Manns Medium

As a novice and not an expert in Middle East Affairs, I have always said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his loyal followers and party was the biggest obstacle to Middle East Peace but if things continue as they seem to be going right now, the opportunity for the next American President to build his/her legacy on being the one who finally forged peace in the Middle East will be extremely possible and probable.  According to the Wall Street Journal in an article titled “ Supporters Rally Around Netanyahu Amid Police Probes; Pressure is mounting on the Israeli leader, who tells crowd the left wing and the media want to topple him” written Rory Jones, it reports that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a rare public rally here as police corruption probes pose a growing threat to the Israeli leader’s 30-year political career.  Mr. Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party and known by his nickname “Bibi,” on Wednesday blamed the turmoil on a “witch hunt” by...

Formed from clay and infused with and brought alive by a spirit made in the image of God and blessed with the power to reproduce and re-create these man-made bodies, we occupy these worlds and spend much of our earthly lives searching for a reason for us existing.  Only to finally come to a realization that our being here is not by accident but because of a purposeful and loving God who chose to create a spirit that would take the best of him and spread it all over these universes.  However, by putting evil in charge of preparing these nations for our arrival, God overlooked the thought that evil would be filled with so much hate for him, that he would turn that hate on his greatest creations and add something to preparation of nations by making it very easy to corrupt God’s greatest gift to any nation. I say that this is true, not because I claim to be smarter and more intelligent than any others that have come before me and shall come after and not because I wish to bec...

I found this article titled “ Israel Paid Senator Tom Cotton $1 Million to Block the Iran Nuclear Deal written by Keith Foote and I have a question.  If this is true and Senator Cotton failed in his attempt to block the deal does he have to give the money back?  Now contrary to what we want to believe, all that you find on the internet is not true so it is only a question.  I can tell you if I or anyone I know accepted money for a job but failed to deliver, we would surely have to refund the money and if we took too long to do so, we would find ourselves in a court.  Just wondering if we have somehow provided those in politics a “get out of responsibility free card” or something like that.  Now the article did say that “ The Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel gave Tom Cotton nearly $1 million in his race for the Senate just five months ago and maybe it was not for the reason this article says.  Maybe it was because Tom Cotton convinced them that...

As a retired U.S. Marine who served from 1981 till 1991, I am amazed at how often those with thoughts of revisiting the Christian Crusades occupy our control centers when it comes to saber rattling, fear mongering and cowboy justice.  I am amazed because I wish to think that we have hired the best and the brightest to occupy the seats of government and therefore wonder how so many could be led by the nose by those who have little to no risk involved in the decisions that they push or make. In an article titled “Netanyahu Warns Congress Iran Deal Guarantees Nuclear Arms ” written by Jonathan Ferziger for Bloomberg News, Mr. Ferziger reports that “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directly challenging President Barack Obama in a speech to U.S. lawmakers, said an emerging agreement with Iran would backfire and ensure the Islamic Republic gains a nuclear arsenal.  “That deal would not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons -- it would all but guarantee that Ira...

So many are frustrated and confused as to what we have to do to defeat ISIL and many are considering that all that is necessary is to cut off the head of the snake but today, it has occurred to me that this is and never will be the way ISIL will ever get defeated.  Some are correct that military force is necessary but it will never end them.  Some are correct that it will take a diplomatic answer to solve this issue but that alone is also not the case.  So with that, quite a few are confused and frustrated so they lash out at anyone or anything else that is marginally offensive to them in order to find a place for their frustrated-laced anger.  So what do we do?  First we need to understand the problem before we can find the solution. The first thing, I think we need to teach ourselves is ISIL is not one main operating group but a series of self-lead branches which follow their own brand of justice.  The overall message may be the same but the actions ...

In an article titled “Texas rally by Muslims seeking tolerance disrupted by protesters” written by Jon Herskovitz for Reuters, it is reported that “ Protesters hold signs and yell to disrupt and heckle a group gathered for a Texas Muslim Capitol Day rally, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Austin, Texas. Hundreds of Muslims gathered for the rally as part of their biennial Texas Capitol lobbying day. Hundreds of Muslims gathered for the rally as part of their biennial Texas… A rally at the Texas Capitol on Thursday by Muslims seeking religious tolerance was repeatedly disrupted by a small group of protesters who said the state belonged to followers of Jesus Christ and that Muslims should go back to the Middle East.  During opening remarks at the Texas Muslim Capitol Day event, a Christian activist from Michigan grabbed the microphone from the speaker and said: "I proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over the capitol of Texas. I stand against Islam."  A group of people who des...

News was made on two fronts in the House of Representative’s Committee looking into the nuclear deal with Iran but has gone unreported by seemingly every cable news and local news station on the air.  One has to wonder how such experienced and talented journalist could miss both sets of news made on that Tuesday by John Kerry but maybe this truly is more about viewership and ratings than anything else.  We all know that sex sells which is why movies and commercials are full of sexually implicit things, now we know that controversy gains viewers because instead of these stories being top news, they were pushed back for what?  Well if this is true then let me be one of the first to clue this nation in but before I do let me also make one other thing extremely clear.  Nothing anyone says about this president and his administration is going to change the minds of those who truly despise him so this is not my reason for passing on what I learned on C-Span.  The ...

I recall your attention to the Syrian Crisis where when the Obama Administration moved carriers to a more strategic position but held off on launching rockets and planes because for the first time, Russia backed off and the leader of Syria finally admitted to having nuclear weapons.  This was seen by Republicans as a “lack of leadership” and their only proposal was to arm the rebels.  Media fell right into line with the Republican’s view and helped to promote this vision.  What they refused to look toward was the complete picture and thank God we have an administration in the White House that was not so quick to arm the rebels but to take it slow. Proof of why this really was a smart strategy can be found in an article titled “ Deadly blasts near Iran’s embassy in Lebanon linked to Syrian war, sectarian divisions” written by Loveday Morris and Ahmed Ramadan, with an assist from William Booth in Jerusalem and Suzan Haidamous in Beirut.    This article ...

As the world continues to revolve and the sun consistently rises, so does events which are becoming more and more clear that world peace may not be that far behind. When this president was running for office, he was viewed and mocked as naïve because he had promised that he would extend an open hand to our enemies instead of a tight fist.   He had promised to speak frankly but friendly to all those leaders who want to come in from the cold.   Many of us never really placed much stock in that statement until now. It can be assumed that after young Arabs saw the power of the American public bringing the first black man into office as president, they kicked off their Arab Spring.   Though they were not prepared for the results, they have begun their long hard journey to real democracy.   Next we see the shutting down of the Iraq War and the closing of the Afghanistan War.   These actions further showed world leaders that he might just be a man of his word...

When President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize, millions of people began to look at him as weak and many thought that their mantle of Keeping America Safe was safe.   That was until his first major test of the pirates taking over an American Ship and holding the captain hostage.   The normal workings of other countries were to negotiate with the pirates, give them what they wanted and get back their ship and personnel.   That was until Barack Obama stepped to the plate to take a swing at that ball. To many surprise, he ordered the killing of those holding that captain hostage and in the end not only got back the captain, crew, ship and cargo but made all those dreaming to one day become a pirate in that region quickly choose another line of work.   Somali Pirates used to be in the headlines almost daily until they picked the wrong ship and the wrong president to test. Next came the Osama bin Laden raid where many had spoken tough about getting him but ...

Ever since George W. Bush had his grand opening and dedication of his new Library in Texas, the Neo-Cons have been out in full force trying to find another war where they can trick America into engaging a foreign enemy and a war that no one of them will ever physically participate in.  Reminds me of a bully or manipulator, like Satan, who gets others to fight their battles for them, risking not one hair on their balding scalps.  It’s like not allowing any kind of conflict to go without a war attached to it.  Then you have the Peaceniks who also are using the revision of the Iraq War found on full spectacle in the George W. Bush Library allowing them to make their point that we all should be making “love not war”.  That if we just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that we are all alone here in this universe; the universe would leave us alone.  In the words of Jesus Christ, both are fools and hypocrites.  So where do you stand?  Are you s...

Experts of all kinds have their own ways of trying to solve the world problems and the harder they try the further behind the problem we seem to end of up.   Many say because the roads to settling conflicts are bulky and complicated.   Well I disagree; my thought is conflicts of all kind can easily be settled by following the word of God.   A small piece of my argument is below. The Middle East Conflict centers around what the Israelites want and what Hamas say they deserve but it goes much deeper than that.   Neither will ever be satisfied if they were able to get everything that they desire, why because their opposition to each other has nothing to do with policies, procedures or ideology.    It is simply a misguided romance with material things and nothing more.   Same can be said about the Religious Right in this country and the ignorance of both parties which govern our nation.   It’s about who is more powerful and more influential and...

Unlike this article by Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press titled Close attention to Obama's latest words on Israel in which he states that “P resident Barack Obama is trying to assuage some of America's fiercest supporters of Israel after he endorsed the Jewish nation's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a Palestinian state and clashed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   He essentially stated what almost every observer assumed would have to be the border lines of a two-state solution, with mutually agreed adjustments.   Still, the change prompted bitter criticism from Netanyahu. And in a blunt display of differences, the two leaders openly disagreed after a Friday meeting at the White House,” many in the media made this disagreement out to be much more than it is.   Some “talking heads” called it throwing Israel under the bus while others called it dangerous.   None of these geniuses are privy to the information that President Obama has to make t...

Philip Elliott of the Associated Press pens an article titled Romney: Obama 'threw Israel under the bus' in which he reports that “Republicans looking to unseat President Barack Obama charged that he undermined the sensitive and delicate negotiations for Middle East peace.   Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Obama undercut an opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians to build trust, acknowledging he didn't watch Obama's speech and was reacting to news coverage.   Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Obama "threw Israel under the bus"; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called it "the most dangerous speech ever made by an American president for the survival of Israel."   "The current administration needs to come to terms with its confused and dangerous foreign policy soon, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania said in a statement.   Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota called the border suggestions "a shocking display of betrayal" to I...