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U.S. Senate approves Indian nuclear deal

Nuclear deal set to boost US-India ties

India tilts to the US with nuclear deal

Iran: US-India nuclear deal violates NPT

Left parties observe black day

So what is the deal with this deal? It’s all about the US helping bend some international rules to get India hooked up with some nuclear energy options. Wait a damn minute…..Doesn’t India already have nuclear weapons? Answer: yes. Doesn’t India already have a nuclear weapons industry? Answer: yes. So therefore, doesn’t it stand to reason that India already has a nuclear power industry? Answer: NO! But they really want one…and they really need one too. So what gives?

India must have energy to continue on their path of development. They must have the go-go juice in order to build and operate all those new factories and industries which will be supplying the world with lots of cheap labor trinkets. India also has serious development in the high-end computer and software sectors too…and you need energy to keep those screens on as well. And there is the small matter of a billion people in the country that would like to have lights and TVs and microwave ovens and all that shit. Unfortunately, India does not have many energy resources of its own. Therefore, India must import more and more energy in order to keep their economy running, and as you know that oil-based energy has been getting more and more expensive.

But wait…I thought the world was trying to get away from oil dependence? Why don’t the Indians just use some other type of energy? Well, as stated above, India ain’t got no oil. They do have some coal, but that is awfully polluting fuel for a billion people to use. As is wood. Or dried cow dung. So India simply doesn’t have a lot of energy options. Oh! Oh….wait! Oh….Oh….Oh…I got it! Call on me teacher! I’ve got the answer! Call on me! My hand is up!…How about nuclear energy? Yeah! Damn I’m good. See, India already has nuclear technology; hell, it has a nuclear program and nuclear bombs! So they can just start making nuclear energy….right? Wrong! WTF? Why not?

Almost all the major world powers which possess nuclear weapons have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which basically states that they won’t proliferate or distribute nuke technology to anybody else. However, I did say almost all. India, Pakistan and Israel are three states known to possess nuke technology, but who have not signed this treaty—and all for very, very different reasons too, which I won’t get into here. As you can imagine, this treaty is mostly to ensure that nobody is making nuke weapons, but nuke power technology is allowed by the NPT, which makes enforcement of it tricky…i.e. see IRAN in current events.

Just know this for now: if you aren’t signed up for the treaty, then you are not allowed to access civilian nuke technology or buy fuel for nuke energy production either. Which is why India has been stuck. But the US likes India! The UN likes India! Hell, everybody likes India! Okay, maybe not Pakistan. But most of the world sees India as a multi-cultural society and stable democracy that is developing rapidly in the modern world. And since they already have the nuke technology, most think they can handle nuke energy. But that pesky NPT! What to do about that?

Well, US President George Bush thought of what to do a few years back: bend it a little. In an effort to strengthen US-Indian ties, Georgie has been working tirelessly (okay, someone who works for Georgie has been working tirelessly) to make India the exception to this NPT rule. The United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 is the legal framework for a bilateral pact between the US and India under which the US will provide access to civilian nuclear technology and access to nuclear fuel in exchange for IAEA-safeguards on civilian Indian reactors.

In other words, the US will personally work with India to get them the goods (nuke energy technologies and fuel) and in return India promises to abide by all the major rules of the NPT (especially the ‘no proliferating’ part) and the IAEA—the International Atomic Energy Agency—would also be participating to do inspections and enforce the rules.

Everybody was all about this shit man! Mohammad El Baradei of the IAEA thought it was a good idea. Prime Minister Singh thought it was sweet that India would be getting all kinds of cheap fuel for his economy. And the Bush Administration? Holy shit! They were tickled pink! Not only would the US get to make tons of money on selling India nuke secrets and nuke fuel, but US corporations were going to be getting a hefty share of building the nuke plants to boot! And the US really wants the growing Indian economy to produce its own fuel….thereby lessening its demand for world oil…lower Indian demand means more left over for us! At cheaper prices too!

However, this agreement turned into a 3 year rollercoaster ride for both the US and India. Prime Minister Singh actually got egg all over his face when the Indian Parliament initially shot down the idea, and then has been bickering over the details of its passage ever since. A main Indian political party named BJP declared that India’s entering this agreement with the US would compromise their national security by limiting their weapons program. Worse yet, a bunch of Indian Commie/Marxist parties declared their boycott of the nuke deal on the grounds that it made India a subservient pawn to the ‘imperialist policies of the U.S.A.’. Dudes, did anyone tell those Indian commies that the Cold War is over? Read the papers man!

But now all the fussing and fighting has finally ended, and that’s what this report is all about. Our main man Singh finally got enough of his parliament on board to sign the agreement, and the US Congress put its stamp of approval on it last week. The IAEA is in the middle working out all the details as we speak. Pull out the Tandori chicken and let the nuke party begin!

But hold the phone! Not everyone is in love with this deal! It is seriously pissing off opponents of nuclear proliferation around the globe, who argue that India is benefiting by breaking the rules…which will set a dangerous precedent for other countries to follow the same path. And one need look no further than Pakistan to see some pissed Paki peoples who claim that India is being shown favoritism by the West…because the same deal is certainly not being offered to them and their Muslim majority! Finally, look to a fuming Iran, which says that this whole process is bullshit, since the Iranians themselves are trying to do the exact same thing as India, but being punished for it! Iran has no nuke weapons and claims it only wants nuke energy….but they are getting their asses sanctioned instead of satiated for their efforts.

But the deal is now sealed, and that means plenty for these two giants. US businesses will certainly be getting sweet deals in the sub-continent now, the first such major in-roads that the US has ever made into the Indian economy. More importantly, this starts the solidification of a new era of US/India foreign policy, which serves to pull India distinctly into the ‘Team West’ camp on a variety of global issues. Namely, India is now firmly on-board the ‘Team West’ train in being a democracy, being a capitalist economy, being a big advocate of human rights and individual liberties, being a member of the ‘War on Terrorism’…and now with this nuke energy move, being an active member of the ‘Green Movement’ to stop using fossil fuels.

And India will certainly benefit by this new stronger alliance as well. Look for the next US President and all others after him, to increase visitation, aid, and military intelligence with India. Foreign direct investment will probably start pouring in from the US and others. Whether you like it or not, nuke energy will certainly be providing absolute shit tons of relatively cheap fuel to the Indian economy and its peoples, while minimizing environmental degradation. And look for India to become a much stronger global player by the side of the US as well…dare I say that this agreement may convince the US to support the inclusion of India on the UN Permanent Security Council! I dare! I dare! I predict it will happen!

Back home in India, those Marxist/Commie leftists are plenty pissed about these movements, and are convinced that this agreement will make India a new bitch to American foreign policy and influence. But I don’t see it. India has always been a very independent player and those Hindus have been doing their Hindi thing for thousands of years, so don’t expect them to cave in on issues of relevance when they disagree with Uncle Sam. But there is no doubt, Vishnu and Lady Liberty are in a new tango that has tremendous and titillating future potential!

If only I could get Krishna and Kali to wear some plaid outfits…hmmmm…Kali the Plaid Destroyer. Sounds kinky…

]]> http://www.plaidavenger.com/2008/10/06/nuke-deal-for-new-delhi-kicks-off-new-age-of-us-india-relations/feed/ http://www.plaidavenger.com/2008/10/02/ships-ahoy-shit-heating-up-on-the-high-seas/ http://www.plaidavenger.com/2008/10/02/ships-ahoy-shit-heating-up-on-the-high-seas/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:48:30 +0000 the Avenger... http://www.plaidavenger.com/?p=495
Ships Ahoy! Shit Heating Up on the High Seas from Plaid Avenger on Vimeo.

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Watch Manipulating of Money Causes US Meltdown in HD on Vimeo.

Bush lobbies Congress to pass $700B bailout bill

House Republicans Reconsider `No’ Votes on Bailout (Update2)

Senate bailout vote puts pressure on House Republicans, aides say

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Profile: Stephen Harper

Canada trumpets G8 vow to halve emissions by 2050

Cold Rush for Arctic’s energy riches

Lessons we can learn from Canadian experience

Seriously? We have to know the leader of Canada? Absolutely yes my friends! While they are mostly mocked by Americans as a bunch of hockey-playing-maple-syrup-making-free-health-care-having socialist-sissy-marys, the relationship between these two countries is radically important…and thus it behooves you as a smarter, savvier citizen to know Steven.

What is so important about the relationship? The US and Canada are the largest and most lucrative trading partners in the world. That’s for starters. Canada is the 2^nd largest country on the planet, and it shares the largest (mostly) unguarded border in the world with the US. That makes us good friends, and vital partners. Canada has also supported the US in every single conflict in the world in which the US has participated. Every single one. Including the ones still going on right now. Canada is founding member of the UN, NATO, and NAFTA. To know who leads this country and how he/she works with or against the US is simply a matter of common courtesy. So let’s talk about Steven.

Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper took over the helm of our northern neighbor in 2006, in what was a major shift from 12 years of liberal rule. Thus, he is comparable to the current Bush administration in the US. However, Harper may have come from more radical-conservative-right roots, but he has mostly played the part of a centrist since he took office, moving Canada firmly to the center-right on the political spectrum…but not to the far right. An economist by training, he is more focused on pushing the conservative agenda for business and military matters as opposed to focusing on social issues (which of course the Americans spend 99% of their time bickering about.) Having said that, Harper is staunchly opposed to gay marriage and a few other staples of the conservative agenda.

But here’s what you really need to know about the guy: he has strengthened the Canada/US relationship, both in trade and in troops. Canada has been by the side of the US in both the Afghan and Iraq campaigns from the start. Harper even became the first Canadian Prime Minister to visit an active war front when he chatted with troops outside Kandahar (he has been to Afghanistan twice so far.) Way to go Steven! He is definitely on the hawkish side, particularly when it comes to supporting the US and NATO in the War on Terrorism, and that is not likely to change.

Back in the chilly Canadian homeland, Harper also asserted state’s rights at the expense of the federal government, tried to un-do or at least re-work some of the socialist aspects of the Canadian system, and even has increased trade with the EU and US. Haper (and Canada in general) often becomes a very audible and visible voice supporting other US foreign policy issues too…even when these policies are very unpopular at home. In particular, Canada has been one of the countries holding up any real movement on reducing greenhouse gases via the Kyoto Protocol, even though it would be easy enough for them to do, and in their own self-interest. So why have they drug their feet? To support their US buddies who want to have nothing to do with Kyoto at all…in other words, to kiss US ass.

But hold the phone! While Harper is center-right, he ain’t no patsy to the Bush administration. As referenced in the story above, Harper is now fully on board with the global warming agenda…as might be expected since even the US is starting to tilt in that direction. And that’s not the only issue. There have been several minor trade disputes and one whopper of a territorial dispute between these two countries, and Harper has made it clear that no one—not even the giant US—is stepping on Canadian sovereignty.

What is the whopper? Shortly after Steven took office, the US made claims that the Northwest Passage (a famous Atlantic-to-Pacific shipping route that runs through northern Canadian waters) was an international waterway, and therefore not subject to Canadian sovereignty. As such, the US claims that part of the Arctic Ocean north of that Passage may be up for grabs—namely, so the US can be the one to grab it! Prime Minister Harper immediately issued a US smack-down, loosely translated as: Bullshit! Harper since has launched counter-claims that a large swath of the Arctic Ocean (and everything that potentially lies underneath) is Canadian territory, and has also laid plans for the establishment of several Canadian military bases in the area to reinforce this claim. Hoo-yah!

So Prime Minister Harper is a staunch US ally, but not one to be taken for granted. Of course Harper will continue to support the US militarily and support increased trade with the US. That makes his position in world affairs kind of powerful as a supporting player to the big power. At home, his conservative party does not hold an outright majority in the government and has been hit with some scandals lately, therefore we will give Mr. Harper a Plaid Potential Power rating of 7.2 at home, and 4.1 abroad in the wider world. Not bad for a Canuck! Go Flames! Go flames! Go flames!

This will be a background building exercise for our international ‘rogue’s gallery’ of folks that you should know in order to be globally literate, fashionably informed and completely chic. As these pages are posted, they will also be hot-linked to the ‘Global Gallery’ section of this site, so you can check back often for updates and insights.

So if we are going to do a run-down of the world’s most important leaders, with no reservation we have to start here at home with the leader of the free world himself, George W. Bush.

Well what can we say about the ‘compassionate conservative’ Georgie Boy in just a page or two that hasn’t been documented in a trillion other articles and books in the last 8 years? Probably not much. The American Presidency is still the most powerful position on earth, regardless of party, beliefs, or intelligence of the person who holds the post. So let me spend this very first leader run-down introducing you to few terms which will help you understand the rest of the Bush Presidency, and more importantly, the rest of this rogue run-down.

With no reservations I tell you that Bush is the most powerful man on the planet in terms of shaping global policies, global events, and global news. Even on his very last day in office (which is fast approaching), President Bush has more power than any other world leader on their first day in office. As will his predecessor. How is this so? Well, the US is the single largest economy in the world, and money does matter in terms of power. More to the point, being the leader of the sole superpower on the planet, the American President has at his disposal the most advanced and lethal military in the world, the largest stockpile of nuclear weaponry in the world, and a government structure which allows him/her to use these tools with great speed and few hurdles.

Result: Even in the most unpopular, unsupported, unattractive and un-powerful American President has the ability to start a war or totally annihilate the planet in his last five minutes on the job. Damn, that’s power!

Now that’s the power that the position of American President wields. Let’s talk about the man currently in that position. President George Bush is many different things to many different people, and I’m not getting into a glory-fest nor a bash-fest here. However I am going to give him several descriptors that can also be applied to his soon-to-be-elected replacement, as well as other world leaders discussed in this manual. Strangely enough, one of these terms is about being alone, while the other two have to do with birds…and how does the old saying go?…Oh yes, now I remember: One in the hand is worth two in the Bush. Ha! How appropriate! But let’s get to the terms…

George Walker Texas Ranger Bush has led the mighty USA for almost eight years…and his time is almost up! Being a second-term President in the US means you can’t run for office any more, thus the first term I want you to know about George is that he is a lame-duck leader. Well what the hell does that mean? This label is applied to any elected official who has lost political power and/or is no longer responsive to the electorate because they are in their last days in office…in this case because of term limits. Bush can’t run for office again, therefore he doesn’t have to ‘build bridges’ or be nice to his enemies or even appease the American people on any given subject…’cause it don’t matter if people like him or not now! He’s leaving either way!

The flip side of this equation is that other politicians, and indeed even other world leaders, feel no need to work with him anymore on any new policies or initiatives. What would be the point? He’s leaving soon! Bush’s lame duck status is compounded even further by his low approval ratings at home and abroad. You can see this clearly in the news events of the year leading up to his last day in office: there are no new programs or policies in the works, no senators or lobbyist pushing him to do any real work, and all visits to foreign countries are simply ‘goodwill tours’ where President Bush just hangs out with other heads of state and makes nice speeches about how everyone should continue to push the policies of the past well into the future.

Don’t believe me? The President took an extended European vacation in summer 2008 where he met with a slew of leaders and gave a slew of speeches…every single one of which suggested that the War on Terror must be continued and also that Iran is evil and must be stopped. No exceptions. And no surprises to those of us that understand how the world works. On top of that, the Bush Administration has been desperately trying to arrange a peace process/treaty for the Arab/Israeli dispute in their last year in power. Unfortunately, no one in the Middle East gives a hoot about the Bush initiative, since all parties know that a new President with a new perspective will soon be in office. Why would any of them waste their time taking Cheney and Condi seriously? Answer: they don’t. It’s the lame duck syndrome.

So it is always important to know how much longer any given leader has left in office, because it does truly affect their power and effectiveness. A king or dictator always has all the power…right up to the second someone deposes their dumb asses. A democratically elected leader’s power shifts with current events, personal diplomatic skills, personal popularity, and time left in office. You dig?

But onto another bird which perhaps helps describe why President Bush and his administration have such low approval ratings around the world…and that word is hawkish. Like’em or hate’em, the Bush administration will go down in history being defined as a hawkish bunch. In politics, to be hawkish means that you have an actively aggressive attitude to solving problems and you favor military force/action in order to carry out foreign policy objectives. Some of the keywords in that definition are actively and favor, reinforcing the idea that military force is the most desirable option. Vigorous and immediate action (in a military sense) is the foundation stone of a hawkish leader’s/administration’s foreign policy, as they see the tools of diplomacy as too slow and ineffective. I don’t have to go into detail here: War in Iraq, War in Afghanistan, War on Drugs, War on Terror…I think you get the point.

Of course, the opposite descriptor is to be a dove, or dove-like or dovish: that is, favoring vigorous diplomacy first and foremost, with military action only to be used as an absolute last resort. We will use both these terms throughout the text. But let’s stay on point here: President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and current Secretary of State Rice are all staunchly in the hawkish camp. That alone is only a single descriptor, and quite frankly there no sin in having an aggressive point of view. It’s the next word that lowered the world view of President Bush and his administration…

And that would be unilateral. The main reason that much of the world, and many individual world leaders, currently hold the US at arms length in disdain is because the Bush administration has also been extremely unilateral in many of their actions on the last 8 years…meaning they act alone; a team of one. Early on, the Bush administration consistently asked the world to support their version of foreign policy, and when the world refused to…the Bushies went ahead with their plans anyway. President Bush and his team would argue that they had to do the right thing in their opinion, regardless of the willy-nilly world opinion and slow response of the UN…and that is an easily made argument that roughly half of the US population supports.

This rift is most clearly seen in the current US war in Iraq, which was extremely unpopular within the UN and world opinion as a whole. Ever wonder why the UN or NATO or a whole bunch of other US allies are not helping in Iraq? It’s because the US acted unilaterally, which served to piss off all those other institutions.

So a unilateralist leader is one who often leads his country to act alone; the opposite term would be multilateralism, which suggests an eagerness to act alongside of others. Remember that war hero guy Colin Powell? He was the original Secretary of State under President Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq war. Colin was a devout multilateralist who worked hard to get other countries on board for the war, but he was quickly squeezed out of the unilateral Bush administration because of the conflicts in their beliefs and approaches to conducting war. So now you know how the real shit goes down.

In summary, President George Bush has led a hawkish administration which conducted most of their affairs in a very unilateralist vein, which is one of the reasons they are extremely unpopular in US and world opinion…and thus part of his extreme lame duck status. Given his low approval ratings at home combined with his fleeting time left in office, I have to give President Bush a palsy 1.1 on the Plaid Power Rating at home. These same factors also detract from his power in the global arena as well—however, as President of the US up to his last day in office, he still achieves a whopping Plaid World Power Rating of 8.5. His predecessor will have an even higher rating as soon as the election finishes…and the world is already eagerly awaiting to see who will win that democratic dogfight, so they can see what new world-affecting policies will be enacted.

Got all that? Know those terms in bold, as they are oft used in describing political players the world over, and you will see them again soon in scribblings on this very site. Speaking of which, I need to sharpen my ice skates and secure a case of Moosehead beer in order to be fully prepared to head north to report on the next world leader of note….

Some Egyptian Election stories that would titillate King Tut:

Low turnout in Egypt elections

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood To Boycott Local Elections

Amid violent riots, Egyptian elections fizzle

Bombs away!!!:

Bush Wins NATO Backing on Europe Missile Shield

Putin Tries Surprise NATO Offensive

Some Zimbabwe zingers on Mugabe Madness:

Mugabe Faces Pressure to Step Down

‘Beaten Mugabe under pressure’

Zimbabwe faces hard road to prosperity post-Mugabe

Check this shit out! When you’re good, you’re good…and when you’re me, you;re better!

Nato summit: George Bush abandoned over Ukraine and Georgia

Bush Sees NATO Backing Missile Defense (that’s funny, cause I don’t)

NATO: Still a Sore Point With Putin

Arab League arenasof interest:

Boycott clouds Syrian Arab summit

Reverse Success

A few stories to consider:

Sarkozy and Brown agree on ‘partnership of pioneers’

Sarkozy Pledges More Troops To Afghanistan

Prospect of French NATO return tilts power balance

A few Taiwan tidbits to tinker with…

Promoting social harmony a priority for new President

Taiwan’s message for Beijing

US presidential rivals congratulate Ma

Election moves Taiwan and Beijing closer

Some tasty Tibet tidbits:

Nationalism at core of China’s reaction on Tibet

Tibet tensions high as Olympic torch nears Beijing

China “strongly dissatisfied” with EU meeting on Tibet issue

So where the hell did I leave off? Oh yes, Fatah friends and Hamas Haters…and now we can point out how this situation has played out in the current border breech debacle. Since Hamas kicked Fatah out of the Gaza Strip, Israel and all its western allies (namely the US) have basically tried to make life a living hell for Hamas. Why? To get them the hell out of power because they refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist, and therefore cannot play a part in the peace process. In other words, due to Hamas’ political ideology, Israel and ‘Team West’ simply cannot interact with them at all, cannot give them an ounce of legitimacy at all, and cannot play ball with them at all…not even for a backyard pick-up game of Nerf! And since Hamas also uses suicide bombers and keeps lobbing homemade rockets over the wall into Israel, they are labeled as terrorists…and thus most western governments do not want to negotiate with terrorists. It should be noted that the rockets that Hamas lobs over the wall are about as tactically effective as lobbing over Nerf balls.

So how are Israel and Team West trying to crush Hamas? Why, by crushing the entire Gaza Strip of course! That is how this whole current mess started. Israel (with complicity from the West) slapped down the entire area with an embargo seven months ago, sealed off the borders, cut off the electricity and stopped all movement of virtually all goods and services. This was done for two reasons: 1)To punish Hamas and further demonstrate that the West hates them, and 2) To punish the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip so badly that they would turn on Hamas and stage some sort of coup. Everyone already knew #1….and #2 simply didn’t really happen. And Israel and Team West really hates that #2 didn’t happen….but don’t we all hate when an expected #2 doesn’t happen? My advice: eat more bran!

This ‘starving out’ of the Gaza Strip really reached a fever pitch as the Israelis (again, with complicity from the EU and the US) started shutting off the power about a month ago. And this fever pitch of desperation brings us back full circle to the events of two weeks ago—people got so desperate in Gaza that they blew a fucking hole in the wall on the Gaza/Egypt border, and spilled out en masse to buy food, fuel, smokes, and some more Nerf footballs. That’s it. That’s why it happened. And for two weeks, Egypt has largely allowed this to go on, trying more to control the flow of folks as opposed to outright stopping them. However they just did rebuild and secure the wall two days ago…so the wall breach is officially over, for now.

But this Gaza ‘break-out’ of course defeated the whole point of the embargo, and it seriously pissed off Israel, the US and most in the EU. And who suffered the brunt of this rage? Egypt of course! Egypt has been stuck right in the middle of this shit storm, and everything they do pisses someone off! How so?

Here’s how: Egypt is an Arab state and as such has sympathies for the plight of the Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, which is why they allowed the wall breach to go on for so long without going ape shit and shooting people. In fact, most of the Arab world was glad to see Egypt easing the situation for the Gaza folks by letting them re-supply. But of course the soft stance that Egypt took totally pissed off Israel and the US, which has been beating them down and badgering the Egyptians to re-seal the border as fast as possible. Why should Egypt do anything those countries say? Because they are a huge US ally, and the #3 recipient of US foreign aid…that’s why! Egypt has also signed a peace agreement with Israel, and therefore is kind of an ‘ally’ to them as well…although that definition may be pushing it just a little.

To appease the US and ‘Team West’, Egypt has made moves to tighten the flow of people, and it eventually did rebuild and seal the wall on Wednesday of this week…but of course that pissed off all the folks in Gaza, as well as pissing off a lot of Arabs across the entire Middle East that interpret this as Egypt sucking up to America. Well, yeah, kind of I guess, but what else are they to do? Completely open the border altogether? Hmmm….some have suggested just that, and in fact there is some speculation that maybe Egypt should just take over the entire damn Gaza Strip and make it part of Egypt! Dig:

How to Turn Gaza Over to Egypt

However, Egypt has put forth a resounding ‘Hell-freakin-no!’ to that idea already. They want to get out of this shit storm as fast as possible, and many Egyptians are plenty pissed that anyone would even suggest that they fully adopt this bullshit situation to fix on their own. Why the hell should they fix the fucking mess that 60 years of Arab-Israeli hi-jinks have created? Our main man Hosni Mubarak don’t want to touch that shit! In fact, Egypt is basically pushing for ANYBODY to come take over this border area from them, so they can get out of the middle of the mayhem. They have even put forth a proposal for the Fatah controlled Palestinian Authority in West Bank (remember them?) to take over security at the border…a move which you should have instantaneously predicted would totally piss of Hamas:

Egypt wants PA back on Gaza border

Egypt boosts troop security along border with Gaza amid alleged Hamas’ kidnapping threat

So now Hamas is pissed at Egypt, the Arab World is not happy with Egypt, and the US/Israel still don’t think Egypt is doing enough to control the border. Damn! Egypt just pisses everybody off, no matter what they do! Sucks to be Egypt!

And the future? Not hard to predict…it is already upon us. Shit, shit and more shit to come for the Israelis, the Gaza inhabitants, and anyone who is trying to work for a single ‘Palestine’ state solution. And we won’t have long to wait to see my predictions come true, as things are turning even nastier, even faster than usual:

Israel-Gaza Fighting Escalates

Cycle of violence continues in Gaza

Tensions in Gaza escalate

A Coming Hamas-Israel War?

So the Gazans feel that their backs are against a wall and that the Israeli embargo will starve them all to death, so they feel compelled to act with violence. Hamas apparently sanctioned a suicide bomber to blow up people in Dimona on Monday, and Hamas also continues to fire rockets into southern Israel on a regular basis. This infuriates Israel, which in turn decided to make the embargos even more harsh, and also to conduct air strikes in Gaza. Senior officials in Israel are now discussing the possibility of targeting all Hamas politicians. All these moves further isolate people in Gaza and make them feel that there backs are against the wall which compels them to act with violence…wait a damn minute! This is one of those vicious circle deals! This really sucks!

Full-on war is coming to this place my friends, and coming soon. I stand by the prediction I made back in the summer: the two-state solution is totally dead—meaning that the idea of a peace process between a state called Israel and a state called Palestine can no longer happen, since Palestine itself is fractured. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip will never reunite with the Fatah-controlled West Bank. But something is going to happen. Probably something shitty. I look for Hamas to continue to piss off Israel, which will inevitably lead to a full military invasion of Gaza by the Israelis….and I’ll even give you a sudden flash of brilliance that occurred to me on how they will do it: Watch for a fully funded Fatah army to lead such a charge, or certainly be there to mop up and take over once Israel levels the place. Just an instinct on my part, but it is no guesswork that Fatah is already