Middle East Thoughts (graphic image included) plus other notes

Its 2:11 pm


   Enjoying the summer heat as it once again hits the low to mid 90s in SE Michigan. Sort of muggy outside but still no rain as of yet. I'll be heading out to water the plants as it sort of cools off later tonight.
 Work is going well....we got the new chair and table this week but to our dismay the table has a crack in it so we have to get a new one via a exchange.


Been keeping my eye on the Turkey-Syria situation which hit a new high as Syrian forces shot down a Turkish Phantom II fighter that was on a normal recon mission at their borders. While Syria is trying to claim it didn't know it was a Turkish plane they were shooting it,the claim they thought it was a Israeli Air Force plane is laughable.




  For one thing,the Israelis no longer use the Phantom as a first line fighter,they fly only F-15s and 16s now.
The only older model jet they still use,the A-4 Skyhawk is only used as trainer. Second,if that had actually been a Israeli pilot,no way would he have been caught off guard by a Syrian radar sight. He might have given them a 10 second warning to quit lighting him up before he would have destroyed the site.

    But Syria is a strange place these days. The so called "civil war" is not nearly as one sided as you may have been led to believe. The Assad government is only doing some of that killing that the Western press/UN  monitors now has the world up in arms about. Fact is,the so called rebel movement is deadly farce,the "Free Syria Army" is being bankrolled by the US. Both sides are just as bloodthirsty as the other. And thanks to various sites,videos are now being posted showing just how evil the so called rebels REALLY are. Between the fake shootings,posting videos of Mexican drug cartel violence and claiming its the Assad regime killing more "innocents" to down right murdering fellow Syrians then filming themselves as martyrs and carrying the dead person to try and get "help". Basically,its poorly made propaganda 101.






Its also the reason why Russia and China are starting to back Assad with more aid,including new helicopters and other equipment. The US and our allies have made a grave mistake in thinking that if they help these Arab countries overthrow their old governments that they'll embrace democracy. That shit ain't going to happen. It didn't happen when we helped Libya w/Mommar,Iraq /Saddam,Iran with Khomeni and Egypt with Mubarak. All this meddling has done is trade one asshole for another. Sudan is now 2 countries,is there now peace? Nope. Libya....peace? Nope and in fact there is now ethnic cleaning taking place there (but not being reported by the US media or commented on by politicians who banged the war drums so loudly)
  How is Iraq doing these days? They just experienced a massive wave of bombings that killed dozens and wounded countless more. Soon our forces will be gone and the same violence we are seeing in Syria will happen there.
 Egypt.....the lion's share of the press coverage for their uprising....yeah,right. Between a US journalist being sexually assaulted,a huge mob of men attacking a group of women who merely want their voices heard just as the men are to the army taking control and making rumblings about the Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.




Many said that this treaty wouldn't last but it has done so despite leadership changes in both countries. But by turning a blind eye to Mubarak's slow decline into becoming another Shah of Iran,the US has lost any and all trust they could have had with the new regime




Increasingly we are starting to see little flare ups more and more as the Middle East is becoming more unstable and with Europe in a mess and our attention is focused on our own election,its just not surprising to see a incident like the shooting down of the Turkish Phantom. (and the loss of its aircrew).
  This region is never easy but with the withdrawal of our forces in Iraq plus the need to re-arm and re-equip our armed forces and the continuing mess in the EU means a spark like this could set off a most dangerous problem. You got to hand it to Turkey for not flying off the handle and counterattacking the Syrian missile battery or issuing a "shoot on site" on any Syrian aircraft. The loss of the plane isn't going to imperil Turkey's good air force,the loss of the two men flying it....that is a different matter....and actually finding out if it really was a  regular army unit that fired upon the Turkish plane or was it a Sunni-led"Free Syria Army" attack designed to draw Turkey into the conflict..



Time will tell and we can only hope that cooler heads will prevail between Syria and Turkey.


  Sometimes I just get damned lucky....I get a email from one of my real personal heroes,Lacye Presley,who said her aunt was writing a book about breast cancer and how do caretakers handle the illness. She asked me if I could get in touch with her aunt and I said "Yes". Out of the blue I suddenly asked her if I could interview her! She very kindly said yes and this week,I got to "chat" with her on a number of topics as well as sending her a lot more questions. This is getting pretty exciting....Lacye Presley,hot designer Evon Cassier,once I get my interviews back and written,by posting them here,I sure hope I can get at least 12 followers on here *LOL*. Been trying to rack my brain on how I can get more traffic here and it is all about getting people to like the content. My favorite teapublican in disguise,Renee,said she really thought adding the photos was a nice touch. (I have a feeling she might be a little upset with me on this blog).Of course hearing/seeing anything in the comment box would be great...

  Monday is Lori's next check-up....please keep us in your prayers. Just want everything to stay the course,feel like we are starting to get a little head of steam going here....going to build the bird feeder this week as well as paint the deck. Next up is replacing our crappy kitchen sink and painting the bathroom!
That is all I got for now.....

enjoy the weather!

Thoughts on Subway,Syria and other stuff.

Its 3:01 pm

   Another nice day here in our slice of the world. It IS getting a little nippy and we might get some snow on Friday. According to local weather guru Chris Edwards,at this point in time year,we had 54 days with at least a inch or more of snow on the ground compared to just 14 this winter.  As of today last year,we were sitting here with a foot of snow on our yards. But nothing like that this year...
   We have discovered the one food that Lori can handle without risking a stomach issue. Tuna fish. That is right,tuna fish sandwiches. We don't know why but for some reason as long as its not crushed with fresh veggies and is on white bread,she can eat this with no problem. She likes Jimmy Johns and Subway so that is what we get at least once a week. Her stomach is getting better each day and she can eat just a little more variety as well but still no dairy or coffee as of yet.
  Being that we live in the burbs,we can drive a mile or so in any direction and get a fast food joint. We don't but its nice that we have a excellent Subway about a 1 11/2 miles away by our church. As some may know,a lot of Subways are privately owned and run by their owners or a group. The one we go to is such a shop.
In the four years I have been going to this place,it is without a doubt,the most professionally run fast food place I have ever been in. Now think about that...a fast food place is staffed by youngsters or college students,it has a high turnover rate and lets face it,a lot of these places are filthy! (Hello Burger King!).
 But this shop,located in Canton on the corner of Lilley and Cherry Hill Road,is clean as a whistle despite being very busy. The staff is ALWAYS cheerful,polite and professional...no matter who is working or when.
The reason is the owner,a very nice guy named Ed Barton. He will take a few minutes and talk to a customer and make sure they are getting everything they need. I can't tell you how many times I have heard a guest comment how they like his store the most and yes,that includes us.
  Its just a very pleasant experience to go to a fast food shop and get 4 star restaurant service or to see the loyalty and respect his staff shows him even when he is not there. They know they have a great reputation and they work very hard to keep it.
 
  Been following the Syrian uprising...its pretty interesting to see how the mainstream media is now clamoring about this new hot spot even as the Egyptians are now sliding closer to civil war and as is Libya.
Americans are being detained and even roughed up a little in Egypt as the Muslim Brotherhood is fighting for power the military and tramping on everyone's feet. Riots,mass beatings,rapes and wholesale murder is now happening in Cairo and other places.
   Libya is no better and even now loyalists to Gadhafi are still fighting back,even recapturing some towns. The uprisings have done nothing to improve life for the vast majority of the people affected. And now to hear some of the right wingers try and sound the saber rattling not only with Iran but Syria is just madness.
 Especially since the Syrian crisis seems to be fully pushed by not only the CIA but other allies like our old 9/11 murdering pals,the Saudis along with elements Al Qaeda to overthrow the Syrian regime.
 There have been several videos posted showing how brutal Assad's forces have been against the protesters but as in all conflicts,not everything you see should be believed.

  We really need to watch how change has transformed Yemen,Libya and Egypt before we start banging the war drums. We are not affecting any real change here,only trading one monster for another. I don't see any of the new governments in these places calling for a democracy,only enforcing a new round of terror.
 President Obama has said that if Americans were still were going to be mistreated,he would suspend the 1.3 Billion dollars in military aid to the Egyptian armed forces. Actually,he should have done that the second the Muslim Brotherhood came into power.  Once again,its American weapons (the number one arms dealer in the world) who being used to slaughter innocents. And do you really think these folks are not going to forget this going forward?
  Let the Syrians find their own way be it good or bad...they don't need our help and I rather not see anymore American soldiers lives be put in harm's way for nothing just as they were in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now being considered in Iran. We don't need the heartache by folks who really could give a rat's ass about us.
  My buddy Brad in Minnesota is getting a puppy next week. Now I could lower myself to his level and poke fun at him like he does in making cruel comments about cats. I could mention about the best places to go to get a flea dip or which shovel can pick up the most dog poo. If I was him,I would come up with clever names for his new dog like Speedbump,Muttley or Snoopy. I could point out that Hitler owned dogs and look at how that turned out. But being a cat owner,I can rise above this sort of thing and offer him a hearty congratulations on his new slave,err,pet...
 Well that is all I have for today......back to the grind.


thanks for reading!

Brad- had to do it,Derek Jeter made me!
Alyce- We're praying for you and your family.