Today's Teamster News 07.12.13

<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/11/196435/consumer-groups-fret-as-first.html#.Ud_f3z7F36k">Consumer groups fret as first round of European trade talks nears end</a>  McClatchy   ...as negotiators prepare to end the first round of talks in Washington on Friday, many consumer groups in the United States and Europe fear their governments will be a little too flexible, rushing to help corporations cash in on billions of dollars in new business...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/george-steinmetz-arrested-feedlot_n_3575593.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics">George Steinmetz, National Geographic Photographer, Arrested Taking Photos Of Kansas Feedlot</a>  Huffington Post   ...Kansas' ag gag law, the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act ... bars individuals from entering and photographing an animal facility not open to the public...<br /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-on-food-stamps-2013-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)">The Rise Of Food Stamp Use In America</a>  Business Insider   ...Earlier today, the House passed the Farm Bill without any funding provision for food stamps...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/07/11/low-wage-workers-to-strike-at-smithsonian-museums/">Low-wage workers strike at Smithsonian museums</a>  Washington Post   ...Low-wage workers connected with the nation’s marquee museum network held a strike on Thursday, continuing a string of recent demonstrations to promote better pay for employees at federal buildings...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/walmart-living-wage_n_3575730.html">Walmart Living Wage Dispute In D.C. Undermines Company's Murky Pay Claims</a>  Huffington Post   ...the company's balk at a $12.50 starting wage in D.C. suggests that the typical store worker actually earns a good deal less than $12.78...<br /><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/finance/310479-warren-hammers-regulators-on-trials-for-firms-who-skirt-financial-rules">Warren presses Wall Street regulators to take more bad actors to trial</a>  The Hill   ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) scolded financial regulators on Thursday, questioning why they had sought settlements with many of Wall Street's bad actors instead of taking those firms to trial...<br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-11/warren-joins-mccain-to-push-new-glass-steagall-bill-for-banks.html">Warren Joins McCain to Push New Glass-Steagall Law for Banks</a>  Bloomberg   ...U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said she and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are introducing a bill aimed at re-creating the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era measure that separated commercial and investment banking...<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-asiana-pilot-blinded-crash-20130711,0,4824429.story">NTSB investigates whether Asiana pilot was blinded before crash</a>  Los Angeles Times   ..."We really don't know what it could have been," Hersman said. "We need to look into it. We need to understand what he's talking about."...<br /><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/teamsters-time-for-a-pay-increase-for-hernando-county-government-employees/2131012">Teamsters: Time for a raise for Hernando government workers </a> Tampa Bay Times   ...The union representing about 400 Hernando County government workers brought a message to the bargaining table this week: The time has come to make up for lost wages, and an across-the-board 6 percent increase should do it...<br /><a href="http://www.pionline.com/article/20130710/DAILYREG/130719995/teamsters-pension-plan-returns-1356-in-2012-topping-benchmark">Teamsters pension plan returns 13.56% in 2012, topping benchmark</a>  Pensions & Investments   ...Teamsters Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan returned 13.56% in 2012, outpacing its Wilshire's Trust Universe Comparison Service benchmark return of 13.25%...<br /><a href="http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/07/10/chicago-undertakers-in-teamsters-union-go-on-strike/">Chicago Undertakers In Teamsters Union Go On Strike</a>  aol   ...The funeral workers are right, in a sense, to fight against SCI's proposal: For them, the new deal is a much, much worse deal...

Today's Teamster News 07.12.13

Consumer groups fret as first round of European trade talks nears end  McClatchy   ...as negotiators prepare to end the first round of talk...

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Why teachers should help lead a thankful revolution

<p> I've been thinking about the 19 firefighters in Arizona who died unexpectedly with the sudden turn of a fire. I've also been thinking of the teachers who gave their lives protecting children from gunmen and tornadoes this year. I've even been thinking about the janitors who quietly do their jobs in our school - do you know that if they scrimped on their job when no one was looking - we could literally have outbreaks of disease among our precious children?</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ifl0L-wVt-A/SIJWqDLl0MI/AAAAAAAAELQ/_dLw2hAOm9A/s1600/Fireman.JPG" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="752" id="blogsy-1373625649065.7375" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ifl0L-wVt-A/SIJWqDLl0MI/AAAAAAAAELQ/_dLw2hAOm9A/s500/Fireman.JPG" width="500"></a></div> <h2>How can we help promote gratitude and active thankfulness among this generation?</h2> <p>I just wonder what we as teachers can do to help promote a grateful generation. How can we help kids know the importance of saying "thank you" to and to be glad for what they have?</p> <p>This is something I want to be more of what I do this year at school.</p> <p>Sure, I've got standards to meet and a curriculum to accomplish, but it is kind of like this.</p> <p>If I focus on making sure my children keep their room clean while forgetting my relationship with my children - they might have a perfectly clean room but have no kind of relationship with me. We have tasks and relationships to balance. The relationship is vitally important. There's a human side to every task. When we forget the humans, their task becomes almost irrelevant. (Ahem, overtesting...)</p> <h2>Thankfulness as a habit</h2> <p>If teachers aren't thanked, perhaps it is because we don't help kids see and thank others. I'm not proposing we do this so that suddenly people can acknowledge that we are a noble calling (as they should, by the way). </p> <p>I am proposing that we help our children tell others that they matter and thank them for their work because it is something we must do. When we acknowledge the sacrifices of others, we are more sensitive to notice it everywhere we see it.</p> <h2>A self centered generation will be an unhappy one</h2> <p>The unhappiest people I know think only of their own happiness. An unhappy generation will be a self centered one. Kids are self centered by nature -it is pretty much how we are born. As I've matured and begun to see the value in helping others with my own life, I've grown in joy and fulfillment.</p> <p>Because one day tragedy will strike every community - it does. And communities that can live with the peace of mind that they've thanked the heroes among them will rest much easier on this. </p> <h1>Please share your ideas and links</h1> <p>How can we thank our law enforcement, EMTs, and all of those people who serve us every day? I'm looking for all kinds of ideas beyond having them come and sit at an assembly and taking food (I think they like the second one the most, from what I've heard.) What can we do to really shower and show gratitude to the heroes among us?</p> <p> If you've done something special, please write about it on your own blog and put the link in the comments below so that those of us gathering ideas can learn from you! Thank you.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad" height="20" src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" />Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad</a></div>

Inspiration students Teaching Why teachers should help lead a thankful revolution

I've been thinking about the 19 firefighters in Arizona who died unexpectedly with the sudden turn of a fire. I've also been thinki...

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A report back on the TeachMeet at Elkanah House on 8th June (from Linda Foulkes)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em>This is a guest post from the organiser of the TeachMeet at Elkanah House, Linda Foulkes, from her blog </em><a href="http://folklind.wordpress.com/"><em>http://folklind.wordpress.com</em></a><em>. Thank you Linda!</em><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had  a wonderful turnout at the TeachMeet @ Elkanah House on Saturday, 8th June!  Out of all the attendees we had  thirteen presentations lined up for the morning. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is absolutely great to see so many teachers </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who are willing to share and collaborate with others.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It was a very fruitful</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOg0ZAcMCN09UHUGqyyJHXWEDOXOnmeGpXOM7RpDoXE8N2k2seYsUlxiWaHsRgyChvfaB8znl9_ul7IvguOY-sCTErkVgIdRjmZLdd9JAiu8NfzrmfxvtJCMseTuvYRQGKxC1tv63-W8c/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-ySeC7_2vpzJVUuwgBF6lOI7V6zimeXbmQpQdtom2UKdrQfD5WfA7yfF-oDEbw86tcWmssXXnUowMgAVLm5n_DvfcUvK6zFgFloUqbh1lfzY9GX2cwGH_LvRdRxQYRChFLnCOj1ZVRI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">morning for all concerned as we definitely learnt a lot from each and every presentation given. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a </span><a href="http://goo.gl/ulPUq" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">link</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the shared Google drive folder where all the presentations are available. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each presenter received a bag of jelly beans for agreeing to sign up as a Keen Bean. There were spot prizes handed out at intervals throughout the presentation. Every member of the audience received a number at the start of the meet and winners were generated by using the online fruit machine located on classtools.net.  Follow: #elkteachmeet or @folklind</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQAMPcGvngXygmrQ2DnDmfZur12tUu_da-_scoQb_Q2hGgKlabRoXBMwU4UqEYEiCeWFopdHDsLFn0RBUL5Pdzrj50TuaQ6L9WGJT776aEvHDeb88kTLN47MYESZxxGUNcxX81amcNj5g/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WVZPJfJI_t2TuEFT9sGqmn_x5PhMHasVfAriPY82TRAZIz4UNf_98FVo5rWeHLE3NSkrW2qDX6za1GrvcROmfvG1IJxMvluEM4m9DlNswsLcO-QT0mpgkzu1bYvgGYrkBVcDQJvlVI4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the meet the TeachMeet a WIFI hotspot was available for those who wished to use devices to connect to the internet. Thank you to Stephan Botha, our amazing IT Network Manager. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The presentations were excellent….so well prepared…so full of passion and engagement from teachers who are owning the use of technology in the classroom – children are very privileged to be engaged by these teachers in the classroom in this way!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The presentations</b><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_XNZRzSvrKxTjVHU1R1QkR2ZWs&usp=sharing" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Kidblog presentation" height="147" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/kidblog-presentation.jpg?w=150&h=112" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Juanita Oosthuizen</strong> opened the event by chatting to the audience about the <strong>KidBlog</strong> blogging tool. Kidblog is a fabulous tool to get your class to create and collaborate.  It is safe and simple to use, which makes it perfect for younger learners to introduce them to social media.  It would also be great for older grades to blog in a distraction-free zone.  Learn how to set up and run a blog for your class and explore some of the possibilities around the uses of Kidblog. Used avatar maker [illustmaker for blog]. Available as iPad app! </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Gilmour Gordon</strong> had the TeachMeet audience in hysterics as he demonstrated a Grade 7 music activity by actually doing an ab workout. Gilmour’s students had to use movie maker, or imovie to create an ab workout video to 3 pieces of music. Audacity was used to edit tracks using fade in, delete, edit and export functions. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jane Mackenzie-Hoskyn</strong> delivered the presentation called “ZOOM TO THE ORSAY”. An alternative and engaging way to stir some interest in learners prior to starting an Art theory lesson. Jane took us on a virtual tour of the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Walk into the museum and travel, select artwork to view and analyse collaboratively. Technology used:  MacBook (laptop) and iPad (tablet), projector, white board, Edmodo for delivery / receipt of work, Reflector, Splashtop for control of laptop to iPad, Google Art Gallery, Google forms, e-mail. This content can also be applied to HSS, Geography and History, using Google Earth instead of Google Art Galleries . </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Kevin Sherman</strong> – Took us on a trip to the moon and earth using Google Earth. Kevin also introduced us to ue layers in Google Earth to view 360 cities and panoramio. He took us on an underwater virtual tour which he used as an English lesson in order to get kids to describe the look and feel of what they experienced. Followed path of a Sea Turtle and Ray virtually underwater to enrich the classroom experience in many learning areas. Kevin also displayed how this tool could be used for Maths to measure distance between two points on the ground. One can also track elevations! 360cities.net can also be used. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/longacres-primary-ipad-project.png?w=150&h=112" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Longacres Primary iPad Project" border="0" height="148" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/longacres-primary-ipad-project.png?w=150&h=112" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Emmie Barkhuizen and Noelle Cowling</strong> – Emmie and Noelle discussed the introduction of their iPad project at Longacres Primary. Early challenges such as iTunes, technical issues and working with teachers. Working with teachers well in advance before introducing into the classrom and getting them to attend some TeachMeet events is a must. Pinterest boards a great way to get teachers to upload content. They used Apple TV for sharing reading of stories in the classroom, thereafter children used own iPad to listen and then read using earphones. Book creator was used as a Mothers Day project whereby children used video, music, personal voice notes [messages to mom], effects and explained the environment around them [farm animals etc.] </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Michele Botha </strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">explained the progress of the BYOD program at Somerset House. After six</span><br /><a href="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/byod.png?w=150&h=112" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="BYOD" border="0" height="148" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/byod.png?w=150&h=112" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">months they surveyed the parents, children and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">teachers. Interesting how children lead the way in terms of selecting the right device for a particular task. Cell phones definitely faded out. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another interesting point was</span><br /><a href="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/onestopshopping-michele.png?w=150&h=112" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="OneStopShopping Michele" border="0" height="148" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/onestopshopping-michele.png?w=150&h=112" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that the children controlled other children by “telling on” if they were accessing something they were not supposed to.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michele also put together the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OneStopShopping presentation which addressed the website classtools.net and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">other very valuable resources for teaching.</span><br /><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></strong><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alan Goldberg</strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - introduced Showbie for the iPad for easy collaboration between students and teachers.Do need internet infrastructure as cloud based service – one creates class and shares codes with students for access. Showbie creates a shared collaboration folder as read-only. One can collaborate using text notes, voice notes, pdf, camera and the Pages app to name a few. Alan then introduced Grafio, add audio and content to shapes and link them. It is a unique canvas tool that uses the iPad capabilities to allow you to experience freehand drawing. It has shape recognition so redraws shapes if you freehand draw them and connects and allows one to move entire drawing with connected lines. Great flowchart app.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Carolynn Bruton</strong> – runs her own business called IT@Home. She shared a<br />huge range of mindmapping tools one can use in the classroom and went through the pro’s and con’s of each and which she preferred to use. Website Carolynn used are mindmapinspiration.com/top-10 and mindmappingsoftwareblog.com. Tool must have dropbox integration and be able to share and export. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_XNZRzSvrKxTjVHU1R1QkR2ZWs&usp=sharing" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Create a Learnist Board" height="148" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/create-a-learnist-board.png?w=150&h=112" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Fiona Beal </strong>- encouraged us to use Learnist which essentially acts as a visual repository of all your favourite  articles, videos, ebooks, maps, surveys, blogs, podcasts, and images. Users create boards based on their interests and curate content around a chosen theme. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fiona also prepared a presentation on</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_XNZRzSvrKxTjVHU1R1QkR2ZWs&usp=sharing" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="FionaBeal_The_African_Storybook_project" height="112" src="http://folklind.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/fionabeal_the_african_storybook_project.png?w=150&h=112" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the African Storybook Project and urged us to encourage our classes to write for this project. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Photo Gallery</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on the photo below to be taken to the TeachMeet photo gallery</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://folklind.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/teachmeet-8-june-photos/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXLpJ0qvqy3vMuJOEZaGauOFJO8FyaKG3lG6pBd2bKngoVIOhUNjtpPSk_L5xkKgZ0_CGqJwjSwBV1-wdxrzaqHJcnuVYn6hbcOeQej68KVb87Ntr6oNdxVqICvOxuX7A8Xj99ClKtus/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a fabulous morning! Thank you to all those who attended – will let you know shortly when the next meet will be!</span><br /><br /></div>

teachmeets A report back on the TeachMeet at Elkanah House on 8th June (from Linda Foulkes)

This is a guest post from the organiser of the TeachMeet at Elkanah House, Linda Foulkes, from her blog http://folklind.wordpress.com . Than...

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George Zimmerman is GUILTY!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">Holaaaaaaa Bitches! Well we’re back full force here at the old IWS Radio website and I can feel the tension in the crowd. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin and will be convicted and sent to jail. Everything is waiting for me to tell you WHY George Zimmerman is guilty. Well, I don’t know why. I just, I don’t know, had to go with either “Guilty” or “Innocent” and finally flipped a coin and it came up guilty. Which he is, you know. The Coin Gods said so.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbNpkI4NKURfJZX2rebIs8j4syyndtHOfTTFDuR_Grxlx11akwACokb_5QMZItZscL4jqAn1p7v8G7icnQyrN_cdAV9moqbGG16Wf_J-nB1u2MCXPFQRYiStZGxqyDlaRIEXABwboOBA/s1600/George-Zimmerman-Nude-Hot-Sexy-Murderer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbNpkI4NKURfJZX2rebIs8j4syyndtHOfTTFDuR_Grxlx11akwACokb_5QMZItZscL4jqAn1p7v8G7icnQyrN_cdAV9moqbGG16Wf_J-nB1u2MCXPFQRYiStZGxqyDlaRIEXABwboOBA/s320/George-Zimmerman-Nude-Hot-Sexy-Murderer.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course I haven’t watched a single minute of the trial, but I don’t have to. I know all the facts I need to know and can’t be bothered by silly things like the law, jury instructions, admissible evidence, witness testimony and all that boring shit. I flipped the coin and it came up heads for “Guilty” so that’s that.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh I would have watched the trial but dammit, I’m just not the legal experts you guys all are. I think the fact that you guys on Facebook and Twitter tend to disagree over legal definitions is probably further proof that you’re experts and really know your shit. Well, either that or you made up your minds long before the trial started and are only using the evidence presented to confirm your beliefs or be OUTRAGED at the lie the “other side” is telling in court. God forbid any of you people ever allow your beliefs to be challenged and consider the possibility that you’re wrong about something. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyhoodle, sometime over the next few days George Zimmerman will be convicted, acquitted or there will be a hung jury. Then there will be the required fake outrage, bullshit claims that people “read on the internet” and then we’ll all move on to the next big thing and forget all about George and the dead 17 year old kid “whatshisname.” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Which reminds me … The funny thing about that whole “sanctity of life’ crowd is that they always seem to be on the side of the killer. Well, unless the killer is a woman having an abortion, then they get serious about saving that fetus because “all life is precious.” Unless two years after the kid is born and it’s accidentally killed by someone who was playing with an unsecured gun in the house. Then, the “sanctity of life” crowd who believes that “all life is precious” won’t be anywhere to be found. But, I digress. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I tell you one thing though, I sure as hell wouldn’t want my fate to be in the hands of an all-woman jury like old George’s is. Holy Hell! There’s no way THAT would end well. All the prosecution would have to do is read off a bunch of my old blog posts or some of the Babes of the Week from here and I would be toast. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLd3UGFEs4bacVvxm5-TlKX8lFSntmrUdBgXqmUwalmaqt2kp5yaqDY7rENwzcS7hS-bnSFC1mL_69czrou6EwryrBUbOyqPtecFpxLJce3yIlL1A6bC4kkvFfWCykzVyNq9VFMrs5LcI/s1600/elisabeth-hasselbeck-hot-boobs-o-face-angry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLd3UGFEs4bacVvxm5-TlKX8lFSntmrUdBgXqmUwalmaqt2kp5yaqDY7rENwzcS7hS-bnSFC1mL_69czrou6EwryrBUbOyqPtecFpxLJce3yIlL1A6bC4kkvFfWCykzVyNq9VFMrs5LcI/s320/elisabeth-hasselbeck-hot-boobs-o-face-angry.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Besides, I don’t do that well with women. Oh sure, at first things seem to go okay but after a bit I eventually say something that makes them sit and think and next thing you know, they don’t want to be alone with me. So weird. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">You know what would be worst? An all-white woman jury! Oh God! Those angry Elisabeth Hasselbeck types would convict me on the basis of my hot Asian babes posts alone. Fucking racists! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Uhhh … what was I talking about? Oh yeah, George Zimmerman is guilty according to the Coin Gods. The jury? *shrugs shoulders* who knows or cares? Their verdict probably won’t matter to all the experts out there on Social Media anyway. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://facebook.com/Jayman68" target="_blank">Facebook.com/Jayman68</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div>

George Zimmerman is GUILTY!

Holaaaaaaa Bitches! Well we’re back full force here at the old IWS Radio website and I can feel the tension in the crowd. George Zimmerman k...

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Storytellers Mack & Joan Swift at Skyland Resort

Mack Swift was the football coach when I was in high school. Each summer, he and his wife can be found at Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park as storytellers extraordinaire.<br /><blockquote><b>Wednesdays – July 10, 17, 24 & 31</b><br /><br />In keeping with the tradition of “Stony Man Camp” founder George Pollock’s activities of entertaining his guests and telling stories, storytellers Mack & Joan Swift provide a lively 45-minute program of Jack Tales at Skyland Resort. Tales such as “Jack and the Three Sacks of Truth” are great for all ages. Held 8:00 to 8:45pm on the Skyland terrace, weather permitting. Check at front desk for location if inclement weather.</blockquote>This is one of many summer programs going on at Skyland and Big Meadows Lodges.

Big Meadows Lodge Blue Ridge Mountains George Pollock Jack Tales Joan Swift Mack Swift Shenandoah National Park Skyland Resort Skyline Drive storytellers Storytellers Mack & Joan Swift at Skyland Resort

Mack Swift was the football coach when I was in high school. Each summer, he and his wife can be found at Skyland Resort in Shenandoah Natio...

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Liberty Building

The Liberty Insurance Building (formerly the Q Building) is the tallest building in Blanchardstown.<div><br></div><div>I generally dislike this building but in the sun today it looked quite good.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fQp7fWAp5cF-i2pbw6V80-DRXeypwDbrcpj-VoLcYY7CY852TFyqTZIOM-nZFY1NRPAv5E289EOjQN6pBVacGZH2B71qJkgH9-JlBEFTGUkElIneDjdxyxrDwkfdYRUKB-W-tEPr_xYD/s640/blogger-image-990941837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fQp7fWAp5cF-i2pbw6V80-DRXeypwDbrcpj-VoLcYY7CY852TFyqTZIOM-nZFY1NRPAv5E289EOjQN6pBVacGZH2B71qJkgH9-JlBEFTGUkElIneDjdxyxrDwkfdYRUKB-W-tEPr_xYD/s640/blogger-image-990941837.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3e749wcBRr0VJsax12YFIf4IaQ50fDCcFOuvcZSx-0vDNrq5rpkCwVVwJeH8uQpcQ5wFlYLn0Mzb-RPENEoWjsXnA3_k2I1eqNxmOq01m3BywjBsP1HtpZA14RUHRQuDGgy2N_91ksWn/s640/blogger-image-10502239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3e749wcBRr0VJsax12YFIf4IaQ50fDCcFOuvcZSx-0vDNrq5rpkCwVVwJeH8uQpcQ5wFlYLn0Mzb-RPENEoWjsXnA3_k2I1eqNxmOq01m3BywjBsP1HtpZA14RUHRQuDGgy2N_91ksWn/s640/blogger-image-10502239.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div>

Liberty Building

The Liberty Insurance Building (formerly the Q Building) is the tallest building in Blanchardstown. I generally dislike this building but in...

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CRISIS: QATAR’S TRANSITION

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style="color: #134f5c;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ACTS AS PIVOT FOR “CHANGE OF DIRECTION” FOR MIDDLE EAST</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Executive Summary: </span></b></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Impact from QATAR’S aggressive interventionist politics in SYRIA and LIBYA, under what has come to be known as the “QATARI foreign legion”</span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SAUDI ARABIA versus QATAR </span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s all about energy</span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why QATAR and TURKEY are (were) in favor of toppling the Assad regime in SYRIA </span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">QATAR’S failed foreign</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">intervention politics</b></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USA urged QATAR and TURKEY to support the Muslim brotherhood in order to create political change in the region</span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BRITAIN’S backtracking regarding its SYRIAN stance <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USA to “allow” IRAN to win, an option which both SAUDI ARABIA and the USA would be reluctant to embrace, given their commitment to Sunni Muslim dominance over IRAN and Shi’ism.</span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TURKEY under increasing pressure </span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Transfer of power in QATAR a face-saving way of “re-shaping” QATAR’S adventurist foreign intervention politics</span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Power transfer, an opportunity for USA to rethink its geostrategic policies in the region? </span></b></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">By Gregory R. Copley via Oilprice</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The change of leadership in QATAR served as a signal of a subtle, but profound, change of direction in the greater Middle East. Of significance, however, is that it indicated that the outgoing Emir of QATAR would spend more of his time and wealth managing — with his wife — his “international interests”, leaving the management of the State of QATAR to the incoming Emir, his son.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is, with this event and others, the start of a new era which was begun by the gradual decline in US influence in the region after 1979 (and particularly after 2008), and confirmed by the transitions in leaderships which took place in the so-called “Arab Spring” period, compounded by subsequent elections in PAKISTAN and IRAN. The changes are not yet complete.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani’s abdication as Emir of QATAR on June 25, 2013, had been quietly anticipated and QATAR’S allies were discreetly informed in advance. It was no surprise, and was believed to have been dictated largely because of health concerns by the 61-year-old monarch, but it was also dictated by the process of preparing Crown Prince Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani for the post. It also meant that the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, would have to retire, so close were he and Sheikh Hamad in the development of QATAR’S economic and strategic policies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IMPACT FROM QATAR’S AGGRESSIVE INTERVENTIONIST POLITICS IN SYRIA AND LIBYA, UNDER WHAT HAS COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE “QATARI FOREIGN LEGION”</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, the transfer of power to Sheikh Tamin, 33, inevitably would mean a transformation in Qatar’s adventurist strategic policy, even though it was Sheikh Tamin and his mother — Sheikha Moza, the second wife of the outgoing Emir, Sheikh Hamad — who were the great proponents of the aggressive policy of support for radical Islamist combatants to help overthrow LIBYAN leader Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi and SYRIAN Pres. Bashar al-Assad. The question is, however, what that “transformation” will entail. It was, by late June 2013, by no means clear that Sheikh Tamin would be more moderate than his father.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In any event, it has been intimated that the now-former Emir, Sheikh Hamad, would be able, with Sheikha Moza, to devote more time to managing QATAR’S international activities, ranging from the discreet support of interventionist activities by what has come to be known as the “Qatari Foreign Legion” to international aid issues.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The support by QATAR for the anti-Qadhafi rebellion was not in itself surprising, but the manner of it seemed uncharacteristic of the moderate approach which Sheikh Hamad seemed to have taken in the years building up to that event. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SAUDI ARABIA VERSUS QATAR </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">QATAR went in to the LIBYAN conflict by aggressively backing and arming a salafist and Ikhwani (Muslim Brothers) force which was antithetical to the traditionally moderate, pro-modernist Sanussiyah Muslims in the Cyrenaica province of LIBYA: the people who had begun the uprising against Qadhafi’s coup.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">They had acted against Qadhafi to restore the 1952 Constitution. And Sheikh Hamad was very much aware of that, given that his early encouragement into the development of QATAR’S gas fields — against the strenuous opposition of SAUDI ARABIA, which was “anti-gas/pro-petroleum” — came from LIBYAN then-exiled Prince Idris al-Senussi, who had briefed Sheikh Hamad and then-Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim extensively on the differences between Senussi and Saudi Wahhabi approaches to Islam.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is true that Sheikh Hamad and Hamad bin Jassim ultimately fell out with Prince Idris after the money began accumulating in QATAR, transforming its position, and there was a reluctance to recognize Idris’s rôle in the gas revolution which QATAR began. But was that enough to cause QATAR to back such a radical, jihadist intervention in LIBYA when it could have just as easily supported the moderate, local Cyrenaican Senussiyahs who had initiated the revolt — the counter-coup — against Qadhafi? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ultimately, however, the QATARI “foreign legion” in LIBYA came under control, more or less (but not before its allies attacked the US Consulate-General in Benghazi, killing the US Ambassador and others on September 11, 2012), and the Senussiyah faction won control, electorally, of LIBYAN politics, and retained control of Cyrenaica.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Neither was the momentum of QATARI support continued after the LIBYA episode to the anti-Bashar jihadists in SYRIA explicable in relation to Sheikh Hamad’s long history of moderation.  True, Sheikh Tamin’s and Sheikha Moza’s ostensible passion for these causes may have played a rôle, but there was still much more to it than that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IT’S ALL ABOUT ENERGY</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One contributory strand to the event was the plan, rejected by Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad on advice from his key ally, IRAN, by QATAR to build a gas pipeline across from QATAR and via SAUDI ARABIA and SYRIA, to reach the EUROPEAN market.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUng2_xiBbW3C9aq0Tr7uFvSEiRBQjwAeBDOjJqErRZbBdTPxDPInu8zBSJU3E47RojPx1a28-M-yQ11mL4dRWEwa-SVzy3rZ-W0DipUwbygfzeXJLYi3hslwejgCnWNCUzYN-N8t-vdDU/s1600/440px-Tapline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUng2_xiBbW3C9aq0Tr7uFvSEiRBQjwAeBDOjJqErRZbBdTPxDPInu8zBSJU3E47RojPx1a28-M-yQ11mL4dRWEwa-SVzy3rZ-W0DipUwbygfzeXJLYi3hslwejgCnWNCUzYN-N8t-vdDU/s400/440px-Tapline.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-highlight: yellow;"></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">IRAN - IRAQ - SYRIA GAS PIPELINE AGREEMENT  A “WIN WIN” SITUATION, BUT NOT FOR QATAR AND TURKEY </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/05/pipelineistan.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/05/pipelineistan.html</a><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">IS THE TRANS ARABIAN PIPELINE “TAPLINE” THE ANSWER TO FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN THE SYRIAN UPRISING? At </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/12/syria-cause-and-effect.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">ENORMOUS GAS FINDINGS AND PROSPECTS OF OIL FINDINGS COMPLICATE TURKEYS STANCE IN THE REGION. </span>At </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA WOULD DIMINISH RUSSIA’S IMPORTANCE AS GAS EXPORTER AS WELL AS NAVAL PRESENCE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/01/syrias-destiny-sealed.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/01/syrias-destiny-sealed.html</a>and</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/01/strait-of-hormuz-and-syria.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/01/strait-of-hormuz-and-syria.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WHY QATAR AND TURKEY ARE (WERE) IN FAVOR OF TOPPLING THE ASSAD REGIME IN SYRIA </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN wanted to develop its own pipeline through SYRIA and IRAQ to reach the same EUROPEAN market (when embargoes against IRAN are eventually lifted). Those familiar with this situation in Doha indicated that the QATARI leadership’s response to this rejection was to support the removal of Bashar, and in this they found a ready ally in TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring published an article from <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Oil Price, dated </span>February 2013 regarding QATAR’S competing gas pipeline project, connecting QATAR and TURKEY, versus the SYRIAN, IRAQI and IRANIAN gas pipeline project.<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbO_LKOveMgAzWPkQw7yy6Gg6SyoVUE7WWpC0csFAKsyBYFxj2BCybRwdi1TZOgXeYWQo9UKDTWqZct2iM5hZ67118HqWiBVbRIgPKxXocdYvSEIOM4PAI4mvWkn-Xin1uXpUAx8OY9tT/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbO_LKOveMgAzWPkQw7yy6Gg6SyoVUE7WWpC0csFAKsyBYFxj2BCybRwdi1TZOgXeYWQo9UKDTWqZct2iM5hZ67118HqWiBVbRIgPKxXocdYvSEIOM4PAI4mvWkn-Xin1uXpUAx8OY9tT/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">IRAN-IRAQ: PIPELINE TO SYRIA UPS ANTE IN PROXY WAR WITH QATAR</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I<b>RAQ’S agreement to allow IRAN to build a pipeline through its territory and on to SYRIA is in direct competition with QATAR’S similar designs for a SYRIA pipeline that would connect to TURKEY. This pipeline is another proxy in the SYRIAN conflict theater and Iran’s response to its loss of ground here. It is also a sign of IRAN’S growing foothold in IRAQ. QATAR will respond in kind. </b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The IRAQI Cabinet green lighted IRAN’S $10 billion pipeline project, which will supply gas from the South Pars field (which is the largest in the world, and which, as mentioned above, it shares with QATAR) to SYRIA and beyond to other export markets. There is talk of extending the pipeline to LEBANON. </span><br /></b><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>The first part of the pipeline—some 225 kilometers—through IRAQ will reportedly be completed in June 2013. The pipeline will connect the southern IRANIAN port of Assolouyeh to IRAQ and then to SYRIA—for now. It will have a 110 million cubic meter/day capacity. The plan is to give IRAQ 20 million cubic meters/day of IRANIAN gas for its power plants, with 20-25 million cubic meters per day going to the SYRIAN port of </b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tartus</b></span>. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Read entire analysis at: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/02/syria-assad-winning-war.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/02/syria-assad-winning-war.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information</span></u></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">THE QATARI PROJECT</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">                                            </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/03/saudi-arabia-and-qatar.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/03/saudi-arabia-and-qatar.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">QATAR AT ODDS WITH RUSSIA, OVER ITS STANCE ON SYRIA? OR IS IT ABOUT DOMINATING THE GAS ENERGY MARKETS? </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/04/qatars-great-power-games.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/04/qatars-great-power-games.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">DRAWING SYMPATHY FROM ARAB COUNTRIES</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, again, there was more to it than this.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why would QATAR so deliberately pick up the gauntlet and challenge the great power of the PERSIAN GULF, IRAN, by threatening to destabilize SYRIA? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Part of it lies in the competitiveness felt between QATAR and SAUDI ARABIA, and particularly between Qatari Emir Hamad and SAUDI national security chief Prince Bandar, (See<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"> </span><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/07/saudi-arabian-intelligence-headquarters.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/07/saudi-arabian-intelligence-headquarters.html</a>) even though the two share ownership in the al-Jazeera broadcasting service based in Doha. QATAR has large outstanding territorial claims against SAUDI ARABIA, because the creation of the Kingdom of SAUDI ARABIA subsumed substantial tracts of land, abutting the present SAUDI-QATARI border, occupied by QATARI tribes. As well, the now-departing Emir felt that SAUDI approaches to reclaiming some sense of strategic viability compared with Shi’a IRAN were weak, vacillating, and dangerous, and Sheikh Hamad felt the need to build a sense of unity among the Sunni Arabs to enable them to withstand IRAN.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FAILED FOREIGN</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">INTERVENTION POLITICS</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Significantly, incoming Emir Sheikh Tamin has become engaged in rebuilding SAUDI-QATARI relations, despite his apparent zeal for the LIBYA and SYRIA adventures. SAUDI ARABIA and QATAR have backed different factions of the opposition to Bashar in SYRIA, but both, by late June 2013, had to face the reality that they had failed in both SYRIA and LIBYA. The SYRIAN Administration of Bashar al-Assad had, to all intents, won the “civil war” that outside monies had triggered in SYRIA. Moreover, US Pres. Barack Obama had ventured too late in the SYRIAN conflict to propose US arming of SYRIAN opposition groups to overthrow Bashar, and it had been clear that the Government in Doha — the outgoing Emir and Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim — had very strong support (or urging) from Pres. Obama to undertake the courses they had taken on LIBYA and SYRIA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USA URGED QATAR AND TURKEY TO SUPPORT THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN ORDER TO CREATE POLITICAL CHANGE IN THE REGION</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy3953-rLWRs947nt_mXUoxWJZPpCByQhzPDH7HabCzxnj_q4e3Js5YoaMwMK0O-n0ajdSNS7rnXPuU1EWgbTmKQofZltQEknwe5hlIY_wqn_JRHmTOok_nfLigzuN06HtYyneVDrLZXI/s1600/US-Adjusting-to-Egypts-Muslim-Brotherhood-600x337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy3953-rLWRs947nt_mXUoxWJZPpCByQhzPDH7HabCzxnj_q4e3Js5YoaMwMK0O-n0ajdSNS7rnXPuU1EWgbTmKQofZltQEknwe5hlIY_wqn_JRHmTOok_nfLigzuN06HtYyneVDrLZXI/s320/US-Adjusting-to-Egypts-Muslim-Brotherhood-600x337.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pres. Obama had wanted his allies, QATAR and TURKEY, to support the Ikhwan (Muslim Brothers) as the main instruments of change in the region. Even SAUDI ARABIA, which supports neo-salafist and Wahhabist jihadists, was concerned that the White House was going too far, and even felt some common cause with ISRAEL to quietly resist the US President’s radical approach to ending the rule of Pres. Bashar. And, by late June 2013, it seemed that even Prime Minister Erdogan in TURKEY — suffering from impotence in his ability to overthrow Bashar, a conflict he had helped initiate — was now ready to begin quietly extracting himself from the SYRIA dispute. TURKEY, by late June 2013, was telling the US that it would no longer be able to act as a conduit territory for the shipment of arms to the SYRIAN rebels.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See also: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/08/saudi-arabias-proxy-war.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/08/saudi-arabias-proxy-war.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TURKEY had, since the overthrow of Qadhafi, worked very closely with the US Government — including US Ambassador to LIBYA J. Christopher Stevens, who had been killed on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi — to ship arms out of LIBYA to the SYRIAN rebels, discreetly embarking them on TURKISH-controlled ships out of Benghazi to SYRIA, either directly or via LEBANON or TURKEY. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BRITAIN’S BACKTRACKING REGARDING SYRIA </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Yl2gvRn8PHtVOn4Zdq4_6kUA78m4wBcNkutSD3gPGwlQkRVUDay2raK7FXm3p55blbkxJIErvMPPj5vkELnicD9bhiFUIpD8iAfNDdMohxOwbyQTkes_GHPJOVmSPKk42AAQrVrLZE3L/s1600/Mediterranean-China-Pipeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Yl2gvRn8PHtVOn4Zdq4_6kUA78m4wBcNkutSD3gPGwlQkRVUDay2raK7FXm3p55blbkxJIErvMPPj5vkELnicD9bhiFUIpD8iAfNDdMohxOwbyQTkes_GHPJOVmSPKk42AAQrVrLZE3L/s320/Mediterranean-China-Pipeline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In BRITAIN, Prime Minister David Cameron, who had keenly supported the Obama White House on “arming the SYRIAN rebels”, was apparently told by his Foreign Secretary, William Hague, that Parliament would not back him on this, and Mr Cameron had to back down. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pres. Obama, then, was isolated on this, but still needed to demonstrate (for domestic US political purposes) a determined and successful MIDDLE EAST initiative to distract from mounting political difficulties at home, where a variety of scandals were damaging both his political standing and his ability to win the coming mid-term Congressional elections, where he had hoped to regain control of the House of Representatives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">USA TO “ALLOW” IRAN TO WIN, AN OPTION WHICH BOTH SAUDI ARABIA AND THE USA WOULD BE RELUCTANT TO EMBRACE, GIVEN THEIR COMMITMENT TO SUNNI MUSLIM DOMINANCE OVER IRAN AND SHI’ISM.</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ISRAEL, SAUDI ARABIA, JORDAN, and other states were gradually backing away from the SYRIAN dispute. Now, QATAR’S new Emir, keen to rebuild relations with SAUDI ARABIA, also had the opportunity to scale back efforts in SYRIA. The question was, then, whether Pres. Obama — who had been counting on at least some signs of success and virility in the MIDDLE EAST to rebuild media support at home — would be able to let go of the SYRIAN war and “allow” IRAN to win. This is an option which both SAUDI ARABIA and Pres. Obama would be reluctant to embrace, given their commitment to Sunni Muslim dominance over IRAN and Shi’ism.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TURKEY UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Certainly, the politically embattled Islamist (Sunni) TURKISH Prime Minister, facing continuing domestic unrest and the now-unmasked threats from IRAN to stir up massive unrest in TURKEY (through the KURDS, Shi’a, ‘Alawites, and others) if TURKEY did not desist from attempting to destroy Bashar in SYRIA, knew he had to pull back from his full policy of support for the SYRIAN rebels. Ironically, the TURKISH- and QATARI-sponsored “civil war” in SYRIA had created a massive exodus of SYRIAN refugees into JORDAN, TURKEY, GREECE, and other states. The best that the US Obama Administration could do was to blame the humanitarian crisis on Pres. ASSAD of SYRIA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See also: <span style="color: blue;"><b>TURKISH LEADERSHIP DEMORALIZED</b></span>  <a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/07/turkish-leadership-demoralized.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/07/turkish-leadership-demoralized.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TRANSFER OF POWER IN QATAR A FACE-SAVING WAY OF “RE-SHAPING” QATAR’S ADVENTURIST FOREIGN INTERVENTION POLITICS</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But at the end of the day, the transfer of power in QATAR to Sheikh Tamin — and the voluntary retirement, reportedly to London, of former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim — was a face-saving way of “re-shaping” QATAR’S adventurism. Given the lack of responsiveness to Pres. Obama of EGYPT’S Ikhwani Administration of former Pres. Mohammad Morsi, it was becoming clear that the whole policy of supporting the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood, Wahhabism) in EGYPT, TURKEY, LIBYA, and SYRIA, was running out of steam. Whether this message would resonate with an activist Sheikh Hamad in retirement, however, is still unclear.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Background Information</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND EGYPT </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/11/middle-east.html">http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/11/middle-east.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">POWER TRANSFER, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR USA TO RETHINK ITS GEOSTRATEGIC POLICIES IN THE REGION?</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But this trend would enable the US finally be in a position where it could begin a meaningful dialog with IRAN, with the earlier (unsuccessful) policy of “carrot and stick” now being reduced to the state when the stick was seen to be ineffective? Certainly, it seems that former Emir Sheikh Hamad may attempt to counsel Pres. Obama against any rapprochement with IRAN. And IRAN itself may not yet be ready to negotiate with the White House. Why, indeed, should it do so when it has been strengthening its strategic position (albeit while the US-led economic embargo of IRAN is biting its citizens), and the US position in the region, along with that of its major ally, TURKEY, is weakening.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IRAN, too, had a new President — Hassan Rohani — who could be used as a perceived instrument of change to enable matters to move to a new form of stability.</span></div>

CRISIS: QATAR’S TRANSITION

ACTS AS PIVOT FOR “CHANGE OF DIRECTION” FOR MIDDLE EAST Executive Summary: Impact from QATAR’S aggressive interventionist politics in ...

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