The Sutherton Springs Shooting (skeleton)

On Sunday (5/11/17) there was a mass shooting in the small town in Sutherton Springs, Texas, US. This attack has left at least 26 people.

Today (6/11/17) the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UNFCCC deals with literally everything under the Sun. So meetings such as COP23 are usually accompanied by a variety of stunts and coded messaging between nations.

This year the UK seems to have opened the bidding with an BBC expose which has been dubbed; "The Paradise Papers." This reveals the dealings of tax havens across the Caribbean. Particularly the island of Bermuda.

COP23 is being held in Bonn, Germany. However officially it is being hosted by Fiji. Within UNFCCC negotiations Fiji is part of a distinct group of nations called; Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This group includes many of the Caribbean islands such as Bermuda.

Although there is a wide variety within the SIDS grouping these nations tend to be medium to poor income nations.

However that lack of economic development being the result of poor governance. Instead the size of their economies is limited by their size.

For example the British Virgin Islands has a tax base of just 30,000 citizens. As a result many of them act as tax havens to boost their economies. After 1% tax on USD10m nets a lot more money than a 20% tax on USD20,000.

Through Hurricanes Irma and Maria the Caribbean SIDS have been in the news a lot recently. In that coverage pretty much every lazy journalist used the headline; "Paradise Lost" in a play on John Milton's epic poem.

There is a US TV show called; "The Unit." This is about a secret Special Operations Forces (SOF) Unit. Their cover is that the are members of; "303 Logistical Studies Group." That highlights the overlap between war fighting a the military's expertise in logistics which is makes them extremely useful in responding to natural disasters.

In one episode of The Unit they use the Milton poem as a code cipher. Although the show continued long afterwards that Paradise Lost episode is the last one distributed in the UK. It's provided for a silly media in joke.

The shooter in Sutherland Springs had been discharged from the US Air Force. He'd served in a logistical studies group.

At the time many people suggested Hurricanes Irma & Maria were punishment for President Trump withdrawing the US from the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement. To me though it seemed like a reward.

Although bad Hurricanes Irma & Maria were not as bad as they might've been. Irma in particular seemed to protect the US by lashing out at Cuba. Something Trump likes to do.

Also they provided Trump with an opportunity to show himself to be a competent leaders. His Democrat critics were so desperate for a "Katrina Moment" that never arrived they resorted to sabotaging the relief effort on Democrat-run Puerto Rico.

By calling attention to the Caribbean SIDS the UK seems to be indicating that it too would like to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Even if they're not prepared to say it explicitly.

Mainly though it is an attempt to dominate proceedings. Already the Paradise Papers have raised the issue of the Trump/Russia saga and linked to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It will likely reference many more things over the next two weeks.

As a Church shooting events in Sutherton Springs invokes memories of the June 17th 2015 (17/6/15) Charleston shooting.

A major element of UNFCCC negotiations is the issue of good governance and the rule of law. After all there's no point passing a domestic law to cut pollution if it's not enforced.

The main failing of the Paris Agreement is that it has no legal force. So people are free to cheat.

Following the Charleston shooting then President Obama gave eulogies at some of the funerals and declared the accused shooter guilty. This denied him a fair trial.

Although it was more a series of incidents across the Black Lives Matter campaign within UNFCCC the Charleston shooting became a symbol of how Obama cannot be taken seriously on issues of rule of law and good governance.

COP23 takes place at the same time as President Trump's tour of Southeast Asia. This region was at the centre of Obama's "Pivot Towards the Pacific" policy. At the centre of that policy is the Democrat People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/North) nuclear weapons program.

Within nuclear warfare strategy there is something called; "Madman Theory." This dictates you must show an opponent you are prepared to sustain very high casualties and even certain death to achieve your aims.

As with the Mandalay Bay shooting the fourth worst mass shooting in US history certainly makes that gesture.

Also there is a strategically important airbase in Syria know as T-2. This is really the Syrians gateway to the city/town/village of Abu Kamal. ISIL's last real position in either Syria or Iraq.

The runways at T-2 form an X shape. Rather like the crossroads by the Church in Sutherton Springs. Also one of the actors in The Unit starred in the movie; "Terminator T2."

I stopped short of dealing with the T-2 issue in my last previous most because it requires more attention then I could give it at the time.

Due to COP23 I really need to be reading rather than writing. So I'm not about to dive in now.

21:30 on 6/11/17 (UK date).