Mr. Lord appears to think that Elliott Abrams is trying to get a job in a future Romney administration.

Chris Scheve of Aqua Terra Strategies has caught Mr. Elliott Abrams, quote: ..red-handed on the attempted hit piece. Mr. Scheve is also a former foreign policy aide to Speaker Newt Gingrich when Newt was serving as Speaker of the House.

Chris Scheve started digging into the Congressional Record for March 21, 1986 searching for Newt’s “Special Order” speech given on the floor of the House. Quote: “most of [Elliot Abrams'] comments had to ahve been selectively taken from that special order speech.

Mr. Abrams implies that Newt Gingrich was ragging on Reagan on the House floor. This turns out not to be the case according to Jeffery Lord – it was actually to the contrary.

Here is the quote from Jeffery Lord on Newt Gingrich from the Congressional Record: “Let me be clear: I have the greatest respect for President Reagan. I think he personally understands the threat of communism.”  Gingrich then goes on — at Newtonian length — praising Reagan for Reagan’s understanding of Lenin, Reagan’s understanding of the real “purposes of a Soviet dictatorship” and much more. He lists and applauds Reagan repeatedly for the President’s appreciation of “the threat in a more powerful Soviet empire” and the threats posed by Communist Cuba and Nicaragua. He ranks Reagan with the great cold war presidents in protecting freedom. end quote.

Years later, Nancy Reagan would speak publicly and “Ronnie” passing on the conservative torch to Newt. In other news articles, Nancy Reagan may have been referring to not on Newt, but the rest of the Republican members of the House that came to power in the mid-1990s.

Below is another pulled quote from the article: Abrams quotes Newt for saying in this speech that Reagan’s policies towards the Soviets are “inadequate and will ultimately fail.” This is shameful. Why? Here’s what Newt said — in full and in context:

“The fact is that George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Irving Kristol, and Jeane Kirkpatrick are right in pointing out the enormous gap between President Reagan’s strong rhetoric, which is adequate, and his administration’s weak policies, which are inadequate and will ultimately fail.”

In other words, Newt was picking up on a concern, prominent in the day and voiced by no less than Reagan’s then ex-UN Ambassador Kirkpatrick, not to mention prominent Reagan supporters Will and Kristol and the late-Mondale aide turned conservative Krauthammer, that Reagan’s anti-Communist policies could be stronger if better institutionalized and not tied as much to the Reagan persona. The entire speech focused on suggestions of how to do just that — to effectively institutionalize Reagan’s conservative beliefs in the government. Is Abrams seriously accusing Jeane Kirkpatrick and George Will of being anti-Reagan? Of spewing “insulting rhetoric” at a president everyone in Washington knew they staunchly supported? Really? Of course not. But in apparent service to the Romney campaign, in order to make Newt Gingrich appear to be doing just that, Abrams apparently quite deliberately cut out the original Gingrich reference to Will, Kirkpatrick, Krauthammer, and Kristol. end quote.

Michael Reagan has endorsed Newt Gingrich. Sarah Palin posted a article on her Facebook page talking about how the GOP is cannibalizing itself by using the same tactics that the Left does. How the GOP establishment keeps trying to put down the Tea Party uprising. You know that old saying children should be seen – not heard? That is how the GOP is treating the Tea Party. But without the Tea Party, the GOP would not have won in 2010. Use the link below in the Ref section to read her entire article.

But here is a quote of hers:  But this whole thing isn’t really about Newt Gingrich vs. Mitt Romney. It is about the GOP establishment vs. the Tea Party grassroots and independent Americans who are sick of the politics of personal destruction used now by both parties’ operatives with a complicit media egging it on. In fact, the establishment has been just as dismissive of Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Newt is an imperfect vessel for Tea Party support, but in South Carolina the Tea Party chose to get behind him instead of the old guard’s choice. end quote.
It’s not an outright endorsement of Newt Gingrich by Sarah Palin, but its as close as we are going to get for Florida right now. Heck, in the Politico today, Sarah Palin was labeled as Newt Gingrich’s secret weapon! While she still has not given her “official” endorsement, her husband Todd sure has.  Her words are a warning to the GOP establishment that business as usual no longer applies to elections.  The American people (in this blogger’s view) is in the process of staging a “Republican Spring” revolution.

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Ref.
1. Spectator.org. “Elliott Abrams Caught Misleading on Newt” by Jeffery Lord. January 27, 2012. ( http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/27/elliott-abrams-caught-misleadi ).
2. facebook.com/Sarah Palin. “Cannibals in GOP Establishment Employ Tactics of the Left” by Sarah Palin. January 27, 2012. ( http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150516734848435 ).
3. Politico.com. “Sarah Palin: Newt Gingrich’s secret weapon” by Ginger Gibson. January 27, 2012. ( http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72096.html ).

According to Elliott Abrams, Newt Gingrich’s claims of “working with President Reagan” to change things in Washington D.C. is bunch of hot air. Elliot Abrams was Reagan’s Assistant secretary of state. Newt was a new member to Congress and he ‘spewed’ insulting rhetoric at the president in his administration’s efforts to defeat Communism. Newt in fact was predicting that Reagan’s policies would fail and that the president was dead wrong.

Abrams goes on to explain the conflict and who the players were in the National Review article. But as a blogger looking at the 2012 Republican Race, I’m running out of options for a choice now.

In another article, this one by Fred Barnes for The Weekly Standard, he displays a page from The Reagan Dairies that mentions for the first and last time – Newt Gingrich. In it quote: “Newt Gingrich has a proposal for freezing the budget at the 1983 level. It’s a tempting idea except that it would cripple our defense programs. And if we make an exception on that every special interest group will be asking for the same.” end quote. This is from Chapter 3, page 123 in the dairies that covers the year 1983.

All the folks that I liked are now out of the running (Cain, Bachmann, Perry). I don’t like Mitt Romney or the ‘other’ Rick (Santorum) that is in the race. Ron Paul – his foreign policy sucks big time for this blogger. And the word ‘sucks’ is being kind to the man.

The third Newt Gingrich article I found today was the one where he pledges a moon base by his second term. Newt Gingrich is already thinking of having a second term?!  We got to get you in there for the first term dude!

Quote: “By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich said to applause on the space coast of Florida.

He also said that the development would include commercial and private efforts, and will make apparent, “we clearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to us.” End quote.

Newt Gingrich also has plans to push propulsion development technology that will get manned crews to Mars quickly. He went on to emphasized that it doesn’t have to be expensive if done in partnership with private companies (which appears to be his main theme in this matter) that can lower the cost of exploration. Quoting again, “If it’s cheaper and it’s faster and it works, do it,” Newt Gingrich said. He also added at the end of this article the following quote: “Does that mean I’m visionary? You betcha,” end quote.

As far as I know, no other candidate has gone to even this much detail as far as to what the American space policy vision should be.

This is why I like him (Newt Gingrich). He’s a fighter. I see Mitt as someone who’ll go along to just get along with someone.

And Newt has his bad points. From what I heard on Rush Limbaugh’s talk radio today (January 25, 2012), Newt’s divorces and talks of open marriage are anchors and chains around his throat – dragging him down. One caller claimed that he wasn’t going to vote at all if Newt was going to be the Republician nominee.

Such boastful talk right now I’m sure. Closer to November’s election day and the chance that Obama might still get his second term in office, I think that caller will have to change his mind about not voting after all. Such a claim is really a vote for President Barrack H. Obama when you think about it!

And we cannot afford such stupid thinking this year from the Republican masses. This nations survival is at stake!

If Mitt gets the top position after all – I will vote for him. Even if I have to hold my nose while doing it. I would feel even better if it turns into a Romney/Gingrich team at this point.  Remember, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush didn’t get along in the primaries either back then.

UPDATE January 26, 2012:  Here is the summary from another article (link posted below) for Newt’s Space Vision.

Newt Gingrich gave his JFK-style speech in Florida today followed by a round table. As with Newt, it didn’t contain a single overriding goal (build a transcontinental railroad, land a man on the moon), but rather a series of grandiose goals. A summary, based on this video:

*Invoked both Abraham Lincoln (railroads) and John F. Kennedy (moon program).

*Proposed setting aside 10 percent of NASA’s budget for prizes.

*Promised to build a permanent lunar base on the moon by the end of his second term and it will be American (Jan. 20, 2021).

*Proposed commercial near-Earth activity including tourism, manufacturing and science based on the model of the airline industry in the 1930s because he’s sick of being told we need to be timid and we need to use 50 year old technology.

*Wants the U.S. to gain so much experience in space that that Chinese and Russians will never be able to match.

*Pledged to set up a $10 billion tax free prize for devising a way to get to Mars on the cheap.

*Promised to fund the development of the first continuous propulsion system in space to enable short-duration trips to Mars.

*Proposed that the U.S. launch 5 to 8 rockets per day instead of 1 per day — more like airports.

*Change civil service laws to make NASA more like Boeing than….well, NASA.

*Plans to introduce a “Northwest Ordinance” that would allow a lunar colony with 13,000 people to petition for statehood.

end of summary.

On first blush, Newt Gingrich is really getting his Klingon on.  Followers of this blog should know by now what I mean by that.  For newcomers, that really means willing to get into someone’s face to promote a point of view. No prisoners taken approach for politics that I like.  Those on the right always have to give.  The left never, ever does and its about damn time that they do.  Hence, that is why I invoke Star Trek’s fictional species of Klingon into this type of problem.

But I am worried that wrapping himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan and whats coming out now about how wrong Newt was and how right (correct) Reagan was… this I’m afraid will shoot down Newt for the 2012 election.  But with this vision for space he has, I think now that he will have a better chance as VP for Mittens.

___
Ref.
1. National Review. “Gingrich and Reagan” By Elliott Abrams. January 25, 2012. ( http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/289159/gingrich-and-reagan-elliott-abrams ). picture from same article.
2. The Weekly Standard. “What Reagan THought of Newt” by Fred Barnes. January 25, 2012. ( http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/what-reagan-thought-newt_618549.html ).
3. Politico.com. by Alexander Burns and Ginger Gibson. January 25, 2012. ( http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/01/newt-pledges-moon-base-by-second-term-112319.html ).
4. image off of internet of lunar base (from old Britsh TV series ‘UFO’). (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_O_L1W8HmE8E/SfoSKvA0KuI/AAAAAAAAAjA/z3Xwy7uwTtk/s400/moon+base.jpg).

5. ParabolicArc.com. “Gingrich’s Gradiose Plans for American Space Exploration” by Doug Messier.  January 26, 2012. ( http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/01/25/gingrichs-gradiose-plans-for-american-space-exploration/ ).

Seems we have a Cyberwar going on now. There was a Twitter account boasting their successful strike on the US law enforcement agency. Other websites -basically media websites concerned over pirated programming and software have been shut down by Anonymous. Universal Music Group, US Copyright Office, MPAA.org, recording company EMI. French copyright authority HADOPI. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also been attacked.

As far as DoJ vs Megaupload, that website is down and four people arrested.

The House and Senate gave the Cyberattackers a victory today. Lamar Smith (R) chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and Senate Leader Harry Reid (D) will postpone or reschedule critical votes until January 24th. Quoting Senator Reid, “in light of recent events.”

Rep Lamar Smith said the following in a statement released to the media, “I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”

SOPA/PIPA (Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, and PROTECT IP Act in the Senate) are the reasons for the start of this Cyberwar. Basically, these two acts are aimed at curbing online piracy which costs billions of dollars a year for the entertainment companies, publishers, pharmaceutical and other industies.

ON the other hand, the technology companies are worried that if SOPA/PIPA becomes law, it will undermine online freedoms which would be very difficult to enforce and that it would also encourage frivolous lawsuits.

Rep Darrell Issa on the 18th introduced a companion bill in the House saying that quoting the Reuters.com article; “SOPA and PIPA lacked a fundamental understanding of how Internet technologies work. The technology sector has shown more optimism about prospects for Issa and (Senator Ron) Wyden’s alternative bill, called the OPEN Act.” end quote.

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Ref.
1. Gizmodo.com. “Anonymous Goes on Megaupload Revenge Spree: DoJ, RIAA, MPAA, and Universal Music All Offline” by Sam Biddle. January 19, 2012. ( http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-kills-department-of-justice-site-in-megaupload-revenge-strike ).
2. Reuters.com. “Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills” by by Thomas Ferraro and Jasmin Melvin. January 20, 2012. ( http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-usa-congress-internet-idUSTRE80J10X20120120 ).

US military confirm the video is authentic and that Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune North Carolina.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta condemned the bad behavior on Thursday and telephone Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai to say he (Leon Panetta) found the images deplorable. Quoting Defense Secretary Panetta, “This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and doesn’t reflect the standards or values our armed forces are sworn to uphold.”

The video was uploaded to YouTube and other websites and runs for about one minute. It shows four men in Marine combast gear standing around three corpses on the ground – urinating on them. One was heard to have said, “Have a great day, buddy.”

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called the act “inhuman.” And the Taliban condemned the video (as expected) saying that US forces have committed war crimes against them for the past 10 years of war. Taliban recent negotiations with the US will not be stopped due to this incident.

There have been other misdeeds by US forces in the War on Terrorism. In Iraq, there was the abuses see at the Abu Ghraib prison.

But, the Taliban have also been tainted with their own misdeeds. In 1996, they brutally killed Mohammad Najibullah, the deposed communist president who was seeking refuge at a U.N. compound in Kabul. His corpse was castrated and hung from a traffic light on a busy street for everyone to see.

From the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, the desecration of the bodies of enemy combatants is a court-martial offense.

Now for my take on the matter…

Those Marines were Morons!

The four who had their peckers out to do the deed and the jerk holding the camera to record the event. If your going to take a piss on a dead enemy corpse, don’t take any pictures or video of yourself doing it! You can think it – just don’t do it for real guys!

Our young troops must also be made aware of the “larger” picture and how stupid mistakes can affect national policy or our nation’s image. Today, Uncle Sam got a bit of that golden splatter on his pants leg.

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Ref.
1. Online Wall Street Journal. “In Damage Control Bid, Pentagon Calls Karzai Over Video” by JULIAN E. BARNES in Washington and MARIA ABI-HABIB in Kabul. January 12, 2012. ( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409004577156434037860096.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLETopStories ).
2. The Jawa Report. “Taliban Condemns Marine Pi$$ing Video As Inhumane” January 12, 2012. ( http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/210743.php ).

China has been building up is ships and anti-ship weapons in recent years. China may try so to flex its muscle and limit access to those seas. And the US Navy is working on a strategy to keep the south China sea and Western Pacific open to international shipping.

Quote: “Over the long term, China will have the greatest potential, I view, to affect the economic and the security dynamics throughout the region and perhaps the world,” he said. “Their economic strength has grown. They have great regional capability and capacity, and it’s growing.

“And under circumstances, that capability could limit access in the region.” Admiral Jonathan Greenert stated.

Almost half of the US Navy is deployed to the Pacific now. end quote.

Council on Foreign Relations analyst Max Boot is an advisor to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, has told the governor that many of China’s neighbors – including Vietnam, are looking towards the United States for leadership.

“The Chinese navy has become very aggressive in trying to push out the navies of the Philippines, Japan and other local powers to extend Chinese sovereignty beyond what international law would allow. Everybody would like to see China have a peaceful rise.” Mr. Boot said.

Mr. Boot also added the following: “I think we have to preserve the balance of power in the Pacific. But unfortunately, right now, I see the balance of power tilting against us. And I see a further tilt unless we actually increase our defense spending and expand the size of our Navy, in particular, which I think is at a dangerously low level.”
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Ref.
1. The Washington Times. “Navy readies for Chinese power grab on shipping” by Rowan Scarborough. January 11, 2012. (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/10/navy-readies-for-chinese-power-grab-on-shipping/).

The Washignton Times yesterday ran a commentary that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachman sent them. Her entire commentary is posted below.

This blogger still thinks that Michele Bachman would make a great GOP candidate for the Office of President of the United States. But, right now, the poll results out of Iowa are very dim for her chances. After all the fighting and we finally get to the GOP Convention, if she did not save her campaign and become the primary winner – then some of her points in this commentary should be included as planks in the party platform going into the November election.

Here is her commentary…

I have often been criticized for saying that I could turn around the U.S. economy in just a few short months. That is not blind optimism talking, but rather the realization that the biggest impediment to true economic recovery has been the signal President Obama’s policies have been sending to the key audience for recovery, the job creators. Should I be fortunate enough to be elected by the American people to serve as president of the United States, I will have an ambitious agenda in the first 100 days that will send a signal to our country’s job creators and to the world that the days of socialist policies are over, that our free market is once again open for business and that we will once again lead the world as the true exceptional nation.

My first act as president will be to repeal  and Dodd-Frank. No two pieces of legislation represent socialism and big government more than those, and both have greatly hindered the creation of jobs and capital necessary for economic recovery. Obamacare represents the largest expansion of entitlement spending and playground of left-wing social engineering in our country’s history, and it must be stopped. In its place, I’ll reform the health care system by ending state monopolies on health insurance, introducing real tort reform and providing tax incentives for health care providers who give free health care to those who cannot afford it.

I also will get government spending, which has spiraled ever upward, leaving us with over $15 trillion in debt, under control and shut down departments in the federal government that have no constitutional authority and, worse, waste your money. In the first 100 days, I will submit legislation to repeal laws establishing the Departments of Education, Commerce and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency and their related bureaucracies. That will send a signal that I intend for government to do what it is mandated to do under the Constitution.

I will honor the Constitution and send Congress a balanced budget in my first 100 days. If Congress passes an unbalanced budget, I will veto it.

Government should not do what both the Constitution and morality prohibit – practicing crony capitalism, forcefully taking your money for the purpose of paying off a politician’s political friends. That’s one of the most important signals we can send to level the economic playing field for all Americans.

Our tax code has 3.8 million words and is too complicated for the average American to understand, and it has a corporate tax rate of almost 40 percent that makes America hopelessly uncompetitive. It advantages companies large enough to hire an army of lawyers to exploit it. I’ll end the practice of crony capitalism and special-interest influence in Washington because, as a federal tax lawyer, I’ll abolish the tax code, the place where most of Washington’s influence peddling occurs. I’ll replace it with one that is simpler, fairer and flatter, in which every American pays something, even if it is $10 a year, because every American has a stake in America.

Reforming our tax code and ending crony capitalism will send a signal to small businesses, the true job-creation engine of our economy, that they’ll be treated the same as large corporations. Lowering corporate tax rates will make American businesses more competitive and keep them from shipping jobs overseas. That overhaul will include repatriating the more than $1 trillion held overseas by U.S. corporations that could have an immediate private-sector stimulative effect on our economy. These economic policies will send a signal that we will enact permanent free-market solutions for our economy and end the temporary gimmicks that have had such devastating effects.

I’ll also begin the process of undoing the enormous government regulatory burden on America. I’ll start by legalizing American energy production, which will bring down the cost of gas, create millions of jobs and decrease our dependency on foreign sources of energy.

While the economy is rightly at the top of voters’ minds this election season, we also need to consider who can be the best commander in chief from Day One. Of all the Republican candidates in the race, I am the only one with current experience in national security. As president, I will ensure America remains free, safe and sovereign – the greatest force for good the world has ever known. And on Day One, I’ll announce that we’re moving our Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and I’ll attend its opening within the first 100 days. I’ll make sure Iran knows I will not tolerate it obtaining a nuclear weapon and will take whatever action is necessary to prevent that.

I’ll also secure our border and begin building the fence in the first 100 days. I’ll begin immediately enforcing our immigration laws, empower our border agents and help the states instead of suing them. And I’ll submit legislation to make English the official language of our federal government.

Finally, I’ll defend the family. I will ensure that Planned Parenthood no longer receives federal funding. and I’ll immediately re-establish the Mexico City policy and other policies aimed at protecting life from conception to natural death. America cannot be strong until its families, the most basic unit of government, are strong.

I understand this agenda to be ambitious, but we have little time to reverse the very damaging policies of President Obama. As president of the United States, I will be prepared to meet those challenges and do the hard work necessary to restore America to being the leader it can be for you and your children and mine.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, is running for president.

end of commentary.

One final note.  Of the three departments she wants to get rid of (plus the EPA), they are the same ones that Texas Governor Rick Perry want to get rid of. I also like him, but he shot himself in the foot with his debate performance and that is too bad. At least Rep Michele Bachman can reconnize a good idea and go with it despite the author of it.

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Ref.
1. Washington Times. “BACHMANN: Little time to save America” by Michele Bachman. December 29, 2011. (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/29/little-time-to-save-america/).

Quote: Argentine patrol commanders carrying out interceptions near the South American coast told Spanish captains they were in violation of Argentina’s “legal” blockade of sea channels to the Falklands. end quote.

Argentina is operating a blockade of the Falkland Islands now? Too bad the American Mainstream News Media wanted to talked about a shopper spraying pepper spray or about (now former) presidential candidate Hermain Cain’s female problems. Our news media has focus on Iran getting ahold of one of our drones.

But the ‘forgotten’ Falklands don’t rate any mention on the news channels. Until some blood is spilt and only then will we ‘hear’ about the Falklands.

There was a warning letter sent to the Spanish government in Madrid Spain, that the Falklands, South Gerogia, and the South Sandwich Islands and adjoining maritime spaces are an integral part of the Argentine territory.

President Cristina Kirchner has steadily become more beligerent towards Britain’s South Atlantic possessions. And shes been busy for the past few years.

Argentina’s claim of the Falkland Islands has been backed by a newly formed block of South American and Caribbean countries (CELAC). On December 3rd, CELAC gave unanimous approval to Argentina’s claim to those islands.

Mrs. Kirchner used the last UN General Assembly meeting to put forth Argentina’s claims of sovereignty was on a par with Palestinian claims to it’s statehood.

The blockade is economic warfare and the Falkland’s lifeline is most affected by this. Quote: It(Argentina) announced permits were required by all ships using Argentine waters en route to the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, all of which are UK controlled.

Argentina declared vessels were “operating illegally” in the South Atlantic if they did not request permission to enter Argentine waters. The authorities declared their willingness “to put an end to all those illegal fishing activities”. end quote.

So far, only the sealanes have been threathen. But Mrs. Kirchner also wants to expand that to the air bridge.

And what are Great Britain’s options right now? For now, the British Foreign Office has submitted a official complaint about Argentina’s actions. quote: “We are aware that Argentina has recently challenged vessels transiting between the Falklands and the port of Montevideo,” the spokesman said. “The UK has protested to Argentina. We consider that it is not compliant with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. end quote.

In my other blog (link below) back in March of this year, I wrote about the the UK getting rid of its aircraft carriers before their replacments are built and operational. For now, Great Britain doesn’t have that ace up its sleeve to use. In my opionion, it would be only a submarine war if this conflict goes hot again.

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Ref.
1. Telegraph. “” by Fergus MacErlean. December 5, 2011. ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/8936750/Argentina-launches-naval-campaign-to-isolate-Falkland-Islands.html ).
2. Aerospace Technology Paranormal and UFO News blog. “There was once a British Royal Navy” by shanksow. March 28, 2011. (http://aerospacedreams.blogspot.com/2011/03/there-was-once-british-royal-navy.html).  image from AFP/Getty of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.

“As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt . . . on me, on my family, not because we are not fighters, not because I am not a fighter.” he said at an event in Atlanta.

The final nail in Cain’s coffin was Ms. Ginger White, a Atlanta woman who has claimed to have had a sexual affair with Mr. Cain for the past 13 years. She is the stone that “broke” the camel’s back as it appears now.

While Mr. Cain still denies the allegations of sexual misconduct from three other women when he (Mr. Cain) was head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. So, if this is sexual misconduct behavior is normal for Mr. Cain, how come there are no women coming forth from Godfathers Pizza, etc.

This is what I find interesting with Hermain Cain’s speech about dropping out of the race. It’s the word he used: Suspend. As in quoting “I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt . . .” This defination comes from the Free Dictionary.com website: To bar for a period from a privilege, office, or position, usually as a punishment. Or To cause to stop for a period, interrupt.

<clue Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “I’ll be back,” quote from the movie “Terminator”.>

Most people will accept at face value that Hermain Cain is out of the race. But, with him using that word “suspend;” I have a hunch that he can still get back into the race in a few weeks. It doesn’t make much sense, but it will let the media firestorm cool off.  And in the cooling off process, Cain can regain his focus.  That is at least a possible option for him.

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Ref.
1. LA Times. “Herman Cain drops out of presidential race” by James Oliphant. December 3, 2011. ( http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-cain-announcement-20111203,0,889996.story ).  image from Dave Martin/AP.
2. The Free Dictionary.com “suspended” ( http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suspended ).

Originally, the Mehr News Agency reported that the protestors to six embassy staff hostage in the residential section of the embassy compound. But that report has now been removed. A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said that the situation is quote “fluid.”

Thomas Erdbrink is a Washington Post correspondent estimates that about 400 people attack the embassy. Theysecured access to the security outpost. Then tearing down three satellite dishes from the roof and taking down the embassy’s flag.

The students were chanting “Death to England!” And this blogger thinks its ironic for some other country’s embassy is taken, and the masses are shouting “Death to fill in the blank” instead of the standard “Death to America.”

UPDATE November 29, 2011: Damn it all to hell!   According to aljazeera (via the Drudge Report), the Iranian students were still chanting “Death to America” as well as “Death to England” and “Death to Israel.”

Well, at least the British foreign ministry has now issued a statement about how “outraged” they are by the situation. Heck, on live tv, one protester was seen waving around the framed picture of the Queen.

All this started over Great Britain’s imposition of new sanctions on the Islamic state last week for its nuclear program.  Yeah, Iran is scare of new sanctions… Yeah, we can see them shaking in their boots about that.  What’s next?  Oh wait, I know – More Sanctions!  Then some even more Sanctions to go on top of all the other Sanctions that have been set out.   Then the UN will ‘invent’ even more Sanctions to avoid ANY type of Military Strike.

Wow, sure glad the rest of the world (i.e England) has been pilling on the sanctions along with the United States. Sure hate to be alone doing the Sanction dance with Iran.  Heck, might even get a hang nail if we acted any tougher towards them!

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Ref.
1. Washingtonpost.com. “” by Elizabeth Flock. November 29, 2011. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/iranian-students-break-into-british-embassy-in-tehran-live-updates/2011/11/29/gIQA4CdO8N_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost ). photo from Reuters.

2. Aljazeera.com. “Iranian protesters storm UK embassy” by Source: Al Jazeera and agencies. November 29, 2011. ( http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/20111129132554123213.html ).

In the year and a half since that explosion, we have found out what really happened. But this blogger’s warning of how vulnerable the United States is to our oil industry infrastructure out in and on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico fell on deaf ears I’m afraid.

Then today on World Net Daily (November 18, 2011), there is an article from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin entitled “Shocking gap in defenses: Nation risking catastrophe”, posted on that website. Joseph Farah is the founder of World Net Daily. For link to that article (as well as my previous post on this subject, check out the Ref section below).

I quote the first two paragraphs of Mr. Farah’s article: The prospect that countries such as China and Iran soon will have submarines trolling in waters in the Gulf of Mexico and up and down the East and West coasts of the United States is resurrecting concern over the security of oil and natural gas pipeline platforms in those areas, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Also, drug cartels have begun to use submarines to carry their cargo into the United States. Given the cartels’ flourishing relationships with terrorists with various goals, the subs could be used to destroy important platforms, according to Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. End quote.

That undersea infrastructure is “soft targets” for our current or future eneimes can strike at.

Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, had this to say in his interview with Joseph Farah. Quote: “This vast infrastructure was built with the assumption that while it would have to weather natural disasters, it would not be a target in war,” Krepinevich said. “In military parlance, much of the infrastructure comprises ‘soft’ targets that would not require much in the way of explosives to cause significant, and perhaps catastrophic, damage. Fortunately, many of these targets have not been easy to reach, until now.”

Krepinevich went on to add the “proliferation” of UUVs (Unmanned underwater vehicles) has increased. What was once only operated exclusively by the Western military powers is now open to others. Both commercial and for scientific purposes. UUVs can go deeper than manned submarines-equipped with cameras and other electronic sensors, and as a focus of this article; carry mines or other explosive devices. Such a capability will not only affect ocean floor pipelines, but undersea communication cables. They are vulnerable to sabotage – period.

One final quote from Mr. Krepinevich who called upon the US to diplomatically work with countries such as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Norway and the United Kingdom, which have similar offshore platforms, to coordinate defensive efforts against any potential attack. “Given the stakes involved, just as the U.S. and its allies developed the forces, capabilities and methods needed to defend their economic assets at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic (during World War II against German submarines), a similar effort is needed now with respect to America’s undersea economic interests,” Krepinevich warned.

“The alternative is hope for the best – and hope is not a strategy.” end quote.

Its nice NOT being the only one out there worried about this.

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Ref.
1. World Net Daily. “Shocking gap in defenses: Nation risking catastrophe” by Joseph Farah. November 18, 2011. ( http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=368405 ).
2. The Shanks Dimension. “One Year Ago-Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explodes” by Don W. Shanks. April , 2011. ( http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2011/04/one-year-ago-deepwater-horizon-oil-rig-explodes/ ).
3. The Shanks Dimension. July 15, 2010. “BP Says it Stopped the Oil Finally”. ( http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2010/07/bp-says-it-stopped-the-oil-finally/ ).
4. The Shanks Dimension. “Deepwater Horizon Target of North Korea Special Ops Service?” ( http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2010/05/deepwater-horizon-target-of-north-korea-special-ops-service/ ).

U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Andrew McKaskle.