Saturday, October 25, 2014

Ouch: Pentagon Contradicts Obama’s Claims About North Korea

Ouch: Pentagon Contradicts Obama’s Claims About North Korea

...a top U.S. commander now says...


Photo credit: cmccain202dc (Flickr)
U.S. officials have long been concerned about the technology-sharing relationship that North Korea has with Iran and Pakistan. At the heart of their concern — North Korea’s desire and determination to become a nuclear force, which would dramatically change the world’s balance of power.
And what military officials just disclosed could also have a big impact on the balance of power on Capitol Hill.

Advertisement-content continues below

Today, the Pentagon let it be known that North Korea has likely moved a giant step closer to being able to deploy a nuclear weapon on a guided missile.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a top U.S. commander now says that the regime of dictator Kim Jong Un likely has the capability to produce a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on a rocket.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Friday, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula, said North Korea now is capable of building a miniaturized nuclear warhead, a step needed to complete development of a nuclear-tipped missile.
Gen. Scaparrotti said the U.S. hasn’t seen North Korea test a miniaturized nuclear weapon, but that it likely has the capability to build one.
In a rather strange turn of events, not far away from where the Pentagon briefing disclosed North Korea’s nuclear weapons advancement, Secretary of State John Kerry was making his own announcement about relations with Pyongyang.
Specifically, Kerry spoke about the connection between Kim Jong Un’s willingness to roll back his nuclear program and the reduction of U.S. forces in the Korean Peninsula.

Advertisement-content continues below

And the two D.C. events — at the Pentagon and at the State Department — seemed, at least on the surface, to be at odds in terms of tone and messaging.
As reported by Reuters:
It is too premature to talk about reducing American forces in the Korean Peninsula without “authentic and credible” negotiations with Pyongyang about ending its nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.
Kerry said the United States was willing to restart denuclearization talks with North Korea although he emphasized “there is no value in talks just for the sake of talks.”
The U.S. presence in South Korea is a key source of anger for North Korea, which regularly threatens to attack the United States and destroy the South [Korea] in a sea of flames.
Given the advisory issued by the Pentagon, it sounds as though North Korea may be a big step closer to creating that destructive “sea of flames.”
Given the American public’s growing dissatisfaction with Obama’s foreign policy — a month ago, the president’s foreign policy approval rating hit an all-time low — it’s certainly possible that this news about North Korea will be a further drag on Democrat hopes of retaining Senate control.
Photo credit: cmccain202dc (Flickr)

Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/the-pentagon-just-revealed-something-scary-that-could-totally-discredit-obama/#LK6I5rwFWcwkbcIK.99

As Obama golfs, US scrambling jets almost daily to repel Russian threats...

As Obama golfs, US scrambling jets almost daily to repel Russian threats...


(The Washington Times) -- Russian military provocations have increased so much over the seven months since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine that Washington and its allies are scrambling defense assets on a nearly daily basis in response to air, sea and land incursions by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Not only is Moscow continuing to foment unrest in Eastern Ukraine, U.S. officials and regional security experts say Russian fighter jets are testing U.S. reaction times over Alaska and Japan’s ability to scramble planes over its northern islands — all while haunting Sweden’s navy and antagonizing Estonia’s tiny national security force.

Judge: Obama “A Candidate For Impeachment” If He Gives Illegals Green Cards

Judge: Obama “A Candidate For Impeachment” If He Gives Illegals Green Cards


(by Steve Watson, Infowars) -- Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano hit out at the President this week over revelations that the Obama administration is overseeing a federal order for 34 million blank work permits and green cards, an indication that Obama is set to issue an executive order on amnesty after the midterm election.
Speaking on Fox News, the libertarian analyst said “He can’t make illegals legal. But he can do the following: he can open the borders, arguably he did that a few months ago with the Central American children in Texas; he can issue green cards to whoever he wants; he can stop deportations for the rest of his presidency.”
“…both Republican Congresses and Democratic Congresses have given to Republican and Democratic presidents extraordinary authority.” Napolitano clarified.
The order for the blank cards, to be delivered over the course of five years, was actioned by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) department, which posted a draft solicitation earlier this month announcing its intention to seek a vendor capable of delivering “an estimated 4 million cards annually with the potential to buy as many as 34 million cards total.”
“The objective of this procurement is to provide card consumables for the Document Management Division (DMD) that will be used to produce Permanent Resident Cards (PRC) and Employment Authorization Documentation (EAD) cards,” the solicitation reads.
It adds that a vendor should be prepared to “support potential ‘surge’” in demand for the cards, and be ready to “support possible future immigration reform initiative requirements.”
An unnamed USCIS official revealed that the solicitation was posted “in case the president makes the move we think he will.”
The move prompted frenzied reactions from immigration watchdogs and GOP lawmakers. Bob Dane, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform called the move “another petulant display of contempt of Congress,” adding that “There aren’t enough federal employees from here to Pluto to do adequate background checks on 34 million.”
Rep. Lou Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican, said Thursday that the solicitation is “proof that the groundwork is already being laid to grant amnesty post-election to millions upon millions of people who have broken our laws to enter this country.”
Further referring to the possibility of an executive order on amnesty, Napolitano said “That will be so inflammatory if the Republicans take the Senate you will see the “i-word,” impeachment, bandied about.”
“Whether they want to do it, whether they think it harms them in 2016 is a political judgment. But it would be a profound reason to discuss it.” he added.
“When the president discusses his discretion about how to enforce the law in such a way that it is the opposite of what the law was intended to do, then he has violated his oath to uphold the law and is a candidate for impeachment.”

Search Results

Search
Watch or listen to past installments of the daily and Sunday editions of the Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast, Believers' Conventions or Victory Campaigns - ON DEMAND - at times convenient to you. You can also access past meetings by clicking here.
Search Results9 matches

The Book of Daniel – Part 2

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Jan 20th - Jan 24th 2014

The Book of Daniel – Part 1

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Jan 13th - Jan 17th 2014

The Tribulation Unveiled

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Feb 11th - Feb 15th 2013

Uncovering the Truths of the Book of Revelation

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Dec 3rd - Dec 7th 2012

Revealing God’s Plan for the End Times

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Nov 26th - Nov 30th 2012

The End of All Things Is at Hand

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Sep 26th - Sep 30th 2011

He is Coming Soon

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

May 2nd - May 6th 2011

Bible Prophecy and the Signs of the Times

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Dec 17th - Dec 21st 2007

Israel In the End Times

Gloria Copeland and Billye Brim

Jun 21st - Jun 25th 2004

DateWatch NowDownload VideoDownload Audio
Monday, June 21st, 2004WatchDownload VideoDownload Audio
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2004WatchDownload VideoDownload Audio
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2004WatchDownload VideoDownload Audio
Thursday, June 24th, 2004WatchDownload VideoDownload Audio
Friday, June 25th, 2004WatchDownload VideoDownload Audio
Hear about real-life faith triumphs from people just like you. You'll see how God worked miracles in areas of healing, protection, finances and more...and He'll do it for you too!

Archived Download(s):

"Training Your Children in the Word"

Halloween

How to Believe God for a House

Debt Freedom

FREE eBook Download by Billye Brim

Celebrating 45 Years of Victory

Kenneth Copeland Notes

Gloria Copeland Notes

Kellie Copeland Swisher Notes

Pastor George Pearsons Notes

Terri Copeland Pearsons Notes

Honor of God Series

Living In Heaven's Blessing Now

Prophecies

The Comforter Series

3-Star General: The Muslim Brotherhood Has Infiltrated the White House


Barack Obama seems to have made it clear over the last few weeks that he does indeed have a soft spot when it comes to radical Muslim terrorists.
The president continues to back Hamas both financially and in his foreign policy, constantly smashing on Israel for their ground operations in Gaza which are geared toward taking the terrorist group out permanently.
Click here to get a FREE subscription to the Conservative Tribune.
He’s also bent over backwards to find excuses for releasing prisoners from Gitmo, despite the danger they pose to Americans and citizens of their home countries.
Not long ago, documents from WikiLeaks surfaced that indicated Barack Obama and key individuals in the government had close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that they backed during the Arab Spring, which is considered a terrorist organization by most of the world.
According to a report by Breitbart, this evidence seems to back up claims by U.S. Army Lieutenant General William Jerry Boykin, who said that individuals with deep connections to the Brotherhood have infiltrated the White House, Pentagon, and Department of Defense.

The former Delta Force member said that Republicans in Congress should have taken concern expressed by Michele Bachmann over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, who the Minnesota representative believed had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, much more seriously.
Boykin went on to say that individuals with close ties to the group work in every major federal agency.
If this is true, and it likely is, this is very scary. The Muslim Brotherhood has already launched a U.S. political party for the sole purpose of implementing Sharia law in American communities.
Fortunately, many states have been proactive and have already passed legislation banning its implementation.
Rep. Bachmann is also spearheading a piece of legislation to have the Muslim Brotherhood labeled a terrorist organization. With Gen. Boykin’s claims and the WikiLeaks documents, it is critical this legislation is passed.
If it does, Obama’s support of the Brotherhood and it’s offshoots like Hamas, will be illegal, and those with connections to the group will be removed from their posts in the government. It’s imperative that citizens write and call their representatives and demand they support Bachmann’s bill in order to keep America safe.
Please share this article on Facebook and Twitter if you support labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and removing those with connections to the group from the government.

Israel’s Leader to Terrorists: We’re Coming and We’re Going to Destroy You


Things continue to heat up in the Middle East between Hamas and the nation of Israel, as the terrorist group practically spit on the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt, and responded by going on a massive bombing campaign of the Jewish country.
Fighting in the Gaza region has reached an intensity that hasn’t been seen in many years, indicating that brokering peace is going to be a difficult task.
Click here to get a FREE subscription to the Conservative Tribune.
Hamas has been firing rockets into the heart of Israel for some time, even attempting to take out a nuclear reactor. Fortunately, many of the missiles launched are being taken out by the Iron Dome Israeli defense system.
When the ceasefire agreement was drafted, Israel immediately halted its military operations in Gaza, but Hamas kept up the attack, refusing to go along with the truce.
This rejection of peace and the latest bombardment by radical terrorists angered Israel, which vowed that Hamas would be sorry for making this very poor decision.

via Boston Globe:
Israel resumed its heavy bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday and warned that Hamas ‘‘would pay the price’’ after the Islamic militant group rejected an Egyptian truce plan and instead unleashed more rocket barrages at the Jewish state, causing the first Israeli death in eight days of fighting.
Hamas’ defiance prompted Israeli warnings. In an evening address aired live on TV, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that after Hamas’ rejection of the truce, Israel had ‘‘no choice’’ but to respond more forcefully.
‘‘Hamas chose to continue fighting and will pay the price for that decision,’’ he said. ‘‘When there is no cease-fire, our answer is fire.’’
After holding its fire for six hours, the Israeli air force resumed its heavy bombardment of Gaza, launching 33 strikes from midafternoon, the military said. In all, Israeli aircraft struck close to 1,700 times since July 8, while Gaza militants fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel.
Netanyahu said Israel would have liked to see a diplomatic solution, but would keep attacking until rocket fire stops and Hamas’ military capabilities are diminished. The Israeli leader said he would ‘‘widen and increase’’ the campaign against Hamas, but it remains unclear if that will include a ground offensive.
It’s obvious that Israel is willing to come to a reasonable agreement and end this conflict, however it appears that Hamas was not graced with the same level of reasoning, nor do they seem to truly want peace.
Netanyahu has every right to continue bombing Gaza and sending troops on the ground into the area to stop terrorists from bombing his country. America needs to support Israel and allow the nation to take whatever actions are needed to prevent Hamas from killing more of its citizens.
Please share this article on Facebook and Twitter if you agree with Israel’s decision to continue bombing Gaza until Hamas stops firing rockets into the country.

BREAKING: Senator Confirms the White House Link to IRS Scandal We’ve All Been Waiting For


Although it is widely suspected that the Obama White House is behind the IRS targeting of conservatives, concrete evidence has been difficult to find.
Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, however, says that evidence is out there, and he claims that Democrats have tried to “whitewash”  the information, according to the Daily Caller.
Click here to get a FREE subscription to the Conservative Tribune.
Roberts told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he participated in the short-lived Senate Finance Committee’s investigation of the IRS scandal but says the Democrat majority simply ended the investigation, which he calls a “whitewash.”
Based on information he had seen as part of the investigation, Senator Roberts says, “I’m convinced that even Valerie Jarrett was involved,” adding, “I think this was White House driven. I think all of the information at least that I saw leads to that, so we really have to finish this investigation.”
“This is pretty serious business,” Roberts continued, “This is egregious. We’re talking about First Amendment rights and freedom of speech.”

Senator Roberts is currently engaged in a difficult reelection bid against Independent challenger Greg Orman.
If what Roberts says is true, and evidence is found confirming it, this could be the bombshell information that ultimately brings down this disgraceful administration.
Please share this on Facebook and Twitter if you already suspected that senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was behind the IRS targeting of conservative groups.
ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)

Barack Obama, Liberty, Socialism/Communism, Socialist Opinion Shapers »

Beware of Marxist-Leninist Supporter Leon Panetta’s New Book
October 24, 2014 – 3:36 pm EST | No Comment
By: Brent Parrish
The Right Planet
YouTube/TheJohnBirchSociety: In this week’s analysis behind the news video, JBS CEO Art Thompson discusses Leon Panetta’s early career as a liberal Republican and later career as a Democrat; how as a Democratic congressman he started to cooperate with and endorse the policies of the Marxist Institute of Policy Studies; how Russia is starting to intrude on the airspace and waters of Sweden, which is similar to what they did back in the late 1970s and early 1980s; how the EU has vetoed France’s budget; how the EU wants to merge the United States into the EU; how a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Conspiracy Theorists Need a Pep Talk,” appears to be taking note of the JBS campaign to stop the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and how the supposed conflict between “ex-Communist” leaders in Germany and Russia over Ukraine is just an example of “show business.”
Related:

Barack Obama, Liberty, Socialism/Communism, Socialist Opinion Shapers »

Trevor Loudon’s Final Speaking Engagements for 2014
October 24, 2014 – 3:05 pm EST | No Comment
October
Sat., Oct. 25th, 2014
Event: Ramona Tea Party Forum — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Web Site: http://www.ramonatead.com/
Time: 12 pm PST
Place: Ramona Mainstage Theater
626 Main Street
Ramona, CA 92065
Sun., Oct. 26th, 2014
Event: Hancock Park Patriots — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: 4 pm PST
Place: 20565 Palm Way
Torrence, CA 90503
Mon., Oct. 27th, 2014
Event: Island County Republican Party & Sno-Isle Tea Party — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: 7:00 pm PST
Place: Everett, WA
Tues., Oct. 28th, 2014
Event: Island County Republican Party & Sno-Isle Tea Party — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: TBD
Place: Kitsap, WA
Wed., Oct. 29th, 2014
Event: Yakima Republican Liberty Caucus — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: 7:00 pm PST
Place: Howard Johnson’s
9 North 9th Street
Yakima, WA 98901
Thurs., Oct. 30th, 2014
Event: Thurston County Republican Party — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: 7:00 pm PST
Place: Thurston County Courthouse – Building 1 Room 152
2000 Lakeridge Dr. SW
Olympia, WA 98502
Fri., Oct. 31st, 2014
Event: Tacoma Narrows Tea Party — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Time: 6:30 pm PST
Place: Gig Harbor Library
4424 Point Fosdick Drive NW
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
November
Sat., Nov. 1st, 2014
Event: We The People — Speaking Engagement/Confirmed
Web Site: http://www.wepeeps.org
Time: 6:30 pm PST
Place: Fishers Landing Grange
814 NE 162nd Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98684

Barack Obama, Middle East, Radical Islam, Socialism/Communism, Socialist Opinion Shapers »

Qatar Awareness Campaign – Senator John McCain @StopQatarNow
October 24, 2014 – 11:20 am EST | No Comment

QATAR AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Senator John McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Dear Senator McCain:
This letter is being sent to you on behalf of the Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition. The purpose is to inform you and the public of the activities of Qatar. In light of your unwavering support for the Arab Spring, it is important to weigh your concerns for “democracy” against empowering the nation’s enemies. The State of Qatar was a consistent advocate for the Arab Spring, precisely because they are the home of the terrorist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Even before President Obama, reacting to events in Tahrir Square, called for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down, you, Senator McCain, did so. “Regrettably the time has come 4 Pres. Mubarak 2 step down & relinquish power. It’s in the best interest of Egypt, its people & its military,” you tweeted on February 2, 2011. Mubarak’s resignation was the first significant step toward destabilizing the Middle East, which has led to anarchy across the entire region and the proliferation of Jihadi militias.
The power vacuum left by Mubarak in Egypt was filled by the Muslim Brotherhood, a revolutionary, stateless organization currently based out of Qatar. In the coming months, there would be government sanctioned pogroms against the Coptic Christians, as well as other religious minorities, in Egypt: entire faith communities came under assault from Muslim Brotherhood gangs, and dozens of Churches were burned.
The Egyptian debacle was repeated in Libya, as NATO airstrikes deposed a then-U.S. friendly Muammar Gaddafi. Once again, you publicly called for deposing Gaddafi, and supporting the Qatari-backed rebels. Libya’s Christians were treated as brutally as Egypt’s, or worse, and today Libya is a failed state tantamount to Afghanistan under the Taliban. It is a haven for murderous and revolutionary Islamists, smugglers and roving, lawless cartels. It poses a security threat to all of North Africa.
Even as Syria is under siege by the same ideological group of Jihadis, who have proven beyond reproach to be genocidal psychopaths, you still call for ousting Assad. While no patriotic American wants to support a dictator, the real question to consider is: who will fill this vacuum? Recent experience forewarns that something far worse will replace Assad and indeed they already control parts of Syria and Iraq – ISIS.
Each one of these experiments in capricious regime change has a common backer (besides you and President Obama) – the State of Qatar. Morsi was a Muslim Brother President of Egypt, fully backed by the Al-Thani monarchy in Doha. In Libya, Qatar had ground troops training al Qaeda “linked” rebels and even deployed fighter jets. In Syria, PBS has reported that the American government has trained Syrian rebels in Qatar!
There are more relevant facts to consider when evaluating your positions over the last several years concerning Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood:
  • You came out in support of Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, whose family has been conclusively linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in Pakistan.
  • You were arguably the loudest Republican voice supporting the Arab Spring from the beginning. You called it a “collective demand for human dignity, economic opportunity and peaceful political change.” Yet, it has led to more indignities upon humanity than anything in recent memory.
  • After the Egyptian military removed the criminal Morsi regime, an action you determined to be a “coup,” you urged the punishing of Egypt by restricting military aid to the new government.
  • In Tunisia in April, 2013, you met with Prime Minister Ali Larayedh. Larayedh is a member of the Ennahda Movement, which is a Muslim Brotherhood-allied political party.
Additionally, Qatar is involved in Taliban narcotics trafficking through a relationship with the Pakistani National Logistics Cell and profits from operating a virtual slave state. A recent press report explained how a Qatari citizen was the money man for an Al Qaeda group in Syria. His alias? Umar al-Qatari.
The QAC Coalition and petitioners ask that you consider the attached sourced report on Qatar’s activities. The links cited are vetted and credible sources. We hope you take the time to verify the truth of the statements for yourself.
After doing so, the Coalition of the Qatar Awareness Campaign calls on you to exert due influence on the Qatari government and the Muslim Brotherhood to cease any type of involvement in all forms of Islamic terrorism, slavery and drug trafficking!
Sincerely,
Lt. Col. Allen B. West (US Army, Ret)
AllenBWest.com
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
Center for Security Policy
Pamela Geller
Atlas Shrugs
Walid Shoebat
Shoebat.com
Charles Ortel
Washington Times
Paul E Vallely, US Army (Ret)
Chairman, Stand Up America
Robert Spencer
Jihad Watch
Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
NoisyRoom.net
Trevor Loudon
New Zeal **
& the entire Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition.
Qatar Research Report: http://www.stopqatarnow.com/p/research-report.html
Sign the Petition! Visit www.stopqatarnow.com
Facebook: Stop Qatar Now
Twitter: @stopqatarnow
** Select signatures as of 9/27. The Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition is comprised of more than 25 journalists, national security experts, publishers, and independent researchers. To view all Coalition participants, please visit the Campaign’s website.

Barack Obama, Liberty, Socialism/Communism, Socialist Opinion Shapers »

The Council Has Spoken!! This Weeks’ Watcher’s Council Results – 10/24/14
October 24, 2014 – 9:39 am EST | No Comment
The Watcher’s Council

In remembrance of the soldier, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who died in Canada this past week at the hands of a radical Jihadist. We also honor Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers for his bravery in taking down said Jihadist and saving untold lives.
The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match-up.
Babası oÄŸluna bir baÄŸ bağışlamış, oÄŸul babaya bir salkım üzüm vermemiÅŸ (“The Father gave his son a vineyard, the son didn’t give a single bunch of grapes to the father.” – Turkish Proverb
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” – Hermann Hesse
“Alliances are broken from considerations of interest.” – Niccoló Machiavelli, The Discourses, 1517
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFllDLVjB0MEp9xEhq1F7Fo64BKCCV90mf0DqFGbbvA3jDVHUw_G05qLpqd2Ph_qeCQKMr8Zz-h9iZKnS6wg1BOXT_EgBCiclwmJ9s59nul1HptRUc4JWoJLQzf5rRWFGlrYTRzzyZVwH/s400/Razor.jpg
This week’s winner, The Razor’sThe RazorKick Turkey Out Of NATO is a persuasively written essay that embodies the thoughts expressed above… it makes little sense to hold on to an alliance that really isn’t one. Here’s a slice:
Lord Palmerstone once noted that nations do not have permanent allies, only permanent interests. This statement assumes that a nation always acts in its own best interest, and this assumption is the basis for the realist school of international relations. Realists always expect national actors to do what is best for themselves. If an action does not benefit the nation in any particular way, or worse threatens it, then one cannot reasonably expect it to act even though one might think and others might agree that it is the right course of action. In international relations at least according to the realist school, there are no completely altruistic acts by nations or their actors.
I’ve been rooted in the realist school of international relations well before I got my degree in political science, having grown up while Henry Kissinger acted as Nixon’s national security advisor and later secretary of state under him and his successor Gerald Ford.Realists not only expect nations to act in their best interests, but regimes and the organizations constituting them to do the same. In statecraft realists aren’t surprised when regimes do what’s best for them even when it might compromise or damage others, but are willing to act in their own best interest when the opposite party acts in theirs.
Case in point: Turkey. Under the regime of Recep Erdogan for the past 12 years Turkey has been acting in the best interest of Erdogan and his ruling party the AKP. Erdogan is an Islamist in a nation where political Islam had been banned for decades after its re-founding under Kamal Ataturk. While Ataturk and the secularists saw Europe as a useful ally that would strengthen Turkey and their regime in the Middle East, Erdogan has instead positioned Turkey as the next Islamic Caliphate more in line with the Ottoman Empire of the 17th century rather than secular and Democratic Western Europe.
Perhaps the biggest interest Erdogan has besides the desire to remain in power is to avoid empowering the Kurdish minority within Turkey. Unlike the Palestinians, the Kurds have a much longer claim to their land stretching from northern Syria across southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq to Iran. One commonality between Erdogan and his secular predecessors has been the oppression of the Kurds in Turkey and their nationalist aims. The no-fly zone established in northern Iraq after the first Gulf War led to autonomy under Saddam and later the post-Saddam Iraqi government. Iraqi Kurds are as close to independent as Kurds have ever been, and their Syrian, Iranian and Turkish cousins recognize this.
From Erdogan’s perspective the decimation of the Syrian Kurds by the Islamic State (IS) is welcome. It weakens the Kurdish cause by reducing the number of Kurds in the region. Plus the Syrian Kurds were also strong supporters of the PKK, Turkey’s al-Qaida. From the realist perspective Erdogan will not act against IS on behalf of the Kurds unless there is an even greater, more pressing interest to do so.
And that’s the problem. Current American and European leadership is run by idealists not by realists. American and Europeans leaders simply do not understand why Erdogan and to more worrying degree Vladimir Putin act the way they do. To them bombing Kurds in Turkey instead of IS in Syria makes absolutely no sense just as annexing Crimea and dismembering Ukraine. They do not see the world the way Erdogan and Putin do, but realists do. Realists recognize that Putin and Erdogan will only act when the pressure applied to them is real and painful.
For Erdogan that pressure should include Turkey’s rejection from NATO and any possible future admittance to the EU under his regime. If Turkey acts in its own interests, so should the EU and the United States. The truth is that instead of being a beacon of secular Islam as Turkey once was, Turkey under Erdogan has become just another corrupt, Islamic Middle Eastern dictatorship with caliphate dreams. Turkey has condoned the rise of IS as well as backed other terrorist groups such as Hamas. It has kept a tight leash on the American base in Incirlik, preventing it from participating in the second Gulf War and in attacks on IS.
More at the link
In our non-Council category, the winner was Volokh Conspiracy’sCan ministers who make a living by conducting weddings be required to conduct same-sex weddings? submitted by Rhymes with Right. The piece examines the latest bit of bullying by same sex marriage advocates.
Here are this week’s full results. The Right Planet, The Independent Sentinel and Ask Marion were not able to vote this time out. None were affected by the usual 2/3 vote penalty for not voting.
Council Winners
Non-Council Winners
See you next week!
Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks’ nominees for Weasel of the Week!
And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council and the results are posted on Friday morning.
It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere and you won’t want to miss it.… or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.
And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Barack Obama, Liberty, Socialism/Communism, Socialist Opinion Shapers »

Weasel Of The Week!! – 10/23/14
October 23, 2014 – 12:36 pm EST | No Comment
The Watcher’s Council

It’s time to present this week’s statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!
Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel.
This week’s nominees were all slime-worthy,but in the end the overwhelming winner was…

U.S. Secretary Of State John Kerry!!
Simply Jews: John Kerry, to be liked more by the members of the Dictators’ Club, is ready to go the whole nine yards.
He said the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict was fueling recruitment for the Islamic State jihadist group.
“There wasn’t a leader I met with in the region who didn’t raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation,” Kerry said.
Why should ISIS head-cutters invest in their propaganda, when the leader of the free world, via his proxy, provides them with ready-to-use soundbites?
Another low in the White House Middle East “peace effort”…
The Noisy Room: My nomination this week goes to John Kerry, more affectionately (not) referred to as Lurch, for claiming that extremism has nothing to do with Islam:
Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday night rejected any link between Islam and extremism practiced by the likes of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL/Daesh), pointing instead to factors such as poverty among youthful Mideast populations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – and climate change.
Addressing a reception at the State Department in honor of the recent Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, Kerry told an audience of Muslim community representatives, diplomats and others that the world was facing “a very complex time, and there are many currents that are loose out there that have brought us to this moment.”;
“The extremism that we see, the radical exploitation of religion which is translated into violence, has no basis in any of the real religions,” he said. “There’s nothing Islamic about what ISIL/Daesh stands for, or is doing to people.”
So, religion has nothing to do with religion in Islam. Except it does… it has everything to do with the Qu’ran and Allah’s most devoted worshipers. Instead Kerry blames Israel yet again, the lack of socialist collectivism in the world and non-existent climate change. Forked tongue much?
JoshuaPundit: John Kerry, for his revival of a kinky variation of Meershimer and Walt’s ‘The Israel Lobby’ fantasy and saying that Islamic State’s success in recruiting is due to Israel’s failure to commit national suicide and bow to all Hamas/Fatah’s demands:
As I went around and met with people in the course of our discussions about the ISIL coalition, the truth is we – there wasn’t a leader I met with in the region who didn’t raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation that they felt – and I see a lot of heads nodding – they had to respond to. And people need to understand the connection of that. And it has something to do with humiliation and denial and absence of dignity, and Eid celebrates the opposite of all of that.
Said of course, at a reception honoring the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, to a predominantly Muslim audience, most of whom would undoubtedly giggle and high five one another if every Jew in Israel were to die tomorrow.
For that matter, if Kerry is telling the truth, the majority of the leaders Kerry claims he talked to don’t even recognize Israel’s existence as a state! Even CNN doesn’t do polls that biased. And does he really think that Islamic State, Hamas and Hezbollah would disarm, disappear and give up their quest for the Caliphate if Israel suddenly disappeared from the equation?
Also, for his unique performance appeasing the Iranians and knuckling under to their continued demands and transparent stalling to keep the ball rolling on their illegal nuclear weapons program.
—-
Yes,our Secretary of State is quite the weasel, isn’t he?
I still remember Weekend Monkey’s interview with him a few years back. He really got to the essence of the man… very revealing.
Accepting the award for the Secretary was deputy State department spokesmouth Marie Harf. I asked her whether the Secretary was pleased with his victory tonight and she said she couldn’t comment on that but would release a statement later… she wasn’t exactly sure when.
Well, there it is!
Check back next Tuesday to see who next week’s nominees for Weasel of the Week are!
Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum, and remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council and the results are posted on Friday morning.
It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere and you won’t want to miss it… or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.
And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Obama Surrounds Himself with the Most Extreme Appointees in American History