Pictures of Emily and Brandon's Wedding. Why Repeated Referencing Of Obama? Israeli Statistics. China, Russia and Afghanistan. Homeless in ...!

Finally, some of the pictures from Emily and Brandon's wedding in The Highlands. It was a beautiful affair.  The weather was very accommodating, the town was abloom, and now  on my side we are 24.

Pictured are our five children and five grandchildren ( the  four littlest tykes were asked to stay home and two of their mothers stayed to care for them.) Obviously the bride and groom, the paternal  grandmother of the bride, the bride's parents, Lynn's brother and sister-in law and a few mountain scenes.
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I am often taken to task for bringing up the foibles of Obama as if linking past presidential events have no connection to why American voters choose their successors. 

I believe each president's performance has a great deal to do with why his successor is elected.

GW created the opportunity for Obama to be elected among other reasons.

In the case of Trump, I believe the campaign by Hillary bordered more on insult than appeal and her connection to Obama and the fact that Americans had finally tired of his breezy style, his insincerity, his emptiness, his effort to thwart the constitution, with his arrogant pen and cell phone,his many lies and his failed and divisive policies did the trick.

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If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck; has feathers like a duck; eats like a duck and lays eggs like a duck; there is a very high probability it's a duck! 

I am not sure all of Mike Gallagher's attributions are totally correct but enough are.

Mike Gallagher, the 8th most recognized talk radio personality in the U.S.A.; is heard by over 2.25 million listeners weekly. He compiled and wrote the following essay entitled,  "Obama: It was You."  (See 1 below)

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Some Israeli statistics. (See 2 below.)
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Stratfor on China, Russia and Afghanistan. (See 3 below.)
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Is there a connection between Democrat Administration control of cities and homeless  statistics or is this all an anomaly?  You decide. (See 4 below.)
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Dick
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1) It was you who spoke these words at an Islamic dinner -"I am one of you." 

It was you who on ABC News referenced -"My Muslim faith." 

It was you who gave $100 million in U.S. taxpayer funds to re-build foreign mosques. 

It was you who wrote that in the event of a conflict-"I will stand with the Muslims." 

It was you who assured the Egyptian Foreign Minister that, "I am a Muslim." 

It was you who bowed in submission before the Saudi King. 

It was you who sat for 20 years in a Liberation Theology Church condemning Christianity and professing Marxism. 

It was you who exempted Muslims from penalties under Obamacare that the rest of us have to pay. 

It was you who purposefully omitted - "endowed by our Creator " - from your recitation of The Declaration Of Independence. 

It was you who mocked the Bible and Jesus Christ's Sermon On The Mount while repeatedly referring to the 'HOLY' Qur'an. 

It was you who traveled the Islamic world denigrating the United States Of America. 

It was you who instantly threw the support of your administration behind the building of the Ground Zero Victory mosque overlooking the hallowed crater of the World Trade Center. 

It was you who refused to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, but hastened to host an Islamic prayer breakfast at the White House. 

It was you who ordered Georgetown Univ. and Notre Dame to shroud all vestiges of Jesus Christ BEFORE you would agree to go there to speak, but in contrast, you have NEVER requested the mosques you have visited to adjust their decor. 

It was you who appointed anti-Christian fanatics to your Czar Corps. 

It was you who appointed rabid Islamists to Homeland Security. 

It was you who said that NASA's "foremost mission" was an outreach to Muslim communities. 

It was you who as an Illinois Senator was the ONLY individual who would speak in favor of infanticide. 

It was you who was the first President not to give a Christmas Greeting from the White House, and went so far as to hang photos of Chairman Mao on the White House tree. 

It was you who curtailed the military tribunals of all Islamic terrorists. 

It was you who refused to condemn the Ft. Hood killer as an Islamic terrorist. 

It is you who has refused to speak-out concerning the horrific executions of women throughout the Muslim culture, but yet, have submitted Arizona to the UN for investigation of hypothetical human-rights abuses. 

It was you who when queried in India refused to acknowledge the true extent of radical global Jihadists, and instead profusely praised Islam in a country that is 82% Hindu and the victim of numerous Islamic terrorists assaults. 

It was you who funneled $900 Million in U.S. taxpayer dollars to Hamas. 

It was you who ordered the United States Postal Service to honor the MUSLIM holiday with a new commemorative stamp. 

It was you who directed our UK Embassy to conduct outreach to help "empower" the British Muslim community. 

It was you who funded mandatory Arabic language and culture studies in Grammar schools across our country. 

It is you who follows the Muslim custom of not wearing any form of jewelry during Ramadan. 

It is you who departs for Hawaii over the Christmas season so as to avoid past criticism for NOT participating in seasonal White House religious events. 

It was you who was uncharacteristically quick to join the chorus of the Muslim Brotherhood to depose Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, formerly America's strongest ally in North Africa; but, remain muted in your non-response to the Brotherhood led slaughter of Egyptian Christians. 

It was you who appointed your chief adviser, Valerie Jarrett, an Iranian, who is a member of the Muslim Sisterhood, an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

It was you who said this country is not a Christian nation.
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2)Subject: Fire and water

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics published a state-of-the-nation survey. There are 8,907,000 permanent residents in Israel, 74.4% of them are Jews, 20.9% are Arabs, and 4.9% belong to other minority communities. The average life expectancy in Israel continues to rise: the average for men is 80.7 years and remains the same as last year, but the average age of women has risen to 84.6 compared with 84.2 last year.

The breakdown of Israel’s Jewish population is as follows: 44.3% of Israeli Jews are non-religious or secular, 33.7% traditional, 11.5 percent religious, and 10.2% ultra-Orthodox.

The data gleaned also indicated that Israeli women were better educated than men, with women making up 59.4% of university students. Interestingly, this gap was even larger in the Arab sector, where only 30.1% of university students were men.

The bureau’s survey claims that 89% of Israelis are satisfied or very satisfied with their lives. The authors of the survey noted that 37% of Israelis are not satisfied with their financial situation and 31% have difficulty making ends meet.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was quick to quote the abovementioned happiness index at the start of the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Notwithstanding that, I hasten to add that “this happy breed” is often troubled by other matters, mostly problems with our neighbours.

Israel doesn't usually comment on alleged military strikes in Syria, preferring to allude to them  vaguely.  However, earlier this week an IDF spokesman revealed that over the past eighteen months Israel has carried out more than 200 attacks on specific targets in Syria.

The strikes targeted mainly advanced weapons systems and military facilities belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at various locations in Syria.

The spokesman said the attacks are mostly aimed at preventing Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria

As the Syrian civil war draws to a close it's likely that Hezbollah forces in Syria will return to Lebanon. If we are to believe Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, his war veterans will renew the armed struggle against Israel.

In an op-ed he wrote for Haaretz six months ago, former Minister of Defence Moshe Arens claimed that Hezbollah possesses an arsenal of at least 130,000 rockets, some of them capable of striking distant military and civilian targets in Israel. Arens argued that the size of the arsenal is in itself a deterrent. However, Israel’s ability to cause vast damage to Lebanon in response to a massive rocket attack by Hezbollah  is deterring the Lebanese terror group and its masters in Iran from launching an offensive against Israel.

In an article published in Missile Threat (a military affairs website) in July this year, the author said that Hezbollah’s arsenal is comprised mostly of small, man-portable and unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets. Although these devices lack precision, their sheer number makes them effective weapons of terror. According to Israeli sources, Hezbollah had about 15,000 rockets and missiles on the eve of the 2006 Lebanon War and fired nearly 4,000 at Israel during the 34-day conflict. Hezbollah has since expanded its rocket arsenal considerably.

David Kenner who writes occasionally for Foreign Policy magazine posted a piece in The Atlantic explaining why Israel fears Iran’s presence in Syria.

“In some ways, Israel has never been stronger. It has a powerful and well-armed military, as well as an air force capable of striking enemies hundreds of miles away. At the same time, it is a small country with limited infrastructure: It has one international airport, a handful of major power stations, and an electrical grid that Israeli experts have already warned is vulnerable to attack.”

Quoting expert opinions Jeremy Bob wrote in The Jerusalem Post  that Hezbollah would likely launch thousands of rockets and missiles within the first two hours of a conflict, and Israel would counter by launching airstrikes, using F-15, F-16 and the new F-35 stealth fighter jets along with Apache attack helicopters to target Hezbollah’s missile sites and infrastructure. 

Over reliance on the Israel‘s air force fighting on two fronts has led to new strategic and tactical concepts. The battle scene in a future war with Lebanon would be radically different from the one Jeremy Bob described.

Last month Military expert Robin Hughes wrote in IHS Janes  Missiles & Rockets that the Israeli military conglomerate -  Rafael Advanced Defence Systems has disclosed the development of a new, fifth-generation, enhanced stand-off evolution of its 170 mm Spike-ER multipurpose precision-guided missile system, designated Spike ER2

Designed as a joint air-to-surface/surface-to-surface capability for rotary, naval, and land platforms (including a tripod-launched capability), Spike ER features fire-and-forget, fire, observe, and update launch options, and fire-and-steer (lock-on-after-launch) engagement modes.

The new Spike ER2 retains the same weight, airframe, surface geometries, and propulsion unit as the older Spike ER, but features a significant range enhancement and other capability augmentations.

The defence ministry’s acquisition programme includes readily available off-the-shelf systems and other systems earmarked for acquisition in the future. The acquisition of advanced rockets is part of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman's decision to equip the IDF with precision rockets and missiles capable of striking targets at various ranges.

 "The plan to establish the accurate rockets and missile apparatus has already been launched. Parts of the programme are in manufacturing stages, while other components are in the final stages of research and development," Lieberman said. "We are purchasing and developing high-precision systems that would enable us to focus and intensify the IDF's offensive capabilities, and within a few years cover every spot in the region, both short- and long-range targets."

Apparently the Defence Ministry plans to diversify its acquisitions programme. On  Monday it announced the signing of an agreement  with IMI ( formerly Israel Military Industries) Systems for the development and acquisition of advanced precision rockets.

The Defence Ministry will acquire precision rockets of several different types—some classified—which will have a range of 30-150 km. The rockets will employ advanced technologies to adapt them to the modern battlefield.

Among the rocket systems the Defence Ministry is buying from IMI is an improved version of the ACCULAR artillery rocket system, which has already been in use in the Artillery Corps in recent years.

 The ACCULAR artillery rocket system, which was developed by IMI Systems, was recently declared operational in the Artillery Corps. The system can launch 18 precision rockets into enemy territory in one minute. It is an effective system, easy to operate, accessible and cheap. The ACCULAR has been put at the disposal of brigade and battalion commanders. It can be used to target individuals, structures and is also capable of destroying infrastructures  and hitting  several targets simultaneously.

It features two different calibers with a maximum range of 40km with a 20-35kg unitary penetration or controlled fragmentation warhead. The system has  an accuracy of 10m CEP ( circular error probable.)

The new approach to armed conflict indicates a tendency to use stand-off systems rather  than “boots on the ground.”  Israel has always been a casualty sensitive country.

If we are forced to go to war we prefer to do so on our own terms employing low- risk weapons systems. We invest in accurate and up-to-date military intelligence. The  acquisition of the Spike ER and the ACCULAR is in line with this approach

                                                IMI Systems’ ACCULAR precision rocket

"This precision fire attribute significantly improves the IDF's capabilities and allows for accurate hits in remote launches, at immediate availability, and at a lower cost compared to other combat systems," the defence ministry said.  

 According to Ynet's military correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai, the defence minister is not planning a separate missile corps, but rather seeking to arm the IDF with additional rockets and missiles to serve as backup for the Air Force's accurate offensive capabilities in case Israel comes under attack on many fronts at the same time—spreading the IAF (Israel Air Force) too thin—or if its enemies succeed in immobilising IAF bases—either partially or completely.

I want to conclude with an overflow from last week.

The Minister of Energy and Water Resources Dr. Yuval Steinitz has promised to double the output of water supplied by desalination plants. New installations are under construction in order to meet the country’s needs. “Israel intends to prepare for additional drought years by doubling the quantity of desalinated water and  upgrading the national water carrier so that it can carry water from the desalination plants to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). Next year we will start pumping water into the Kinneret  and within two or three years we will complete a system that will enable us to desalinate a surplus amount of water and convey it via the carrier to the lake.”

For many years the water carrier channeled an average 380 million cubic metres of water a year from the Sea of Galilee. In some years, like 2004, the amount increased to 525 million cubic metres. The decision to use the carrier to convey drinking water as well as irrigation water turned it into a vital means of supplying water to densely populated regions.

  The National Water Carrier.

In recent years the large desalination plants built along the coast have been providing a large part of the water for domestic consumption. Consequently, the dependence on the water carrier has decreased in many regions.

Construction of the system began in 1959. The pipeline was a massive public works project for the still-poor nation. At its peak, one out of of every 14 able-bodied persons in the country was digging, welding, pipefitting or otherwise working on the new water system. It cost about five percent of national GDP, an unfathomably large amount, and required the invention of new engineering techniques.

 The NWC succeeded in pushing the country’s inhabitable southern boundary from just south of Rehovot to now south of Beersheba. New immigrants could be settled on farms and a national agriculture economy – with billions in exports – established. Equally important was the fact that the system turned Israel’s water supply from a series of local or regional sources into a national system, an important element of nation building.

I want to wish everyone Shana Tova Good health and happiness in the new year.

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3) WHY RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE EXPANDING THEIR ROLES IN AFGHANISTAN.

The shared threat of an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan will drive Pakistan and Russia into a closer partnership as Moscow strengthens its leverage over the Afghan negotiations.

Pakistan's national security imperatives mean it will always choose to promote a sympathetic government in Kabul, even if this choice means relations with the United States deteriorate.

China's expanding diplomatic and economic profile make it likely that Beijing will establish a limited and localized military presence in Afghanistan.

This assessment is part of a series of analyses supporting Stratfor's upcoming 2018 Fourth-Quarter Forecast. These assessments are designed to provide more context and in-depth analysis on key developments in the coming quarter.

As the great powers deepen their presence in South Asia, all eyes are on Afghanistan. A year has passed since U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his Afghan war strategy in August 2017, seeking to break the stalemate in America's longest-running conflict. But the Taliban's sustained assault on the city of Ghazni demonstrates that the addition of a few thousand U.S. troops under operations Resolute Support and Freedom's Sentinel has failed to decisively swing the pendulum in Kabul's favor. What's more, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry blamed Pakistan for planning the Ghazni attack, denting prospects of an improvement in relations after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani telephoned Imran Khan to congratulate him on becoming Pakistan's new prime minister.

This relapse was to be expected. The fate of the Afghan conflict is shaped to a significant degree by Pakistan. And its grand strategy of maintaining internal unity by thwarting external aggression dictates that Islamabad's military-dominated foreign policy will always seek a sympathetic government in Kabul — particularly one that recognizes the disputed border and that chooses to keep India at arm's length to assuage any concerns of strategic encirclement. Pakistan's current strategy to achieve this goal is to support the Taliban. This support, however, is deepening the antagonism between Islamabad and Washington under Trump, the latest U.S. president pressuring Pakistan to abandon its support for militant proxies. But forced to choose between satisfying its strategic imperatives or appeasing the United States, Pakistan will always choose the former.

Pivoting to Russia

Still, Islamabad has options, and the logical response to its deteriorating relationship with one great power is to forge stronger relations with another. Enter Russia. While Pakistan's relationship with China has a deep history, born in 1963 out of a mutual enmity to India, its relationship with Russia was openly hostile, devolving into a proxy conflict during the Soviet-Afghan war. After the Red Army's 40th division crossed into Afghanistan in December 1979, the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence coordinated the shipment of arms to the Afghan resistance movement known as the mujahideen. What followed was a harrowing nine-year conflict that saw Islamabad and Moscow on opposite sides in what amounted to the final proxy battle of the Cold War.

Today, however, these roles are shifting. The United States is distancing itself from Pakistan while building a Sinocentric defense partnership with India, Russia's key partner during the Cold War in South Asia. Moscow is responding to Pakistan's overtures by building a stronger partnership with Islamabad. Russia's interests stem in large part from concerns about Afghanistan. The advent of the Islamic State's Khorasan chapter in 2015 stoked Moscow's fears of the transnational extremist group using Afghanistan to launch attacks into Russia's Central Asian periphery. For Pakistan, the threat from the Islamic State's Khorasan affiliate hits even closer to home: On July 6, the group claimed a bombing that killed 149 people in Balochistan, the second deadliest act of terrorism in the country's history.

Unsurprisingly, Moscow's and Islamabad's concerns about the Islamic State are driving them closer while the two countries are experiencing tense relations with Washington. For Russia, its deepening relations with Pakistan overlap with its growing attempt to involve itself as a mediator in Afghanistan. Beginning in December 2016, Moscow hosted the first of several conferences aimed at jump-starting talks between Kabul and the Taliban. Although the Taliban did not attend any of these gatherings, they have accepted Moscow's invitation to take part in an upcoming conference; that acceptance is a sign of the movement's desire to elevate its diplomatic profile by positioning itself as a serious political actor. Initially scheduled for Sept. 4, Moscow has postponed the conference on behalf of Ghani, who wants more time to prepare for what he insists should be Afghan-led negotiations. If Russia succeeds in bringing both Kabul and the Taliban to the same table, the accomplishment would heighten President Vladimir Putin's leverage over negotiations to end a NATO-backed conflict that Washington has failed to resolve.

China Eases In

Finally, China is deepening its role in Afghanistan. Beijing's involvement in Afghanistan after the start of the war was limited to resource extraction, including a $3 billion agreement to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine. But the prospects of persistent Afghan instability after the NATO drawdown in 2014 awakened China — which borders Afghanistan — into playing a more active role. Bigger promises of foreign aid followed, while Beijing used its diplomatic heft to push for talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to try to do the same between the Taliban and Kabul. China has also invited Afghanistan to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. This involvement now is rumored to even include a proposed military base in the Wakhan Corridor. Although Beijing has denied it is planning a military base in Afghanistan, China's expanding diplomatic and economic profile means it will be forced to establish a localized security presence in various theaters. And Afghanistan is a logical starting point, given Beijing's two core concerns regarding the country — namely, Afghanistan's ability to disrupt neighboring Belt and Road Initiative projects and the ability of Uighur militants to use Afghan territory to plot attacks in neighboring Xinjiang province.

Ultimately, the growing involvement of Russia and China with Pakistan will limit Washington's ability to bend Islamabad toward its own strategy in Afghanistan. Although the shared threat posed by the Islamic State's Khorasan affiliate provides a rare unifying purpose for the disparate external actors involved in Afghanistan, the geopolitical tensions inherent in great power competition mean that coordination on resolving the conflict will be intermittent, at best, as the war goes on through 2018.

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4)
 

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