A Republican Senate ? - Mid Terms 2014

CNN - Politics: Reports " But the best the GOP can hope for is a slim majority, which would do little to end the era of gridlock and partisan division that has stifled Washington for years.. "

Lets Get Real:

The Republicans only need 51 votes in the Senate, and they can make sure that NONE of Obama picks to the Federal Bench go through, they can make sure that the Oval Office can not make recess picks by keeping the Senate in session.   The Obama agenda is dead on the Hill anyway, this would confirm Obama in the domestic field would be a lame duck President.   Interesting the article does not state that the Democrats if they keep the Senate by one or two seats will be in the same position as the Republicans, the difference is that Obama would get his judges through, it will be long Tuesday night, a lot of close calls. 

Terrorism and the 2014 Mid Terms - War on Terror 2

Telegraph: Reports " Midterm elections: Fear of terrorism once against haunts American politics..Republicans in New Hampshire and across the US gain ground as voters lose confidence in Barack Obama's handling of the Islamic State "

Lets Get Real:

The 2nd Obama term will have two words that define it, Iraq and Syria, the US it has been predicted will be bombing IS in Iraq and Syria for YEARS, that means that through the 2016 Presidential race the WARS in the Middle East will be front and centre.   It is a given in US politics that when it comes to national security the Republicans win, for a while President Obama turned that around with the death of OBL and the spin that Al Qaeda was dead and buried, then he bottled Syria, and did not see the rise of IS.    It has been argued by the military experts that Iraq and Syria need Western trained troops to push back IS, the air campaign alone will not work, what is the point of pushing back IS if there is no one to hold and keep the land won.   The US voter is no fool, they do not like Wars but understand that they need to be fought in a smart manner, the present ONLY air campaign is not smart overall, the fight against IS requires ground and air support, one does not work without the other.   The Oval is seen as weak, thus it can be predicted that the Republicans will keep the House and have 6/10 chance of taking the Senate. 

Hillary Clinton and the Mid Terms 2014

Guardian: Reports " The former US secretary of state’s eyes may be on 2016 but she is lending her weight to the Democrat push to unseat Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell "

Lets Get Real:

This is ALL about 2016 in the minds of the Clinton Camp, they are making sure that people remember who helped get them elected or at least tried.  The Clinton Camp lost to President Obama in 2008 due to having less super delegates at the Convention, the Obama Camp had made the effort to get the super delegates, party high ups in the various States or loyal Democrats thus preventing a Hillary Clinton victory.  Lets recall that in 2008 Hillary Clinton was seen as the next Democratic nominee for President but she lost to Obama, this time the Clintons are playing for keeps, they will not lose again to a rank outsider.   There is D.C view that Hillary Clinton will run no matter what, this blog is not that sure, the Clintons can not afford another defeat, it would be better to be the power brokers behind the thrown than a 2nd time loser.   Hillary Clinton is no Ronald Reagan, she is not that good a politician, Reagan ran in 1968 as a dark horse candidate, and in 1976 came close to defeating President Ford, before running and winning in 1980. 

Dark Water - Doctor Who Review ( Spoilers )

Doctor Who News: Reports " 5.27 million viewers watched Doctor Who: Dark Water, according to unofficial overnight figures, 22.4% of the total TV audience at the time.  "

Lets Get Real:

This story is a 2 partner, what a thrilling and scary episode, Clara showed she can be quite ruthless, the Doctor on one level must be proud, after Danny was killed by a car, Clara decided rather than asking the Doctor to time travel and prevenet the incident she would blackmail the aged Time Lord.   The Doctor has not been around for couple of thousand of years without learning a trick on two, the blackmail was a dream state that showed what Clara wanted and how far she would go to save Danny, then the Doctor showed how great a friend he is by taking Clara to see Danny.   Then the FUN really starts, who thought up stairs would have so much paperwork, that Missy would give the Doctor a good kiss.   We learned that heaven was really a Time Lord device, and who was Missy, of course it was a shorten address of Mistress, that being the Master had CHANGED SEX, the good Doctor will be in therapy for a LONG TIME on that, then we had the Cybermen, and of course the Mistress/Master asked why no one had thought about it before, Cybermen and Cyberworld, for the collection of the dead souls. Was that a joke at the expense of those that live their lives on the cloud?   Then seeing the Cyberman come out of St Paul's, how did the BBC get the okay for that, excellent.   This blog can not wait in till next week.    Great acting, great script, Alpha mark for the Doctor Who Team. 

Hagel and Syria - War on Terror 2

CNN - Politics: Reports on a secret memo sent by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to the Oval Office, the memo concerned Syria, "  It was a detailed analysis, crafted directly by Hagel "expressing concern about overall Syria strategy," a senior U.S. official tells CNN....It comes at a time when the Pentagon is well aware there is growing, but anonymous chatter, that some White House officials are unhappy with Hagel's performance. "

Lets Get Real:

Thus another Secretary of Defence is protecting his backside when it comes to Syria, the Oval will have to face the fact that the War in Syria and Iraq is not going well, the air strategy alone only works in the mind of President Obama.   Thus if you judge a President by his actions, one has to say President Obama has been a failure when it comes to Syria, his disaster of the  red lines speech started the process, when Obama said that if the Assad Regime used WMD it would be a red line, then did nothing when Assad used WMD gave the impression that the Oval and the US was weak.   The decision to remove ALL US troops from Iraq will be seen as a equal disaster, the removal allowed IS to take over vast areas of Iraq and become a threat to the Capital, Baghdad.    The fact that the Hagel memo leaked shows that Hagel does not want to be blamed for Syria or Iraq, loyalty costs in Washington D.C. 

IS Draws more Fighters - UN

Telegraph: Reports " Jihadists from around the world flock to fight with Isil: UN..Islamic State fighters have recruited tens of thousands of jihadists to travel to Iraq and Syria on an 'unprecedented scale' despute Western airstrikes on the region, a UN report finds  "

Lets Get Real:

In many ways IS is a bigger threat than Al Qaeda, it has developed a State structure and has its own PR departmenet, they recruite exteme Jidadists from around the World and fund their operations through the selling of black market oil.   The UN and Western Countries have to develop a plan to stop people going over to Syria and Iraq, and then stop the money, its the money that is allowing IS to have a PR department and to gain more supporters.   The NSA should tackle the IS websites and bring them down, make it harder for the IS to get its message out, the NSA has done it before when it wanted to prevent leaked secrets coming out.  The UN should Countreis should agree a naval force to prevent IS getting its oil out.   The more money IS has, the bigger the threat, the time for action is NOW by the WEST. 

Kobane Update - War on Terror 2

Guardian: " Peshmerga forces delayed in Turkey en route to fight Isis in Kobani...Reports suggest attack by Islamic State militants on Free Syrian Army has halted convoy of Iraqi Kurdish fighters  "

Lets Get Real:

The resistance in Kobane needs Western military support, as noted in the linked article there are complaints that Kobane is taking away troops from other areas in Syria.   Thus 24/7 news has been quite on the Kobane front as there is not much  movement, Turkey is still doing nothing, and Western air campaign is helping in the resistance of Kobane, its a mini Stalingrad, but there is no plan for success.  If the Oval wants the Kurds and the FSA to be the ground forces of the West Obama needs to place US/UK Special Forces in Syria to help the rebels over the next few days and weeks as to allow the West to train FSA rebels.   Otherwise the battle of Kobane could last well in to the new year.