Hystery Repeats Itself?

In July 1914 - some three months after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo - the Austrian governent officially got around to making-up its mind about 'who dunnit' and what they wanted in return.  They announced the delivery of an 'ultimatum' to the Kingdom of Serbia - which was blamed for 'supporting terrorists' - and gave that country 48 hours to accede to a list of 13 demands.

The Austrian Ultimatum

We're seeing that same variety of phony affront repeating itself, to-day, in the Persian Gulf, with the Government of Qatar this week receiving an 'ultimatum' fom Saudi Arabia, and a 'coaltion' of  its Arab allies.  They have 10 days to  respond  to the 13 demands raised for 'solution' , no indication been made of the ultimate part of the ultimatum  - what happens if the 'solutions' aren't forthcoming.

We know what happened to the civilized world in August 1914,  after the Serbians agreed to comply with only 12 of the  points.  Could the same thing happen again over a squabble in the 'royal houses' of Arabia?

It  is said that, in 1914, the nations of Europe went to war as a result of political alliances and an over-reliance on the necessity of putting 'war plans'  into effect, frst, to attain a quick victory.  They also went to war over the superiority of 'stupid'.  We are 'celebrating'  the centennial of the third year of that 'great failure' this year in 2017. There's another anniversary year to go. They might not be as bloody - unless your'e a casualty - but  our recent wars have taken the cakes for longevity.

While the 'first' world nations may not  have formal 'alliances' and 'treaties' with the Arab World,  its interests are very much tied-up with theirs.   The 'civilized nations' of the world, often by mutual 'agreement'  have been engaged in active wars there for 17 years now - another one would hardly come as news.  But this one could be the 'doozie' that the others, so far, have failed to be.-  the one that gets us out of the Mall and away from Bushco the Second's  'shopping for the big win'.


Thus far we've told ourselves we've been fighting 'insurgents' and 'terrorists' and 'extremists'  and  their goats, but so far we haven't had 'the beauty of our weapons' blessed with 'vict'ry' and we've used most everything in the arsenal of 'democrazy' (save the ultimate thundermug) to beat them.  What we haven't really done, yet, is actually go to war - or a war that would affect us almost as much as we've affected millions. We're still looking for somebody 'beatable' to fight. We've found them (Russia, Iran, Turkey(?)) and now we may actually be 'on' to fighting  them.


Donald Trump recently visited Saudi Arabia. Along with signing the largest weapons deal in Saudi history, he also addressed a gathering of the allied 'Arab States'.  The keynote of his address was that America was finally fed up with ISIS and terror -  and the Arabs were going to have to stand up and do more about that.   Within days the Sauds were complaining that the Qataris  was 'dissing them' in official announcements. For a while it appeared that the ubiquitous 'Russian hackers' were involved, again, but the Sauds weren't mollified by merely blaming Putin's goons.

 The response came two weeks later when Saudi Arabia started fingering the Emir of Qatar as the latest version of Dr. Evil and the fountainhead of all that is terrible. It blamed Qatar for the spread of what America calls 'islamic terror' - the major supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas and Hezbolleh  terror networks in Gaza and Lebanon.  It didn't mention DAESH or ISIS because thery're sponsored, I guess , by Saudi Arabia and  other 'good'  members of the UAE.  Qatar was blockaded in a number of ways and a list of grievances was to be prepared.

That list was presented on June 22.

The Saudi Ultimatum

So far the reaction of states involved has been muted. Obviously the Sauds and the Qataris are exchanging negative views  and the infamous Al Jezeera - something the Sauds want shut-down - is cotinuing to broadcast, very cogently,  the Qatari side of the argument.  Qatar immediately found itself on the receiving end of some surprising support - the US State Deaprtment questioned Donald Trump's stated position on the opening salvo and since then, at least, he has piped-down.  To-day America announced it sees the situation as a 'family squabble' and is willing to send family therapy workers. The Turks, very suprisingly, announced their support for Qatar and even flew in some troops.  If the Sauds were expecting any votes of support from western nations that reponse has been highly muted. Nobody is calling for any humanitarian  bombings of Doha,  or volunterring the air forces to do it.

Another cypher, so far, is Iran - a nation with which Qatar shares an oil field, some trade relations - and incidentally - a non-antagonistic public policy.  One of the thirteen points objects to Qatar breaking-step with the Sauds on the 'evil that is Teheran'.  The Iranians announced that they were sending in food aid.  They also fired rockets across Iraq onto "ISIS targets' in Syria - missing to the chckling from Washington  - but perhaps a gentle reminder that Riyadh is closer? Theyalso didn't get huffed when the Sauds shoy up an iranian fishiung boat inthe Gilf - two days later announcing they had 'stopped' an armed incursion by Iranian Special forces aimed at seizing islets in the Gulf.

Iran Misses the Mark?


As a subset to all of this are recent developments in Saudi Arabia.  As most people don't know, every single one of the numerous Kings of Saudia Arabia - those Shriners in sunglasses we've all seen photos of since childhood,  have ALL been brothers.  Starting with King Saud who took over when the big daddy of them all,  King AbdulAziz, popped-off in 1953 the sons of Addul Aziz  in order of seniority, (at least one was passed-over due to obvious incompetence) have taken it, in turn, to sit on the throne. The current incumbent - Salman is the last of the brothers.  He has taken the unique step of changing the succession process - which after his death is 'up for grabs' - by  naming his son Prince Mohammed,  as the heir to the throne. In doing so he effectively eliminates all the other potential heirs - the sons of the other Saud Kings - as  candidates for the crown.  At last count that was about 25 000 Saudi Royals.

Mr. Everything

It could be that Mohammed - who as Saudi Foreign Minister would have overseen Saudi Arabia's latest 'interventions' in Syria and Libya and who 'owns' the intervention in Yemen, is now 'angling' for some kind of 'victory' to shake at his, possibly envious, cousins.  He needs some success to 'blood himself' as a  real warrior-king before his 82 year-old papa slips away and leaves him undefended.



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In the News - Father's Day Weekend

In the News

Stealth works!   A hi-tech  'Stennis' class USN destroyer , operating off the coast of Japan,  was 'run down' early yesterday morning , by a Philippino container ship, after the US navy vessel, apparently, tried to steam across its bows. 14 US sailors are missing and the destroyer is being 'returned to 'port' for evaluation and repairs after taking-on water.   While it would appear the destroyer 'Fitzgerald' was unaware of,  or ignoring,  the container ship.  It could very well be that the 'Fitzgerald' - a ship with stealth configuration  may not have been 'visible' to the crew of the cargo vessel.  Although the cargo ship's engines were reported to have been 'stopped' at the time of the incident.

Down by the starboard quarter

The Republican congressman on second base will be fine. This   after a disgruntled Bernie Sanders 'suppoorter' who had 'gone to Washington', from his home Illinois, gave him a 'Forrest Gump wound' during a baseball practice in Alexandria Va.  The 66-year-old shooter,  who had been living in a van and using the facilities at a nearby 'Y' to clean-up,  also shot a congressional aide - numerous times - as well as two members of the 'security detail',  before himself being shot to death in an incident, described by some witnesses, as "Iraq".   So while his actual reasons for his actions (definitely not terrorism??) are unknown,  the incident is being laid at the foot of increasingly radical 'leftists' and 'liberals'  and their willingness to 'go to the dark side' to 'promote their hate and  their 'free-dumb'.

The war zone in Alexandria - the game played on

Speaking of the sinister part of the world, Oliver Stone  America's left-wing answer to Oliver North, was pilloried on  the Stephen Colbert Show  for his recently-completed four-hour 'lustration' of everything Putin. A program that is to be aired, in totality, on totalitarian TV in Russia. Naturally Oliver, who with Steven Segal and that weird guy who looks a bit like Nick Nolte and  'star' of a couple of reality detox shows - seems to have a constant erection when in the presence of a 'Czar' of any kind - has made the kind of 'mawkish expose' once reserved only to a Pope or other potentate - like the Kaiser or Joe Stalin.  Ollie apparently did the kind of interviews once laid on 'the Bambino' - slo-ball lobs with the expectation to see him swat the spheroid out of the park, past Old Glory, to cure sick lads anywhere.   He hardly 'axed' the Russian Prexy any hard questions at all  - like why he keeps on running for office?  Or why  the bank of Cyprus nearly went bust from all the boodle he's stashed in it?  Or when he's invading Europe?  Nope! Ollie reprised Baba Wawa and was asking him about growing-up in Leningrad and his dead brother and his heroic daddy, his doggy and how he felt about his kids,  Shit nobody wants to hear about a bloodspattered killer - at least before the execution.  'The one-eared wonder'  only  wanted to know if Ollie had sucked Russian dick and the audience was lapping-it-up.

Saudi Arabia declared war on Qatar this week - well not actually a declaration of war  per se, but the same kind of thing that made the Balkans  in 1914 so much of a 'hotspot' - along wth an 'embargo' and a 'blockade' (usually taken as being acts of war).  The Sauds - well actually the Saudi Foreign Minister princeling Mahmoodi the 34th , trying-out some 'political strength and influence' chops with a view to getting his youngish ass promoted, over thousands of senior cousins, as the 'Heir to the Date Palm Throne"  to make up for the 'military strength and warrior' chops he's  been pissing-up a against a sand dune in Yemen for two years - asked for the 'support' of his 'coalition allies' in presenting the Qataris with an ultimatum or 10. (Run-on ye mighty sentences of state!)  Blackballed by virtually everybody on Earth, the Qataris responded with  "WTF are you talking about  Willis?" and accepted military assistance from the Turks. They also withdrew their forces, operating with the Saudi coalition in the Horn of Africa,  but not the Qatari forces helping to  subjugate Yemen - that's still a 'shared concern', as was,  supposedly, until last week, the well-being of salafist forces and ISIS operations around the world.  This week Qatar is being 'pegged' as the sole identified source of all that terror.  So far the Emir of Qatar has refused to bow and scrape before 'the Sheik of Araby''. Although the US forces, stationed in Qatar, are remaining 'strictly neutral',  no doubt they'd stand willing to uphold, or restore if necessary, 'the rule of law and order'.

running out in Qatar

Putin 'put down'  another 'widespread protest' this past week. Thousands of 'freedom loving Russians'  took to the streets to demand that he, and Medvedev, step dow and let somebody nicer take over.  They have  chosen as their emblem of freedom the 'rubber ducky' and they have a new revolutionary song called "Dimon" - which tells about the greedy devil whom they have elected Prime Minister.  The 'leader' of Free Russia wa arrested leaving home to attend a protest and later sentenced to 30 days in the hooscow for 'organizing an unlicensed gathering'  again,  Hundreds of innocent protestors were 'rounded-up ' by Putin's goons and loaded into police buses - some even having to be carried as they had been deprived of the power to move their legs! The US government demanded their immediate release.  Other than those facing 'criminal behaviour charges'  (most of them) - a nasty Russian gulag filler - totally unlike what America jails rioting black folks about - most of those detained were later released. The rest got fed up and went home.

Their Ducklings yearning to quack free

Among the arrested in St. Petersburg? 'Dilde' the blow-up duck.  He/She/It  (the LGBTx mantra??) was reportedly "repeatedly mounted" at the local militia barrack and remains in captivity.  The US State Deparment is now involved.

For distraction only

To wrap-up for the day:  Wikileaks to day released a list of consumer and other types of commerically retailed routers which support the 'Cherry bonb' software that allows security agencies to use these to trace and record internet activities carried out by 'subjects of interest'. The 'Cherry Bomb' software also allows outside sources to reverse access your computer.  The wiki list, while detailing every model compatable with the spyware, indicates that so far the number of companies that have cooperated to include 'Cherry Bomb' in their proprietory software remains limited. 

Stone on cyber surveillance as part of the Putin interviews