s remarkably unwinnable wars, interventions, and conflicts in the Greater Middle East and increasingly Africa.http://lobelog.com/failed-states-and-states-of-failure/#more-32748
The Iraq War’s Known Unknowns
https://consortiumnews.com/
The Iraq War’s Known Unknowns
January 26, 2016
Exclusive: In September 2002, as the Bush-43 administration was rolling out its ad campaign for invading Iraq because of alleged WMD, the Joint Chiefs of Staff received a briefing about the paucity of WMD evidence. But the report was shelved and the war went on, as ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern explains.By Ray McGovern
There is a lot more than meets the eye in the newly revealed Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence briefing of Sept. 5, 2002, which showed there was a lack of evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – just as President George W. Bush’s administration was launching its sales job for the Iraq War.
The briefing report and its quick demise amount to an indictment not only of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but also of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers, who is exposed once again as a Rumsfeld patsy who put politics ahead of his responsibility to American soldiers and to the nation as a whole.
In a Jan. 24 report at Politico entitled “What Donald Rumsfeld Knew We Didn’t Know About Iraq,” journalist John Walcott presents a wealth of detail about the JCS intelligence report of Sept. 5, 2002, offering additional corroboration that the Bush administration lied to the American people about the evidence of WMD in Iraq.
The JCS briefing noted, for example: “Our knowledge of the Iraqi (nuclear) weapons program is based largely – perhaps 90% – on analysis of imprecise intelligence.”
Small wonder that the briefing report was dead on arrival in Rumsfeld’s in-box. After all, it proved that the intelligence evidence justifying war was, in Rumsfeldian terms, a “known unknown.” When he received it on Sept. 5 or 6, the Defense Secretary deep-sixed it – but not before sending it on Sept. 9 to Gen. Richard Myers (who he already knew had a copy) with a transparently disingenuous CYA note: “Please take a look at this material as to what we don’t know about WMD. It is big. Thanks.”
Absent was any notation such as “I guess we should tell the White House to call off its pro-war sales campaign based on Iraq possessing WMD since we don’t got the goods.” Without such a direct instruction, Rumsfeld could be sure that Gen. Myers would not take the matter further.https://consortiumnews.com/2016/01/26/the-iraq-wars-known-unknowns/
Free Trade With China Wasn't Such a Great Idea for the U.S.
Free Trade With China Wasn't Such a Great Idea for the U.S.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-26/free-trade-with-china-wasn-t-such-a-great-idea?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b039757ba7-Sinocism01_26_161_26_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-b039757ba7-29615013&mc_cid=b039757ba7&mc_eid=5935182a65
Why Does the U.S. Demand Innocent Passage in the South China Sea, But Not in the Persian Gulf?
Why Does the U.S. Demand Innocent Passage in the South China Sea, But Not in the Persian Gulf?
https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-does-us-demand-innocent-passage-south-china-sea-not-persian-gulf?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b039757ba7-Sinocism01_26_161_26_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-b039757ba7-29615013&mc_cid=b039757ba7&mc_eid=5935182a65
Parts Of California Are Actually Falling Into The Ocean
Parts Of California Are Actually Falling Into The Ocean
By Michael Snyder, on January 26th, 2016
Why would anyone want to live in the state of California
at this point? Not only do you have to deal with unbearable traffic,
insane politicians and unchecked illegal immigration, but now the
weather itself seems to be going crazy. A very strong El Nino has been
sending destructive storm after destructive storm barreling into the
west coast, and this is causing tremendous flooding, dangerous
landslides and unprecedented erosion in coastal communities all over the
state. As I mentioned the other day,
a state of emergency has just been declared in the coastal city of
Pacifica due to the incredible amount of erosion that is happening
there. Now, incredible footage has been released
that actually shows the coastline crumbling. Small parts of California
really are falling into the ocean, and meteorologists are warning that
the worst may be yet to come.http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/parts-of-california-are-actually-falling-into-the-ocean
It is still 3 minutes to midnight.
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It is still 3 minutes to midnight |
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In
the past year, the international community has made positive strides in
regard to humanity’s two most pressing existential threats: nuclear
weapons and climate change. In July 2015, at the end of nearly two years
of negotiations, six world powers and Iran reached a historic agreement
that limits the Iranian nuclear program and aims to prevent Tehran from
developing nuclear weaponry. And in December of last year, nearly 200
countries agreed in Paris to a process by which they will attempt to
reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide, aiming to keep the increase in
world temperature well below 2.0 degrees Celsius above the
pre-industrial level.
But
the diplomatic successes on Iran and in Paris have been offset, at
least, by negative events in the nuclear and climate arenas. The members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science
and Security Board find the world situation to be highly threatening to
humanity—so threatening that the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock must remain at three minutes to midnight, the closest it has been to catastrophe since the early days of above-ground hydrogen bomb testing.North Korea’s nuclear test, vastly expensive nuclear modernization programs in the United States and around the globe, the world’s collective inability to effectively deal with nuclear waste, and the drumbeat of continued climate change remain very serious challenges. And as the Board writes in the 2016 Doomsday Clock Statement, “When we call these dangers existential, that is exactly what we mean: They threaten the very existence of civilization…” The video recording of the Doomsday Clock international news conference will be posted on our website within a few hours of the conclusion of the program. Board members Thomas Pickering, Lawrence Krauss, Sivan Kartha, and Sharon Squassoni were joined via a live, two-way link from Stanford University by California Governor Jerry Brown, former Secretary of State George Shultz, and former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. As the signatories to 2016 Doomsday Clock Statement make clear, the Earth remains perilously and inexcusably close to metaphorical midnight. You can read the full report on the Bulletin’s website at www.thebulletin.org. It is still 3 minutes to midnight. | |||
Melting Greenland ice sheet may affect global ocean circulation, future climate
Melting Greenland ice sheet may affect global ocean circulation, future climate
Tampa FL (SPX) Jan 26, 2016 -
Scientists from the University of South Florida, along with colleagues
in Canada and the Netherlands, have determined that the influx of fresh
water from the Greenland ice sheet is "freshening" the North Atlantic
Ocean and could disrupt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
(AMOC), an important component of global ocean circulation that could
have a global effect. Researchers say it co ...
morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Melting_Greenland_ice_sheet_may_affect_global_ocean_circulation_future_climate_999.html
Tampa FL (SPX) Jan 26, 2016 -
Scientists from the University of South Florida, along with colleagues
in Canada and the Netherlands, have determined that the influx of fresh
water from the Greenland ice sheet is "freshening" the North Atlantic
Ocean and could disrupt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
(AMOC), an important component of global ocean circulation that could
have a global effect. Researchers say it co ...
morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Melting_Greenland_ice_sheet_may_affect_global_ocean_circulation_future_climate_999.html
Out of Bounds, Off-Limits, or Just Plain Ignored Six National Security Questions Hillary, Donald, Ted, Marco, et al., Don’t Want to Answer and Won’t Even Be Asked
Out of Bounds, Off-Limits, or Just Plain Ignored
Six National Security Questions Hillary, Donald, Ted, Marco, et al., Don’t Want to Answer and Won’t Even Be Asked
By Andrew J. Bacevich
To judge by the early returns, the presidential race of 2016 is shaping up as the most disheartening in recent memory. Other than as a form of low entertainment, the speeches, debates, campaign events, and slick TV ads already inundating the public sphere offer little of value. Rather than exhibiting the vitality of American democracy, they testify to its hollowness.
Present-day Iranian politics may actually possess considerably more substance than our own. There, the parties involved, whether favoring change or opposing it, understand that the issues at stake have momentous implications. Here, what passes for national politics is a form of exhibitionism about as genuine as pro wrestling.
Click here to read more of this dispatch.http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176095/tomgram%3A_andrew_bacevich%2C_how_to_avert_real_change_in_election_2016/#more
When Conversions Take a First-Class Miracle
When Conversions Take a First-Class Miracle: If you have been reading Discover Hope With Us, you couldn’t have missed the fact that yesterday was the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Saul had been a zealous, young, impetuous person who was determined to fulfill the law perfectly. He began to pursue “followers of the Way,” putting them into prison, but the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. Later St. Paul said that because of his sincerity of heart and ignorance, the Lord had been merciful to him and showed him ...
One Salmon Costs More Than Barrel of Oil as Slump Deepens: Chart
One Salmon Costs More Than Barrel of Oil as Slump Deepens: Chart
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-26/one-salmon-costs-more-than-barrel-of-oil-as-slump-deepens-chart
Monday, January 25, 2016
Francis to other Christians: Sorry we mistreated you
Francis to other Christians: Sorry we mistreated you
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2016/01/25/francis-to-other-christians-sorry-we-mistreated-you/?s_campaign=crux:rss
Is There A "Fourth Revolution" On The Horizon In America?
Is There A "Fourth Revolution" On The Horizon In America?
Is There A "Fourth Revolution" On The Horizon In America? | Zero Hedge
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-25/there-fourth-revolution-horizon-america
U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels
U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/world/middleeast/us-relies-heavily-on-saudi-money-to-support-syrian-rebels.html?_r=1
America Should Stop Reassuring Saudi Arabia
America Should Stop Reassuring Saudi Arabia
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/america-should-stop-reassuring-saudi-arabia-15013
Flooding Damage From Jonas Will Cost Billions And Is Being Described As ‘Worse Than Hurricane Sandy’
Flooding Damage From Jonas Will Cost Billions And Is Being Described As ‘Worse Than Hurricane Sandy’
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/flooding-damage-from-jonas-will-cost-billions-and-is-being-described-as-worse-than-hurricane-sandy
Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Wall Street
Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Wall Street
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34537-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-and-wall-street
China tilts to Iran as Xi caps visit with 17 accords
China tilts to Iran as Xi caps visit with 17 accords
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/25/china-tilts-to-iran-as-xi-caps-visit-with-17-accords.html
Some anti-IS partners do 'nothing at all': Pentagon chief
Some anti-IS partners do 'nothing at all': Pentagon chief
Washington (AFP) Jan 23, 2016 -
Several members of the US-led coalition
attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria are doing "nothing
at all" to help destroy the jihadists, US Defense Secretary Ashton
Carter said Friday.
His comments mark a departure from the Pentagon's typical depiction of
the 65-member coalition, which carries the slogan "One mission, many
nations," and is frequently touted to highlight global r ...
morehttp://www.spacewar.com/reports/Some_anti-IS_partners_do_nothing_at_all_Pentagon_chief_999.html
Washington (AFP) Jan 23, 2016 -
Several members of the US-led coalition
attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria are doing "nothing
at all" to help destroy the jihadists, US Defense Secretary Ashton
Carter said Friday.
His comments mark a departure from the Pentagon's typical depiction of
the 65-member coalition, which carries the slogan "One mission, many
nations," and is frequently touted to highlight global r ...
morehttp://www.spacewar.com/reports/Some_anti-IS_partners_do_nothing_at_all_Pentagon_chief_999.html
Scientists urge world to stop killer robots
Scientists urge world to stop killer robots
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 22, 2016 -
The world must act quickly to avert a
future in which autonomous robots with artificial intelligence roam the
battlefields killing humans, scientists and arms experts warned at an
elite gathering in the Swiss Alps.
Rules must be agreed to prevent the development of such weapons, they
said at a January 19-23 meeting of billionaires, scientists and
political leaders in the snow-covered ski res ...
morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Scientists_urge_world_to_stop_killer_robots_999.html
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 22, 2016 -
The world must act quickly to avert a
future in which autonomous robots with artificial intelligence roam the
battlefields killing humans, scientists and arms experts warned at an
elite gathering in the Swiss Alps.
Rules must be agreed to prevent the development of such weapons, they
said at a January 19-23 meeting of billionaires, scientists and
political leaders in the snow-covered ski res ...
morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Scientists_urge_world_to_stop_killer_robots_999.html
Speakers Added to Doomsday Clock Announcement
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Speakers Added to Doomsday Clock Announcement |
||
 We have exciting news: California Governor Jerry Brown, former Secretary of State George Shultz, and former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry will be joining the Doomsday Clock international news conference tomorrow--Tuesday, January 26--at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., via a live, two-way link from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.You can see the entire news conference on the Bulletin's website. And if you haven’t taken our Doomsday Clock Survey, we invite you to do so now. Survey results are not taken into account by the Science and Security Board, whose decision on the 2016 time of the Clock has already been made, but we would like to know your thoughts about the existential threats of our time. The poll will close at 12 p.m., EST, tomorrow. It is now 3 minutes to midnight. Watch the live-stream on Tuesday, January 26th, as we announce the time for 2016. News event speakers at the National Press Club event are: · Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; · Lawrence M. Krauss, chair, Bulletin Board of Sponsors, foundation professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics departments, and director, Origins Project, Arizona State University. · Thomas R. Pickering, member, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan; · Sharon Squassoni, member, Bulletin Science and Security Board, senior fellow and director, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; and · Sivan Kartha, member, Bulletin Science and Security Board, senior scientist and climate change expert, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and co-leader of the SEI research theme “Reducing Climate Risk.” Speakers at the Stanford University event are: · Jerry Brown, Governor of the State of California; · George P. Shultz, Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford distinguished fellow, Hoover Institution, and former U.S. Secretary of State; and · William J. Perry, senior fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense. | ||
Google spent way more on lobbying than any other tech company in 2015
Google spent way more on lobbying than any other tech company in 2015
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-leads-lobbying-expenditures-in-2015-2016-1?nr_email_referer=1&utm_content=COTD&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=Post%20Blast%20%28sai%29:%20Google%20spent%20way%20more%20on%20lobbying%20than%20any%20other%20tech%20company%20in%202015&utm_term=Tech%20Chart%20Of%20The%20Day
Donald Trump Is Not the Only One Demonizing China
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Donald Trump Is Not the Only One Demonizing China
01/25/2016
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Ivan Eland Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty, The Independent Institute
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Failed States and States of Failure
Failed States and States of Failure
“We Destroyed the Cities to Save Them” and Other Future Headlines
By Tom Engelhardt
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176094/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_tomorrow's_news_today/#more
“We Destroyed the Cities to Save Them” and Other Future Headlines
By Tom Engelhardt
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176094/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_tomorrow's_news_today/#more