The White House will turn a heated tent on its frigid South Lawn into a Monet-inspired gala fit for a French president on Tuesday, the highlight of a two-day state visit to Washington by Francois Hollande.

Bone appétit! pic.twitter.com/vuXRoKEnGY

— First Lady- Archived (@FLOTUS44) February 11, 2014

President Barack Obama invited Hollande for the state visit to highlight the long relationship between the two countries. The two leaders have worked together on responding to Iran’s nuclear program, Syria’s civil war and insurgent attacks in Mali. (continue reading)

It appears the Sochi winter Olympic venue is quite a mess.    Hotel rooms missing beds and some still under construction as guests arrive.   Some of the pictures being shared on twitter are quite funny.   You can follow HERE

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/431120611264303105

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/431086821737365504

https://twitter.com/SochiProblems/status/430800007298424833

(more…)

The articulation of the rebel alliance captured:

For the value within the backstory GO HERE

We’re not too well versed in Ukrainian politics so we enjoy the perspectives of readers with family, friends to help us understand.   However, we do know the general modus operandi of the Russian political maneuvering; and Yanukovych going to the hospital for a mystery illness is a commonly used strategy.   Generally a hard-line push by the government follows the “illness”.   Perhaps use of the Ukrainian Army is about to take place. 

[BBC]  Protesters in Ukraine have rejected the terms of a new amnesty law aimed at ending the country’s unrest.

Kiev’s parliament backed an amnesty plan for detainees if protesters vacated the government buildings they have occupied and unblocked streets and squares throughout the country.

The Question Remains – WHY NO MAINSTREAM U.S. COVERAGE ?

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday in a bid to ease Ukraine’s deadly two-month crisis as lawmakers debated key reforms.

“I have taken a personal decision to ask the president of Ukraine to accept my resignation from the post of prime minister with the aim of creating an additional possibility for a political compromise to peacefully resolve the conflict,” he said in a statement. (link)

Juxtaposition:

I keep wondering why we are not seeing this story in our U.S. broadcast media – the potential cinematography is prime for interest ?  ….In a scene that veered from primeval to apocalyptic, demonstrators used sticks to hit barrels and sheets of metal, creating a savage drumbeat as a backdrop, while billows of smoke rose from piles of burning car tires….

KIEV, Ukraine — With President Viktor F. Yanukovych and antigovernment demonstrators at an impasse here, a cease-fire disintegrated on Friday night as the Ukrainian capital convulsed in renewed violence and fire bombs lit up the night sky.

Civil unrest spread across the country earlier on Friday as protesters laid siege to government buildings in at least nine other cities — occupying some and thronging outside others. (more…)

For History Buffs – You may appreciate the following pictures of current events:

CLICK HERE

Molotov cocktail slingshot. #Kiev. Incredible. via @varlamov https://t.co/d4LjAbuYH6 pic.twitter.com/Rc6DZfIQUC

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 23, 2014

Most people know al-Qaeda (as a terror entity) has evolved over the past 10+ years.   Recently the Obama administration has doggedly tried to parse and obfuscate around a principle that CORE al-Qaeda has been destroyed.

This claim is essential to framing any success around the Obama administration’s foreign policy and defense effort.     However, the claim is false and the success simply does not exist.

al-Qaeda is NOT on the run.

As a network of affiliated enterprises, with the same ideological goal, it has grown in influence specifically as a direct result of their own evolutionary intentions.

CORE al-Qaeda, or a centralized body from which all decision making stemmed, was never their intent.   al-Qaeda intended for terrorism to be “cellular” or operationally self-sustaining and widespread.    Bin Laden specifically intended the network to be a group of ideologically aligned but unaffiliated franchises all working on a common approach. (more…)

(Via CNN) A video surfaces threatening the Winter Olympics. Russia’s President vows the Games will be safe. Some U.S. lawmakers warn that they won’t be.   One thing was clear as debate over the situation surged on Sunday: security is a top concern, less than three weeks away from the competition…

…As a transcript of his interview with half a dozen national and international broadcasters was posted on the Kremlin website Sunday, a video that surfaced online again highlighted the security situation. (more…)

…. another significant percentage would love to see the Islamists jailed, like Egypt.

Tunisia fell victim to dictatorial consequences stemming from economic strain as a result of mass migration.   Like Egypt, the Tunisian Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood) promised great prosperity under Sharia.  However, unlike Egypt, the Brotherhood still holds power. 

TUNISIA – “Ben Ali, they fooled us! Come back soon!” is a slogan one could hear on Tuesday, January 7, in the streets of Tunis, Ariana, Mahdia, Sfax and other cities in Tunisia, as the country prepared to mark the three-year anniversary of the uprising that sent former dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali packing.

The protesters were in the street to voice their anger at tax hikes affecting public and agricultural transportation vehicles, but many expressed a nostalgia for the Ben Ali days that seems to be increasingly common.

In the capital, “Vive Ben Ali” can be seen scrawled on walls of buildings, and a Facebook page entitled “Forgive us, Mr. President” has been flooded with messages of affection and tribute. (more…)