Sunday, June 28, 2009

Some research on Kenya-Somalia crisis

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


Saturday, June 13, 2009

Iranian Election Revolt

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.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

To those who fear "truth" - Easter

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?"

Friday, February 20, 2009

Latvian Government - Falls apart

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


Saturday, February 14, 2009

Obama still allowing War on Terror in Pakistan

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.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Keep Gitmo Open - Video

Israel alone with Obama Administration?

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.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

President gives credit for free elections in Iraq to UN

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."

Monday, January 19, 2009

Zimbabwe power sharing talks resume

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

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
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.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Another terror attack predicted

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.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

#TCOT open thread for 24 Season Premier


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?

Thursday, January 08, 2009

View from Gaza Christian on War

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

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

An Israeli Soldier's mom on gaza

It's not all what the liberal media is saying
A Soldier\

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:
 blog it

Sunday, January 04, 2009

NW Indiana Blogger Meeting This week

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)