War & Peace

Who is Ben Rhodes?

"He is credited with convincing the president to embrace the Arab Spring, convincing the president to bomb Libya, and, now, convincing the president to start yet another war, this time against Syria. How did a 24-year old aspiring fiction-writer in 2002 suddenly become one of the drafters of not only the 9/11 Commission report but also the Iraq Study Group Report? Then move on to Obama's presidential campaign as a speechwriter and then to Deputy National Security Advisor, from which he announced the beginning of a US war on Syria while the president met with supporters in the East Room of the White House?" Continue reading →

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U.S. to meet with Taliban ‘within days’

"The United States on Tuesday welcomed the Taliban’s decision to open an office in Qatar and senior US officials said they hoped to meet with their Afghan foes within days. The Taliban opened a political office in Doha on Tuesday, planning to hold talks with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai’s government on ending the conflict that erupted when the Islamist group was ousted from power in 2001 by US troops sent in after the September 11 terror attacks. Confirming that the United States will also use the office to communicate with the guerrillas, who are still battling US-led NATO and Afghan troops on the ground, the official said the road ahead would be difficult." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to meet with Taliban ‘within days’

Bill Ayers: Obama should be put on trial for war crimes

"Radical anti-war revolutionary turned education advocate Bill Ayers said Tuesday he believed President Barack Obama should be charged with war crimes. Ayers, who co-founded the far left revolutionary Weather Underground group, told Tom Bevan and Charlie Stone of Real Clear Politics that Obama’s use of targeted drone strikes was 'absolutely' a form of terrorism. 'Every president in this century should be put on trial for war crimes,' he said. 'Absolutely. Every one of them goes into an office dripping with blood and then adds to it. And yes, I think these are war crimes. I think they’re acts of terror.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Ayers: Obama should be put on trial for war crimes

Canada’s Harper gives up on Russia assisting Syrian rebels, labels G8 summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

"At least one official at the G-8, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, suggested that Russia shouldn’t even be at the table with other world leaders. He blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin and all but dismissed Russia from meaningful involvement in this week’s talks. The G-8 includes the U.S., Canada, Russia. Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. The group is holding its annual meeting this week at a resort in Northern Ireland, with the Syrian civil war expected to dominate the agenda. The recent U.S. decision to arm Syrian rebel forces has been met with approval from Great Britain, France and other nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanada’s Harper gives up on Russia assisting Syrian rebels, labels G8 summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

Name That Black Swan

"You might argue that a black swan event could occur at any time. That's true. But our current fiscal, monetary, and economic circumstances are so tenuous that the possibility of a black swan event hitting our economy is greater than usual. Indeed, the number of anomalous events that could take place is large enough that collectively they represent a high probability. And since we all live and work within an economic system and use money every day, the impact to us as individuals could be severe. So the question is this: what data are available now that show where we are most vulnerable to experiencing a black swan event?" Continue reading →

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Diary of WWII German teenager reveals young lives untroubled by Nazi Holocaust in wartime Berlin

"The 15-year-old Berlin schoolgirl, nicknamed 'Gitti', started keeping a diary in December 1942, when the German capital was being bombed nightly and the Nazi Holocaust was killing thousands. As a trainee secretary, she recorded her daily experiences to improve her stenography skills. Now, some 70 years on, her diary has been published for the first time in Germany and is being hailed as remarkable documentary evidence of how millions of Germans relied on collective indifference to endure the horrors of war and ignore the brutality of the Nazi rule." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiary of WWII German teenager reveals young lives untroubled by Nazi Holocaust in wartime Berlin

Putin questions why Western powers support Syrian rebels who ‘eat human organs’

"Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West against arming Syrian rebels on Sunday. In his first public comments since a decision by President Barack Obama’s administration to arm rebels trying to overthrow Assad, Putin said Russia wanted to create the conditions for settling the two-year conflict. 'I think you will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines, in front of the public and cameras,' Putin said at a joint news conference in London. 'Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin questions why Western powers support Syrian rebels who ‘eat human organs’

Egypt’s Islamist president cuts diplomatic ties with Syria, urges no-fly zone

"Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi, in severing ties with Damascus, aims to show solidarity with Western and fellow Arab states opposed to Syria’s regime and also boost his under-fire image at home, analysts said. Morsi, an Islamist from the Muslim Brotherhood, told supporters in a Cairo stadium for a 'Support for Syria' rally on Saturday that he was going to 'definitively' cut diplomatic relations with Syria. The Syrian government on Sunday slammed the decision, accusing Morsi of announcing the cut in ties to deflect attention from domestic crises. Morsi called on the international community to impose a 'no-fly zone' over Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt’s Islamist president cuts diplomatic ties with Syria, urges no-fly zone

Jordan wargames: Patriot batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US troops near Syrian border

"Multinational military exercise 'Eager Lion' has been launched in Jordan amid condemnation from neighboring Syria and its ally Russia. The US brings Patriot missile batteries to the Syrian border, which could remain deployed afterwards. The exercises will last for 12 days, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, mostly Arabic, but also including the US and Europe. The maneuvers will also involve some 3,000 Jordanian and 500 British troops. The US military revealed it may indefinitely leave behind the Patriot batteries and F-16s deployed in Jordan due to the threat of the violence in Syria crossing into Jordanian territory." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJordan wargames: Patriot batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US troops near Syrian border

Iran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria

"America has plunged into the great Sunni-Shia conflict of the Islamic Middle East, entering a struggle that now dwarfs the Arab revolutions which overthrew dictatorships across the region. For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East. A military decision has been taken in Iran to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria