YOUNG LADIES JOIN ISIS

Recent news indicates three female teenagers in Britain are on their way to join ISIS in Syria. By publication date, they may have already arrived.

Two are 15 and one 16. All A students.

There are more than these three who from western countries have gone to join ISIS. Some to fight. Most to marry and have babies withjihadists.

What is the motivation? What compels them to leave places like the United States and Great Britain? Why is Syria the primary destination?

Understand first that most/a very high number are Muslims. These young ladies feel alienated by American and British society. They have a sense of inequality. They are not assimilating.They perceive a failure on the part of western nations to give them a sense of belonging, purpose and value as Muslims and citizens.

Primarily through the internet and social networking, ISIS romanticises the Syrian revolution. ISIS describes ISIS life as an adventure. For those seeking empowerment, ISIS portrays guerrilla warfare as fun. All three intensify the radicalization of these girls/young women.

The call to the young is to come participate in the creation of a new country and the building of a new state.. Exciting for young dreamers. Many are angered by the killings of Assad's regime

The preceding seem romantic to female teenagers and young ladies. One that promises a meaningful life. One that gives purpose to their lives. Down deep many are seeking martyrdom in the cause of Allah. All a fantasy.

For some in explainable reason, these young people revel in the gore and brutality of ISIS. So much so that they become desensitized to the horrors being committed.

Most of the girls travel to Syria expecting to marry. A jihadist. One of ISIS' fighters. Following which they want to have babies. Not one or two. Rather they in effect wish to become ISIS breeding machines. A small number want to fight and look forward to active participation in the war along side the men.

The attraction to ISIS has been detailed. However, why primarily join the fight in Syria? ISIS is waging war in other countries. The attraction is because of a prophecy told long ago.

A battle was prophesied 1,400 years ago and they wish to participate in that struggle. The prophecy is contained in the sayings of the Mohamed and others.

The prophecy said there would be a confrontation of two huge Islamic armies. There would be a great battle near Damascus and intervention from the north and west of Syria.

The teenagers and young  ladies are unhappy with what they perceive as not having been accepted as a Muslim in the United States for example. The feeling is one of not belonging. There is another side to the story. They come to the U.S. and wish to continue living as Muslims. They dress to a degree as in the Muslim nations which they left. They want to be ruled by Sharia law. They desire only Muslim conclaves and do not wish to be assimilated.

It is easy to say let them go. Good riddance. However, they know not what they do. Many came for a better life and to escape oppression. Perhaps there is more the schools and society can do to keep them happy and here. Sort of hard to do however if you are mentally driven by a need to maintain your heritage.

WHAT RECOVERY?

I do not buy that we are in recovery. The 1 percent are. I question whether they actually suffered at any time. The 99 percent are not.

Last week, I wrote about the NFL not paying taxes. Taxes on $9.5 billion in revenue. An organization that pays its Commissioner Roger Goodell $44 million a year.

In the past, I have written about the U.S. corporations making billions and not paying taxes. General Electric being one example.

All the preceding made possible by Congressional action and Presidential approval. They make the laws. The laws which in most instances benefit the very rich.

There recently has been an exuberance, an excitement, a jubilation in Washington. We are told recession recovery has arrived.....look at the good job we have done.

Generally accepted indicators indicate it. I do not agree. In spite of the 321,000 jobs created in November, in spite of the 5 percent growth rate for the GDP in the third quarter, in spite of the Stock Market being at its highest levels ever, in spite of the 5 percent unemployment rate.

New jobs created are not of the quality pre-recession. They pay much less. The stock market primarily benefits only those who can afford to play, the 1 percent. A 5 percent unemployment rate does not take into account the millions who have fallen off the radar screen. Those no longer receiving unemployment benefits. They have become a shadow society.

I will concede the U.S. is getting out of the hole. However, not totally.. We are about half way. The rich have gotten richer, the poor remain where they were in 2008. For them, no recovery.

I say these things based contrary to the indicators the government relies upon.

When Reagan began his Presidency, corporations paid a $1.25 in taxes to the $1 the people paid. Today, American corporations pay twenty cents to every $1 the people pay. 

It was recently reported that for the first time in U.S. history, a majority of public school children live in poverty. For the first time in 50 years. Again, the recovery has benefited the rich only. The poor are still waiting.

Sixteen million public school children are homeless. They live in the woods, cardboard boxes, abandoned cars, etc. They go to school each morning dirty, not well fed.

The organization No Child Held Back recently reported on the less than adequate conditions. The organization quoted Sonya Romero Smith, a veteran teacher at Lew Wallace Elementary School in Albuquerque. She said, "When they first come in my door in the morning, the first thing I do is take an inventory of immediate needs: Did you eat? Are you clean? A big part of my job is making them feel safe."

Smith is a veteran kindergarten teacher. Her present class totals 18. Fourteen are eligible for free lunches. She helps them clean up with bathroom wipes and toothbrushes. Her desk drawers are stocked with clean socks, underwear, pants and shoes.

Something is seriously wrong when a nation does not take care of those least able to care for themselves.

The U.S. economy is divided into two parts. Big business and small business. The economy is good, if not great, for big business. Small businesses are still struggling. Small businesses pre-recession provided 2/3rds of American jobs. They are no where near that number today.

Small business is still in the doldrums. There can be no true recovery unless things get better for them and small business jobs become available.

Those who control government do not seem to care about poor children and small businesses. They are not concerned with the poor. They are more concerned with passing legislation that helps the rich. I am telling you nothing you do not already know.

Unless and until these and similar problems are corrected, the recovery will not be complete. Regardless of the indicators Washington has been throwing at us.

GREECE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT

The Greek election on January 25 was revolutionary. In overwhelming numbers, the Greek people swept into office the Syriza Party. Syriza is an acronym for Coalition of the Radical Left.  The party is led by a 40 year old firebrand, Alexis Tsipras. Tsipras will shortly be elected by Parliament as the new Prime Minister.

Greece has been led in recent years by the conservative side of the electorate. The group has failed to extract Greece from its problems with the Eurounion. The people have gone way to the left in selecting the Syriza Party. It is as if Republican tea party members had been elected. Except from the liberal side of the aisle.

Greece has been in the worst economic shape of any Eurounion member. The debt overwhelming. The Eurounion consistently demanded repayment. Austerity was forced on the Greek people. They have had enough. They opted to be led by the extreme left. The Syriza Party would have had no chance of being elected if economic conditions had been stable.

Austerity was imposed by the Eurounion on Greece. Germany leading the Eurounion group. The Eurounion became the banker. In reality, Germany. The cry.....Pay! Pay! Pay! 

Greece tried. Unsuccessfully. Since 2010, unemployment has grown to 27 per cent. Fifty per cent of that number being college graduates between 20 and 30. Three million people are living at the poverty line or below. 

Parents cannot feed their children. The farmers cannot sell food to the stores because there is no one who can afford to buy what they grow. The stores shut down because no one is buying. A wicked cycle. 

Following is a perfect example of what has been occurring in Greece. Many women are desperate for work. They beg the brothels to hire them. They need to earn money to put food on the table for their children. Greek law prohibits married women from working in brothels. Prostitution is legal. These women end up working the streets in desperation.

Things are so bad that those who work the brothels are coming up short. Services that cost 50-70 euros, are now going for 10 euros.

During the campaign, Tsipras promised the world so as to be elected. It was not difficult for him. He promised everything to those who had lost everything.

He promised an end to austerity which he described as a return to democracy. He promised that the rich would pay their fair share of taxes. He promised to write off the national debt, raise the minimum wage, rehire all public workers who had been laid off, reduce taxes, provide free electricity and food to those without, free medical care for the uninsured, return to real property taxpayers all rent increases paid since 2008, reduce taxes overall, and more.

The big thing was his promise to either renegotiate the debt owed the Eurounion to a more favorable level or pay the Eurounion nothing.

Germany is going crazy. A rich Germany loaned much of the money to Greece through the Eurounion. Things have changed. Germany is on the brink of a recession. If Germany is not paid, it could fall over the edge

Italy and Spain are sitting back and smiling. They are in the same position that Greece has been. They are making noises that if Greece gets a better deal or does not pay, why should they.

I keep mentioning Germany because Germans has been running the show. The Germans, as well as the Eurounion, have not been fair to Greece. In 2010, the Eurounion loaned Greece 240 billion euros in bailout money. The money was of no use to Greece. Ninety percent had to be paid back immediately to cover unpaid interest and fines. The Eurounion, and especially Germany, were hard assed bankers as they continue to be to this day.

Lets assume Greece does not pay back the Eurounion  and Germany, what happens? Greece will leave the Eurounion and create a new currency. The Eurounion will press for payment. Sue Greece? What Greek court would enforce any judgement. Germany would fall into recession. All this triggering what could be a world wide depression.

Even worse, I can see a situation where Germany would go to war with Greece over the money. Remember, Germany is in bad shape. It might be the only alternative left for Germany. Such a war would include other Eurounion nations and who knows who else. Already Tsiprashas met with Russian and Chinese representatives.

There is also an undercurrent by the Greeks regarding Germany. World War II wounds still fester. The Greek people recall that Germany occupied Greece and treated the Greek people poorly.

That is the story. The world is watching.

What is going to happen?