Clinton on Somalia

United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton spoke on Intervention at the London Conference on Somalia today.

"Now we must keep the pressure on al-Shabaab so that its grip on Somalia continues to weaken. The UN Security Council’s vote on Wednesday to increase AMISOM’s troop ceiling by nearly half and expand its mandate significantly is an excellent step.
More and more Somalis are seeing the threat that al-Shabaab poses to Somalia’s peace and security, as well as to the peace and security of Somalia’s neighbors. Especially in south-central Somalia, it has turned an already bad situation into a nightmare. It has dragged fathers and sons from their homes, forced them to fight in a hopeless, bloody conflict. It has forced young girls to marry foreign fighters. And when extreme food shortages struck last summer, al-Shabbab mercilessly helped turn those food shortages into a famine by blocking humanitarian assistance and letting children starve. With its recent announcement that it has joined the al-Qaida terror network, al-Shabaab has proven, yet again, it is not on the side of Somalis but on the side of chaos, destruction, and suffering. It has also proven something else as well. It is weakening. Al-Shabaab and al-Qaida have turned to each other because both are embattled and isolated, especially now as the democratic revolutions, underway in many countries, are showing young people who might once have been attracted to extremist groups that a more constructive path is open to them. That is the future; Al-Shabaab and al-Qaida are the past."

Wait! Aren't al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations part of the destabilization that has led to, or taken over the "democratic revolutions"? Yes, the regimes are brutal and need to be done away with, but we have evidence of al-Qaida and their friends in Syria and other countries. The Muslim Brotherhood, that now controls the majority of Egypt, has stated it will not recognize the peace treaty with Israel. There is even evidence of al-Qaida and Hezbollah being in Mexico, and crossing the border, with the full and complete backing of peaceful Iran. But they're "the past" so it's okay to help them in some countries, despite their terrorist past against us. And it's not like al-Qaida could be using those countries as new recruiting grounds or anything.

Secretary Clinton went on to say that, 

"the U.S. will look for ways to increase our involvement in Somalia."

Hold up again! According to your boss Obama, we're doing everything we can to pull our military back, and let countries deal with their own problems. Bush was evil for invading Iraq and Afghanistan. Those poor countries weren't run by dictators or terrorists or any such.

Where as Obama is the greatest guy ever for not involving the US military in Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. O wait... During the Obama administration we've had boots on the ground in all four of those countries, plus others. Yet Obama is the Nobel Peace Prize winning humanitarian, that only puts sanctions against regimes, like Iran and Syria, that massacre their people by the thousands.

Now I'm not necessarily calling for US troops to be going into Iran and Syria, nor necessarily praising Bush. I'm just trying to point out the ridiculousness of the arrogance and two faced talk of the Obama administration. If you're going to invade more countries than Bush, you can't say he was a bad guy for invading any.

 But to get back to Somalia, Clinton also announced that, 

"the United States is providing an additional $64 million in humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa countries, bringing our emergency assistance since 2011 up to more than 934 million, including more than 211 million for lifesaving programs in Somalia." 

Not to knock Somalia's problems, but did I miss the US recovering from it's own financial crisis. Current national debt is fast approaching $15.4 trillion. Granted compared to that a billion to that part of Africa isn't much, but how is the US to ever get out of debt if it keeps throwing money to the rest of the world? Liberals complain that we spend money on our defense, instead of our own infrastructure, yet then go spend it elsewhere.

I'd like to thank you, Secretary of State Clinton, for making it obvious that all the US's issues are not important anymore. Our security, defense, debt, and lives mean nothing to you or the Obama administration.

Remembering: Iwo Jima

On February 23, 1945 United States Marines of the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division, took the top of Mount Suribachi, on Iwo Jima, and placed an American flag.

Later in the day, other Marines went up with a larger flag. The picture of the second raising has become one of the most memorable of American history, and is the most reproduced picture in all of history.

The island was a crucial air base, only seven hundred miles from Japan, and both sides new the value of it. The Japanese, under General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had spent months making the island into one big underground fortress.

On February 19, 1945 Marines followed three days of air and naval bombardment of the island with invasion. On the island were twenty-two thousand Japanese who no intent of surrender what so ever. On March 26, the last Japanese were wiped out. Only two hundred of the defenders were taken alive. Over six thousand Americans died taking the island, with more than seventeen thousand wounded.

Iran Desperate to Sell Oil

Iran has now reversed it's announcement from Sunday that it would cut off oil sales to England and France, and instead is now offering them long term supply deals. Clearly the sanctions, put into effect by the United States, European Union, and specifically England and France are starting to bite.

Not much more is needed to show how much the sanctions have hurt Iran. With no one else around to purchase the oil, the incoming money is just not being replaced, and Iran is being strangled by it.

Yet to be seen, is whether or not the sanctions will have the desired effect of forcing Iran to stop it's nuclear program. One which it says is purely for purposes of creating energy, but yet is bragged by Tehran to be refining uranium well beyond the percentage that is needed for energy. Israel and the US have led a growing group of the world in declaring that the program is clearly for weapons purposes.

Marine Helicopters Collide

It's been another deadly day for United States troops, with death tolls totaling nine for the day. In Afghanistan two service members were killed by an Afghan soldier, during protests against a Quran burning that happened on Bagram Air Field earlier this week. President Obama has expressed his extreme apologies for the incident, to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Somewhere west of the Chocolate Mountains in California, seven Marines were killed when their helicopters collided during night training exercises. The Marines and their aircraft, an AH-1W "Cobra" and UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, were based out of Camp Pendleton.


Over the last year there have been four previous training accidents involving Marines. And a decade ago, almost to the day, a Huey went down in the same area as the collision occurred. The frequency of USMC accidents over the past year, has brought much scrutiny upon the adequacy of their safety measures.

We are definitely being reminded that the military life is not a safe one. The men and women who choose to put their life's on the line for us, do so daily, whether in combat or not. All the more reason we should be grateful to them for doing so.

Free The Girls

Last January, we brought you the story of how a local church was hosting Denver's Biggest Bra Drive, in conjunction with Free The Girls. Now CNN, has given them some great press, and told more of their story.

If you haven't heard of Free The Girls, they are a Denver based charity, which takes in donations of gently used bras and then ships them to Mozambique. In Mozambique, they are given to women, who then sell them in the street markets, so that they can get out or stay out of the sex trade.

Many of the women who are involved in the project were sold or forced into slavery and prostitution. The money they receive from selling the bras, not only keeps them free, but also allows them to purchase their own homes, and raise their families.

Free The Girls has seen massive growth, beyond their expectations since they began. They hope to soon be able to spread into other countries as well. One of their biggest struggles now, is not gathering donations of bras, but in shipping them to Mozambique, as the postage fees are quite expensive. If you'd like to help them, feel free to visit their website and donate or you can also help by purchasing T-shirts from their shop.

Self Driving Cars of Nevada

Nevada has yet another first on it's list. It now is the first state to form a legal code for autonomous cars. That's right, within the next couple of years, Nevada roads will be driven legally on by self driving cars.

The state has partnered with Google, car manufacturers, testing professionals, insurance companies, universities and law enforcement agencies to develop the regulations. Nevada expects to gain economically from the sales of the cars, and used that as a big reason to push the laws through.

There are the obvious safety concerns, though that is why so much time and effort is being put into the vehicles before mass production. But if, or now apparently when, they do start being mass produced, how long til President Obama begins complaining about jobs being taken from chauffeurs, as he has in the past about ATMs taking jobs from bankers.

Skiing to Starbucks

At 8,000 feet, it's likely the highest Starbucks in the world, but that's not what is getting it attention. This location is the first one with a ski through window, and is not accessible by car at all.

Squaw Valley Ski Resort, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, pulled off the advertising coup, in scoring the store. Near the top of the resort's Funitel lift, it is open from nine am to four pm, making it one of the latest opening Starbucks as well.

It is very unlikely to remain as the only ski through Starbucks, for long. Already resorts around the world are vying for one of their own. Colorado ones, have especially expressed their jealousy, and their campaigns have begun to be the one to claim the second such location.

Inhalable Caffeine

One of the latest products to hit markets is called AeroShot. It is an inhaler the size of a lip stick container, that gives the user a 100 milligram dose of caffeine. Claiming to be breathable energy, it is but the latest in the market of ways to boost your energy levels.

The market is already loaded with natural, organic, and synthetic forms of energy boosters. From a cup of coffee or tea it has spread past pills or other energy drinks, to recently include tongue strips as well. Now this inhaler form is finding itself selling out of the locations that do sell it.

Available in New York, Massachusetts, and France AeroShot has found itself under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration. AeroShot gained the FDA's notice due to it's being marketed as a party enhancer. The FDA worries what the effects could be of taking caffeine in such a way, and has suggested that it could be harmful to minors. The creator say it is completely safe, but does state that the marketing is under consideration of redesign.

Remembering: John Glenn and Friendship 7

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn orbited the earth in Friendship 7. In what was then an amazing feat of technology, Glenn in his spacecraft orbited the earth three times in five hours.

The mission was not without danger. The Atlas rocket type, which launched him to fame, had exploded many times on the pad. And during the orbits, the heat shield began signalling failure. Luckily for Glenn, it held and he survived the reentry.

He was instantly a hero for being the first American to do so. The Kennedy administration quietly had NASA block him from further space travel, as they did not wish to risk him. But in 1998, at the age of seventy-seven, he made it happen, after which he was banned from it by his wife of sixty-nine years.

Glenn, a long time Senator for Ohio, ran for President in 1984, without success. He mourns that his United States no longer mounts it's own space missions. In which he is not alone, Buzz Aldrin, second man to walk on the moon, also rails against that, even writing on why we should be heading towards Mars.

Classic pick of the Week: 3 Swashbucklers

Out recently on DVD is The Count of Monte Cristo, the epic and much-filmed story of a wrongly imprisoned man’s plan for revenge, which he dispenses in great doses and in grand fashion after gaining possession of a prison mates’ fortune. This is the best classic (1934) version of the tale, efficient and simply structured with a great performance by Robert Donat, a perfectly sensitive, charming and intellectual style of swashbuckler.

An epic of this genre in terms of screen chemistry and personality is on TCM Tuesday 3:45pm: Captain Blood. As swashbucklers go (and there were many great ones, both movies and men) Errol Flynn probably ranks highest, and figuring in to that assessment was great material like this and a perfect co-star in Olivia DeHavilland, a maiden fair and fiery for any era. After the success of the aforementioned The Count of Monte Cristo, Robert Donat was meant for Captain Blood but turned it down, leaving the way clear for a new discovery, the impossibly vital, lively and roguishly charming Flynn, who up till that point just had the odd bit part. He was doing the screen tests along with the actresses trying out for the movie, when the studio spotted the undeniable and powerful chemistry between him and another newcomer, DeHavilland. What Warner’s and cinematic fate hath brought together the public ate up and demanded more of; the glorious pair were one of the screen’s greatest, most magnetic and captivating couples and went on to make eight films together.

Also new to DVD is The Man in the Iron Mask with Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett. Go way back in time, beyond the version you might have seen with Leo DiCaprio, or if you’re of another generation, the one with Richard Chamberlain, back, back, to 1939 and this version of the Alexandre Dumas story directed by the great James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Showboat). If you’ve seen the remakes you know about the twin brothers, one the King of France and the other unaware of his shared birthright, and the older Three Musketeers (plus a great performance by Warren William as their leader). Fun and lively with a great cast and super action scenes.