Christian persecution and hope

I spend 75% of my time, working in Erbil, in Kurdistan.  When I am there I worship at Mar Elia Catholic Church in the Christian area, called Ainkawa.   The story related here
http://tinyurl.com/qb257rn tells part of the story of what is happening.

Just before these refugees departed Erbil, I attended mass, given by Father Douglas.  He spoke movingly of his mixed emotions.  150 people would be moving from living in sea-containers and sharing basic sanitary facilities to better accommodation, in Slovakia.  He was pleased that the lives of these people would be dramatically improved and that Christian charity was being extended by the people of Slovakia.  However, he was also concerned at the continual eradication of Christians from Iraq, where they have worshipped for almost 2,000 years.  

Father Douglas was too polite to say it but the Muslim countries are fast becoming mono-theist lands.  Non-muslims are being eliminated - oftentimes, literally - from these countries.  Fortunately, Kurdistan's leaders are enlightened enough to appreciate the benefits that come from having non-muslims within the country.  This makes it ever more critical that Western governments provide military materiel to the Peshmerga, who are the only force on the ground, that daily confront the evil death-cult, Daesh. 

In the West there are many so called liberals who hog the media limelight and talk of the need to 'open our doors' to refugees.  Trouble is that what they get, is male Muslims.  Check out all of the TV footage and newspaper photographs, that you can.  Women and children are very sparse.  These invading hordes are overwhelmingly male an, judging by some media reports, exclusively Muslim.  Indeed, there have been repeated stories of Christian refugees being kept off of boats and transports, sometimes very forcibly so.        

Readers of previous blogs will know of my opposition to Europe taking-in refugees.  Broadly, my stance hasn't changed but I found myself, a couple of weeks ago, sitting in a church in Erbil with a priest giving me a different slant on the subject.  These 150 people are truly refugees  and not economic migrants and I certainly couldn't begrudge them the improvement that they will find in Slovakia, though I do wonder what is to become of the cradle of Christianity, when the last Christians are forced out, especially, when so much of the Christian European heartlands are being swamped by invaders, with an alien religion.

There are 2,000 Christian refugees who are still encamped in the grounds of Mar Elia church, in Erbil.  If you  were looking for a charity or cause  to support, this Christmas, I am sure Father Douglas would appreciate the help.  And so would those poor, suffering folk.  Please remember them all in your prayers, and also, the good people of Slovakia.

Banning Trump

I hesitate to put a number to it, since it is increasing so rapidly, but more than 400,000 people, in the UK, have petitioned the UK government to ban GOP hopeful Donald Trump, from visiting the UK.

The cause is said to be his statements that America should ban all Muslims from entering the country. It seems that many people find Trump's views as undemocratic, and unworthy of the American ideals of free speech etc.

So the solution is, to show the value that the British put on free speech by banning Donald Trump's right to free speech.  Funny old world!

I don't particularly like Donald Trump and find his brand of politics is just 'Mr Angry with a loud voice' but he has undoubtedly struck a chord with many Americans.  So far, with Trump, all we have really heard are sound bites, particularly around immigration and latterly concerning Daesh and Muslims.

You might think his views are obnoxious but he has the right to say them.

If British people want to petition the UK Government, why not do so in opposition to the UK Government allowing Islamic terrorists, who have fought for Daesh, in Syria and Iraq, back into the UK?  Why not petition the UK Government to ban the hate preacher Anjem Choudary?  Why not shut-down Finsbury Park mosque and some of the other radical mosques?  Why not ban the wearing of the burka?  These are subjects worthy of a petition.  Donald Trump's right to free speech, isn't.

My major concern with Trump is with his egotism and over-confidence in his own self-belief.  Trump is running as a candidate for the Republican nomination.  It is well known that he is very wealthy but I have a fear that he is anti-democratic.  The Donald, as he styles himself, doesn't do humble and doesn't think he has to listen to the people who he professes to want to serve.  If the Republican voters, in the various primary elections decide to reject Trump and plump for another candidate, it is my strong expectation that Trump will cry foul and then decide to run as an independent.  This would then make, the Democrat front-runner, the highly ethically-dodgy Hillary Clinton, a shoo-in for the Presidency.

The questions that I believe should be asked of Donald Trump are these:

If, following the Primary Elections, you do not have sufficient delegates to secure the Republican nomination, will you accept the result of the National Convention and publicly and privately endorse the chosen candidate?

Will you now state, that there are no circumstances, none (as in zero, nada, nil) under which you would run as an independent third party candidate and thus split the Republican vote.

If you get the chance, ask Mr Trump these questions, and keep asking them.

Part of Mr Trump's appeal is his supposed straight talking and his not being part of the Washington insider gang.  He is not one of 'them'.  Reading around the subject of Donald Trump, we do find though that he has, himself, flip-flopped on policy and political allegiance, in the past.  One would hope, that if he did answer on the record, the above questions, he would do so honestly and would then honour his responses.  That he wouldn't, like we usually find with Washington politicians, say one thing and do something different and then justify it with mealy-mouthed excuses.  Is Mr Trump up to the challenge?

As said earlier, there is far too little policy meat on the carcass to allow one to back Trump.  I am not an American voter, so couldn't vote for him nor would I if I had the chance.  Making America Great again, is a catchy slogan but how?  That is the question.  How will Trump tackle the ever ballooning deficit and debt that has been run-up by the Obama administration and the Congress?  The American National Debt has doubled, under Obama, to $17 trillion!  I was going to write that out with 17 followed by a series of 000s but I am not entirely sure I know how many or if they would all fit on one line!

America's biggest problems are on the domestic scene.

America's economy is, in my view, stuttering.  The jobless figures are flattered by people leaving the jobs market, altogether - people taking early retirement, because they see no prospect of getting a job, young women taking the career break now, to have children because they see no prospect of a job, etc., etc..  It is going to take much more than building a wall across the southern frontier to get America's economy moving.  It has been bloated by fake money - Quantitative Easing, to you and I - for far too long.  Interest rates are far too low, though if now raised, would likely lead to other pain for ordinary Americans.  These ordinary Americans have taken their cue from the US government (successive ones of both hues) and keep on kicking the debt can, down the road.  If Americans want to understand why they are losing jobs overseas  and power and prestige on the World's stage it is because the once mighty US Dollar has become and continues to become devalued and weak.  That weakness is currently hidden within an overall weak global picture, but it is there!

The Obama administration has been obsessed with changing America.  Pushing ever more changes to the definition of marriage, to the education of future generations and a whole other raft of politically liberal, minority issues, which pull apart the weave in the tapestry that made America what it is.

Making America great again - on the international front - wouldn't be too difficult.  It would require just about a 180 degree shift in policy but that shouldn't be above an incoming President.  It would require recognition that international terrorism is the greatest threat to America (and the World).  It would require that radical Islam is identified as the founding father of international terrorism.  No radical Islam would largely mean an end to international terrorism.  It would require that the new administration recognise it has sorely tested the patience and allegiance of its allies.  In the Middle East, America should be backing Israel, should be actively against Iran and Saudi Arabia, should rein in and make clear its opposition to the potentially genocidal Erdogan of Turkey.

Militarily, America should be prepared to intervene, and that has to mean 'boots on the ground'.  Failed states like Libya and Syria need a global policeman to come in and 'bang a few heads together'  and to restore a semblance of order.  Maybe such countries aren't ready or right for democracy, maybe a strong man, who is not anti-West is what is needed, rather than a focus on women's issues and climate change, when it comes to nation building.

We're just not hearing, from Donald Trump, what he would do!

So long as Texas Senator, Ted Cruz, has the funding to stay the course, he will be up against Donald Trump.  Cruz also isn't an 'establishment' candidate but he is consistent and consistently right on the issues that face America.  I suppose it is too much to ask that the also rans - Rubio, Bush, etc., depart the stage before Iowa and New Hampshire but they should do so, as soon as possible.  Republicans need to be united behind a candidate.  That candidate should be Ted Cruz!

 



     

Frack, baby frack

I have posted here before about Fracking and pointed people to the demolition of the lies and stunts,  performed by Josh Fox in his Gasland movie, in the documentary Fracknation.  Some might say that it is unfair to use facts to demolish fantasy but as a grown-up....

Anyway, today, the UK shows the ignorance of the 'debate' on fracking.

By all reliable accounts, Britain is sitting on top of an energy source which is cleaner than most and could provide a much needed economic boost to areas which are not enjoying the growth seen in other parts of the country.

So here's a challenge to Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.  If you really are in favour of fracking and in tapping into this subterranean bounty that nature has provided, then do something about it.

That something has to be to recognise the national interest is best served by developing these resources.  That means that planning approvals, for such developments, cannot be allowed to sit with local authorities but must sit with central government.  Local politicians are ever fearful of NIMBYs and such narrow-minded pressure groups.  Take the responsibility away from them.

That doesn't mean giving it to the Department of Environment and Climate Change.  In my view DECC should no longer exist.  This is a department that, when led by former Labour leader, Ed Miliband, pushed through legislation that directly causes 'fuel poverty' in the UK and leads every year, to the deaths of thousands of people, who simply can't afford the 'Green Taxes' imposed by energy companies.

Responsibility for planning applications, by energy exploration companies, should rest with the Treasury.  They are responsible for securing Britain's economic future, after all.

Wrapping up on fracking, the Treasury should also have responsibility for protecting those companies that are providing for Britain's economic future.  These drilling operations, once approved, cannot be disrupted by Green protestors who, in spite of all the real evidence pointing to the positive economic benefits of fracking and the overwhelmingly safe environment in which drilling and development operations are conducted, simply refuse to accept fracking.  These Greens are people that would have us back, literally, in the Dark Ages !

Developing our natural resources for the benefit of the British people, must proceed.

As previously disclosed, I work in the energy industry.         

Thomas Jefferson and Islam

Most Americans are unaware of the fact that over two hundred years ago the United States had declared war on Islam and Thomas Jefferson led the charge! 

  

 At the height of the eighteenth century, Muslim pirates (the "Barbary Pirates") were the terror of the Mediterranean and a large area of the North Atlantic .   They attacked every ship in sight, and held the crews for exorbitant ransoms.  Those taken hostage were subjected to barbaric treatment and wrote heart-breaking letters home, begging their government and family members to pay whatever their Mohammedan captors demanded.

These extortionists of the high seas represented the North African Islamic nations of Tripoli , Tunis , Morocco , and Algiers - collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast - and presented a dangerous and unprovoked threat to the new American Republic .

Before the Revolutionary War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the protection of Great Britain .   When the U.S. declared its independence and entered into war, the ships of the United States were protected by France .   However, once the war was won, America had to protect its own fleets.

Thus, the birth of the U.S. Navy.  Beginning in1784, seventeen years before he would become president, Thomas Jefferson became America 's Minister to France .  That same year, the U.S. Congress sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by following in the footsteps of European nations who paid bribes to the Barbary States rather than engaging them in war.

In July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and the Dye of Algiers demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000.  It was a plain and simple case of extortion, and Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to any further payments.  Instead, he proposed to Congress the formation of a coalition of allied nations who together could force the Islamic states into peace.  A disinterested Congress decided to pay the ransom.

In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli 's ambassador to Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked American ships and enslaved American citizens, and why Muslims held so much hostility towards America , a nation with which they had no previous contacts.

The two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran that all nations who would not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

Despite this stunning admission of premeditated violence on  non-Muslim nations, as well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including George Washington, who warned that caving in was both wrong and would only further embolden the enemy, for the following fifteen years the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages.   The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to over twenty percent of the United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Jefferson was disgusted.  Shortly after his being sworn in as the third President of the United States in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note demanding the immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year forthcoming.   That changed everything.

Jefferson let the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with his demand.  The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the American consulate and declared war on the United States .    Tunis , Morocco , and Algiers immediately followed suit.   Jefferson, until now, had been against America raising a naval force for anything beyond coastal defense, but, having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic thuggery for long enough, decided that it was finally time to meet force with force.

He dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim nations of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never forget.  Congress authorized Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli and to "cause to be done all other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war would justify".

When Algiers and Tunis , who were both accustomed to American cowardice and acquiescence, saw the newly independent United States had both the will and the right to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to Tripoli .   The war with Tripoli lasted for four more years, and raged up again in 1815.  The bravery of the U.S. Marine Corps in these wars led to the line "to the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine Hymn, and they would forever be known as "leathernecks" for the leather collars of their uniforms, designed to prevent their heads from being cut off by the Muslim scimitars when boarding enemy ships.

Islam, and what its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their prophet and their god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply.

America had a tradition of religious tolerance..  In fact Jefferson, himself, had co-authored the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was like no other religion the world had ever seen.    A religion based on supremacism, whose holy book not only condoned but mandated violence against unbelievers, was unacceptable to him.   His greatest fear was that someday this brand of Islam would return and pose an even greater threat to the United States .

This should concern every American.  That Muslims have brought about women-only classes and swimming times at taxpayer-funded universities and public pools; that Christians, Jews, and Hindus have been banned from serving on juries where Muslim defendants are being judged; Piggy banks and Porky Pig tissue dispensers have been banned from workplaces because they offend Islamist sensibilities; ice cream has been discontinued at certain Burger King locations because the picture on the wrapper looks similar to the Arabic script for Allah; public schools are pulling pork from their menus; on and on and on and on....

It's death by a thousand cuts, or inch-by-inch as some refer to it, and most Americans have no idea that this battle is being waged every day across America .   By not fighting back, by allowing groups to obfuscate what is really happening, and not insisting that the Islamists adapt to our own culture, the United States is cutting its own throat with a politically correct knife, and helping to further the Islamists agenda. Sadly, it appears that today America 's STUPID leaders, from both parties, would rather be politically correct than victorious!

There is no doubt that someone of Jefferson's intellect would today, conclude, that Islam is not actually a religion but a political system and one that seeks complete domination - that's why they so abhor and oppose, democracy.  And that is the essence of the battle we now face, not just in Jefferson's American homeland but in Europe, as well.  It is a battle that we cannot afford to lose.  Remember that when you select and vote for candidates for political office.  If they don't understand the existential threat, they aren't fit for office.  Islam is on the march and must be opposed and defeated.  

Note:  The larger part of this blog was sent to me, from a source that is anonymous and so I cannot properly attribute.

Europe's failure and Obama's exceptionalism

I recently started to post on a daily basis, a review of the news, with my own particular slant on it.
Observant readers will notice I haven't managed to do this for a few days.  Don't worry, it is a specially heavy workload that has got to me, not the forces of evil!

Also, there really hasn't been that much 'new' in the news.

We continue to hear weasel words from politicians that talk tough but in reality do little.

President Obama likes to think he is exceptional.  Certainly his description of the horrors perpetrated in Paris, by Islamic extremists, as a 'setback' puts him into a particularly 'exceptional' class.  He is unable to even call the terrorists, Islamic.  He did the same when describing the Fort Hood massacre, carried out by a Muslim, who claimed to be a jihadi, as an incident of 'workplace violence'.

President Obama, is very largely alone in his denial and refusal to call these terrorists, Islamic.  The 'twitterati' insist that is because he is of the Muslim faith.  Certainly he has spent a great deal of time with Muslims - spending part of his youth in Muslim Indonesia, could well have guided him on his faith path - but I think that it goes deeper than that.  In my view his upbringing, which was centered on the Communist way, embedded in him, a deep hatred of the West and America in particular and he cannot bring himself to berate people who share his views.  I know that may sound extreme but listen to his speeches and he regularly talks about what he sees as  'the ills of America' and the West.  His words are not too far dissimilar from those of the leaders of Daesh and Al Qaeda and Boko Haram and the Shining Path and other anti-West terrorists organisation.

Paris is starting to return to normal, or at least the new normal.  A state of emergency is in place and French troops patrol the streets and landmark properties.
Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the principal seat of the European Parliament, has been in lock-down for days.
The British shamefully dither about whether or not to extend bombing to Daesh targets, in Syria, while at the same time, thinking that getting Islamists, who are returning from fighting for Daesh, to attend 'de-radicalisation' classes, will somehow solve the fifth column problem.
Ultra-Liberal Sweden is now enjoying the fruits of its ever-open door for immigrants while becoming the 'rape' capital of Europe.  Maybe,  inviting in all of those unaccompanied men, who vastly predominate in the 'refugee' population, it is not entirely a surprise that Sweden has a new 'achievement'.
Meanwhile, very belatedly, fences are starting to go up and the Schengen agreement is falling to pieces.  It is impossible to justify open borders, when their very openness invites in people who have no qualms about murdering their hosts.  And these people who are often aided and abetted by local co-religionists.

For Belgians it must be particularly galling that having opened their country to wave after wave of immigrants and turning a blind eye, while within these hordes some used Belgium as an operational base, they are now experiencing the effects of their laissez faire policies being visited upon their own doorsteps.

The same could be said of Sweden.  This is a country that has always been very open to 'refugees' and now the local population are finding themselves swamped.  Not widely reported in the media, it seems that some (many?) Swedes have had enough and there are signs of rising resentment with refugee centres being fire-bombed and so on.

All the while, the European Union goes on its merry, expensive and ineffectual way.  Germany's Angela Merkel is quieter these days as she is reeling from the backlash unleashed by her idiotic 'we will take you all in' invitation.  So into the breach, steps the unelected Jean-Claude Juncker.  For non-European readers, he is the non-entity that is the President of the European Commission, who was selected by EU leaders.  He is a former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, so you have an adequate sense of his experience on the world stage!

Meanwhile, in the background, Greece is still teetering on the economic brink and Portugal is dallying with a government that has a plurality and is anti-austerity and very much opposed to the EU/IMF/World Bank austerity.

Maybe there is some new news, after all!

To Americans, have a safe and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.
        

Britain and Labour's shame

This isn't about the home teams' poor performance in the Rugby World Cup.   Sadly, this is a comment on the abject state of Britain's policy of appeasement and cowardice in the face of radical Islam.

The UK parliament will, at some point in the near future, vote on the UK military taking part in a coalition of countries fighting against Daesh in Syria.  The Labour party are still considering their position but their leader seems to be fundamentally opposed to any military action, whatsoever.  The Conservative leader, Prime Minister David Cameron, had his nose bloodied a couple of years ago and now wants to have a vote that produces an overwhelming majority in favour of action.  The Scottish Nationalists have yet to settle on their position but have previously been against intervention.

Bear in mind that what will be voted upon, is intervention in Syria.  The UK is already contributing, albeit very half-heartedly, in the fight against Daesh, in Iraq.  Think about that, for a moment.  You are a Royal Air Force bomber pilot about to bomb a target close to the Syria-Iraq border, but since the border is really just a line on a map, do you bomb a Daesh convoy or do you return to base?  Do you just bomb the ones you are fairly sure are on the Iraqi side and let the others close to the border proceed or what?  Do you worry that the ones you didn't bomb are now free to go off and enslave and kill people who aren't members of the Daesh death cult?  Do you think about the fact that liberal 'desk-jockeys' back in the comfort of the Ministry of Defence, in London, will, after the event sit in judgement over you and, like Sergeant Al Blackman (so called Marine A) you could end up in jail?  Do you maybe think that it would be far easier to have a leader like President Obama, who is severely restraining the USAF's bombing missions and so taking away the need to make such decisions (even though America could bomb, both sides of the border)?   Do you think that a leader like Russia's President Putin would be better - he seems to be okay with bombing and doesn't respect borders (see Ukraine) but does seem more interested in bombing anti-Assad forces, than Daesh.  Do you have time for all this thinking?

But I digress!

As said earlier, Britain's parliament will vote, in the near future.  The vote has been mooted for some time but Cameron has been postponing it because he couldn't be sure of winning it - even though the Conservatives have a parliamentary majority.  With the recent unanimous UN Security Council vote, he will perhaps feel more confident of getting wavering Labour supporters.

Labour is now led by Jeremy Corbyn and in the past he has shown very strong support for the murderous Provisional IRA terrorists as well as the terrorist Hamas organisation, so he is perhaps conflicted about taking on another terrorist organisation?  Certainly his reaction  to the death of Jihadi John - he thought it would have been better if he had been brought to justice - was typical Corbyn, since only 'boots on the ground' (something Corbyn opposes) could capture Jihadi John!  I expect that a vote when it comes, will produce the largest rebellion against Corbyn's leadership, because he will oppose a vote calling for escalation against Daesh and many of his backbenchers will not support him.

The SNP are struggling to find a way to make themselves relevant, at Westminster and only manage by performing stunts, so they may oppose, en bloc.  They are saying they will hear what the government has to argue and then decide but my sense is that they instinctively oppose the Conservatives, just on principle.

What most bothers me about all of this, is the moral vacuum in which the UK, finds itself.  We seem to be okay with others doing our fighting for us.  We accept Russian pilots putting their lives on the line, to bomb Daesh and therefore remove people that might come to the UK and kill and terrorise us but we won't fight.  That is shaming!  I don't believe that there is any cowardice on the part of the UK's military but it is certainly being exhibited by UK politicians!

These same UK politicians have seen the failure of multi-culturalism and yet continue to appease Islam.  They bend the knee to the terrorist supporting Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Iran so it is no surprise that they are unable to see a clear way out of the moral dilemma in which they have cornered themselves.

They are starting to consider that maybe, just maybe, opening the doors to the so called 'refugees' currently invading Europe isn't the best way to solve the Syrian civil war.  Especially with so many potential terrorists coming in, at the same time.  Certainly the opinion of the British public is moving very decisively away from accepting 'refugees' - post-Paris, while at the same time, majority opinion is still in favour of the RAF taking part in air strikes on Daesh.

I posted recently calling on the forces of good, to carpet bomb Raqqa and I repeat that.  Daesh need to be eradicated.  The fools in the corridors of power, in Westminster, the White House and elsewhere need to understand that there can be no negotiations or discussions with this death cult.  Daesh are interested only in killing people that do not follow their version of Islam - those UK Labour people who think that a political deal can be reached with Daesh are the same kind of fools that led to the belief that it was possible to do a deal with Hitler, in the 1930s.

Cameron must call the vote, early next week and expose Labour and the SNP for what at best might be called naivete and at worse, political opportunism.

Oh! And the vote should not be just for air strikes.  It should be for all military options.


    

Paris and denial

An open letter to President Hollande, President Obama, Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister David Cameron and other Western Leaders

Yesterday, I posted here on the threat posed by the fifth column within Western societies.  I had no idea that the (incomplete) list of atrocities, committed by Muslims in the name of the 'religion of peace' would have new attacks to be added, so soon.

Firstly, let's get Jihadi John out of the way.  These attacks in Paris required planning, coordination and materiel.  It beggars belief that these attacks were in any way a reaction to the killing of the Daesh executioner, Jihadi John.  No way!

Staying with Jihadi John, for a moment, it is shaming that the UK Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn bemoaned that it is a pity that Jihadi John wasn't brought before a court of law  rather than just being eliminated.  It is this kind of seriously muddled and plain wrong, thinking, that has brought us to where we are.  Didn't expect too much from Corbyn, who has 'form' in standing-up for terrorists but feel ashamed and embarrassed for all those decent Labour party supporters, who he claims to represent.

President Hollande, of France, has reacted by closing the border and declaring a state of emergency.  Monsieur Le President!  Too late.  The enemy is within!  For years you and your Socialist party and the Communists and other liberals have invited more and more potential terrorists into your country.  You have allowed 'no go' areas to develop.  You have allowed abominations like the 'jungle' camp at Calais, full of lawless illegal immigrants, to flourish.  You have failed to act, time and time again, when Muslims have committed attacks.

In reaction to this latest attack, President Hollande has stated that the reaction will be pitiless.  Why wasn't it so after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, in January, or any of the other attacks?

I will answer for you.  Indeed, for all of the Western leaders.

Simply put, it is because Hollande, Obama, Merkel, Cameron and all of the others are in denial.  You think that ignoring the issue of the Muslim fifth column, will somehow make it go away.  That appeasing Muslim groups, who label themselves as 'moderate' will somehow lead to those groups delivering-up the 'radicals' in their midst.  That by continually bowing down to the Wahabi fanatics of Saudi Arabia and the Ayatollahs in Tehran and Qom, they will become reasonable.  That ignoring the atrocities that are daily carried out, in the name of Islam - the stoning of women, the hanging of homosexuals and the persecution of Christians, for example - shouldn't stop us considering these people as the same as us.  That being kind and considerate and opening up your countries to an alien invasion, is somehow the right thing to do.

You political leaders have facilitated these atrocities.  Aided and abetted by your fellow-travellers in the media.

Europe, the USA and Canada are societies/civilisations that have been founded and developed on Judeo-Christian principles.  The tolerance found in the West is completely absent in Islam.  Not just overlooked or ignored but completely absent.  Tolerance in the West has been declining in recent years.  The cult of Political Correctness feeds an unhealthy intolerance and paradoxically, supports the most un-PC of groups - Muslims.  As a white, hetrosexual male, if I pass a derogatory comment or just any kind of comment about a homosexual, the PC brigade will attack me as being bigoted.  If the homosexual is black, I will also get the racist card, thrown at me.  If the homosexual is a lesbian, you can add in a sexist charge.  And yet, Daesh have been throwing homosexuals off of buildings (and filming the events) since last year,  Iran hangs homosexuals from crane jibs and Afghanistan and Pakistan stone to death, women who are accused of adultery and the PC crowd is silent.  Why?  Well mustn't offend the Muslims.

In a badly-timed TV interview, President Obama told Americans, yesterday, that ISIS was contained. Well the Paris killers schooled Obama on that!  The only way you can say they are 'contained' is when they are contained within a box or in an ash pile.

We shouldn't be surprised at Obama's latest failings.  This is the man who claims that so called Climate Change is the biggest threat to America's national security.  The same man who wants to bring in 100,000 Syrian 'refugees' and of course, there will be no radical Muslims in that lot.   The same man who has opened up the Southern border, such that you can't really say that America still has one!

My message to Western leaders, other than Obama is now is the time to abandon the US President.  He seems intent on destroying America and will drag others into his highly warped dystopia.

Second message is, end the immigration crisis now.  Close the borders, deploy naval forces to the Mediterranean Sea and send back all vessels containing refugees, from whence they came.  Deploy NATO troops to the southern European borders, build fences and keep the refugees out.  Those 'refugees' that have arrived.  Put them in buses and trains and send them back.  If you don't then prepare for more Paris-type attacks.  London, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome, the list will go on and on.  We are at war.

I remind you all of Pastor Niemoller's words

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

 
   The me could be you as a Christian, you as a homosexual, you as an atheist, you as woman.  Indeed the you could be anyone that isn't a Muslim.  In fact, the you could be a Shiite Muslim, if it is the Sunni's that are in the ascendancy!

Action is needed or the horrors of Hitler's holocaust will be as nothing compared to what is to come.
Daesh is a death cult that some call a cancer on the Muslim body.  In the world of medicine, cancer is often treated with radiation.  Maybe that is what is called for, in Raqqa for a start.  Then the appeasement of Saudi Arabia and Iran and Pakistan needs to be very forcefully addressed.

Fundamentally, the West needs to understand that playing by the rule book, to defeat someone who know no rule book other than the Quran, is a policy that is doomed to failure.  Ask yourself.  Would you really be concerned if Raqqu was carpet-bombed, or worse, if such action stopped more Paris-like attacks?

Jihadi John, Muslims and Refugees

Stories coming out of the Pentagon state that they believe they have successfully targeted and killed, with a drone-delivered explosive, Mohammed Emwazi.  This is the Daesh killer known as Jihadi John.

Some, not including myself, will no doubt question the legality of such an extra-judicial killing but I would expect that the overwhelming majority of decent people, would see this as a very welcome piece of news.  This person took vile and murderous behaviour to new depths.  His execution was the only acceptable outcome.

Any 'liberals' who have a problem with his death, go online a take a look at what he did to other innocents - Steven Sotloff, James Foley , David Haines, Alan Henning, Abdul-Rahman Kassig and Kenji Goto.

This Mohammed Emwazi was a refugee who, with his family,  left Kuwait and was accepted into Britain.  He then became another example of the 'enemy within' and it is worth remembering other 'refugees and migrants' who have abused the countries that took them in.

• The Boston bombers, who killed three innocents, were refugees/immigrants to the USA.

• The killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby, on the streets of London, were migrants from Nigeria.

• 3 of the 4 bombers who killed 52 people in London, in July 2005, were the children of immigrants from Pakistan.  The other killer was from Jamaica.

• The bombers of the Madrid trains, who killed 191 people, were from Morocco, Syria and Algeria.

• The killers at Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Jewish supermarket, in Paris,  had origins in Algeria and Mali.

So all of these 'enemies within' had a refugee/immigrant background.  The other thing that they had in common, was that all were Muslim.  Some say that these were 'radical Muslims' and shouldn't be confused with normal 'moderate' Muslims.  Some others say that the difference between a 'radical' Muslim, like Jihadi John and a 'moderate' Muslim is that Jihadi John would cut off a persons head but the 'moderate' Muslim would be holding the person down.  Make up your own mind but when you do so, ask yourself how many times in recent years have you heard the politicians talk of 'moderate' Muslims - a clue - it is usually straight after another atrocity committed by Muslims.  Consider also, when was the last time you heard of a bunch of Catholics or Seventh Day Adventists or Jews or Hindus cutting off the heads of people from a different faith?  

Maybe all of those clamouring for our doors to be flung open, should stop and consider this.  I have already posted here on September 11, 2015, my proposal that the only refugees that should be taken are those that have a lifetime sponsor, in the host country.  If you are a famous actor, say Benedict Cumberbatch, for example, then you can take in a refugee or a family of them, if, and only if, you guarantee to be financially responsible for them for the remainder of their lives.  Maybe that needs to be extended to include responsibility for the behaviour of them and their children?  Might be a bit radical but maybe throwing a Leftie 'luvvie' or two in jail, might be a good way to sort out the poseurs from the committed?



  

News review November 12

Russian doping
Well, seems like the threat of a suspension and banning from the Rio Olympics has got President Putin's attention.

Putin is now scrambling to show activity - meaningful or otherwise - and that Russia is taking the issue seriously and will conduct its own investigation.

So the IAAF must keep up the pressure and pass a provisional ban - suspend Russia from all international athletics competitions for up to two years, with a review in say 6 months.  This review would see if Russia has changed at all and if it has 'cleaned-up its act' then they could participate in the Rio Olympics, if not, they can't.

Incidentally, if any Russians are reading this, it is not relevant that other nations are allowing doping.  Fact (and it is indisputable) is that Russian athletes were doping.  Fact is that the Russian state supported the suppression of the evidence and findings - they didn't just close their eyes to it, they actively supported it.

I suspect/suppose that doping is occurring in other countries.  Maybe some of those countries are also 'doing a Russia' and, as a state, supporting the suppression of investigations.  That though, in no possible way, excuses Russia.

Russia must be punished so that it and every other country, understands that such cheating will not be allowed.

Refugees
So the solution to stopping the flood of African economic migrants from invading Europe, is to bung $2 billion to their governments!  Who knew?

These are the same governments who have mis-managed hundreds of billions of aid dollars in the past and squandered part of these vast sums on grandiose projects, with suitably large transfers to Swiss accounts.

A health tip for you - don't hold your breath for this 'solution' actually achieving anything.  For a start, given the parlous state of the public finances of many (most?) of the European countries, we can expect that this will not be 'new' money but rather diverted from existing aid budgets.  Then of course, since the money won't filter down to the people of Africa, it won't achieve the desired effect.

My tip to those European leaders in Malta.  If you want to stop the flood, do two things.  End tariffs on all agricultural exports from Africa to Europe.  This will dramatically increase the benefit of staying on the farm in Africa.  Secondly, send back any and all such migrants.

So carrot and stick!

Kurds and Sinjar
Today the Kurdish Peshmerga, supported with coalition air strikes, are seeking to re-take the strategic town of Sinjar.

This is very welcome news.  This might be a precursor to the re-taking of Mosul.

What would be more welcome though, is if European nations and the US, started arming the Kurds and doing so, in a big way.  The Kurdish Peshmerga have been holding the front line against Daesh since last year, when they halted the advance of this murderous death-cult.  They have been doing this at great cost to their people and without any materiel support from the West.  The West apparently don't want to offend the Iraqi government, in Baghdad.  I have news for the West, the Kurds can be our friends, while Baghdad is moving daily evermore into the Iranian sphere of influence and control.  

I will follow my own tip though and not hold my breath.  Obama is in such thrall to the Ayatollahs in Tehran and Qom that the US won't be doing the right thing, this side of January 2017!  Europe though, can and should start arming the Kurds.  Consider that the Kurds are doing, in Kurdistan, what might otherwise be happening much nearer to Europe's own doorstep.

Cameron under impresses
Not a surprise but people have seen the 'demands' that David Cameron has sent to Britain's European Union partners, and found them severely wanting.  They just don't get us anywhere near where we need to be, in terms of a changed relationship.  Also, why start with such weak demands and have nothing to concede as part of the negotiating position?

I am starting to come to the conclusion that Cameron is either a Euro-skeptic or his fast heading that way!  Knowing he can't get the German-dominated EU to see the error of their ways, he is putting forward something so weak, that if he doesn't get that, then he can campaign for Brexit.

Egypt plane crash
We don't no for sure but is seems pretty likely that the Russian Metrojet airliner was brought down as a result of a bomb, probably loaded into the luggage cargo hold.

People are pointing the finger at lax security procedures at Egyptian airports.  Truth is though, that many airports are vulnerable, in my view.

At the front of airports, we have very extensive (some would say intrusive) procedures to search passengers and their cabin luggage.  Yet, the back-door is potentially left wide open.  These airports are 'manned' by hundred and sometimes thousands of workers on minimum wage.  Many of these, in Europe, are immigrant and they may well be subject to local community pressure and/or pressure back in their home country's and yet the level of security, at the back-door, seems to be quite rudimentary.

Very worrying!

          

News review November 11

Football punishment
The English Football Association has fined West Ham and Chelsea, £40,000 and £50,000 for 'failing to control their players' during their recent encounter.

Seriously?  These amounts are utterly meaningless to clubs of their size.  Also, there is no punishment for the causers of the loss of control - the players!

Surely all of the players, should each be fined - something substantial, say £100,00 each - and they should all have a yellow card assigned- something that adds up and leads, if repeated,  to a 3 match ban.  I do mean all.  The whole team, not just those that get involved in the melee.

As for the clubs, make the punishment meaningful.  An instant deduction of 3 points and, of 9 points if they are a repeat offender.  I can't help but think that this would concentrate the minds.  Points and league positions equate to serious money and money-making opportunities.

While we are on the subject.  If the manager/coach is punished, then again, the club should have points deducted.

In English football, today, monetary punishments are useless.  It's points that matter!

Refugees again
European and African leaders are meeting in Malta, to discuss the problem of economic migrants that are currently flooding into Europe.

We can expect the usual claptrap about developing Africa so that people will stay in their home country, etc., followed by European throwing money, Africa's way.

However, as in the past, this will be totally irrelevant and won't solve the problem.

African economic migrants want to come to Europe because their economic prospects, in Europe, are better.  Some will claim that this is because of European welfare programmes.  This then becomes a useful foil for pro-immigration liberals to attack and use against immigration controls, by screaming 'racist'!  Whatever the truth, the migrants come because they will have a better economic life in Europe than they would have in Africa.

The only real solution is to close the door.  And seal it!  In practise this would mean returning all of these immigrants to their home country.  All of them.  Returned.  No half measures - all of them, returned.  We have to turn back the flood at the source.   To let these people know that they simply cannot come in.  That, if they do make it to our shores, then each and every one of them, each and every time, will be returned from whence they came.  And, to keep on sending them back.

Any half-measures or anything less than complete repatriation means that Europe may as well do a 'Merkel' and just tell all of Africa to come on over.

US GOP Debate
The latest debate has taken place.  I didn't see the TV show but there is dispute over who performed well and who didn't.

From what I can gather:

Ben Carson was fairly quite but escaped unscathed, with no mud, about his memoir mis-rememberings.

Donald Trump was noisy as always and found to be severely wanting on his foreign policy platform and ridiculed for his plans to repatriate 11 million illegal immigrants.

Ted Cruz, when he got the chance to speak on any subject, seems to have 'knocked it out of the park' and showed not just his very strong debating skills but also the depth of his policy proposals.

Rand Paul and Marco Rubio also seem to have performed well, though Paul's isolationist stance is, rightly, unpopular.

The others?  Well Kasich behaved boorishly and interrupted a lot, Bush got a couple of good hits in but no killer quotes.  Fiorina showed competence but at times seems fixated on Trump's anti-female slip-ups.

Overall,  Cruz and Rubio looked and sounded like winners and of course Trump and Carson are still there but we should soon start  ti see the others, falling away.m  As they do, we can expect Trump's shortcomings to become ever more apparent.  

America's bureaucrats
I can't believe I am alone in being outraged that senior bureaucrats that are supposed to serve the American people, can 'take the fifth' and, then continue in their well-paid roles.

John Koskinen, the current Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service,  has 'taken the fifth' while testifying to Congress concerning the wholesale shenanigans that went on, under the earlier Commissioner, Lois Lerner.

Think about that.  He is employed by the US government.  Congress, on behalf of the US taxpayer, exercises oversight of, among other agencies, the IRS.  Congress is there to make sure that the IRS carries out its work in accordance with the wishes of, and on behalf of, the US taxpayer.  Yet, when Congress want to question the head of the IRS, he is able to 'take the fifth' and he still gets to keep his job!!  Can anyone imagine being able to do that in the private sector?

" Tom, I want to speak to you about the performance of your department"  "Sir" responds Tom, "I refuse to answer your questions on the grounds of potential self-incrimination"  "Oh!", says Tom's boss,  "okay then, let's move on".

If these bureaucrats were doing a great job, you could maybe feel some sympathy at them having to face, what might possibly be politically inspired questioning.  However, many, at the top simply aren't.  Look at the Environmental Protection Agency, that polluted the Colorado River.  Look at the Veterans Administration, that continues to mistreat and intentionally delay treatment to America's veterans.  Look at the IRS, that targeted organisations that were anti-Obama.  Look at the Justice Department that went after General Petraeus for having classified documents on a personal computer but has done nothing, about Hillary Clinton's use of, and then wiping cleaning of, a personal e-mail server.  The list goes on and on and the 'tone from the top' is so inappropriate that it is no wonder that these agencies are so out of control.




  

News update November 10

IAAF and Russia doping
Lord Sebastian Coe is either being excessively polite to the Russian athletics authorities or he is not yet entirely confident that he can persuade the organisation that he now leads, the IAAF, to do the right thing.

The World Anti-Doping Association - WADA - found widespread and state-sponsored support of a programme designed to thwart efforts to root out performance enhancing and other doping, from athletics.  The crystal clear recommendation is that Russia should be banned from international athletic meetings for a period of time.  Such time would include the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics.  Consider that there is none of the usual 'bureacratese' about the WADA report - nothing about 'appropriate disciplinary action' or 'measures should be taken'.  WADA are clear - a ban.

Come on Lord Coe!  Send the world of sport a very clear message that doping is unacceptable and will be punished.  This might be harsh on any 'clean' Russian athletes but that's just tough.  Russia needs to suffer for its sins and so that the world of athletics knows, that the IAAF has teeth.

Global Warming
I don't subscribe to the fad of changing a subject title simply because the facts stubbornly refuse to support it!  So I won't be discussing the faddish 'Climate Change'

The BBC and no doubt all of their fellow travellers in the environmental lobby are sounding the alarm bells because the temperature figures for 2015 through to the end of September are 1.02C above the average for the period 1850 to 1900.  They try to slide in a comment about 'confusion' relating to earlier periods but we have seen, time and time again, that the Global Warming scaremongers have consistently fudged and fixed the numbers to suit their pseudo-science.  Always, always remember, these folks have monetary and career based vested interests in pushing the warnings.

The latest data is a joint effort from the UK Meteorological Office and the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.  The latter were heavily discredited, and remain so in many people's opinions, by their highly questionable behaviour in the Climate Gate scandal.

The BBC do have the good grace to admit that the so called El Nino weather phenomenon is also a contributory factor in the temperature increase but don't say whether or not this was present during the earlier time period - so we don't know if the data sets are comparing apples with apples!  Nothing new for the Global Warming industry!  

Refugees
Prepare yourself for a shock!

Sitting comfortably?  Okay, I'll begin.

It seems that a leading member of Daesh/ISIS has been discovered among the so called Syrian 'refugees'.  I know, what a shock, almost floored me.  Then I remembered that sensible commentators - you know, those that point out that most of the 'refugees' are in fact young men of military age and these far outnumber the relatively few families - the commentators have consistently predicted that Daesh would use the situation to infiltrate battle-hardened terrorists into Europe.

Don't be surprised at this story, when or more accurately if, you hear about it but do consider how many we don't know about!  It would be naive in the extreme, to suppose that these murderous maniacs have only slipped one killer in among the 'refugees'.  Especially when the extremely foolish Merkel, threw open the German border, to them all.

Incidentally, it seems that the 'refugees' are very fast wearing out their welcome - or in many cases have already worn it out - in Sweden, Austria and Germany. If Twitter chatter is to be believed, these countries are seeing significantly increased instances of rape and child molestation as well has attacks on Christians.  And that is before Daesh get themselves properly situated!  

Yemen
Just thought I would mention it.  It seems to have fallen off of the news agenda in recent months but the few available reports suggest that this Saudi/Iran proxy war is particularly bloody and, as is so often the case, civilians are the largest victim group.

Don't hear too much wailing and gnashing of teeth from Obama's White House though.  One senses that this will run and run.

Israel
You likely won't hear too much about what is going on in Israel either.

Palestinians - remember those people that 'right-on' countries have been rushing to recognise as a state - are entering Israel and then seeking to stab and kill random innocent Israeli civilians.  Old lady on a bus - stab her - in the name of peace!  Group standing at a bus stop - drive a car into them and then jump out and stab them, just to make sure they die - for peace, of course.

You will though, hear the usual Leftist bleating if Israel reacts by sealing off Gaza and the West Bank.  I am kind of surprised that Netanyahu hasn't done this already!

More tomorrow....

News November 9

Comment on today's news.

Corbyn and the Armed Services
Jeremy Corbyn is upset that the Chief of Military Staff has entered into 'politics' by saying that the Uk bombing Daesh in Iraq but not tracking back and bombing them in Syria is foolish and lacking in sense.  Also that having a Prime Minister who has very publicly stated he won't push the UK's nuclear button under any circumstances, is dangerous (as well, in my view as just plain silly).

Corbyn's right that the military shouldn't be involved in politics we can see the negative side of that in the flawed elections in Burma.  However, who better to provide a reasonably impartial viewpoint on the situation in Syria and Iraq, than a non-politician.  We all know how politicians trim their sails and are more interested in soundbites than hard facts.  I have a little more faith in the people that take the decisions to send our service personnel into harms way than in flip-flopping politicians.

It would, of course, been better if the comments had been made by other politicians.  Not just Conservatives but also those in the Labour Party who still believe that the UK has the moral right to defend itself.

Burma elections
Not really sure how to consider these.  On the one hand, the Burmese people have an opportunity to exercise their democratic right but just how democratic is that right?  Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, cannot be elected as President (this election will come, early next year)  because she has foreign born sons!  The military has a constitutionally-guaranteed 25% of the seats in parliament.  To amend the constitution, a constitution that was written by the military, requires a 75% or more majority!  Hundreds of thousands of the minority Rohingya muslims have been denied the right to vote.    So, a step in the right direction but still quite a way to go.

Osborne agrees 30% spending cuts with four government departments.
Before you jump-up and shout 'about time', consider that these cuts are over the next four years.

The departments are, transport, local government, environment and Osborne's own treasury.  So not the big spenders like health and welfare or the already over-cut defence department.

Apparently, these cuts will be in the order of 8% a year for each of the next four years.   I have written here before that departmental budgets need to be subjected to cuts of 15% a year and the complete closure of the environment department.  My opinion hasn't changed but given the worsening global economic situation, I am not sure that 15% cuts would be enough!

When you hear the Conservatives crowing about deficit cutting and Labour and the SNP's howling about austerity, bear in mind that all that is potentially happening, is that the UK is trying to start to live within its means.  The massive debt mountain £1.5 trillion still sits above the UK economy and acts as a huge burden on future generations.  I would advise large pinches of salt to be taken but am not sure what is the latest health scare news position.

Remembrance Sunday One
Caught-up with some of this on TV news.  It wasn't widely commemorated, as far as I could ascertain, in Erbil, Kurdistan.

We should be heartened that so many young people seem to have managed to throw off the PC teaching of the education system and recognise the contribution and sacrifice made by so many of our fellow-countrymen and our allies.

While the young continue to show respect to these heroes, we have hope!

Remembrance Sunday Two
That man Corbyn again!

Would it really have hurt him so much, to bow his head, when laying his poppy wreath?  A barely perceptible nod in the direction of the Cenotaph, simply isn't good enough.  Yet another sign of his dislike of Britain and the British.

I know I shouldn't be surprised by the actions of an active supporter of the murderous IRA but surely there is at least one grown-up remaining, at the Labour Party?
    
Refugees
Have you noticed that this issue is sliding down the news programmes?  With the onset of bad weather in the region (Erbil is currently experiencing quite severe winds and rains), we might see a halting or at least a serious curtailment, of the numbers of people crossing the Mediterranean.

Maybe these people will now look to what is on their own doorsteps?  Given that Summer suns will be replaced by Winter cold, rain and snow maybe these 'refugees' will head towards Saudi Arabia and seek asylum or at least refuge in the massive tent city that is sitting at Mecca.

We can but hope.

Clearly, the appetite in Europe, where it was previously positive, has fast turned against the swarm of people that are invading.  Who knows, given Angela Merkel's support for a completely open door policy, is now being rapidly rowed back from, Merkel's own position is said to be in jeopardy.  Merkel losing her job?  We can but hope.

 

Today's news

A departure for me as I will offer brief(ish) comments on current stories in the news rather than my normal lengthier piece.

David Cameron and the EU
It seems like Cameron has decided to get a little serious with his negotiations for Britain's continued membership of the European Union.  He is apparently going to tell our EU partners that if he can't get what he wants, for Britain, then he will campaign for Britain's exit, the so called Brexit.

Before you jump up an exclaim 'about time!' consider that Cameron isn't really asking for much.  And his partners will hold firm on their core desire for 'ever closer union' and pull Britain further and further into their orbit.  This is what the Euro-elite want.  Not the people of Europe, or more accurately the European Union (note to the BBC Europe and the European Union are not same thing) but for those folks, democracy is an over-rated luxury.

If Cameron really wants to demonstrate that he means business, here is a tip.   Have the UK Civil Service start a process of planning for Brexit.  I can't think of a better way of showing that you mean business, than showing you are prepared for all outcomes.  Have Civil Servants start negotiations with the UK's key trading partners - those outside the EU.  Start with China and India and then other Commonwealth countries.  The upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, in Malta, would be the perfect launchpad!  Develop and publish the replacement for the Common Agriculture Policy.  Same for the Fisheries policy.  Start to withdraw from cooperation on the ludicrous European Union Foreign Service.

Does anyone think that this won't concentrate the minds of the EU bureaucrats and the so-called political masters.

Obama and Keystone
So Obama decided to pay back his big financial sponsor - Warren Buffet.  This was entirely predictable.  Buffet's Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway is booking an alleged $2 billion a year in profits from transporting oil, at $30 a barrel from Canada to the southern US versus the $10 a barrel that it would cost to send it down via the Keystone XL pipeline.

The US Presidential race

As a non-US voter, can I say - enough already.

Let's start with the Democrats - surely this can only be seen as a fight between Clinton and Saunders?  I appreciate that this is a most unpalatable choice but let's get real.  Without Biden, there is no one else.  Unless of course, some of the RINOs show their true colours, and change parties?  Jeb, Marco?
So will the other Democrat candidates please leave the stage.  Then we can have 'looney-Left tunes' Saunders slug it out with the not so much Teflon coated as media-untouchable Hillary.   Then we just might see the Dems and their media supporters having to choose between the spend like crazy Saunders and the make no hostages to the future Clinton.  Things might get interesting!

Now the Republicans.

'Elephant in the room time' - make that elephants.  Jeb, Marco, Kasich and the others, except for Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, need to leave the field.  George Dubya needs to take his brother to one side and say 'save your money and give it up'!

The GOP needs to focus on the real candidates.
Carson may have been wounded by the latest revelations concerning West Point, or he may brush past that.  To me it sounds like the media trying to make a story out of next to nothing - so Carson bragged a little, haven't we all?

Trump will I think, start to fade.  He has done the GOP a great service by daring to say things that some others, like the ones who should now bow out, have steered away from.   While he is a populist, I think that he has to have something more substantial in his policy pocket than just being anti-immigration.  Plus he has had past cosy relationships with the Dems.

That just leaves Ted Cruz.  Most say that he is by far the best qualified, intellectually but perhaps more importantly, he has displayed a rare consistency in his following truly Republican policies.  Some say that this tars him with a Tea Party brush but he would be the most formidable opponent against Hillary.  Who knows, if he chose Trump as his running mate, then he might get some of that Donald magic!

Refugees 
Too late for me to say too much, tonight, I will come back on this tomorrow.  I sense that this issue will still be in the news!

Have a good night!

Professional politicians?

I sometimes wonder if it is an ‘age thing’.  Am I turning into a ‘grumpy old man’?  I will let others be the judge of that.

I certainly am becoming less tolerant of the foolish behaviour of those that have been elected as our leaders.  I will give four recent examples of what I view as poor leadership. 

The most egregious is that of President Obama.  I can’t figure out if it is by design or by default that Obama has managed to throw away America’s pre-eminence on the world stage but that is exactly what has happened on his watch.   

In the South China Sea, China is establishing itself as a regional superpower and flexing its swiftly growing naval muscles.  Where America’s navy used to have command and unfettered freedom to roam and support ‘Pax Americana’ the Chinese have been ignoring the claims (rights?) of South China Sea nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines.  They are simply moving into territory claimed by these nations and annexing them and expanding other small islands so as to extend their territorial claims.  All the while, the Obama administration downplays the actions of the Chinese, when it can be bothered to even recognise such actions, and refuses to meaningfully confront them.  It can be no consolation that by expelling the Americans, as the Philippines did in the post-Marcos era, they maybe brought some of this upon themselves because that misses the two fundamental points.  China sees that it has a manifest destiny to be a much bigger global player and, as a first step must have complete control of its own back-yard.  That they have also sent ships up into waters off of Alaska, even while Obama was visiting that state, maybe says something about how big they consider, their backyard to be!  Also, the lack of a robust response from the Obama administration will cause Pacific rim nations to read the writing on the will and start to drift from the American sphere of influence to that of China’s.

In the Middle East too, America has lost any initiative it had.  The unwillingness to confront Daesh and the blind support of any anti-Assad organisation has meant that America has effectively armed both its immediate and eventual enemies.  At the same time, America has failed to support the only local group – the Kurdish Peshmerga – who are taking the fight to Daesh.  Obama, having effectively lost Egypt, is now in danger of losing Iraq.  The inaction of Obama – and don’t be fooled with any talk about the coalition bombing missions, these have been nothing but a half-hearted sop to the home audience – has led to the emergence of Iran as a bigger player, that now, just about has to be at the table making decisions. 

More importantly, this has ceded to Russia, the opportunity to go in and bolster its long-time client state of Syria and to be portrayed as doing more forcefully and effectively what they Americans have been so far reluctant to do.  Like Bill Clinton, before him, Obama wants to (very reluctantly) fight an enemy, solely from the air, though Obama is even more squeamish about ‘boots on the ground’ or indeed any kind of meaningful involvement.  If news reports are to be believed, the Obama administration has spent $500 million training a handful – maybe as few as twenty – of Syrians to fight Daesh and/or Assad (their mission wasn’t really clear).  Of these only one or two remain in the programme and the caches of weapons and materiel that the Obama administration supplied, is now in the hands of rebels!  Shades of America’s actions in Soviet occupied Afghanistan, methinks.  Wasn’t Einstein who said that the definition of madness was doing the same thing, time after time and expecting a different outcome?

A further unfortunate outcome of Obama’s timid Syria policy, is that Russia’s muscular approach in Syria, is allowing their not-so-covert invasion of Ukraine to slide off of the news pages.   Pause for a moment and think back to the last time you heard a news story about Ukraine.  The invasion is still going on but the news media circus has moved on.   Remember too, that during this invasion, a passenger airline has been shot down from the sky by a Russian supplied ground to air missile.  The official report on the air crash came out and caused a minor stir and has now been filed away.  283 people died and still Russia gets to sit at the top table with civilised people!  Another gift from Obama!  In the recent talks on Syria, John Kerry praised the efforts of Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.  Instead he should and so should the rest of the world, pound and pound the Russians until the murderers of those 283 people are brought to justice. 

Rather than focus on the short-comings of Obama and his inept administration, it wouldn’t do to ignore Chancellor Angela Merkel.  As I have said, in earlier posts, Merkel’s statement of an open invitation to ‘refugees’, was just like those teenagers that post on Twitter or Facebook ‘party at my house, tonight’ and then are shocked to discover that the whole world, or at least a significant part of the local area’s youth turns up and crashes the party.  Now Merkel is rueing the day she stupidly opened her mouth.  Germany, by the end of the year, may have taken in between one and one and a half million ‘refugees’ .  It is clear, from social media, that those ‘refugees’ already in country have worn out their welcome.  There are regular demonstrations against the ‘refugees’ and against Merkel’s policy – even though she is, belatedly, closing the door.  We hear and see  that these ‘refugees’ who, contrary to the images that are mostly portrayed in the media, are very predominantly young males.  We also hear that an epidemic of rape and sexual assaults is breaking out, in Germany and the satellite countries.  Also, a number of diseases such as scabies and STDs. 

Then there is David Cameron.  He was elected, with a parliamentary majority, in the May General Election.  This came as something of a surprise, to many (most?).  Maybe even to Cameron, himself?  Now Cameron is desperately trying to hold a renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s membership of the European Union without actually negotiating anything.  The result will be then put to a referendum before the end of 2017.  Cameron is in a difficult position (of his own making) because having been elected, as Conservative leader, in 2005, on a Euro-sceptic ticket, and needing to keep many of his own MPs on board as well as trying to see-off the anti-EU UKIP, he now has to negotiate something which he really doesn’t want and then run the risk of the British people rejecting his efforts and then his government needing to negotiate Britain’s exit from the EU. 

In case you are not clear on what it is that Cameron – and by extension, the UK – want as part of the renegotiation, you are not alone.  Most people in Britain have an idea of what the country wants, however, this hasn’t been expressed, other than through media polls and such, to our EU partners.  One appreciates that negotiations need to be conducted with a certain degree of secrecy but I get the impression that Cameron doesn’t even know what to put forward as Britain’s negotiating position.  Must be very frustrating for our EU partners.    

A sure sign of the way the political wind is blowing – or at least how Cameron and the political elite, want it to blow – is that there seems to be no contingency plan for how Britain might actually manage to extricate from the European Union, should the people of Britain, so decide.  To me, announcing that such planning was being undertaken, would serve as a very strong signal to the UK’s EU partners, that Britain means business but this negotiating tool isn’t even being mentioned. 

Perhaps all of these examples reflect what happens when we have professional politicians as opposed to those that have experience of the real world.  Obama, Merkel and Cameron between them, have never really had a ‘proper’ job.  Never run a business or worried about how to make this week’s payroll.  Never had to go through the same daily grind, that so many of the voters must endure, etc..

I started this post by wondering if this was an age thing.  I conclude though that it is them, not me.  I think I am reasonably sane and normal, it is just this political elite that is acting crazy! 

What do you think?