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I don't understand this logic. We still are missing the point. Any decision to use any means against a sovereign nation for any reason is a decision that can only be made by the international community. The United States is one vote. (And we really have to do away with this UN veto nonsense too. No country should have an ability to veto any majority consensus of the international community. That is ridiculous.) A majority vote of the UN is the only authority that has any legitimate business directing the interference with the authority of a sovereign state.
Again, the United States, President, Congress, or any other affiliated branch thereof only account for one vote in the international community. We are usurping the authority of the body of nations that we helped to create to avoid making this type of lethal mistake. We are defeating the purpose of which we once stood for; and, committing the same crimes that we once went to war to fight.
The United States of America is no longer a guiding light of liberty that it arguably may have once been. It has metamorphosed into its own worse enemy; and, on the international scene, has become a loose canon that is fully loaded with a lit fuse. This country has become the greatest threat to world peace, human rights, individual freedom, and democracy that the world has ever known. Our leaders are liars who have no respect for human life or law.
It is amazing to me how Thom can write a piece examining an attack from the perspective of how Congress is going to vote, and how they will decide given insufficient evidence when the real argument should be why we think we have a right to usurp the authority of the United Nations and the international community. It is through an international investigation and deliberations that any such decision will be acceptable to all. The international community has no "hidden agenda" to allow it to cherry pick the sources of evidence in order to suit its needs. That is why the United Nations was created in the first place, to prevent foolish petty "hidden agendas" from leading nations to foolish petty wars.
The UN is not perfect; however, it is a far better body of authority to rely on to resolve world problems than the world's biggest gun. That is all the United States is, the worlds biggest gun. We do not have any business using that gun without world approval. Doing so, especially against the consensus of the United Nations simply makes us the world's biggest criminal.
If this country continues to defy the international community by misusing its military might than the international community has every right to take our military might away. Make no mistake about it, if we continue down this self destructive path, that is exactly what will inevitably happen.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry now says that in order to remedy the Syria problem, the West would have to have boots on the ground for 30 years, nation building. Our ambassador there is Dr. Mark Brzezinski. Israel might have to go it alone finally. Sorry, Rothschilds.
If the head of Assad's regime is no longer in full control of the body, then punishment in the form of a military strike may convince the head, but it will not control the body. In other words a military strike on a nation's military installations may possibly convince Assad and the top leaders but it will not convince any rogue officers who are determined to make their own decisions. In fact a strike could give some unstable people more resolve to do more killing.
Which brings me to the central question, just what will a military strike accomplish? If you can't say with any certainty that a strike will produce a desired outcome, and you can't guarantee that it won't produce a multitude of really bad outcomes, then the obvious conclusion should be that you look for alternatives that don't involve cruise missiles, bombs and deaths.
It's far more likely that the progressives' deeply depraved Obama Reich is...
2013 Canadian support for waging war on Syria:
a show of appreciation for Obama's support of piping tar sands oil, from north to south, to Texas ports for export
2013 military reluctance to wage war on Syria:
a pork fattened military that for two generations casually used high-tech weaponry to easily asymmetrically mass murder defenseless peasants — just for practice — while losing all its wars against poorly equipped rag-tag people's militias over the past half-century, would naturally be quite reluctant to risk any possibility of a hostile confrontation with a near peer power... the Russian military
generals remembering the meaning of MAD
2013 public opposition to bombing Syria:
Americans angry because the Yes We Can MoveOn Democrats failed to trickle the global market-state's 21st Century resource war profits down to the Middle, like the real Democrats so reliably did back in the old New Deal, Fair Deal, New Frontier, and Great Society glory days of the progressive's American Century... way back then when their empire was rising, not falling
mostly people not happy with having no profits in their pockets from rockets spent on protecting the margins of global corporate energy markets
people pissed about the decline in the percentage of their share of the aging American Empire's pillage
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The APT: American Political Terms
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Archduke Ferdinand was assinated on Sunday morning June 28th 1914. The reason why Austria started making plans for war is because the assassins failed in their suicide attempts and the plot origins from Serbia was revealed. An overzealous Austrian official Count Berchtold not only used this info to provoke war, he also lied to and mislead allies about his intentions until it was too late to stop the war.
The book, The First World War, by SLA Marshal covers all of the details in the first chapter. Of course there are other books with even more detail, but I would recommend this book for someone who wants solid information without excessive detail.
WWI was about territorial expansion vs retention in almost all major countries. Austria wanted territory from Serbia, France wanted Alsace/Lorraine back, England wanted to ensure its colonial security, and expansion where possible, Russia wanted to keep Serbia under its sphere of influence, Italy wanted territory carved from Austria, Germany... well the treaty signed with Russia shows how Germany was only to happy to take what it could.
Even WWII was about territorial expansion. Syria seems to be about resource control. It may lead to WWIII, but if it does its unique in reasoning. The WW part of it always relates to treaties though. Either existing prior to or made after the start of.
Here's a timely reminder of using "intelligence intercepts" to launch fake wars...
"Powell played an intercept of a conversation between Iraqi army officers about the UN inspections. However, when he translated what they were saying, he knowingly embellished it, turning it from evidence Iraq was complying with U.N. resolutions to evidence Iraq was violating them."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-schwarz/colin-powell-wmd-iraq-war...
Quick answer is no. The real question is can AIPAC make the case for war :P
Regarding the BND intelligence intercepts - I think we are giving these too much credence. I mean, a Hezbollah leader talking to an Iranian is hardly solid proof. Did the BND really pick up this source because it sounds eerily familiar to the so-called intercepts picked up by Israel? Why didn't the Brits intercept this phone call (hilarious, an iPhone conversation about chemical weapons)? Do you remember the infamous intercepts Colin Powell used for his UN bullcrap? They were false. Intelligence community intercepts are a joke without solid evidence.
Here are questions we should be asking, as suggested by a former Congressman...
http://www.sott.net/article/266087-Dennis-Kucinich-Top-10-Unproven-Claim...
And this is what Congressmen think of Kerry's bullcrap...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/congress-members-who-have-seen-classified-e...
Those in power who seek the truth are being forced to the peripheries, the centre is rotten...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrYyuUoaCo&t=10m50s
Real solution: convene a peace conference; take away Assad's chemical weapons; kick out the Islamists and setup a democracy. What is the West currently doing? Arming Al Qaeda and pushing Obama to disarm Assad by force. Now there's a clusterf**k.
The US has the biggest hammer in world history in its hands. Now every problem looks like a nail to be smashed. How about we think outside the box and accelerate refugee exodus to well-kept facilities with food, water, sanitation and schools. It would cost less than war. It would be a more predictable strategy and might answer the question of how long a government can survive without a civilian population and the economy they (usually) support. Political systems would naturally develop in the refugee centers and could be built upon after the people return to Syria subsequent to the Assad regime's collapse. Could this work? Who knows; it's never been tried. Maybe the strongest armed militias wouldn't become the new government by default, Al Queda included.
All they have to do to push people into believing an attack against the Assad regime...or, at least, to win more converts... is for the anti-Assad forces (US, Al Qaida, Britain, Saudi Arabia) to launch another chemical attack in Syria...or anywhere else.
Americans didn't want to get involved in a European war before Pearl Harbor either and they sure weren't interested in attacking the Middle East just so oil companies could put in a pipeline through Afghanistan. It took some spectacular false flags engineered by the ruling elite to get Americans, like lemmings, to follow the tune of the Pied Piper.
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Re: Texas Secession & the Railroad Commision
The Railroad Commission consists of 3 state wide elected Commissioners. It was originally created during the Gilded Age to combat the power of the railroad monopolies but is now widely viewed as corrupt. It operates under the radar and has massive power. It regulates transportation and the oil industry. A good summary can be found at http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/1_9_8.html.
I am a 53 year old Texas native. If we were stupid enough to secede there would be massive flight from the state and the economy would go into a tail-spin. There is not nearly as much oil around as there used to be and we know it.
The gentleman swimming pool contractor from Tarrant county seems to be very impressed by the lack of building code regulation in rural areas as well as the sizeable highway construction in his area. The lack of building codes in rural areas is the bane of unsuspecting home buyers and presents a large cost to cities annexing these areas. He seems to think that a company's reputation is a customer's safeguard against shoddy workmanship, but it is difficult to find a business that has been around very long, and defects in workmanship may take ten or twenty years to show up. I would like to know how long how long his business has been around.
Texas used to have an excellent highway system, but over recent years the "starve the beast" folk have been in charge and have refused to raise the gas tax from 20 cents/gal, the same rate it was in 1991. It is rather hallarious, and sad, that our fiscally responsible Republicans have been very happy to put road building on the credit card to the point that the service on the debt ($800 million in 2011) exceeds the money left for building new roads ($600 million).
Ok! For what it is worth, here it is again for hope and prosperity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WninWFtO0Gg
Good luck to us all!!
Palindromedary ~ I'm not too surprised. It seems as though the powers that be don't really care if there is a tomorrow. Maybe there won't be a tomorrow for the powers that be? Whooda thunk it? LOL!!!
A couple of days ago, Max Keiser was on Breaking the Set with Abby Martin and he said that he believes that the US, within 6 to 12 months, do what Cyprus did and outright steal 20% of everyone's banking accounts. A dire emergency will be announced by Obama ...some economic catastrophe (what, like a WWIII caused by his invasion of Syria, maybe?) that he will say can only be prevented by stealing 20% of our savings. They'll have some stupid name attached to it...like "OPT-in" or something else. The reality will be that the only people that will be able to "opt-out" will be the rich people who, like in Cyprus, get wind of it before everyone else does and pulls their money out of their banks.
Looks like there may be a massive internet attack (on Israel?..the US?) by "Muslim" hackers anonymous called OpIsraelReborn in 3 days...on 9/11/13.
http://cryptome.org/2013/09/opisrael-911.pdf
Palindromedary ~ Of course, my friend. I agree!!
That's a good one! Utah...no, me short. ;-}
Thanx, Flopot! :-}
Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume, however, that since Obama had already warned Assad, many months before, not to step over the "red line" by using chemical weapons that if he really was responsible for that chemical attack then he must have, surely, already dispersed his forces in preparation for an attack from the US? And the delayed attack argument, giving Assad "time to disperse its forces", is just a logical fallacy on the part of those who would have wanted an immediate attack?
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10294641/Syria-Delay-in-action-means-US-strikes-would-be-heavier.html
Yeah! It looks like we are all doomed. By the way, it was nice knowing all of you. A pleasure! See you on the other side!!
Looks like California Sea Lions have had a spike in the number of sick and dying ones since Fukushima.
See this "2013 California Sea Lion Unusual Mortality Event in California" report and look at the graph of the number of "Admits to Rehabilitation"
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/mmume/californiasealions2013.htm
I have friends in California that have said that they have noticed a remarkable decrease in the number of Sea Lions in ports where they had, years past, seen lots of them fighting for spots on piers.
Don't eat the fish!!!
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/3/japan-to-fund-icewalltost...
"Fuked" is literary genius.
Back to the Syrian disaster... I almost feel sorry for President Obama. There is no way he can win. He put his foot into his mouth so far that now it is hopelessly stuck. If he attacks he risks the lives of billions of people in a war between the USA, China, Russia, and Iran. If he does the right thing and backs off waiting for a UN decision he risks upsetting his wealth puppet masters here in the US; and, a potential assassination for disobedience. I hope he is man enough to do this one thing the right way and face the music than compromise the security and future of the planet and all of mankind through cowardice. The clock is ticking and soon we will all know just what kind of man he really is. Keep your fingers crossed folks!
I already miss seafood. I miss oysters, tuna, salmon, bass, sturgeon, halibut, swordfish, octopus, clams, shrimp, crab, and lobster. No, no, no! Not anymore. Now I'm a steak and chicken man. Anyone got any good steak and chicken recipes to share?
Unless, of course, this Syria thing hits the fan. Then we might as well kiss those sources of food goodbye too.
Well, at least we can all still eat each other. Seems I remember that was quite a lot of fun in my younger days. Not very nutritious if memory serves. But very satisfying.
Palindromedary ~ "Fuked?" Thats a "nice" way of putting it. Just when I was really starting to dig sushi, and even considered moving to Maui. You know, here today gone to Maui. Pun intended of course.
Seriously, this IS the issue that our leaders at the G20 summit need to be talking about. Not this important nonsense in Syria. It's like arguing about who should be doing the bailing in a sinking boat.
We're "Fuked" alright! We're "Syria-sly Fuked!" At this rate there won't be anyone left to place or take the blame. There won't be anyone left to bury the bodies. What a carrion feast for the Vultures!
DAnneMarc: And it looks like we are all about to get royally Fukushima-ed ...Fuked for short!
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