Russia is leaving its supporters in East Ukraine to their FATE - Ukraine Crisis Latest

Guardian: Reports " Ukraine says it controls Donetsk airport after fighting leaves dozens dead "

Lets Get Real:

The Russian Bear is not willing to risk its troops when faced by REAL opposition, this blog noticed the change after the deaths of Russia supporters around the East, the deaths could have been used by Russia as a reason to move its troops in to the East, but with the economic sanctions and the mounting death of Russian supporters or actual Russians sent over the border the Kremlin began to wobble,  it does not want to risk another Afghanistan, also while the Ukraine Government was weak at the start it has gotten its act together, the use of  combat planes to defend the Donetsk airport shows that Kiev means business, they should follow through, take OUT the rebels in the East, USE ALL MEANS, just do it fast, the longer it goes on and with the use of combat planes will make the West uneasy, this is not the time for further wobbling, time for harsh and winning action. 

The NEXT phase for the US and Afghanistan - Afghanistan War

BBC News: Reports "..The US will keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the US concludes its combat mission at the end of this year, President Barack Obama has said. "

Lets Get Real:

This is a MISTAKE by President Obama, he should have taken the chance to remove ALL troops from Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Taliban and its terrorist allies will use the American force as target practice, they need the PR from their perspective that they threw out the Western troops.  The idea of keeping a force in Afghanistan is not new, the British Empire tried that and it was a disaster.   The Afghans are not fools, they will understand that sooner or later there will be no Western troops in Country, and thus you will see them turn to the Taliban, on their side the Taliban will see a surge of support, the Afghan like to be on the long term winning side, they do not go with election cycles in the US.    The move by President Obama will do down as his biggest mistake after ObamaCare. 

The Ukraine GOES to the POLLS - Ukraine Crisis Latest

BBC News: Reports that " Confectionary tycoon Petro Poroshenko, known as the "chocolate king", is the favourite to win. "

Lets Get Real:

The Kremlin has promised to respect today's vote in the Ukraine, but lets see what they say about the East of Ukraine, areas and large towns in the East have been prevented from voting by the Moscow supporting thugs, they have used violence to prevent the people having their democratic right, well democracy and Putin do not go together, fixing polls does, lets see how many of Putin's troops are removed from the border between the Ukraine and Russia.  As this blog has stated many times, Putin has gotten what he wants, he has taken the Crimea and has a major influence on how events develop in the East.  The threat of Putin is going to grow, he needs to keep his polls up, thus he appeals to the Russian anger at their diminish role on the World Stage after the fall of the USSR. 

Kerry on Benghazi - 2nd Term Blues

BBC News: Reports the following from US Capital Hill, " US Secretary of State John Kerry will testify in front of a House panel about the deadly Benghazi attacks, according to a letter obtained by the BBC. "

Lets Get Real:

It will be interesting to see how much Secretary Kerry covers for Hillary Clinton and President Obama, he was not Secretary of State at the time, thus does not have an interest in covering for either with the exception that they are both Democrats, and President Obama is his boss, thus some cover for Obama, the main question that the Committee should ask is why it took so long for the State Department and the Administration to hand over non redacted memos, such as the one that stressed from the White House that Ambassador RIce push the narrative that it was down to the video that the US Libyan Consulate was attacked.   The Democrats on the whole will want to protect Hillary Clinton and her run for 2016, interesting days ahead on the Hill. 

* This Page was copied twice, sorry about the error for those that get a blank page on old link.

Benghazi House Select Committee - 2nd Term Blues

Guardian: Reports the following from Capital Hill, " House minority leader Pelosi names five Democrats to Benghazi panel "

Lets Get Real:

This move by the Democrats is an attempt to make sure that Hillary Clinton does not get a hard time before the Committee, they can stall, they will go off the point, in other words they will be a pain in the backside, they have NO interest in the truth, for Democrats its pure politics, they simply do not care what happened in Libya, as Democrats have shown since Obama become President, their sole interest is protecting their leaders   The Select Committee on the Republican side has to be fair, but it has to be tough, it has to get Hillary Clinton to come to the Committee, also those in the White House on the night of the terrorist attack, also they have to find out what President Obama was doing ALL night, the White House has refused to give out his schedule for the day.  Lets see if the media cover this story, some hope. 

Obama on the Vets Scandal - 2nd Term Blues

The White House: Statement by President Obama on the Vets waiting scandal in the US, in part POTUS stated the following, " So when I hear allegations of misconduct -- any misconduct -- whether it’s allegations of VA staff covering up long wait times or cooking the books, I will not stand for it.  Not as Commander-in-Chief, but also not as an American.  None of us should.  So if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it -- period. ....Here’s what I discussed with Secretary Shinseki this morning.  First, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at VA facilities has to be held accountable.  The inspector general at the VA has launched investigations into the Phoenix VA and other facilities.  And some individuals have already been put on administrative leave.  I know that people are angry and want a swift reckoning.  I sympathize with that.  But we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened.  Our veterans deserve to know the facts.  Their families deserve to know the facts.  And once we know the facts, I assure you -- if there is misconduct, it will be punished....It is important that our veterans don’t become another political football, especially when so many of them are receiving care right now.  This is an area where Democrats and Republicans should always be working together......That does not excuse the fact that the wait times in general are too long in some facilities.  And so what we have to do is find out what exactly happened.  We have to find out how can we realistically cut some of these wait times.  There has been a large influx of new veterans coming in.  We’ve got a population of veterans that is also aging as part of the baby boom population.  And we’ve got to make sure that the scheduling system, the access to the system, that all those things are in sync.  There are parts of the VA health care system that have performed well. ......Listen, if somebody has mismanaged or engaged in misconduct, not only do I not want them getting bonuses, I want them punished.  So that’s what we’re going to hopefully find out from the IG report, as well as the audits that are taking place.  ".

Lets Get Real:

A Chicago Pol should never use cooking the books when a scandal breaks, people start to wonder what else the Obama Administration has been cooking, its cheap shot, but that part of the statement will be played a lot.   As usual POTUS is angry, but as with other scandals, no one in the end is found to have done wrong, and the Obama Ship of State sails on, he is asking for co-operation from the Congress, that the issue should not be political, some luck, both Republicans and Democrats will want someone's political head, it seems that Secretary of Vets is being lined up by the White House.   Politics is harball, even a Chicago Pol like Obama understands a real scandal when it comes along. 

The Vets Scandal in the US - 2nd Term Blues

BBC News: Reports the following from the Obama White House, " President Barack Obama has vowed to punish those responsible for "dishonourable" alleged misconduct at hospitals for US military veterans. "

Lets Get Real:

This is typical of President Obama, he shocked by a scandal, promises action, and then when the press interest dies down he will say its a made up scandal, from Libya to the IRS the Obama Administration looks after its own, never any close to the President is sacked, even the Cabinet is protected, at least past Administrations had the grace to fire either people in the White House or at Cabinet level.  The liberal media will cover for Obama, they will have a few days of attacking the Oval and the Administration then they will move on to another matter, with CNN it will be the missing plane, with Fox it will be ALL the other scandals that they say the Administration should pay for, it will be interesting to see how the liberal NYT covers the story, one wonders if they will find a way to blame Republicans.  Lets see how the 24/7 news cycle plays out on this issue.