USS Abraham Lincoln Enters the Persian Gulf

The USS Abraham Lincoln continued it's routine mission and has passed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf without incident. After all the hype, Iran's threats really just were bluster. Iran backed down with a message from Revolutionary Guard Corps Deputy Commander Hossein Salami, "U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence."

Previously in December, Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi had threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and specified that any United States carrier that attempted to enter the Gulf would come under attack. Since then hostilities had only escalated, partially due to the assassination of an Iranian scientist, that Iran blamed on the US, Britain, and Israel.


Iran has not backed down from their threats to retaliate against the US and her allies if they do not cancel their planned sanctions against Iran. The sanctions are being placed in response to Iran's continued nuclear program, that many fear is an attempt to produce weapons. Even Iran's long time ally, China, has cut trade down with Iran due to their refusal to cooperate with the international community. In fact, the European Union is planning to intensify their sanctions and announced that they may freeze the assets of Iran's central bank.


To add to Iran's troubles, Turkey announced that they seized a shipment of chemical weapons, that had been sent from Iran and were headed to civil strife torn Syria. The United Nations announced that they are investigating the incident. Only Russia's defense is likely to keep the UN from setting it's own sanctions against Iran. Though Russia may back down from that as they are also the only international country that is backing Assad's government in Syria.

Giffords Resigns

Via her Facebook, Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, has announced she will retire. “I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I’m getting better every day, my spirit is high.”

It was just over a year ago, that Giffords was shot by Jared Lee Loughner, in an apparent assassination attempt. In the attack a total of thirteen were wounded and six died. Loughner plead not guilty in March, and his competency to with stand trial is still being decided.

Even her survival is miraculous after taking a near point blank shot to the head. Sadly due to her injuries she has lost about half of her vision, needs a cane to walk, and her ability so speak has been slowed. Clearly a fighter, she is someone Americans can look up to for striving to succeed and survive.

Repercussions of Scottish Independence

Earlier this month we brought you a story about the Scottish seeking independence from Britain. It's time now to take a more in depth look at some repercussions that such a move would have for the rest of Great Britain.

1) Loss of resources. Scotland contains ninety percent of the oil and natural gas of the United Kingdom. And is roughly half of it's land mass.

2) It would possibly cost the UK their permanent place as part of the United Nations Security Council. One that has already been argued to be taken away from them as it is, since the council was designed off the world power stage of 1945. They would be likely to be replaced by an economic power such as Germany or Japan.

3) The UK bases their nuclear weapons in Scotland, so any independence would mean that England would have to find a new home for it's weapon systems and nuclear submarines. Especially as the Scottish National Party has declared that an independent Scotland would have no part in nuclear weaponry. Unfortunately for England, they do not have a port that is as perfect as Faslane for such a base. And creating one would be rather expensive. In fact England might not be able to come up with such a home for them.

4) Great Britain would also lose any troops that are from Scotland. Cutting their military numbers, and making them less able to continue their place in the world.

5) Differences in foreign policy may create tensions between the two countries. In the past Scotland has only once made it's own policy, but it has argued to do so on other occasions as well.

The Scottish National Party has announced the referendum for independence will be held in the autumn of 2014, on the seven hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, depicted at the end of the movie Braveheart, where Scottish forces once won independence from England. Until that time many issues will be discussed by both the Scottish and British parliaments. Both sides will bring about the best or worst parts of such a decision. The Scottish people will likely never have such an important vote.

Atlanta Paper Calls for Assassination of Obama

Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times wrote an op ed piece on what Israel should be doing. In it he called for Israel to send Mossad agents to terminate the life of the unfriendly president. Not only did he state it once in his article, but then reiterated it to be sure he was taken clearly and seriously. He has issued an apology, but is that good enough?

The article listed three options for Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons. The first is to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hamas and Hezbollah, the second is to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and the third is to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies. Yes, you read 'three correctly.' Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel’s existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom-Clancy-type scenario, don’t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel’s most inner circles?”

No matter what your thoughts on President Barack Obama, this should piss you off. No American should ever actually call for the assassination of any American President. The very idea is wrong, immoral, repugnant, and illegal. If you or I did this we would at the very least be jailed while we were investigated for such statements. In fact, under the NDAA they wouldn't even have to do that, they can just detain us indefinitely as a terrorist. Making such a statement is treason, and in most countries would be treated as such. Mr. Adler is very lucky not to be in some deep dark place at this time.

Egypt Elects The Muslim Brotherhood

The elections in Egypt have come to a close with The Muslim Brotherhood, and it's ally the Justice Party combining, to take forty-seven percent of the seats in Parliament. The next mission for Parliament is to write a new constitution for the country. At the same time the people are still protesting against the military which has had power since President Hosni Mubarak was removed from office. Protestors are calling for mass rallies on January 25, the anniversary of the first one against Mubarak, to protest the military's control. The military has promised to surrender control of the country once a new president is elected in June.

International worries include the extent of the Egyptian military's power, but also focus on the extremist nature of the Brotherhood, which has already stated it would not abide by the peace treaty with Israel. With Iran already causing trouble in the Middle East, and turmoil in Syria, Yemen, and other countries; the area hardly needs another non peaceful government. Israel has already discussed that they are prepared for any eventuality in Syria, and it can be guaranteed they are preparing for any possibility with Egypt as well. Hopefully they will not have to worry and this new Egyptian government will change it's mind and stay peaceful.

Joe Paterno, Dead at 85

Joe Paterno, former head coach of Penn State, has died at the age of 85. In the forty-six years as head coach there the Nittany Lions finished ranked in the top twenty-five, thirty-five times; had five undefeated seasons; and two national titles. He holds the record for being the coach with most wins in his career. Sadly the last of his career was tainted with scandal and he was forced to retire. Given a few more weeks, he would've been forced to by his battle with lung cancer anyways.

“He died as he lived,” the family statement said. “He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community.” Paterno died "with a peaceful mind, comforted by his 'living legacy' of five kids, 17 grandchildren, and hundreds of young men whose lives he changed in more ways than can begin to be counted." They also asked that instead of flowers, people donate to Special Olympics of Pennsylvania or the Penn State-THON.

He was without a doubt, an enduring figure in college football, if not sports in general. His energy, excitement, and love for the game and his players will be missed. Joe Paterno deserves to be remembered for his whole life, not for his small part in the scandal. Hopefully that will be how he is. He one said, "What are coaches? Number one, we're teachers and we're educators. We have the same obligation as all teachers at our institutions, expect we probably have more influence over our young people than anyone other than their families."

Chemical Weapons For Syria

The United States has announced that it may close it's embassy in Damascus, if the Syrian government doesn't beef up security around it. Violence in Syria has been increasing through out the year as President Assad's regime is all the more beleaguered by protestors, civil war, and defections. Only the trouble causing state of Iran, Russia, and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah have backed his government.

Meanwhile Turkey has announced that they have seized yet another arms shipment from Iran, that was trying to enter Syria. This one however, contained chemical weapons and weapon systems. The United Nations has involved itself in this find. Such a discovery is only likely to bring more isolation upon both Iran and Syria. That Syria may have been considering using such weapons shows the truly desperate mindset of the regime. Bashar al-Assad's days as President are numbered. There is no way he can ever regain control. All that is left to him is to go into hiding or face death at the hands of the Syrian people who have seen too many killed over the last year's protests.

The Arab League has now decided that they will continue the mission of their observers for another month, despite the Syrian opposition now asking that it be turned over to the UN Security Council. An Arab League spokesman said that they wished to handle inside the Arab world. As they talk the violence continues, and deaths are added to the total, that is nearing ten thousand.

Prince William to The Falklands

The British have announced that Prince William will be going to the Falkland Islands as part of a normal squadron rotation. This move comes just days after British Prime Minister David Cameron accused Argentina of colonialism. Argentina has once again been pressuring the Falklands to give up being British and surrender themselves to Argentinian rule. The last time Argentina acted like this, they invaded the islands in 1982, forcing the British to send troops to free the islands from the invaders.

This time around Argentina has gotten several other South American countries to sign a trade agreement refusing to ships flying the flag of the Falklands to enter their harbours, in attempt to coerce the islands into giving up their self determination. Argentina is after possible oil and natural gas, that may lie off shore, inside the island's territory. Argentinians have been protesting in front of the British Embassy in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, burning Union Jacks.

Sending Prince William is a huge move by the British, making a clear statement on how important they consider this situation, and that they will not abandon the Falkland Islands to face the Argentinian belligerence alone.

William, the Duke of Cambridge, grandson to Queen Elizabeth II, is expected by many to be the next king of England. His father, Charles, may still take rule after the Queen, but not likely for long considering his age. William works in search and rescue missions for the Royal Air Force.

US Carrier Prepares to Enter Gulf, China Joins Against Iran

The USS Abraham Lincoln has joined the USS Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea. Within the next couple weeks one of the carriers will make the move through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian gulf. Pretty standard, as the United States normally does maintain one carrier in each body of water. But this time the threat situation is different.

In December, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. A sixth of all western oil flows through there, so such a move would have huge economic repercussions. Iran made the threat after President Obama and other world leaders promised new sanctions on the country for it's continued nuclear program. The Iranian government followed that threat with another one, stating that no US carriers would be allowed to enter the Persian Gulf.

The situation has been worse, after an Iranian scientist was assassinated in Tehran. Iran was quick to blame Israel, the US, and the United Kingdom for the attack, even claiming they have proof of the CIA and MI6's involvement. Russia entered the fray with a very bold statement that, "any attack on Tehran is an attack on Moscow"; and that they will defend Iran from "western aggression". The response from the United States Navy has been to continue normal functions, though on higher alert, and to rescue three groups of Iranian fishermen from pirates and their own sinking ships.

Now enter China, Iran's long time ally. "China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons," Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, was quoted as saying. China followed this statement by cutting their oil imports from Iran, by half. A huge number considering how much oil China has been taking in. The premier continued to say, "Some people said my visit was to secure oil, which is narrow-minded. I came here for friendship." Interestingly enough China has apparently decided that world opinion matters more than defending a single country.

So now we must wait and see when the United States carrier goes into the Strait, what will Iran do? Will they go through with their threats, and hope Russia will really save them? Or will they just simply back down, realizing that such stupidity would truly not be worth it. Expect Russia to make the first response, either by reinforcing their statements or by backing down on them now that China won't be joining them.

Diplomatic Immunity Abuse

We've all seen it on the TV shows, a diplomat commits some crime, but nothing can be done because of their diplomatic immunity. Well it happens in reality quite often. Most of the time it's for violation traffic laws, sometimes theft, other times abusing domestic employees, and at times more serious crimes are gotten away with because of diplomatic immunity.

Last Sunday, it was Si Hong Ri, North Korean ambassador to Germany who committed a crime that would mean fines and up to two years in jail. The ambassador was caught fishing without a license. When police first found him they asked him to stop he simply smiled, claimed to be the ambassador but stated that he didn't have papers proving who he was, and continued his fishing. Not wanting to get themselves in trouble the polezi called it in and asked for a picture of the ambassador to be sent to them. One was and it showed him to be telling the truth. The officers again asked him to stop, but he simply smiled and continued once again.

Now illegal fishing of this nature is not that big of a crime, and diplomatic immunity is definitely a time honored tradition. However, diplomats do in actuality get away with series things, including violent crimes like murder, simply because they can flash credentials and walk away. Worse case scenario for most of them, is being barred from the country they were in, and being sent home. It is a shame and a travesty that they can get away with such things. It is along the same lines of people who simply buy their way out of trouble. The rules of diplomatic immunity must be changed to allow for criminal persecution, especially when people were harmed, when the laws were broken.

In Ambassador Si Hong Ri's case, hopefully he really was hungry and went without catching anything.