Israel. CIA's Biggest Spy Threat.

Here's the scoop on the Middle-East action and let me tell you, there is action galore!

We are supposed to be besties with Israel.  Guess what.  Our BFF is one of CIA's biggest spy threats.

"While US politicians boast strong ties with Israel, CIA officials suggest Israel is one of its biggest counter-intelligence threats. With spyware that rivals that of American agencies, it is extremely difficult to detect the extent of its spying.

In a CIA ranking of the world’s intelligence agencies and their willingness to help the US fight the War on Terror, Israel fell below Libya."

source: http://rt.com

Our best friend, Israel, is also upgrading it's missile shield to help defend itself against Iran, Syria and other enemies.  This is a U.S. backed effort.

""The accuracy and the reach will be greater," the official said of Arrow, which has been operational since 2000 and is designed to blow up incoming missiles at altitudes high enough for non-conventional warheads to disintegrate safely.

"It is part of the technological race in the region," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Long jittery about Iran's disputed nuclear program, the Israelis have more recently worried the Syrian insurgency could loosen Damascus's hold on its chemical weapons and missiles."

source: http://www.reuters.com

Meanwhile, Israel is calling on Egypt to help them in Sinai to retake control of the peninsula and take out the terrorists there.

"Israel will consider any Egyptian request to deploy additional military forces in the Sinai in an effort to retake control of the peninsula and weed out a global jihad terrorist infrastructure, defense officials said on Monday.

An Egyptian request was expected to come in the aftermath of a sophisticated cross-border attack Sunday night that was thwarted by the IDF after terrorists stole an armored vehicle and infiltrated into Israel. The IDF revealed on Monday that eight terrorists had been killed and at least six of them were wearing explosive belts."

source: http://www.jpost.com

Connected to this story is the defection of Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab which is a clear indication that Assad's regime is crumbling and is also a clear threat regarding who will possess the stockpile of chemical weapons from Syria and what they will do with them.

"The White House said the momentum was now with the opposition, while France said the Assad government was "doomed".

Mr Hijab, the most senior Syrian figure to defect, on Monday denounced Syria's "terrorist regime" and said he was joining the revolution."

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk

Regarding oil, the Kurds have evidently caused two explosions in as many weeks that have now caused officials to close down the pipeline that carries oil to people like you and me.  

"ANKARA, Turkey –  An explosion in Turkey has forced authorities to shut down a pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to world markets, an official said Monday, in the second such incident in two weeks. Local media reports said Kurdish rebels had caused the blast.

The explosion occurred late Sunday near the southeastern town of Midyat and damaged the pipeline running from Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, to the Turkish Mediterranean port at Ceyhan, said an official at Turkey's pipeline company, BOTAS. A second line that runs parallel was not harmed, but has also been shut down temporarily as a precaution, the official said.

The two pipelines carry about 25 million tons of crude oil a year."

source: http://www.foxnews.com

Speaking of the Kurds and of Turkey, they have been having an internal war and now, it seems, Turkey is concerned that the Kurds have taken control of most of the cities and towns in the Northern part of Syria. Why the concern?  They feel that the civil conflict in Syria may spill over into their internal war and cause an escalation of violence and other things that go along with any power struggle.

"Kurds in the north of Syria say they have taken control of most of the region's major towns and cities from government forces. Turkey fears the twin threats of the Syrian civil conflict spilling over the frontier along with a potential escalation of its internal war against Kurdish separatists."

source: http://www.voanews.com

Of course, a story on the Middle-East would not be accurate without including Iran.  As always, Iran is strange and confusing.  It's hard to know their intentions other than their want of a power grab of Syria in its vulnerable condition.  Because of this, Iran is said to have plans to host a meeting on Syria.  Who would attend a meeting being put on by Iran and its wacked out leaders?  They claim it would be countries such as Qatar, Turkey and Arabia.  It likely won't add up to any progress, any more positive outcome for the Syrian issue.

" Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, plans to host a meeting of regional and other countries this week on ways to resolve the country's conflict, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

However, only countries with a "realistic" stance on the conflict will be invited to the meeting on Thursday, IRNA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying.

The report did not say which countries would be involved but without Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, all of whom back the opposition to Assad, it is unlikely to have a significant result.

The aim is to find "ways out of the current crisis, the return of stability and calm to that country and also supporting all constructive regional and international efforts", Abdollahian said."

source: http://www.reuters.com

At the same time as Iran is said to host the meeting regarding Syria, it warns that foreign intervention would cause the conflict to engulf Israel.  In the statement, Iranian officials name the same countries that it would have come to the meeting above.  All I can say at this point is WOW!

"Iran warned against foreign intervention in Syria on Sunday and said the conflict there could engulf Israel, Iranian media said.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani accused the United States and regional countries he did not name of providing military support to rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.

Syria has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of backing rebels in Syria and fuelling violence there. Iran has supported Assad's efforts to crush the 17-month revolt and has accused Western countries and Israel of interfering in the crisis.

"The fire that has been ignited in Syria will take the fearful (Israelis) with it," Larijani said on Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)."

source: http://www.reuters.com

Also related to Syria and Iran, Iran is accusing the United States of being responsible for the lives of 48 pilgrims that were kidnapped.  They say that the United States is a state-sponsor of terrorism and therefore they are being held responsible.  In the article, there are accusations against all of the countries listed on this post.  Again, wow.

"Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA – Deputy IRI Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolahian said here Monday Iran forwarded a letter to USA through its interest section at Swiss Embassy in Tehran on fate of 48 kidnapped Iranian pilgrims in Syria."

source: http://www.irna.ir

Thanksgiving Story

The Thanksgiving Story

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Native Americans that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local natives did participate, this "first thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since. However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast - including 91 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include Native Americans, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives," (see the proclamation). By then, it had become apparent to the settlers that the natives were a hindrance to their quest for more land, so the good will they shared at the first feast had long been lost.

A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

http://wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm