Planning For The End Of The World

I have never heard so much about the coming of the end of the world, Armageddon, the Apocalypse, and World War III as I am hearing these days...

The world seems to truly be going mad. 

And that MAD is as in CRAZY and as in Mutually Assured Destruction. 

- 25 years after the end of the Cold War, we are back in a nuclear arms race with Russia!

- Despite being our largest trading and economic partner, we are now going head-to-head confronting China over trade, Taiwan, and the South China Sea! 

- While setting some near-term constraints, we have in effect solidified Iran's getting the nuclear bomb!

- As North Korea continues developing and testing nukes and ballistic missiles, we have no answers for how to deal with them!

Not only have we failed to contain the many threats we face, but also in many or most cases, we have made them worse.

- The Middle East has gone from the promise of an Arab Spring to instead raging in flames and becoming the modern-day killing fields. 

- Even as ISIS becomes more dangerous despite having less territory, they are likely eclipsed by Iran's global terror expansion as a threat to the world order. 

- The refugee crisis has meant that ISIS terrorists have infiltrated our borders and are now living among us ready to strike at will. 

- There is a real documented threat of a terrorist attack using radiological, chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons of mass destruction! 

- The European Union is falling apart and it's future is unknown. 

- Increasing border attacks and escalating tensions are creating a risk of a dangerous Indian-Pakistani War. 

Obama has alienated our allies, reduced our stature among the nations, and destabilized the world. 

- While people are arguing over the state of hopelessness since the election or from before it, either way, there is huge divisiveness in America. 

- Gun ownership is soaring and people are stockpiling ammo. 

- Videos have emerged from people in near-death experiences claiming to have vividly seen the coming World War III and the prelude to the coming of the messiah. 

- There is even widespread recognition by our space experts that we are woefully unprepared for an errant asteroid or comet hitting the Earth. 

Clergy is warning and encouraging us to repent and do good deeds to merit G-d saving us from the coming cataclysm, whatever it ends up being.

I am certainly not a forecaster of doom and gloom, but always try to remain hopeful and encourage everyone to do their best to improve the world.

But I also must reflect on the voices of anger, frustration, and exasperation around the world that are growing ever louder and scarier daily...the latest with Obama's betrayal of Israel at the United Nations Security Council.  

What comes next politically may very well determine whether the end is near or the future gets bright again. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Planning For The End Of The World

{Saving Us From DC Ground Zero}

One well-placed nuclear suitcase bomb or nuclear ballistic missile strike on DC and say goodbye to virtually the entire hub of the Federal government. 

As of 2014, there are over 4.2 million federal employees (2.7M in the civilian agencies and 1.5M in the military). 

Over 500K are located in the DC, MD, VA tristate area. 

But it's not just the numbers, it's that the headquarters of all the major government agencies are located here. 

While, of course, there are backup sites, and emergency doomsday sites like Mount Weather (48 miles from DC), there is no telling how much advance notice, if any we would have, and who would escape and survive a deadly blow to our capital region. 

And it could be a radiological, chemical, biological, or nuclear (RCBN) attack that does us in...whether from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea or other diabolical enemy out there. 

The point is that by concentrating all our federal headquarters and senior leadership and key resources here we are in fact, giving the enemy an easy shot to decapitate the entire country?

While others (like Paul Kupiec in the WSJ) have questioned whether some of the federal agencies can be moved out to other needy cities and communities across the country for economic reasons (to bring jobs and investment) especially those agencies that are actively looking to build new HQS buildings already (e.g. FBI and Department of Labor), to me the far more potent question is one of national security. 

The main advantage of having the crux of the federal government in the DC area is surely one of coordination--the President wants his Cabinet near him and the Cabinet Secretaries want their senior staff near them, and so on and so on. 

So, you get this mass concentration of a who's who of the federal government in and around Washington, DC. 

But what about the advances of technology? 

Surely, through networks and telecommunications and teleworking, we can support a geographically diverse workforce and do no significant harm to our operating as one.

We're talking a very big cultural change here!

It's one thing to have nuclear missiles roaming the seas on attack submarines waiting for orders from Washington, DC and it's quite another to move the actual government intelligentsia and leadership out from the central hub. 

Let's face it, in a real crisis situation, with the chaos and panic and transportation overflow and perhaps simultaneous cyberattacks, no one is really going to be going anywhere--especially in a surprise attack. 

If Pearl Harbor (of which we just celebrated the 75th anniversary) and 9/11 teach us anything is that when the sh*t hits the fan, it hits hard and sticks solid. 

Working in the Metro DC area, selfishly, I'd like to say keep the investment, jobs, and great opportunities here.

For the good of the nation and our survival against true existential threats, we'd be much smarter to spread the federal wealth as far and wide across this great nation that we can. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

{Saving Us From DC Ground Zero}

An Ironic Cabinet Lineup {humorous}

[Please only read this with a sense of political humor.]

Here are some funny ideas for domestic and foreign picks for a fantasy Cabinet team:

Department of Defense - (Oh no) Russian President Vladimir Putin because he knows how to fight and win wherever he wants. 

Department of State - (Oh no) Julian Assange because he has so may of the cables anyway.

Department of Treasury - (Oh no) President Barack Obama because he doubled the national debt to $20 trillion and it's no problem.

Department of Commerce - Chinese President Xi Jinping because he has most of the world's manufacturing and the biggest trade surplus. 

Department of Justice - (Oh no) James Comey (with all due respect) because he could investigate Hillary Clinton and deem her "extremely careless" with national security and yet also do the job of the prosecutors and recommend that "no reasonable" one would bring such a case. 

Department of Education - (What if) Sergey Brin and Larry Page because they made Google the most valuable company in the world by organizing all the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful. 

Department of Labor - (What if) Ken Jennings who was beaten in Jeopardy by IBM's Watson, and understands that artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics will soon be eating people's lunch. 

Department of Homeland Security - (Oh no) Edward Snowden because he already knows all about surveillance--how we conduct it, how to evade it, as well as the vulnerabilities in our security. 

Department of Transportation - (What if) Elon Musk because of his leadership in electronic vehicles here on earth as well as rockets to even get us to Mars. 

Department of Energy - (Oh no) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani because he knows how to get his nukes while ridding his country of sanctions and getting $150 billion to continue global terror

Department of Agriculture - (Oh no) Any of the notorious drug kingpins because they know how to grow it, distribute it, and make lots of money doing it. 

Department of Interior - (Oh no) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because he manages one of the most remote (Isolationist) nations on Earth and does it with virtually complete self-sufficiency. 

Department of Veterans Affairs - (Oh no) Bowe Bergdahl because he was charged with desertion and still managed to get honored in a White House ceremony.

Environmental Protection Agency - (Oh no) Former CEO of BP John Browne because he knows the ramifications of being responsible for one of the worst polluting industrial accidents in history in the Gulf of Mexico.

Housing and Urban Development - (What if) Ivanka Trump because she is an absolute class act and helps run one of the greatest brands in building and managing real estate worldwide. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal via National Geographic)

An Ironic Cabinet Lineup {humorous}

Escalating Iranian Threat To World Peace

Iran is spreading it's caliphate ambitions across the Middle from Iran to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and more. 

As the #1 world sponsor of terrorism and abuser of human rights, there is reason to be concerned and afraid of Iran's intentions and actions. 

The ISIS terror and caliphate may end up paling in comparison to the threat of a dangerous fundamentalist Iran with emerging nukes, ballistic missiles, and a fearsome spreading caliphate of their own. 

Now Iran conveniently claims that radiological material, Iridium, was stolen, and where it ends up exploding no one yet knows, but we can guess the likely targets.

What wonderful plausible deniability for a suitcase WMD bomb horrifically placed and detonated by Iran, themselves. 

As Israel is burning, Aleppo is being flattened, Mosul fighting is raging street by street, and terrorists are plotting ever greater strikes into our heartlands, we are sitting here dumb and dumber. 

Please G-d, he will restore peace to our lands and people.

May He grant our leaders the wisdom to act as necessary, with due speed and agility to defeat our enemies whether ISIS or Iran and not be fooled by agreements not worth the ridiculous paper they are written on. 

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Escalating Iranian Threat To World Peace

Telling The Next Guy

This was one for the books today.

Obama tells Trump that he needs to stand up to Putin (i.e. don't wimp out)!

Uh, who's the guy who has been in office the last 8 years? 

An during those years, our standing and national security has suffered from disengagement and utter weakness at virtually every turn of the globe. 

- We let red lines be violated in Syria and watched our Ambassador murdered in Libya. 

- Russia expanded into Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, and now it's looking to Cuba and Vietnam.

- China has been rapidly militarizing into the South China Sea and expanding it's economic influence in Africa.

- We made the "worst deal in history" in Iran that allows them to eventually go nuclear!

- North Korea continues to expand it's nuclear arsenal and ballistic missile technology. 

- The Philippines told the President to "go to h*ll" and threatens to break from the U.S. militarily. 

- U.S. backed off support for democracy in Egypt after the military coup that overthrew Morsi

- Venezuela expelled our top diplomat and 2 other embassy officials ratcheting up hostilities with the U.S. 

- Cyberattacks have plagued the U.S. and we haven't been able to defend ourselves. 

- ISIS has demonstrated success and our strategy has not made them less dangerous and lethal. 

- After years of mounting terrorism, our leaders still refuse to even say the words, "radical Islam."

I'm not sure why people are so tempted to give advice and preach to others, when they themselves have so many failings. 

I think it's certainly okay to humbly share our experiences and lessons learned if we have any. 

But perhaps when you don't have the best record on something, as they old saying goes, you should refrain from throwing large stones in your very fragile glass houses!

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Telling The Next Guy

Fall Of The Wall - Take 2

I thought this was cool this week when at a local university in Downtown, Washington DC, they did a reenactment of the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

The division between East and West came tumbling down on November 9, 1989 ushering in the end of the Cold War.

The students graffitied the wall with things they disliked like fascism, socialism, high taxes, a PC culture, censorship, and poverty. 

Later, they added Neo-Nazi's, corruption, and more.

By the afternoon, they knocked down the wall in the playful reenactment.

I found it hopeful to think that we can do the same in real life.

With President-elect Trump, perhaps there is the opportunity for new and better relations with Russia. 

Rather than escalating tensions and pointing new more advanced nukes at each other and encroaching ever closer toward confrontation, we can stop the madness. 

Truly reset the mindset of conflict and instead work together and walk it back. 

With respect for each other, there is enough world pie for everyone.

Tear down the wall, and build trust, respect, and peaceful relations again. 

No nonsense peace through strength and cooperation is the sane way forward--the alternative would be disaster!

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Fall Of The Wall - Take 2

Countdown To Nukesville

So I keep reading and hearing about Russia preparations for nuclear confrontation with the West and the overall risk rising greatly:

- Investing in new advanced nuclear weapons, such as stealth nukes that can destroy an area the size of Texas or France

- Adding hundreds of new warheads

- Moving nukes to the European doorstep of Poland and Lithuania

- Flying Russian bombers within 40 miles of California coast

- Pulling out of non-proliferation agreements, including producing new intermediate range nuclear cruise missiles 

- Violating security pacts to destroy plutonium stockpiles

- Skipping the nuclear security summit

- Conducting massive civil defense drills

- Threatening asymmetrical and painful actions against the West, including first strike

- Building new bases in Ukraine, Syria, and now eyeing Cuba and Vietnam

- Building dozens of new underground bunkers

- Entering a new arms race with the U.S. 

Well perhaps this is all just saber-rattling bluster and party-rallying political rhetoric.

The real question is if this is all talk, then why all the costly actions being made?

Self defense experts always say never pull out a weapon unless you seriously intend to use it, so are Russia's intentions to simply counter the West or is it going to go way beyond that. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Countdown To Nukesville

Losing All Political Perspective

So here we go again into our politicians pants to uncover every locker-room lewd remark they have made. 

Yes, it's abhorrent and criminal for our politicians, religious leaders, coaches or anyone for that matter to rape or inappropriately sexually touch someone else against their will. 

The problem is that we are losing all common sense and perspective. 

When we are focusing almost exclusively at this point on getting that next verbal sexual gotcha on a hot mic from people running for office, instead of on what they've actually done (good and bad) in their lives, then we are being lead astray by powerful elites fighting for and to keep the power they most greedily worship.

Words do have meaning, don't get me wrong, especially when we hurt someone with them or when they demonstrate true moral lapses in the person.

But when words are taken out of context, exaggerated, or dug up from decades ago just to sling dirt then we have a powerful political machine that is working to hurt and not help our political process. 

What's even worse is that we are becoming the laughing stock in the world in the process of the mud fest. 

An article yesterday in China mocks the chaotic U.S. political system as a highly flawed "political show."

If we and the media remain gripped in people's political pants here, then the real and potentially catastrophic issues will continue to not be on the table or our lips. 

The effect is that rather than being able to effect positive change at home and in the world, we are heads down in the sand, as for example:

- Russia deploys nuclear-capable missiles on Poland's (and NATO's) doorstep

- ISIS continues it's global reign of terror and remains strong and determined

- War crimes are being committed and "red lines" crossed daily in Syria

- Iran and North Korea continue their nuclear hated-filled march on the U.S. and western allies

- Bioterrorism is an increasingly dangerous threat as agents are "relatively inexpensive, easy to produce, conceal and transport" 

- Cyberwarfare is now being considered an existential threat, even as our democratic elections themselves are under attack by the latests hacks from Guccifer 2.0 and DC Leaks. 

- Our national debt has increased $9 trillion (almost doubled) in the last 8 years and is threatening key pillars of our social entitlement system, including social security and medicare. 

- The global economy is on the rocks as the impact from easy credit sputters and future growth is stunted.

As these and other risks increase to the U.S., our leadership remains in a narcissistic fugue with their desire for power and sham legacies, and politics have become grotesquely about killing off the opposition by actual death or by a thousand cuts of verbal mutilation.  

Sex sells and has us mesmerized, but we are missing out on all the real world drama, danger, and any meaningful dialogue. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Losing All Political Perspective

Are We Leading The World To The Brink

Thanks to some of the worst leadership in generations, we are bringing the world to the brink of disaster.

• Russia is raining bombs on Syria, massing on the border of Ukraine, threatening the Balkans, and holding massive nuclear drills, while talks break off with the U.S. 

• China is militarizing in the South China Sea, creating anti-access/area denial (A2/AD), and threatening freedom of navigation and armed conflict.

• Iran continues to swarm U.S. ships, take U.S. hostages, tightens their grip over the Middle East, sponsors terrorism as #1 in the world, builds more reactors and advances their nuclear strategy and threats to the West.

• North Korea is building and testing bigger nukes, firing multiple medium-range missiles as well as long-range ballistic missiles, including from submarines, and threatens nuclear strikes on South Korea and the U.S. 

In 1991, at the end of the Cold War and with nuclear disarmament initiatives underway, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists rated us at 17 minutes to midnight (the best it's ever been) on the famous Doomsday Clock that represents the countdown to global disaster. 

However by 2007, right before this administration, with far greater concerns of a nuclear terrorist attack, we were down to just 5 minutes to midnight.

And now in 2016, we are at a mere 3 minutes to midnight, and "the probability of global catastrophe is very high," as "world leaders had failed to act!"

Moreover, with the current slate of candidates for Presidency both receiving negative ratings of about 60% from registered voters, there is obviously great consternation by the people of the U.S. as well as the rest of the world on the direction we are going in or lack thereof. 

Again today, flailing on the leadership front in Syria, almost 6 years into the war there, we are again "considering tougher options" after the "red lines" were eviscerated, plan B never went anywhere, and we acknowledged that "we have no good options" there, while Russia is bringing in the big guns!

In dangerous world situations, the wrong action by leadership can spark an escalation and lead to negative consequences, but no action, displaying uncertainty and weakness, or attempting a losing appeasement strategy can lead to an even more emboldened enemy and then the Doomsday Clock can strike midnight and we can all pretty much just say one last goodnight. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Are We Leading The World To The Brink

U.S. Shuts Eyes To Syria and Ukraine

While we are willing to take in some refugees (true to "our values"), we are not willing to enforce "red lines" and stop the killing in Syria's almost 6-year murderous civil war. 

Incredibly, there are 500,000 killed (including 50,000 children) and another 2,000,000 wounded in the fighting already

Also, there are 6,000,000 internally displaced and another 4,800,000 refugees outside Syria causing a humanitarian crisis and destabilizing the region. 

Dictator Bashar Al Assad and most importantly, Russia seem unstoppable. 

Russia does not play by the West's rules--they make the rules!

While we threaten to cut off diplomatic talks, Russia continues the heaviest bombing of the war with 1,900 bombs on Aleppo in the last week alone.

The UN cries foul with empty threats of war crimes on the atrocities being committed, but again no one is willing to stop Russia.

Moreover, Russia brings in yet more advanced weaponry and warns the U.S. not to try to stop them in Syria (sound familiar to the 2014 blitzkrieg in Crimea/Ukraine?). 

Again, we are unwilling to stop the bombardment of almost 300,000 civilians in Aleppo with aid convoys, hospitals, schools, and bakeries all grotesquely now being fair game.

Last week, I watched 60 Minutes on CBS about our nuclear bomber fleet, and the rising threat of nuclear war with Russia.

What was particularly scary is that U.S. military strategists are now concerned that the U.S. is "sociologically weaker" than our opponents.

In particular, they worry that as Russia continues to threaten first use of nukes to meet their strategic aims with "an evolved willingness to employ nuclear weapons in the course of a conflict," they are counting on the U.S. to back down from any engagement or retaliation, because we would be so afraid of escalating with Russia, let alone using first. 

In other words, Russia does not consider the U.S. nuclear deterrent to be credible anymore--we are viewed as chicken and pushovers and Russia could simply "shock the Western powers into de-escalating."

First Ukraine and now Syria, what country is safe from the "Great Bear"--will the Balkans be next or perhaps somewhere even more deadly to a broken NATO and a farce of a UN. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

U.S. Shuts Eyes To Syria and Ukraine

Shooting Blanks

Like this joke gun, this unfortunately is our national standing as a paper tiger in the new world order.

Just this last week...

1) China: "To diminish the US," our President is forced to disembark from the underbelly of Air Force One, because they wouldn't give him mobile stairs, let alone a red carpet welcome, while they continue the illegal buildout in the South China Sea threatening freedom of navigation of the seas. 

2) Russia: Russia stares down our President and ignores 17 U.S. overtures to end the more than 5-year civil war in Syria that has cost over 400,000 lives, made 5 million refugees, and over 8 million more displaced, and let's not even talk about Ukraine. 

3) Iran:  For the second time in as many weeks, Iran has sent numerous speedboats to harass U.S. Navy ships in international waters in the Persian Gulf, and this after it was just disclosed that we sent 2 more plane loads of cash to Iran--3 in total for $1.7 billion to "leverage" another hostage release by Iran--and after we chased them on a deal to remove sanctions on their dangerous nuclear WMD development. 

4) North Korea: 3 more midrange ballistic missiles were fired from North Korea toward the Sea of Japan in a continuing escalation of hostilities there on top of prior long-range and submarine-based missile launches further threatening the U.S. 

5) Laos: Even in the traditionally friendly country of Laos, the President is snubbed by terrible name-calling and insults and is forced to cancel his meeting with their leader. 

6) Trade pacts:   Whether your looking east or west, both the Transatlantic Trade Deal (TTIP) and the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) are dead, while Brexit is a fait accompli, the setback to the world economy, trust, and collaboration is tangible. 

7) Terrorism: The "U.N. warns of growing Islamic terrorist threats" as more than 500 have been murdered in the last 6 months alone from Belgium to the U.S., and the threat growing from a more decentralized worldwide terrorist apparatus, as well as the potential employment of weapons of mass destruction. 

Whether with regards to other world powers or global alliances, our standing in world affairs in troubling at best and seriously threatened at worst.  

As long as we are shooting blanks of blue stardust, we will continue to lose credibility, respect, and the ability to effect positive change and influence in an increasingly dangerous world. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Shooting Blanks

How's Things Looking 4 Months Before The Election

Let's see how are we doing in the last 4 days just 4 months shy of the next election for President of the United States Of America:

- Thursday night...another major terrorist attack in Nice, France left 84 dead and 204 wounded. Terrorism is now so deadly and commonplace that graphic on Facebook shows 4-step cycle of terror attack, pray for x, put up flag profile on Facebook to show unity, and return to state of stupor and await next ISIS rampage. 

- Friday night...another major Arab country in turmoil with a unforeseen coup attempt in Turkey leaving 290 dead and another 1,400 wounded and now 6,000 arrested in a "purge." Arab Spring has turned into one ongoing murderous chaos in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia with Syria and Libya still in civil war, Iraq and Afghanistan fending off ISIS in it's cities and the annual Taliban Summer offensive respectively, and a succession of coups in Egypt 2013 and Yemen 2015. 

- Sunday morning...another breakdown of law and order with 3 more murdered police officers in Baton Rouge, LA following up on 5 cops shot dead a little more than a week prior in Dallas, TX. Friday was supposed to be a Day of Rage across major cities in the U.S. with warnings for people to stay away and seek safety in what's being seen as a significantly worsening racial divide in a country that has until recent history prided itself on being a successful "melting pot" and driven to equality. 

As anyone who follows the news knows, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and despite vigorous attempts by some to put rose-colored glasses on everything and try to create a forced-air of stability and calm...the truth of the disharmony and discord is loud and getting louder. 

From Brexit to Zika to millions of refugees running for the exits, from Bill Clinton meeting with the Attorney General right before Hillary's non-indictment, from our exploding national debt and to long foretold bankruptcy of the triad of our social entitlement system, from Russian and Chinese militaristic resurgence in Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and the South China Sea, respectively, from Iranian and North Korean nuke-capable missile launches, things are getting quite out of control and just 4 months from the election...and the truth is making it to the surface despite all attempts to silence Freedom. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

How's Things Looking 4 Months Before The Election

Held Hostage To Hate

So isn't it bad enough that the radical Iranian regime is the #1 state sponsor of global terrorism and human rights abuses, and threatens the West with nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and genocidal actions.

Iran continues to spread disgusting hatred and bigotry--against the West, and journalists, and gays, and Sunni Muslims, and Jews. 

Now Iran is conducting 2 vile and despicable anti-Semitic cartoon contests: 
- Making fun of, desecrating, and denying the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and
- Threatening and terrorizing the people of the Holy Land of Israel. 

Yet, this is the Iran we lift sanctions on and free $100+ billion to pour into yet more hate, weapons, and terror. 

The results of tolerating disrespect, hate and bigotry is no doubt more of the horrible same. 

What then will be the result of acquiescing to and attempting to appease threats, terror, and weapons of mass destruction?  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Held Hostage To Hate

Silence Or Violence

So when it comes to "Crucial Conversations," they unfortunately frequently end in silence or violence.

When the "stakes are moderate to high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong" that's when communication really seems to break down, rather than achieve their goals of working things out. 

Like when our lives are in danger and we have the adrenalin rush reactions to fight or flight, similarly with potentially "dangerous" communications, people become aggressive and abusive or shutdown and withdraw. 

When your afraid of a negative outcome, either you start hammering others with your ideas and opinions or you exit the conversation and seek safety. 

Either way, at this point, there's no real common ground, negotiation, compromise, or win-win to be easily had...in this pressure cooker poor excuse of a dialogue, it can basically become a tragic win-lose situation.

Perhaps, that's why there are mediators and neutral third parties that are often brought in to make people feel (relatively) safe again, help them be understood and to understand, and to find a negotiated peace or settlement. 

And what happens when even this doesn't work and communication and diplomacy fails?

Well that's when people and countries bring out the big guns and they essentially go to war to win what they hoped to achieve with dialogue. 

Now words are no longer the only choice, but all options are on the table, and that's when benign words can quickly turn into more drastic or deadly deeds (aka the children reframe of "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never harm me."

And there is always the thermonuclear option--people supported it with Japan in WWII and they say they would support it with a Tehran that violates the very generous nuclear deal they received.

Words are a prelude to a possible peace or an unwanted war. 

They can be the last chance to work things out the way we hope for.

And if words alone can't resolve the issue, then blood and treasure is spent and spilt to resolve the otherwise unresolvable. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Silence Or Violence

Fooling The Media And The American People

So finally the truth got spilled about the true rationale for the Iran deal that lifted critical nuke weapon sanctions on the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and human rights abuses.  

The advisor to the President has admitted to essentially lying and manipulating the media to seal the deal. 

The narrative of a Nuke deal with a "moderate" Iranian President Rouhani at the expense of hardliners was "deliberately misleading."

"Mr. Rhodes brags about keeping Mr. Obama's long-standing plan to elevate Iran over allies such as Israel and the Gulf States hidden from the public by manipulating liberal journalists and think tank analysts."

So what was once touted as a "good day" for America is now quite malevolent and disheartening, indeed. 

Moreover, rather than a "new political reality" with Iran, we have ongoing and increasingly hostile Iranian actions against the U.S., leading to the House Intelligence Committee opening an investigation into how Congress and the American public were misled by the administration on Iran. 

What happened to the promised transparency and truth espoused for the American people? What of Abraham Lincoln's sacred and compelling vision of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Now instead of earnest dialogue, we get a blowharded "retail[ing]" of a predefined manipulated narrative--a "far-reaching spin campaign"--for the simple media "echo chamber" and hungry public consumption.

Iran has won a big round at the expense of Democracy and as we now know our National Security. 

Maybe the worst part is that no one even seems to care, because we're now in a new election cycle for the next President (and possibly chief manipulator). ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Fooling The Media And The American People

Have A Nice Doomsday

This was a photo of a photo I took at Washington Artworks this past weekend.

An anti-nuke demonstration outside the White House with signs that say:

"Live by the bomb, die by the bomb."

and 

"Ban all nuclear weapons or have a nice doomsday."

This was particularly interesting juxtaposed to the editorial in the Wall Street Journal yesterday by the UAE Ambassador to the U.S. who reflected on "one year after the Iran nuclear deal" and outright stated:

"Don't be fooled. The Iran--we have long known--hostile, expansionist, violent--is alive and well."

And he goes on to cite the multiple ballistic missile tests by Iran (October, November, and March), the firing of rockets by Iran dangerously close to a U.S. aircraft carrier (December), the detaining of US Navy sailors on their knees broadcast to the world (January), an $8 billion purchase by Iran of Russian fighter jets, planes, and helicopters (February), and the seizure of shipments by Iran of large weapons caches supporting terrorism around the world (February, March, and April) including just yesterday when the U.S. seized thousands of AK-47s and RPGs headed for Yemen. 

The editorial ends...

"Our hope for a new Iran should not cloud the reality that the old Iran is very much still with us--as dangerous and as disruptive as ever,"

Let's pray that our earnest yearnings for peace with Iran (and North Korea for that matter) does not end in the polar opposite...a "nice" nuke doomsday scenario by the leading state sponsor(s) of terrorism worldwide. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy from Washington Artworks)

Have A Nice Doomsday

When They Say They Want To Kill You, Do You Think They Might Mean It?

We tried out a new large conservative synagogue in Rockville today. 

And they had an interesting speech this Shabbat by scholar in residence, Tal Becker.

He spoke about how as a Jewish people traumatized post Holocaust, we tend to view threats to us as existential or the possibility of them escalating to that. 

And of course, many of the threats out there are or could be--like the Iranian Ballistic Nukes or terrorism combined with WMD!

But in terms of overall Jewish security, normalcy, and exceptionalism--with two thriving Jewish communities in Israel and in America--we are probably doing better than at any time in recent history. 

It's a paradox, he mentioned, that in America, the Jews are a minority but amidst all the freedom, they may at times feel like a majority, while in Israel, the Jews are a majority, but amidst the dangerous neighborhood they live in, they can feel like a minority. 

Unfortunately, there is still quite a lot of hatred and anti-Semitism out there whether in America or the Middle East. 

Just this week, we saw numerous terror attacks in Israel and Turkey that left several Israelis dead or wounded again. And in America, not only did we have Palestinian protests on college campuses painting Jews as the occupiers and Apartheidists (rather than as the victims of daily Palestinians terror and intransigence toward a two-state solution living side-by-side with Israel in peace), but also Microsoft having to take down their AI Bot after users taught it to spew anti-Semitic remarks like "Jews deserve death" and holocaust-denial posts in social media.

So as wonderful as it is to be Jewish, there is typically not a day that goes by when we are not somehow reminded of those that reject us, hate us, and may want to kill Jews. 

The truth is that Jews (as Mark Twain pointed out)--despite having a pretty large and impressive footprint--are a very small minority of the people out there, and they have endured unbelievably difficult times from slavery to the destruction of the temple and exile (twice), forced conversions, tortured inquisitions, expulsions, pogroms, and genocide...so it is hard not to be a little touchy about people saying or implying that they  don't like you and want to kill you...someone may take that as an existential threat and it wouldn't even have to be a bad day at that. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

When They Say They Want To Kill You, Do You Think They Might Mean It?

X Marks The Spot

So what is this with the big orange X on the street in downtown Washington, D.C.

Is this the site for something really big and grand going up here--maybe the next big monument or tower (hehe)? 

Hopefully, (G-d forbid) not the next ground zero for the Iranians who have once again tested their long-range missiles in violation of UN resolutions and have called us their "main enemy."

Can anyone out there really understand why we've abandoned a decades long relationship with Sunni-Saudi Arabia (and related other friendly Sunni states in the Persian gulf) and instead replaced it with a deal with Shia-Iran that hates the U.S. and is hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons of mass destruction and the ballistic missiles to deliver them?

Since an estimated 87-90% of the Muslim world is Sunni, renouncing the relationship with Saudi Arabia--and by extension the 1.5 billion Sunni Muslims (of a total 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide)--seems like a very risky proposition.

Indeed, 1) going into Iraq and overthrowing Saddam Husseim and liberating the 70% of the Iraqis that are Shia, then 2) lifting sanctions and aligning ourselves with Iran, the largest Shia country, and 3) now allowing Iran and Hezbollah to go into Syria to support the Alawite-Assad regime (the predominant Shia group) presumably has us taking sides in the Sunni-Shia Muslim worlds. 

However, why in the world would we choose those that explicitly hate us, support and conduct terror, and vow to destroy the U.S. over those like the Saudis that have in some ways worked with us in the past (even if we don't need their oil as much now)?

Just a hypothetical, but perhaps could we be strengthening the smaller, thereby weaker Shiites as a counterbalance to an otherwise overwhelming Sunni majority Muslim world and a potentially dangerous and developing radicalized powerful ISIS state.

And if this is our strategy, at what risk are we playing this hand with a dedicated Iranian foe that has it's own schemes for hegemony with a powerful Caliphate and the nuclear weapons to match. ;-)

(Source Photo: Danielle Blumenthal)

X Marks The Spot

Terrified Of Terrorism

Sure there are terrorism scares that are just hoaxes, and generally-speaking, we feel quite protected by our nation's values, wealth, and entrepreneurial spirit, by Homeland Security, and by being surrounded with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and our friendly neighbors Mexico and Canada. 

So we can be very assured--no fear, right?  That's what we need and want to function normally in every day life.

But perhaps behind the veil of daily bravado is a not-so subtle fear about something really bad happening again--whether a 9/11 or a San Bernardino or a Boston Bombing or anything in between or even possibly more extreme, including attacks on our critical infrastructure (via kinetic means, cyber attacks, or EMP weapons) or even attacks with WMD (from anthrax to nukes in suitcases)--there is certainly plenty of attack vectors, means, and bad actors. 

It was interesting-scary, the other day, there was a video circulating on Facebook of a "radical Muslim"-like character with a turban or something distinctive (I can't really remember) and carrying a backpack. In scene after scene, the character goes up to innocent bystanders and throws his backpack in their direction. The people didn't know him or what was in the backpack or why he was throwing it in their direction. Yet, over and over again, the people jumped up hysterically in fear running for cover like there was very possibly no tomorrow. 

Similarly, we watch on the news almost daily of terrorist attacks around the world--school attacks, beach attacks, restaurants and cafe attacks, theater attacks, grocery store attacks, house of worship attacks, funeral attacks, ambulance attacks...and there literally is no end to this list of what and who is considered a legitimate target by terrorists--we all are.

In the last couple of weeks, there was surveillance captured of Muslim women visiting a number of synagogues in Miami around the same time and asking questions suspiciously--could they have been staking these out for possible future attack, similar to the attack on a Jerusalem synagogue with butcher knives, axes, and guns that massacred people praying and in devotion to their maker?

In the last half a year, we have seen terrorism morph in Israel from volleys of missiles indiscriminately shot at cities, tunnels to attack and abduct, and suicide/homicide bombings to become up close and personal butcher knife attacks in the throat, chest, and back of victims old, young, man, women. Everyone who is available to kill is being called to martyrdom, even the most little children being indoctrinated to slash and thrust a knife into any unsuspecting victim. 

So as we listen and watch the goings-on in the world and we say to ourselves those attacks happen in Paris and London and Turkey and Ukraine and Libya and Tunisia and Nigeria and Yemen and Lebanon and Syria and Iraq and Kuwait and Pakistan and Afghanistan and India and Indonesia and and and...but not [so much] over here. 

We say it, and we hope it, and we pray it, but in the back of our minds we instinctively fear otherwise. 

So while panic is certainly not helpful, perhaps phony bravado is not what is really needed either, but rather a renewed focus, investment, and commitment to our security--with more gates, guns, guards, intelligence, and advances in technology to stop the next attack(s). ;-)

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Irina Slutsky)

Terrified Of Terrorism

Iran Man

Today, Iran warns a U.S. Navy ship and fighter jet to stay away from military exercises they were conducting.

And what did we, the Superpower, do? 

We hightailed it out of there. 

Yet, presumably we were in international waters this time, so it's curious why the U.S. military would take it's orders from Iran if we were legitimately there. 

This is just...

- A little more than 2 weeks after Iran seized 2 U.S. Navy ships and 10 sailors and put them execution style on their knees and broadcast this to world.

- And less than a month after Iran fired missiles within 1.3 km of the U.S. aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman.

Wonder why did Iran warn us this time and not last month with the aircraft carrier--should we be "thankful" again to them, this time for warning us.

- And just less than 2 weeks ago, Iraq-based Shiite terror militias (alleged proxies for Iran) abducted 3 more Americans (almost simultaneously with their prisoner swap with us--refilling their human cache).  

- All this, plus the 2 ballistic missile tests (those capable of carrying nukes) that Iran conducted in October and again in December in violation of U.N. resolutions, and what do we have? 

A new "Iran Man" (not Iron Man) in town--with over $100+ billion to spend on global terrorism while chanting "Death To America"--and he most certainly isn't a superhero. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Iran Man