Iraq in Chaos

It is interesting to watch the chaos in Iraq. The US spends millions to destabilize Syria, and then wonders why the whole area is weaker. When will the US learn that, to quote the old cliché, if you lie down with dogs you rise up with fleas. These fleas bite. My guess is that the US will throw enough air power to help the Shia Iraqi government survive. This will mean that ultimately the US is supplying both sides in this war. Irony thy name is Obama.  

The US is supplying support and Russian weapons to the insurgents. Why would it then be wrong for Russia to support and supply weapons to insurgents in East Ukraine? (Interestingly the insurgents in Ukraine use Russian weapons. This is stated to prove that Russia supports them. Maybe Russia does, but the presence of Russian weapons proves nothing, they are used everywhere because of their durability. This is why the US choose them.) 

Watch this PBS documentary about the training that the Syrian rebels have received from the US. It is also ironic that government, (and viewer!), supports this type of program that you seldom see on TV anymore. 

Putin

I was doing a little reading of science fiction writer Jerry Pournelle's blog. He is writing an article about Putin. He made what I thought was an amazing statement I never heard before. Putin resigned his position in the KGB on Aug 20, 1991. This was in the midst of the attempted coup by the Russian military to replace Gorbachev that occurred August 19-21.

In other words Putin resigned his position at the height of a crisis. If the coup had been a success, it would have gone badly for him. Apparently Putin resigned before it was known if the coup would work.

For those interested here are some links for Putin:

NPR Timeline.
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/putin/biotimeline.html
The wiki article on the attempted coup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d'état_attempt
Putin's life from his PR perspective.
http://eng.putin.kremlin.ru/bio
A different perspective centered around the many deaths in Russia of various political figures and journalists.
http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/putinmurders/

I am not quite sure what to make about the crisis in Ukraine. But as I have said before, no Russian leader is going to allow the Crimea to be a part of a NATO country. This was always not negotiable. I read an op-ed piece that claimed that Putin "blinked" and backed down from invading Ukraine. I can only say that I was one of the rare westerners who actually watched Putin's press conference about the crisis. I even embedded it on the blog. It is dated now. But how can Putin have blinked when he did exactly what he said he would do and not invade Ukraine? It may be a mistake to expect any politician to tell the truth. But everything Putin said in the conference in terms of not invading is still valid today.

This is in stark contrast to the US promise made to Gorbachev that if he allowed the reunification of Germany and dissolved the Warsaw PAC that NATO would not expand.

Oops.

We live in a weird world where Russia becomes more free, and America less so day by day.

First Amendment

It seems to me that the first admendment must be for everyone. 

Interview With Russian Foreign Minister

Sarah Palin, Comedian In Chief

I like Sarah Palin, although I completely understand that "your mileage may vary."  But to understand Palin you have to understand that you should not view her as a politician or even a pundit. She is first and foremost a comedian. And as the famous actor Lionel Barrymore (Drew's grandfather) supposedly said on his death bed, "Dying is easy, but comedy is hard."  

Sarah proves the truth of that observation at an NRA convention. Here is an excerpt:

I kinda (to use one of Sarah's verbal shortcuts) doubt that Sarah did much more than warm the pew at the Assembly of God congregation she attended. If she had actually paid attention, she might have realized how offensive this joke actually is.  

To compare torture to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (for that is what baptism represents) is very offensive. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice, including torture, to allow us entry into his church. No, water-boarding is not a form of baptism. 

Particularly annoying was the obvious relish her comments engendered in the audience. Considering the audience, I would guess that most were church-going kinda folks. Yet they seem to have mentally compartmentalized their politics away from their faith. This bizarre bifurcation is common among us church-going types, as I unfortunately know from past personal experiences. 

The subtitle of this blog is leaving Babylon the Great. You cannot leave the Great Whore if you eat her food, so I blog about health. You cannot leave that evil city if you vote for her politicians, so I blog about politics. You cannot leave Babylon if you watch her television and read her books, so I blog about books and media. We cannot avoid being in the world, as Jesus said, but we can do what Jesus commanded his 12 disciples at the last supper and not be of the world. 

Sorry Sarah, but Barrymore was right, comedy is hard, and you were not funny. Can we leave Babylon the Great if we laugh at her jokes? 

Rev 18: 4-8 from the Message

Get out, my people, as fast as you can,

    so you don’t get mixed up in her sins,

    so you don’t get caught in her doom.

Her sins stink to high Heaven;

    God has remembered every evil she’s done.

Give her back what she’s given,

    double what she’s doubled in her works,

    double the recipe in the cup she mixed;

Bring her flaunting and wild ways

    to torment and tears.

Because she gloated, “I’m queen over all,

    and no widow, never a tear on my face,”

In one day, disasters will crush her—

    death, heartbreak, and famine—

Then she’ll be burned by fire, because God,

    the Strong God who judges her,

    has had enough.