Friday, September 19, 2014

The USA has created a monster.


I think Mr. Goodell is sincere. This is a new benchmark.

September 19, 1014
By Mark Maske
...Facing criticism (click here) extending from corporate sponsors to the White House, Goodell said the league’s response in the wake of recent legal troubles involving players Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy had been inadequate and that it will work with its players’ union and outside experts to implement improved protocols....

Progress has already been made, everyone involved that protested the lenient conduct policies of the NFL should be congratulated. I didn't see where he set a date for completion of the review and release to the public of the new standard for conduct. It isn't as though there aren't women within the league. They should be a focus of respect as well. I look forward to the outcome of the new standards.

The AUMF never authorized military power by the USA anywhere in the world, except, where al Qaeda was on the tongues of people.

It's target was al Qaeda. The Executive Branch's military abused the document to allow it's autonomous power from the people of the USA.

...Although its delegation of power (click here) to the President was sweeping, the AUMF in fact reflected a compromise between Congress and the Bush 
Administration, which had sought an even broader and more open-ended 
grant of authority. Even as fires continued to burn at Ground Zero, Congress 
pushed back, only authorizing military force against those who could be tied to the groups directly responsible for the September 11 attacks....

As long as a military target could be affiliated with al Qaeda in any distant relationship the US military didn't need Congress approval for starting wars. This document and the Bush agenda included an invasion into Iraq because Saddam Hussein was affiliated with al Qaeda CAUSED the Iraq invasion. In reality without this blanket excuse to invade a country the Iraq War would not have happened. 

Where the NSA listens and the words al Qaeda are spoken there is a threat.

Without the death of Osama bin Laden, the hunt for al Qaeda influence could have gone anywhere.

Bush lies and people die.

IS/IS/L is the new al Qaeda as it was considered the former al Qaeda in Iraq. IS/IS/L is a problem for the region. Whether a sovereign Iraq survives it's 8 year occupation is irrelevant to the outcome of stability and the survival of the people. 

It is best for France to lead in this troubled area of the world, not the USA. The USA's military has deadly permission and it will increase radicalism rather than diminish it, hence, recruitment.

The crisis in Syria is definitely a regional problem.

The Arab Spring was the impetus to sectarian power struggles throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East. 

The region has to stop the hatred of any religious minorities in the region. The region is Sunni in it's majority. It is the region that has to change it's policies and people to accept difference. The regional Sunni majority does not have to wave a white flag in surrender, but, it has to bring about acceptance of different populations. 

All the allies of the USA in the region have always accepted diversity as a strength to their countries, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt. The challenge is to bring the other countries on board to end the deadly trend of a very powerful Sunni group that has the ability to threaten any country and possibly the entire region.

The Arab Spring opened the door to all groups to become members of a democratic process. That was the goal of it's leaders. But, what actually manifested was the rise of sectarian violence.

The best example of these sectarian divides is Libya as it struggles still today to being about stability.

June 14, 2012  

Tribal clashes in western and southern Libya have left at least 15 people dead over the past 48 hours as old grievances between Libyan tribes and cities resurface in the absence of strong leadership in post-revolution Libya.

Dozens of Libyans held a protest on Wednesday in the eastern city of Benghazi, expressing dismay at the security situation and demanding to dissolve the militia groups and integrate them into the army, according to the Libyan news agency, LANA.

They raised banners reading, "Yes to security and safety, no to weapons and chaos", LANA said....

Also in Zintan, militia members have been engaged in gun battles with a rival tribe called el-Mashisha.
That tribe did not join the uprising, and Zintan fighters accuse them of maintaining loyalty to Gaddafi.
Zintan is the home of the rebels who were the first to sweep into the capital of Tripoli in August, dealing the decisive blow to Gaddafi's regime,
The July elections are supposed to be a milestone on the path to democratic rule after the overthrow last year of Gaddafi's rule of four decades.
However, chaos and tribal conflicts have badly marred the transition.
"Everyone should stand united behind building a state of institutions, law and justice," Abdul-Jalil, the transitional ruler, said on Tuesday, "to overcome this agony and reach our dream and the dream of all Libyans: free and fair elections which will be a real beginning in the history of Libya."
Abdul-Jalil's appeal is seen as another example of weakness that has plagued the country's leadership since it declared the liberation of Libya in October after toppling Gaddafi.

In the past The West has indirectly supported dictators in economic trades and the interest of Wall Street and in return the dictators provided stability. 

The USA has always touted it's democracy as the ultimate arrangement of government. Oddly, today the USA's democracy is in the worst condition it has ever been. Even today, the US Congress has called a vacation for two months with so many problems still unsettled. The USA democracy no longer is conducted to solve the country's problems, but, is simply used as a power brokering strategy to multi-national companies like Koch. It is highly questionable as to the democratic standing of the USA so much as it's plutocratic standing.

That said, countries like Libya, oppressed the people and disconnected from them as wealth and creature comforts took over leadership. The former dictators of the Middle East enjoyed being the 1% of their countries and the condition of the people was horrible. A return to the good ole days will not solve the strife for people such as those in tribes in Libya.

If there is an example of success in the Middle East it is Saudi Arabia followed by Jordan and Turkey. 

Muslim (click here) (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.) 

The Kingdom does not provide for genocide of any religious difference. Not only that, but, the current King when Prince Abdullah met with President Assad as a show of diversity and acceptance.

The instability across North Africa and from Lebanon eastward in the Middle East is due to the oppression of the masses. It is legitimate for these people to seek relief from their former government. The problem is the deep seated fear of a return of the oppression that continues the chaos. 

Where the Middle East has been successful is where there are ruling families that have alliances with The West and open their borders to global trade. This is the common denominator of successful leadership to date in the Middle East. 

The USA has to begin to assess each Middle Eastern and North African country autonomously and not only the intelligence provided by Israel. The region has to solve these problems and soon. IS/IS/L is a danger to them and they are Sunni moderates. There is much wrong here. I think Secretary Kerry has been successful to bring about an understanding to every nation and every ethnicity and every faith there exists a common enemy.

Those countries allied with The West have an appreciation for diverse cultures by osmosis. It has nothing to do with terms of agreements. Diversity is peace. 

If the USA is stating the Syria people do not want Assad in power it should know they are taking a sectarian position with Syria.

Major ethnic groups: (click here) Arabs (90%), Kurds (9%), Armenians, Circassians, Turkomans.

Religions: Sunni Muslims (74%), Alawis (12%), Christians (10%), Druze (3%), and small numbers of other Muslim sects, Jews, and Yazidis.


400,000 Palestinian refugees

The Kurds, many of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well. Armenian and Turkic are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations. 

Assad is a religious minority in Syria. One of the reasons Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups have been involved with Syria is due to the fact they are the minorities. Assad always had power because of the minority extremist groups throughout Syria and Lebanon.

What is of concern is the elimination of minorities in Syria due to the new threat of radical Sunni militias. The most extreme of these militias is IS/IS/L. The methodology will eliminate any minority in Syria.

When the USA states Assad does not have the backing of the Syrian people they are also fueling anti-Shea motives by Sunni militia. 

When dealing with decent in the Middle East it is extremely complicated and it is that nuance the USA never gets right. The USA has always considered itself as a "Melting Pot" and boasts diversity. The people of the USA does not realize how that is rather unique in the real world. The people of the USA and it's government believes the entire world should reflect the USA's uniqueness and exclusivity. That is very naive and under assessed.

The Middle East is a powder keg on even the best of days because of the lack of acceptance of diversity.

The Assad regime has, (click here) until now, refused to allow United Nations humanitarian assistance to flow through border crossings it does not control, something members of this Security Council address with this resolution.

Today, aid workers are kidnapped by IS/IS/L and brutally killed. It may be the only way to safely provide humanitarian aid is by helicopter. The idea helicopters would be successful without being downed is naive. So, the safest statement is that Syria is facing famine and death of citizens due to it's chaos and anarchy.

The USA has to be very careful as does NATO when the political rhetoric is backing Sunni forces in Syria. The reason there is a civil war is because Assad is Shi'ite. When the USA backs rebels of any vernacular in Syria it has to also protect the people within Syria that are Shi'ite. Their status will be tentative if they are not included in concern by The West.

Those that want to build a nuclear power plant are accusing the Green Party of unpatriotic demands for alternative energy sources.

Niinistö: Finland giving Russians leverage (click here)

On Wednesday Niinistö told the Financial Times that building a new nuclear reactor with Rosatom, the contractor selected to deliver the Fennovoima plant, would increase Finland’s energy dependency on Russia. Rosatom currently owns some 34 percent of the plant.
“There is a sense of Finlandisation here. We are giving the Russians the very leverage they are looking for with the west and the EU. This puts us into a very vulnerable position . . . Bluntly speaking, it is totally bewildering that the rest of the government thinks this is OK,” he added.
On Yle’s A-Studio discussion programme Wednesday evening, veteran politicians Mauri Pekkarinen of the Centre Party, Pertti Salolainen of the National Coalition and the Social Democrats’ Jouni Backman unanimously roasted Niinistö for the comments, calling them “less than patriotic”.
Minister Vapaavuori also weighed in Thursday, condemning the Green chair’s statements as ”low” and  “below the belt”.
“It’s very confusing to talk about Finlandisation and these kinds of things when we consider that for example that I myself have long been a staunch supporter of NATO membership,” Vapaavuori added....

September 9, 2014
...The head of the Green league, (click here) who walked his party out of government on Thursday in opposition to a proposed new nuclear reactor, told Yle’s breakfast show that his party should have left cabinet in 2010, when an agreement-in-principle was reached over the construction of a plant in Pyhäjoki, western Finland....

Now, Putin is leading the Russian people down the path of war. I'm worried this is more than simply preparedness.

Russia has been creating a war threat from The West for at least the past year. There is the Russian Speaking People thing, the registration dual citizens and now there is the idea Russia is under threat for attack. I worry about Russia's potential for being stupid about war, but, I worry more about the people of Russia and the potential for human rights violations.
September 19, 2014
...The measure (click here) is aimed at strengthening the Russian segment of the World Wide Web (Runet).  A special internet administration could be put in place to be able to cut off Russia from the global network in order to avert any breaches in its work in the event of an “unfriendly attack”.
That is not about being permanently cut off , the providers say, but how the equipment could be aligned, so that it could be rapidly shut down in the event of an emergency situation..
Such emergency situations would include any military activities against the country or any serious mass protests within the country, says one of the newspaper’s sources. He gave Egypt as an example, which cut off the internet and cellular phone communication during its mass disturbances in 2011.
The second issue to be discussed is the policy of shifting responsibility for the administration of domains to the state from its current administrator, which is currently a public organization: “The Coordination Center for TLD RU, RF (top national domains)”.
The purpose of this move is to protect the Russian Internet from being forcibly isolated by the US, in the event that Washington wants to cut Russia from the IP-address system.
Presidential press-secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the meeting of the Security Council is scheduled for Monday, September 22. However he did not specify what issues are set to be discussed, as part of the agenda of similar meetings has, as a rule, been closed to the public....

If any group of Russians have the potential to carry dual citizens it would be the oligarchs.

March 31, 2014
Lawmakers (click here) have prepared two bills that forbid senior state officials having dual citizenship and make it a criminal offence to conceal one.
State Duma deputy Aleksey Kazakov of the Fair Russia caucus submitted the bill banning foreign citizenship for “all officials whose position allows making decisions considering Russia’s sovereignty and national security”, their spouses and underage children. They would also be banned from possessing permanent residence permits in foreign countries or any documents allowing permanent residence.
On the same day MP Sergey Ivanov of the nationalist party LDPR submitted a bill which makes any Russian criminally responsible for concealing their foreign citizenship.

When presenting his draft Ivanov said that the constitutional right to obtain foreign citizenship without rejecting the Russian one will remain. Life will become more difficult only for those Russians who face certain restrictions concerning foreign citizenship – mainly those who work in secret spheres but also those who run for various political posts....

Some of the people most capable of running for office in Russia, is the wealthy. Not that, but, when language such as "work in secret spheres" is introduced to the Russian paranoia about the larger world, it provides a platform to arrest anyone that can be labeled with such interests. There is every reason to believe Russia politics will become danger in the near future.

...Another move was the law that obliged all non-government organizations that received foreign sponsorship and were engaged in political projects to register as foreign agents....