Daltons Briefs - International Issues

Some research on Kenya-Somalia crisis

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:24:00 +0000

Update Somalia a bed of terrorists, says to Kenya "stay out"

Three years ago I had the chance to travel to Kenya and Sudan, so as with almost every place I've visited I have a heart for the area. I happened across an article yesterday suggesting that refugees from Somalia are beginning to surge into Kenya, at alarming rates. Then today this article:

LR FOLLOW-UP

Libertarian Republican has been continuously reporting on the situation in Northeast Africa. Now events on the ground are leading to frightening possibilities. Jawa reports that Al-Shabab Muslim rebels planned to blow up a bridge in Northern Kenya. In response, Kenya has massed Troops on the border. Quoting an African news source: "security forces were working to thwart possible infiltrations and cross-border movements by Islamist fighters."

Christian Science Monitor reports:

Kenya is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Somalis, and has become a begrudging host to thousands more Somali refugees... Islamist militias in Somalia have specifically threatened to launch terrorist attacks in Nairobi...
In the backdrop a major power struggle is developing between the ruling democratic government in Kenya and rival power sharer Prime Minister Raila Odinga (cousin of US President Barack Hussein Obama).

Developing...

LINKS

This brief article was linked by the Kenyan Post

Iranian Election Revolt

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:34:00 +0000

As news is breaking, much in Farsi, the only real source is the twitter feed #iranelection

A couple places I'm also watching include Iranian Election Liveblogging and this report from the Daily Dish:

One of my readers has forwarded this report that Moussavi has been put under house arrest and that Rafsanjani has resigned or been detained. There's also a report that Sianat az ara, the election monitors who are approved by all the candidates, have also declared the result a fraud. I don't read Farsi so if anyone can confirm this reader's news, I'd be grateful. As of now, I am not reporting this, just asking. I find nothing of this sort on the English wires. If it's true, obviously this moment is spiraling into something bigger. Will try to nail it down.

Will update in an hour or so

More Links: Revolutionary Road
Some are suggesting that mullahs are calling for a new election, to re-establish faith in the process, you can bet these mullahs will be silenced before tomorrow morning in Tehran.

To those who fear "truth" - Easter

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Happy Resurrection Sunday - Easter - from Porter County Indiana politics

Happy Resurrection Sunday - Which we call Easter

Roughly 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ raised himself from the grave, he was all the way dead don't play games with the story in your head, and he overcame that death to show that he/God is dominant over even death.

"Where o death is thy sting ..."

Although we as Christ followers believe in our own mortality and depravity in sin, and our need for a redeemer to pay the penalty of our sins, and therefore the dominant role of the cross in helping us remember the horrible death and sacrifice of Christ

The Resurrection is in many ways more important. All other sacrifices died, the lamb the goat the bird, never to be seen again.

Jesus Christ rose again ... that's a really big deal. Quite possibly the most important event in human history, in 7,000 years, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A 100% man, who was 100% God (of course we can't understand that tension) died a horrible death and then three days later raised himself from that tomb, rolled away a multiple ton rock, and walked out still bearing the holes in his hands and feet ... the marks of the price he paid on our behalf.

Sorry for this pause in political debate, but it's well worth the pause. If you are offended at this blatant statement, or feel that no one has the right to state "truth" when there are so many different opinions in today's society ... welcome to post modern predictable thought ... you too have been duped by humanities 7,000 year desire to be "my own person" and "not need a god"

Take a deep breath and dare yourself to ask "where do I stand for eternity?"

Live Leak - Alarming Video

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Latvian Government - Falls apart

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:33:00 +0000

Marketwatch is reporting that the economic crisis has struck a blow to another former Soviet nation, this time Latvia.

Latvia's coalition government collapsed Friday, plunging the Baltic country into political turbulence at a time when its economy is mired in a severe crisis and investors are increasingly concerned about the situation in Eastern Europe

Obama still allowing War on Terror in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:00:00 +0000

In a positive sign, President Obama is still allowing the War on Terror to keep dropping terrorists in Pakistan with missiles from drones. Since we're winning in Iraq, stands to reason he'll do the same exact thing Bush would have done and finish winning the peace there too.

Funny how liberals run by attacking strong defense, and then once they talk to their advisors they end up doing the exact same thing.

Keep Gitmo Open - Video

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Israel alone with Obama Administration?

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Will Israel be the last nation willing to confront terror in the mid east? Atlas Shrugs recounts some of the hour long exchange between former UN Ambassador John Bolton and the Jerusalem Post this week.

Operation Cast Lead was timed to end immediately before US President Barack Obama's inauguration. Since then, rockets have continued to be fired on Israel from Gaza, with limited retaliation, and preparations for a possible second round. Had Israel not pulled out, would that have put an automatic strain on Jerusalem-Washington relations?

I do think the Obama administration will be less friendly to Israel than the Bush administration. And I understand why the leadership in Israel might have wanted the operation finished by January 20. There may have been other reasons to stop, as well, although with the renewed launching of rockets, those reasons are less apparent.

Military operations like Cast Lead should be carried through to their own logical conclusions, and I think Israel has to calibrate its military actions based on its own self-interest. Trying to judge what it should do based on American politics is a perilous venture.

President gives credit for free elections in Iraq to UN

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Yesterday wasn't the best day for Obama foreign relations.

First, he recognized the Islamic Courts Movement in Ethiopia, a group that the Bush administration helped remove last year.

Then, with free and fair elections in Iraq, a direct result of the Bush doctrine ... he recognizes the United Nations, but not our military. This isn't feeling good so far.

Security for the country's first ballot since 2005 was extremely tight, with Iraqi police and military deployed in force, and Mr Obama praised the technical assistance by the United Nations and other organisations to Iraq's electoral commission, which he said "performed professionally under difficult circumstances."

Zimbabwe power sharing talks resume

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Looks like Mugabe is still trying to hold on, like Hamas and Taliban and Hezbollah and other groups that have manipulated "elections" to gain some international acceptance ... He's a dictator and needs to be removed.

Zimbabwe rivals start key talks

Mr Mugabe, 84, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have begun talks seen as "make-or-break" to salvage a unity government.

The two men are discussing a power-sharing agreement, stalled since September. The presidents of Mozambique and South Africa are also attending.

Mr Mugabe said on Sunday he would not make any more concessions until a unity government was formed.

Mr Tsvangirai says he will not be bulldozed into an agreement.

Under September's deal, Mr Tsvangirai is to become prime minister while Mr Mugabe remains as president.

Another terror attack predicted

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Yesterday President Bush said the toughest challenge for incoming Obama Presidency would be threats of attack on our homeland.

Then this morning I came across this post, which for some reason was then deleting from the original blog. I'll repost directly from the feed here, if you are the author and would prefer source link, please leave a comment.

AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ BY EVERY AMERICAN!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON.

Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie 'Munich' was based. He was Golda Meir's bodyguard -- she appointed him to track down and bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games. In a lecture in New York City a few weeks ago, he shared information that EVERY American needs to know -- but that our government has not yet shared with us. He predicted the London subway bombing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox News stating publicly that it would happen within a week. At the time, O'Reilly laughed and mocked him saying that in a week he wanted him back on the show. But, unfortunately, within a week the terrorist attack had occurred.

Juval Aviv gave intelligence (via what he had gathered in Israel and the Middle East) to the Bush Administration about 9/11 a month before it occurred. His report specifically said they would use planes as bombs and target high profile buildings and monuments. Congress has since hired him as a security consultant.

Now for his future predictions. He predicts the next terrorist attack on the U.S. will occur within the next few months.

Forget hijacking airplanes, because he says terrorists will NEVER try and hijack a plane again as they know the people onboard will never go down quietly again. Aviv believes our airport security is a joke -- that we have been reactionary rather than proactive in developing strategies that are truly effective. For example: 1) Our airport technology is outdated. We look for metal, and the new explosives are made of plastic. 2) He talked about how some idiot tried to light his shoe on fire. Because of that, now everyone has to take off their shoes. A group of idiots tried to bring aboard liquid explosives. Now we can't bring liquids on board. He says he's waiting for some suicidal maniac to pour liquid explosive on his underwear; at which point, security will have us all traveling naked! Every strategy we have is 'reactionary.' 3) We only focus on security when people are heading to the gates. Aviv says that if a terrorist attack targets airports in the future, they will target busy times on the front end of the airport when/where people are checking in. It would be easy for someone to take two suitcases of explosives, walk up to a busy check-in line, ask a person next to them to watch their bags for a minute while they run to the restroom or get a drink, and then detonate the bags BEFORE security even gets involved. In Israel, security checks bags BEFORE people can even ENTER the airport.

Aviv says the next terrorist attack here in America is imminent and will involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers in places where large groups of people congregate. (i. e., Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos, big cities (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc.) and that it will also include shopping malls, subways in rush hour, train stations, etc., as well as rural America this time (Wyoming, Montana, etc.). The attack will be characterized by simultaneous detonations around the country (terrorists like big impact), involving at least 5-8 cities, including rural areas. Aviv says terrorists won't need to use suicide bombers in many of the larger cities, because at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, they can simply valet park a car loaded with explosives and walk away.

Aviv says all of the above is well known in intelligence circles, but that our U. S. government does not want to 'alarm American citizens' with the facts.

The world is quickly going to become 'a different place', and issues like 'global warming' and political correctness will become totally irrelevant. On an encouraging note, he says that Americans don't have to be concerned about being nuked. Aviv says the terrorists who want to destroy America will not use sophisticated weapons. They like to use suicide as a front-line approach. It's cheap, it's easy, it's effective; and they have an infinite abundance of young militants more than willing to 'meet their destiny'. He also says the next level of terrorists, over which America should be most concerned, will not be coming from abroad. But will be, instead, 'homegrown' -- having attended and been educated in our own schools and universities right here in the U. S.

He says to look for 'students' who frequently travel back and forth to the Middle East. These young terrorists will be most dangerous because they will know our language and will fully understand the habits of Americans; but that we Americans won't know/understand a thing about them. Aviv says that, as a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about the terroristic threats we will, inevitably, face. America still has only have a handful of Arabic and Farsi speaking people in our intelligence networks, and Aviv says it is critical that we change that fact SOON.

So, what can America do to protect itself?

From an intelligence perspective, Aviv says the U.S. needs to stop relying on satellites and technology for intelligence. We need to, instead, follow Israel's, Ireland's and England's hands-on examples of human intelligence, both from an infiltration perspective as well as to trust 'aware' citizens to help. We need to engage and educate ourselves as citizens; however, our U. S. government continues to treat us, its citizens, 'like babies'. Our government thinks we 'can't handle the truth' and are concerned that we'll panic if we understand the realities of terrorism. Aviv says this is a deadly mistake. Aviv recently created/executed a security test for our Congress, by placing an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major cities. The results? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to check it out. In fact, in Chicago, someone tried to steal the briefcase!

In comparison, Aviv says that citizens of Israel are so well 'trained' that an unattended bag or package would be reported in seconds by citizen(s) who know to publicly shout, 'Unattended Bag!' The area would be quickly & calmly cleared by the citizens themselves. But, unfortunately, America hasn't been yet 'hurt enough' by terrorism for their government to fully understand the need to educate its citizens or for the government to understand that it's their citizens who are, inevitably, the best first-line of defense against terrorism.

Aviv also was concerned about the high number of children here in America who were in preschool and kindergarten after 9/11, who were 'lost' without parents being able to pick them up, and about ours schools that had no plan in place to best care for the students until parents could get there. (In New York City, this was days, in some cases!)

He stresses the importance of having a plan, that's agreed upon within your family, to respond to in the event of a terroristic emergency. He urges parents to contact their children's schools and demand that the schools, too, develop plans of actions, as they do in Israel. Does your family know what to do if you can't contact one another by phone? Where would you gather in an emergency? He says we should all have a plan that is easy enough for even our youngest children to remember and follow. Aviv says that the U. S. government has in force a plan that, in the event of another terrorist attack, will immediately cut-off EVERYONE's ability to use cell phones, blackberries, etc., as this is the preferred communication source used by terrorists and is often the way that their bombs are detonated. How will you communicate with your loved ones in the event you cannot speak? You need to have a plan.

#TCOT open thread for 24 Season Premier

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Thought it would be fun to interact with member of #TCOT who are watching the season premier tonite of 24. If you are, I'll leave this thread open for comments and interaction ... and even promote and update during commercials. Here's the search.twitter hashtag for 24.

Some possible discussions:

What is the appropriate balance between fighting terror and ensuring liberty and due process
How should conservatives approach global issues, for example the request today :michaelpleahy: ALL HANDS Conf Call 6:30 pm CST tonight for PRELIMINARY discussion of @JoeTrippi @Zimbabwefast proposal. Will end 7pm CST promptly #TCOT
In 24, the United States has a brand new president who may well deal with terror a whole lot different than the previous President (of course they've painted the old President as a crook) ... what exactly should Obama do about Gaza or Zimbabwe or Iran ... can he change course?
More as comments create ideas and interaction
1st Update - Jack gets taken out of Senate hearings into allegedly abusing terror prisoners by FBI who need his help. I posed the question on twitter: Do you think there are a lot of liberals that love Jack Bauer that are still mad at Bush-Cheney for being mean to terrorists? Sarcasm intended
2nd Update - Brand new President wants to invade an African country to deal with a tribal war that has escalated and 200,000 are dead. Sound like DR Congo, Darfur? Let's talk a bit about policy in Africa. What exactly will President Obama be doing in Africa, he likes to preach CHANGE, what about Africa?
3rd Update - now the first person they "interview" lies, then has his bodyguard taken down not by Jack but by the new female FBI partner, I think Jack was impressed. But once they got the perp to talk, he was shot from outside the room by sniper. WOW, it took 55 minutes to get the first killing.
Is Tony really a bad guy? Or, is he playing a high stakes black ops game? I guess if these planes start dropping he moves to solid bad guy.
4th Update - Looks to me like Tony's at least a double agent and may be playing big time insider role in terror organization, who's running him? Loner?

View from Gaza Christian on War

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I received this from a family member, who received by email, written by Salim Munayer who is a Palestinian Christian living in Bethlehem. Dr. Munayer (PhD FullerTheological Seminary) is on the faculty of Bethlehem Bible College and is the Executive Director of Musalaha - a ministry committed to reconciling Jews and Palestinians.

To both Israelis and Palestinians, the current conflict in Gaza has
brought nothing but pain and suffering. It has also caused friction
among some believers as they choose to pledge sole allegiance to their
own people group. Some are even expressing an unabashed hatred for the
other side through articles, e-mails and graphic content on Facebook.

>From the Israeli point of view they pulled out of the Gaza Strip in the
name of peace and an Islamic regime took over. Israel's justification
for going to war was to protect its citizens against Hamas launching
rockets on the communities in the Negev. Soldiers continue to mobilize
along the Gaza border as they prepare to defend their people and country
against terror. They claim that others would have acted more quickly and
aggressively. Their reasoning is that it is necessary to attack now
before Hamas has longer-range missiles.

The Palestinians claim that though Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2006,
the army is still controlling the borders making it the biggest open-air
prison in the world. In the last 18-months, 1.5 million Palestinians
have been under siege and were prevented from receiving sufficient
water, medical aid and food supply. For the Palestinians, Israel's
withdrawal from Gaza was just an excuse to expand their control in the
West Bank and build further settlements. The Palestinians also believe
they have a right to self-defense. For them, the Israeli reaction is
disproportionate. The number of Israelis killed cannot be compared to
the hundreds of Palestinians killed.

Each player in the conflict places the full responsibility of the cycle
of violence on the other side. There is a general unwillingness to enter
into peace talks on ideological or political grounds. For example,
Israel will say Hamas is an ideological religious organization that
doesn't recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinians, on the other
hand, say the Palestinian Authority has entered into concessions and
nothing substantial has evolved; all that increased were settlements and
checkpoints.

So, what is our role as believers in this situation? How can we be a
model of Messiah as we move forward in the reconciliation process? Are
we too busy challenging the moral and ethical position of the other side
that we are unwilling to take responsibility? Because our societies have
chosen war and violence, there is a great need for reconciliation. We
can accomplish this through taking on a priestly role of intercessor and
prophetic role of speaking the truth.

While the conflict has divided some believers, there are those taking a
stand and fulfilling their priestly role. I was greatly encouraged last
week to hear a Messianic pastor lead his congregation in a prayer of
repentance, especially emphasizing that in a time of war, repentance is
necessary from both the Israelis and the Palestinians. We must begin by
examining our own sins, failures and shortcomings and seek God's
forgiveness and direction.

Applying Joel 2, he read, "Return to me with all your heart, with
fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow
to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity"
(Joel 2:12-13). God desires us to grieve from within and turn our hearts
back towards him. As we as believers intercede on behalf of the people
in our societies we need to invoke the nature of God and beg for his
mercy and compassion to fall upon us because we have sinned before him.
We must also cry out for God's mercy and compassion to fall upon the
other side.

In time of war we are also called to take on a prophetic role. The
prophet was a representative of God who brought a message primarily to
effect social change. The prophet spoke the truth and reminded us to
care for the widow, orphan and stranger. When speaking the prophetic
word, we need to be blunt without any hidden messages, and we need to
have the courage to speak out when our people are wrong. In the
prophetic role we are reminded that we must not only speak out against
the injustice which has been committed against our own people, but also
against others. We have a duty to speak out against the misuse of power
and the blood of the innocent shed whether it is Israeli or Palestinian.
The world views war as war. Some will say, "in war the innocent also die
and we cannot help it." My son was greatly distressed when his friend
told him exactly this. I shared with him that in war we need to speak up
for the innocent. We cannot justify the act of killing innocent people
and say it was in self-defense. Yet, we cannot justify killing someone
with a weapon just because they're holding a weapon. Even killing in war
for self-defense should be taken with caution and reverence. The enemy
carrying the weapon is also a person who has also been created in the
image of God. Especially in a time of war we need to speak louder and
clearer against the misuse of power by our governments and their
justification of power and violence. War doesn't mean giving a free hand
without any moral and ethical boundaries and limitations.

So, while we are in the midst of war, we need to honestly seek the will
of God and be discerning. We must become intercessors for our nation,
our leaders and the other side and ask God to pour out his mercy and
compassion. We must also become the prophet and convey that message of
injustice happening in our societies. We need to attempt to relieve the
pain of the innocent even if we feel our side's reasoning for war is
justified. Instead of pointing the finger, let us look within ourselves
and repent. Then let us look at the other side with compassion and love,
with a love that transcends societal boundaries, rocket fire and
airstrikes.

Salim J. Munayer, Ph.D.
Director of Musalaha

An Israeli Soldier's mom on gaza

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:05:00 +0000

It's not all what the liberal media is saying

clipped from israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com

There are images that break your heart. The news is filled with them today and they can easily sway you to think that all of the situation in the Middle East comes down to a picture. How horrible, truly tragic, unacceptable and wrong it is to have a child die.

1. Palestinians decided to use the United Nations school as a launching base to attack innocent civilians. This wasn't the first time they had used the school. Months ago, Israel filed a formal complaint to the United Nations. Clearly, nothing was done to stop this abuse and so we come to reason # 2.

These are the images they DON'T show:

NW Indiana Blogger Meeting This week

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:00:00 +0000

NWI Indiana Blogger Meetup

This Thursday at 6 pm. at Golden Technologies 2402 Beech St. Valpo
No sales pitches, just a chance to meet everyone

Please come ... and also help us promote it. (use #nwindiana hashtag if using twitter)

Chronology of Gaza problems

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:27:00 +0000

A chronology of Israel's relationship with Gaza

• June 1967: Israel captures the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip during six-day Mideast war. An Israeli census put the population at 380,000, at least half of whom were refugees from Israel. Today the population stands at about 1.5 million. The U.N. lists just over 1 million as refugees and their descendants.

• December 1987: A clash in the Jebaliya refugee camp sets off Palestinian uprising, which lasted until 1993 and claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Palestinians and 192 Israelis. The militant Islamic Hamas is formed early in the uprising.

• September 2005: Israel withdraws its troops and all of its 8,500 Jewish settlers. It retains control of Gaza's airspace, coastal waters and border crossings.

• June 2007: Hamas violently seizes control of Gaza after routing forces loyal to rival Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas.

• June 2008: Hamas and Israel reach truce to halt the cross-border rocket attacks and end Israeli offensives in Gaza.

• November 2008: Palestinians resume rocket and mortar fire into Israel after Israeli incursion.

• Dec. 19, 2008: Hamas formally declares the truce over, rocket fire on Israel intensifies. Daltons Comment - this did happen first everyone. For all the people screaming and yelling at Israel, Hamas threw the first punch and now I don't think they like the fact that Israel is coming back at them. IMHO, time for Hamas to be disbanded.

• Dec. 27, 2008: Israel launches a fierce air offensive, killing more than 200 Palestinians in the first day. - AP

View from Palesine journalist

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:37:00 +0000

"Shabbat Shalom" in Gaza
Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 27 December 2008

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike in the town of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 27 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

Shabbat Shalom! "Peaceful Saturday." I don't believe that Israeli leaders appreciate the meaning of this Hebrew greeting given at the start of the weekly Jewish day of rest. No more "Shabbat Shalom," as on Saturday, 27 December 2008, just a few days before the start of a new year, Israeli warplanes dropped bombs on different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Update: I'm watching the Twitter Feed for Gaza live this morning, and trying to comprehend a complex but horrible situation. One that goes back 2,500 years or more. Let me go a little spiritual this morning, it is Sunday.

First, we know that Israel are God's chosen people. Not because they follow Christ, no in fact they spit on him and had him cruxified ... no, they are chosen because God decided he wanted to choose them, and doesn't need our approval to do what he wants. By the way, there are a lot of Christians in Palestine and they are really confused by Americans who support Israel's socialist brand of democracy over Palestinian.

Second, we know that the forces aligned against God want Israel and Jews destroyed or neutered to the point that they really aren't even Jewish any longer. Secular humanism and communism did part of the job by turning most Jews into non-practicing securlarists. Hitler did some more of the job by just plain murdering. Muslims have vowed to continue this assault and want Israel pushed into the sea and destroyed.

Third, the battle with Palesinians goes back for centuries, with both people groups claiming to have been there first or longer. The truth is, they were both there for a long long time and there's not going to be an easy answer.

Fourth, if both people's want to be countries, so be it. Palestine should pack up the Hamas terrorists and affilitated mobsters and send them packing to ruin another country. They should agree to sovereingty and work out a solution that allows Israel and Palestine to co-exist next door as neighbors and friends and trading partners and perhaps even one day as allies. Wouldn't that just frost the Arab and Muslim fanatics that have been using the Palestinians as a wedge issue for 50 years, if Palestinians allied and traded and worked alongside Israelis.

Fifth, one day this peace will be secured and guaranteed by 10 nations. We may not know when that happens, it may be in secret. But we do know that things are going to get very crazy soon thereafter.

President Peres (Israel) on Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:38:00 +0000

Here is the transcript from Huffington Post

President Peres:
It is the first time in the history of Israel that we, the Israelis, cannot understand the motives or the purposes of the ones who are shooting at us. It is the most unreasonable war, done by the most unreasonable warriors.

The story is simple. Israel has left Gaza completely, out of our own free will, at a high cost. In Gaza there is no single Israeli civilian or soldier. They were evacuated from Gaza, our settlements, which called for a very expensive cost. We had to mobilize 45,000 policemen to take out our settlers from there. We spent $2.5 billion. The passages were open. Money was sent to Gaza. We suggested aid in many ways - economically, medically, and otherwise. We were very careful not to make the lives of the civilian people in Gaza difficult. Still I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us reasonably: why are they firing rockets against Israel? What are the reasons? What is the purpose?

And I must say also that the phenomenon about Israel is the restraint of the army and the unity of the people. The army waited and waited; the Palestinians asked for a ceasefire, and we agreed. They themselves have violated the ceasefire. Again, we didn't know why, until it came to a point where we were left without a choice but to bring an end to it. The operation was planned carefully and the army was true to its principles: namely, to be precise in its targets and careful not to hit civilian life. There is a problem because many of the bombs were stored in private houses. We have contacted the owners of the houses, the people that dwell there, and told them leave it. You can't live with bombs. We have to bring an end to the source of the bombs.

Israel doesn't have any ambition in Gaza. We left out of our free choice. We have never gone back to the idea of returning to Gaza. It's over. But we cannot permit that Gaza will become a permanent base of threatening and even killing children and innocent people in Israel for God knows why. I feel that in our hearts, we don't have any hatred for the Gazan people. Their suffering doesn't carry any joy in our hearts. On the contrary, we feel that the better they will have it, better neighbors we shall have. Now that Hamas is turning to the Arab world for help, the truth is that the Arab world has to turn to Hamas for the help of Hamas. If Hamas will stop it, there is no need for any help. Everything can come again to normalcy. Passages: open; economic life: free; no Israeli intervention; no Israeli participation in any of the turnarounds in Gaza.

As a nation, we feel united. As a nation, there is wholehearted support for the army, the way they handled it, their restraint, their discrimination, and their responsibility. The great winner can be reason, and reason will lead to peace. We are very serious, in a serious mood. Many of our children are still in the shelters, and we would like them, like the children of Gaza, to breathe fresh air again. This is the story, and whoever asks us to stop shooting - they have to change the address. Let them turn to Hamas and ask them to stop shooting, and there won't be shooting. Thank you very much.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Pakistan and India escalation

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:52:00 +0000

About two hours ago posts to twitter announced to the world that Pakistan had cancelled military leaves and was beginning to move troops away from the Afghan border and toward the Indian border.

Obviously this is a continuation of the story which began over Thanksgiving when terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed and blew up many before being killed by Indian authorities. In the ensuing weeks it was released by India that the terrorists had direct connections to terror groups which are based and train in Pakistan.

My thoughts - first, Pakistan is playing a bit of a game with the world. They say they are fighting terrorism in the mountains next to Afghanistan but the truth is they don't want to break up the tribal regions for fear of a civil war. They say they aren't funding terror operations to attack India, but similar to the Afghan terror world prior to 9-11 they are allowing it to continue.

For the first time in years the nation of Pakistan has a democratically elected President, our chosen one during the initial thrust of War on Terror, was not elected. How therefore do we balance our desire to support freedom and democracy, with our desire to destroy Terror and those who support it?

Real Estate Recovery predicted for 2009

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Watch for a massive and rapid recovery in housing and real estate in 2009 according to blogger (me) Steve Dalton and a list of Carnival writers

clipped from synergyhomes.blogspot.com

RE.covery Carnival of Real Estate

clipped from exitrealestate540.com

I LOVE A PARADE - Especially a PARADE of REAL ESTATE POSTS about a RECOVERY!

THE 2009 REAL ESTATE RECOVERY ... RE.COVERY

Real Estate Recovery in 2009 from The Real Estate Bloggers has the Governor of California predicting that 2009 will see the real estate recovery. I for one agree. This post wasn't submitted but I took some liberty and included it to start things off.

Tension in Gulf of Aden escalates

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:56:00 +0000

With tensions in the Gulf already quite high, Iran sends warship to "protect" their shipping. Now quite a few countries featuring warships all in the same gulf. This has the potential for problems and mistakes.

Iran sends ship against pirates

World leaders have called for more action to tackle piracy

Iran has sent a warship to the Gulf of Aden to protect its merchant shipping from attacks by Somali pirates, Iranian state media has reported.

Pirates have attacked more than 100 ships, including two Iranian vessels, in the gulf in the past year and at least 15 are still being held.

Several countries now have naval forces operating in the region.

#TCOT targets Pigs wanting gov't cash

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:10:00 +0000

GM, Chrysler and UAW still want cash handouts even though Ford says it can make it thru 2009

clipped from michellemalkin.com

Operation Three Little Piggies

Top Conservatives on Twitter have launched a new action project targeting the “three little piggies” — UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, GM CEO Rick Wagoner, and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli. I know I’ve got a lot of fabulous Photoshoppers out there. This one sounds fun. So go and check out Operation Three Little Piggies here.

And if you haven’t opened a Twitter account (or haven’t figured it out yet), make sure to join TCOT.

Obama will be tested - DR Congo

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:52:00 +0000

Remember only 90 days ago when Joe Biden predicted that President Obama would be tested and we may not like what he does, and he may seem weak? That appears to be well underway ...

In DR Congo, a place far closer to Pres. elect Obama's hometowns in Kenya than Chicagoland corruption, he will be tested by a series of events that characterize many of the corrupt and tribal governments of Africa. If he is to be the first African President, he'll be tested to come up with a solution to centuries of poverty, corruption, disease, and government ineptitude. Basically, although colonial powers were thrown out, the citizens of these countries have yet to enjoy true democracy or rule of law.

From the Washington Post today:

Expectations for the president-elect are high not just in America. And eastern Congo will be an early foreign policy test for the administration -- its suffering not only engages our conscience, it is the most urgent expression of a difficult question: What does America do with failed states and regions?

After generations of mismanagement, the vastness of eastern Congo has become a vacuum of sovereignty. And the chaos has attracted some very bad elements -- Rwandan genocidaires, Lord's Resistance Army terrorists, militias of every ideology and description.

Talk to Ford about auto bailout on twitter

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Lots of talk about the auto bailout, and whether the Congress or President will give them cash. This guy has engaged on Ford Exec himself and is hosting a public exchange on twitter this morning

clipped from kirkpete.blogspot.com

Lobbying in Plain Sight: The Auto Bailout on Twitter

Update: Operation Ford Motor now has its own hash tag, #OFM, if you want to follow the action today.

I don't know what if anything will come of this, but it's fascinating -- beginning at about 10:30 a.m. today, Scott Monty, the head of social media for Ford (yes, there is such a function now), began a Twitter conversation with Michael P. Leahy, head of a new Twitter-powered conservative group called Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT).

Even if you don't have a Twitter account, I believe you should be able to follow this search link, which currently shows the "Tweet" below as the first result:

Potential DR Congo breakthru

noreply@blogger.com (briefs) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:02:00 +0000

DR Congo and Rwanda agree to disband Hutu militia that seems to be the source of the greatest anger to the rebels.

DR Congo, Rwanda agree plan to disband FDLR militia

By Joe Bavier

GOMA, Congo, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Congo and Rwanda have agreed a military plan to try to disband a Rwandan Hutu militia whose presence in eastern Congo is seen as a root cause of enduring conflict there, the Congolese Foreign Minister said on Thursday.

Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said the plan to tackle the FDLR armed group was drawn up by officers from the Great Lakes neighbours and agreed with his Rwandan counterpart Rosemary Museminali.

The two ministers met in Goma, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, where weeks of fighting have displaced a quarter of a million people.

The conflict pits Tutsi rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda against the Congolese army and Rwandan Hutu fighters from the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Nkunda cites the presence in east Congo of the FDLR, which includes perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutus, as the main justification for his Tutsi rebellion, which has conquered fresh territory in recent weeks.

Mwamba said the joint plan, whose details he refused to reveal, would be signed on Friday.

"The FDLR must either go back to Rwanda or become non-combatant in Congolese territory," he told reporters.

The Congolese minister said implementation of the plan could involve friendly outside forces, such as the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC) or soldiers from the southern African SADC bloc, which has offered troops to help pacify east Congo.

Nkunda has declared a ceasefire with the Congolese government army, but his Tutsi fighters are still battling the FDLR, whose existence many regional experts believe is at the heart of the persisting fighting in North Kivu.

"They (the FDLR) are actually the root cause of the insecurity that we see around," Museminali said.

United Nations peacekeepers in Congo fear that without a political settlement the violence could escalate into a repeat of the wider 1998-2003 regional war that devastated Congo.