Daesh

The War In Kurdistan

It’s all over the news, and every American politician (and French) seeking re-election is repeating it:  Trump has betrayed the Kurds to Turkey, set ISIS fighters free, and is actively running the U.S. military in a way that benefits only Russia.

The danger with facts everyone knows is that there’s no easy way to convince people they’re wrong.  Usually the problem boils down to oversimplification; it’s easy to be wrong when you don’t know anything.  In this case, it’s that — plus, everyone’s got a massive axe to grind and Trump’s a great target to score points off.

But some of it’s definitely true, so we’ll start there and move on. (more…)

More Important Than A Wall, Part 3

It’s been a month now since I first posted my “Dispassionate Look At A Border Wall”, with the intent to provoke reasonable discussion on the issue.  Because this, like most issues, is not a simple one, I’ve also written a short series on things that we need to do either before, alongside, or even instead of such a wall.  These explain why it’s in the national interest of the United States to support the Mexican economy as well as compelling practical reasons to increase legal immigration.

In this article, I intend to demonstrate the absolute necessity of a new, modern, and effective approach to the War On Drugs in order to address the intolerable conditions along our southern border. (more…)

White Phosphorous In Syria

It’s been reported by such prestigious journals as the Washington Post and the New York Times, and Amnesty International has released a potential war crimes alert:  The headlines say the United States is attacking civilians in Syria with incendiary rounds, something that’s been banned by the Geneva Convention — and for good reason.

The world reacts in horror, some in righteous indignation, others with a sort of resigned acceptance, knowing in advance just how horrible America is.

And yet, this seems like an uncharacteristically foolhardy action for the United States (more…)

Syria: It’s Time To Worry

The Syrian Civil War has been characterized by the United Nations as the “great humanitarian crisis of our age”.  A nation of twenty million, Syria has lost twenty percent of its population, most of whom have fled as international refugees.  On the other hand, over a hundred thousand foreign militants have gone there to fight, and the armed forces of a dozen nations have deployed in what has become one of the biggest proxy wars in all of history.

And it’s nearly over. (more…)

Heroin Is Treason

We send our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Manchester concert bombing, and rightly so.  Thousands have given direct material help, including a hegira of free cab rides and housing for displaced concert attendees.  Ariana Grande, who we’d mainly thought of as a typical self-absorbed pop star, had a big charity concert to benefit the victims and in consequence is now generally acknowledged to be “probably human“.

Manchester was one of the first of the big bangs preceding this year’s Ramadan attacks.  Thus far (more…)

Thoughts And Prayers

(Image copyright Radio Free Babylon, and used by permission.)

Once again, some poor dumb schmuck blew himself up along with a bunch of innocents.  And once again, all we can do is send our thoughts and prayers.

His name was released, but I can’t be bothered to look for it.  We all know who he was anyway; it’s always the same:  a loner, picked on in school, frequently humiliated, timid, introverted, had trouble communicating, was severely depressed.  Your basic loser, picked up by a group that preys on losers, mildly (more…)

Three Drug Wars

In the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a new wave of violence has erupted since the January inauguration of new Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel, who reportedly is contesting the Sinaloa Cartel‘s exclusive control of the police force.

Meanwhile, in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, martial law has been declared following armed clashes between the national army and Moro separatists allegedly fighting under the banner of Abu Sayyaf, an ISIS affiliate which funds its activities through the smuggling of guns, drugs, and slaves — much like the Sinaloa Cartel, albeit with a strikingly different ethos.

What do these two conflicts have in common?  Among other things, they’re both being largely paid for by the United States.  Both sides of both wars are using American dollars to kill each other. (more…)

Sports Desk: Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars

(Editor’s Note:  The views of the Sports Desk do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Not Fake News or its staff.  Please don’t sue us.)

It pains me greatly to have to explain this, but you leave me no choice:  We are NOT giving Saudi Arabia guns.  We’re SELLING them guns.  For a LOT of money.

Sometimes, you people scare me.  I mean, forget about fake news.  The real problem is, the viewers are so frigging stupid.

No, not you.  See, the difference is, you read.  I can tell (more…)

Upcoming Immigration Ban: What We Know

(NOTE:  This article is being written in advance of the new Executive Order designed to function in place of that order of 27 January which has been partially blocked by the 9th Circuit.  It is designed to be predictive in nature.  When the new order finally is released, expect to see this updated with comparisons, but I’ll try to leave my predictions intact so you can see how smart I am — or how foolish, just as the case may be.  The new order has now been released; comparisons are in a separate section at the end of the article.)

One week after taking office, President Trump released an executive order banning travel to this country on certain passports.  I’ve written extensively on the pros and cons of accepting refugees, on the ways the ban went horribly wrong and why, and on the justifications for that ban.  Combining that with the decision of the 9th Circuit to block some of its implementation, we should be easily able to predict what’s about to get ordered. (more…)

I Don’t Think We’re Invading Iran Today

I’ll admit, for a few minutes yesterday, I was getting very worried about whether or not we were about to go conquer Iran.

Bear in mind, if we ever do go in, it’ll probably be a Friday afternoon (more…)