Sunday, December 18, 2011
One Hell of a Year--To Hell With You Kim Jung Il
As shitty as the economy is and regardless of the fact that I am struggling workwise, I am celebrating. It has been one hell of a year! It has been announced today Sunday December 18th, 2011 that Kim Jung Il has died of a heart attack. For those of us keeping score, this year Osama bin Laden, Mummar Qadaffi, and now Kim Jung Il have died. Dictatorships all over the Middle East and North Africa have felt the quake of revolutions and the desire for freedom.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
We Can No Longer Ignore Iran
Coming to Right Conclusions III
We Can No Longer Ignore Iran
By Felicia Whatley
Things are really heating up in Iran and the United States can no longer ignore it. Iran is a time bomb waiting to explode in a tumultuous area; they hit the front pages every other week with a new absurdity. Politics and regimes are changing in the Middle East and North Africa for the better in some ways. Yet, the instability brings the inability to protect their borders, to help their own people from being stricken with severe poverty, and to provide basic public works for their people. Iranians lack the opportunity to live in a democratic nation and enjoy the human rights we all should have, as well as the ability to govern themselves. The human rights violations in Iran are shocking. When they had their so-called democratic elections, followed by the peaceful demonstrations that turned ugly, many were killed for just documenting the truth. And what about the American hikers that were held for so long; it was as if they were treated like POWs in a modern cold war.
As Iran nears the aptitude to have nuclear weapons, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran can no longer be ignored. United States needs to take action.
Although legally, the U.S.’s position on the Iranian nuclear program is not justifiable, because of the Non Proliferation Treaty; though politically, Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to U.S. interests.
A nuclear Iran would threaten the security of Israel, which is a strategic ally of the U.S., and it would create an imbalance in the regional politics. This would trigger a nuclear arms race in Middle East and endanger the U.S. interests in oil in the Persian Gulf. Though the people of Iran need nuclear power to assist in their basic needs, The U.S. should not trust Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a toaster, let alone nuclear capability.
The great leader of Iran is always poetic about saying terrible things. “We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbors the nations in this region. We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt. It is in your own interest to distance yourself from these criminals [Israel]…this is an ultimatum,” said Ahmadinejad on the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran Radio on October 20, 2006.
This statement was a direct threat to Europeans and Americans regarding their interests in Israel. Israel, hopefully, will always remain a U.S. ally and Ahmadinejad and his Iranian regime should never be trusted.
“Heated public rhetoric has filled the newspapers and radio broadcasts since the summer of 2003, warning that Iran is nearly ready to produce nuclear weapons and that, if she was ever to actually produce those weapons, she would be an unacceptable risk to her neighbors and to Israel through direct military confrontation. Further, Iran is said to be ready to supply global terrorists with nuclear weapons, thus posing a risk to the United States, to Great Britain, and to the European Unions,” stated an article in Cuttingedge.org.
Historically, Iran has isolated itself from the world's discussions on peace and their leaders antagonize for war. The President of Iran has been thrown out of worldwide peace conferences and shunned worldwide for the indignant things he says and the way he treats his own people. Let’s not forget the history of Iranians’ actions against Americans.
On November 4, 1979, the revolutionary group Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line reacted to the fact that the recently deposed Shah had been allowed into the United States for cancer treatment. The MSFIL occupied the American embassy in Tehran and took U.S. diplomats hostage. Fifty U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. America responded by freezing Iranian assets, which is still a sensitive topic for the Iranian government.
After the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran, the United States froze about $12 billion in Iranian assets, which included bank deposits, gold and other properties. According to U.S. officials, most of those were released in 1981 as part of the deal for the return of U.S. hostages taken in the embassy kidnappings. But the effects are still there; some assets—Iranian officials say $10 billion, U.S. officials’ account less—remain frozen pending resolution of legal claims in the aftermath of the revolution.
Then there was the tragedy in Lebanon. Victims from the Beirut bombing said their lawyers began looking for Iranian assets to seize after winning the $2.7 billion judgment in 2007. A federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Iran's intelligence Service, the Ministry of Information and Security, directly oversaw and assisted the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in coordination with Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. Before the September 11 attack, this terrorist attack was the largest ever inflicted on U.S. citizens, in which 241 servicemen died.
Then a more recent event, “Iran Frees U.S. Hikers Held As Spies” covered by the United Kingdom’s The Guardian, wrote by Saeed Kamali Dehghan said that after two years in captivity Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were held as supposed spies after they and Sarah Shourd hiked over the Iraqi Kurdish unmarked border in 2009. Shourd was released in 2010, but it took until September of 2011, $1 million in bail, and negotiations from Iraq and Oman for these hardy American hikers to make it home.
“Their release comes a week after Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told two U.S. media that the men had been granted a ‘unilateral pardon’, but the following day, the Iranian judiciary cast doubt on the release. Analysts interpreted the delay in the men’s release as the latest episode in a power struggle between the president and conservatives close to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Observers say the two Americans became victims of a feud between Ahmadinejad and his opponents. Some speculated that Iran kept the two in jail to use them as a means to put pressure on western powers, especially the U.S. and its allies,” printed The Guardian.
It is unclear why Ahmadinejad finally released them, but he has a reputation of accepting large bribes. To get Sarah Shourd out in 2009, the large sum was also half a million dollars in a similar deal. But what is clear is the power struggle of the Western nations and Iran throughout history. There is also the internal power struggle of the Ayatollah and Ahmadinejad that shows a weakness from within.
An article in USA Today quoted Barack Obama in 2008, "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons,”
The senator said it would be a ‘game-changing situation not just in the Mideast, but around the world,” because it would seriously undermine international agreements against the spread of nuclear weapons.”
He said, “This is our single most important threat, not only to Israel but to the United States." Obama also reiterated his calls for talks with Iranian leaders, without preconditions, but said nothing was ‘off the table’ in how he might respond as president if Iran developed nuclear weapons.
But Obama really has backed down on taking a clear stance against Iran getting nuclear power. He said every nation should have to right to have clean, nuclear power. Only recently has Obama declared that there needs to be tougher economic sanctions against Iran. But that isn't enough. Though they may have the legal right, Iran is not just any old nation. Ahmadinejad has proven to not be credible, reliable, or responsible. He clearly doesn’t act in the best intentions for his people, let alone the rest of the world.
When I served in Baghdad with the 65th Public Affairs Massachusetts Army National Guard in 2007, and the mortar rounds and Katyusha rockets flew into our Embassy compound, we KNEW they came from Iran. The Iranians not only supported manpower, but also weaponry to fight "the infidels". I cursed them. The border control was a mess. We had government contracted Peruvians, who spoke very little English in charge of the checkpoints and the border security in much of the country. They got paid very little to do a very dangerous job, but it was inadequate.
“A majority of the mortars recovered in 2007 in Iraq were stamped ‘made in Iran’. I felt frustrated, because there was nothing we could do about it. As for Iran getting nuclear power, that is one issue, but I think no country should have nuclear weapons. Look at the Cuban missile crisis. I would say that there is no way that we trust Iran with this. Look what they have done with every other type of weapon they have ever had,” said University of Massachusetts English Senior Katie Govoni. She is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq from 2007 to 2009 after being extended because “we had no way home”.
The people of Iran have had enough. They want a new leader and feel they did elect one. The election was rigged and the awful dictator reigned on. This madness has to stop! On June 12, 2009, Iran had its tenth election. Ahmadinejad ran against three others. Iran's official news agency announced that within hours that two-thirds of the votes had been counted and that Ahmadinejad had won the election with 62 percent of the vote, and that Mir- Hossein Mousavi (who was the popular candidate) had received 34%.
The world was in uproar. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and many other Western nations responded with speculation and concern over allegations of the contested votes. Meanwhile Russia, China, India, and Brazil congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory.
A former Israeli Army soldier of three-and-a half years, who would like to remain anonymous, had a lot to say about the situation in Iran. “As crazy as Ahmadinejad is, he is only a puppet for the Ayatollah. He tries to validate to the UN his beliefs, such as the idea that Jews in his country are safe. It is untrue. After the elections, over 117 people were massacred; women were beaten and killed by Iranian riot police with grenade launchers. Even the older veterans were affected.”
Mousavi said, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and urged his supporters to fight the decision, without committing acts of violence. Over 500,000 Iranian protesters took to the streets. Many of them were beaten and murdered. It is unknown exactly how many, because cameras were taken away from the journalists and Sharia law was in effect.
Like many awful speeches from Ahmadinejad, this past September, US delegates walked out on his speech at the United Nations in New York where he said that 9/11 was a “mystery.” As covered by the UK’s Daily Mail on September 23, 2011, they have noted some of his previous rants such as: “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals…we do not have this phenomenon.” “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging the invasion against Afghanistan.” He described Israel as a “fake regime” that “must be wiped off the map.” He has said, “Terror leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in Washington, D.C. because he was a previous partner of Mr. Bush.” He called “Zionists the most detested people in all humanity and called the Holocaust a myth.” He claimed, “Western countries were using special equipment to dump rain on their countries, leaving none for Iran.” This is like the third year in a row that delegates from all over the world have walked out on Ahmadinejad. This crazy mad man is an idiot!
Iran needs NATO intervention. The instability in the region and its state failure status is likely to start a necessary civil war, like what Libya just went through. I am ready to suit up and help where needed. It is just so important for the suffering Shiite Muslims, for the Jews and Arabs in Israel, and the Christians and Catholics all over the world. For the leader of Iran, he is full of religious hate. So, yes, I really think this would be a Holy War.
The West does have a problem. Iran is flagrantly defying the International Atomic Energy Agency and still pursuing nuclear capabilities, and thereby also defying the United Nations. So did Pakistan and India, and for Realists who believe that a democracy will not fight with another, they have obviously been proven wrong.
Although, I would not call Iran a democracy, it is the black robe’s interpretation of a democracy. God help you if you are an Iranian and disagree with the regime. A policy of confrontation only confirms the view of Iranian extremists that the Christian West is set on a path to intervention, and that everyone, is part of that struggle. We cannot allow this to happen. I wonder if Ahmadinejad really has a master plan to destroy Israel. That kind of mentality cannot be coddled.
I think the minute Iran gets nuclear energy; they will sell the configuration technology to Syria, amongst others and further destabilize the region. And what can Iraq do to defend themselves from that? Because of the Iran/Iraq war, the Iraqis still do not trust Iran’s intentions. For now, the insurgency in Iraq is mostly funded by Iranians to the south and Syrians to the north. I fear to think what would happen if they had that kind of power.
"If there is a revolution or civil war, there will be a massive slaughter. We [U.S.] are never going to hit Iran as long as Obama is in power. The people of Iran are not going to get help with our president having kissed the Ayatollah's hand. I don't think the people of Iran are really supportive of the overly religious fascist state ideals they are ruled by. I don't know how much America can help, because they aided in putting the Ayatollah in power in the late '80s. Perhaps the only hope they have is from Israel to hit their nuclear reactors, but they don't have the capacity to put boots on the ground like America does, despite Israel having one of the world's best air forces," said a anonymous former Israeli Special Forces soldier and sniper.
There is so much history--recent and from the 70's onward that shows why this political player has got to go and why what happens in Iran affects the rest of the world, not just the instability in the region. Reiterating, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that there is no such thing as gays in Iran, that the Holocaust never happened, and that we should just wipe Israel off the planet. This megalomaniac needed to go --yesterday. The youth have spoken and the nation needs intervention.
“Iran is much different than Iraq or Afghanistan. It is a big, semi-modern state of 80 million people, compared with 20 million each for Iraq and Afghanistan. Bombers can easily attack Kabul and Baghdad. Doing likewise to Tehran, a city the size of London, should be unthinkable. Iran's politics may be unstable but its national pride is fierce. To challenge it would be disastrous, a final sign that western democrats can no longer contain the globalized moral arrogance shown by their leaders,” said British journalist Simon Jenkins.
President Obama has made the comment that they should be allowed to have nuclear power. Gasp. Why? I know that nuclear power is good, relatively safe power that can help with much needed infrastructure, but I am afraid we cannot trust the man at the helm. As for the Supreme Ruler the Ayatollah and the rest of the black robes--they can take a long walk off a short pier.
"No, I would not trust Iran with nuclear power," said International Relations Graduate Professor Ursula Tafe.
At the UN Race Conference last year, diplomats from 33 countries got out of their seats and walked right out of the door during an Ahmadinejad racist speech. It was humorous, but sad because he really believes the untruths that he says.
“This shows the truth. Ahmadinejad takes to the podium at the Geneva conference on racism and as soon as he starts attacking Israel and the Jews, half the place walks out. (And neither the Americans nor the Israelis were even there),” said MJ Rosenberg in an article “Beautiful Moment: Delegates Jeer and Walk Out as Iranian President Spews Hate.” Rosenberg said, “I wish this type of reaction was inflicted on every racist demagogue in the world. But this is nice in and of itself."
He logically continues, “But if a democratic change can happen anywhere, it can happen in Iran, since it happened before with hope from the Shah. The Iranians have seen it in their lifetimes. If we are looking at it from the best interest of Americans, we would work to undermine the Ahmadinejad’s government, help see to it that a leader emerges who is friendly to the West, and treats their own citizens as human beings. Then we can invest in Iraq’s economy and again have access to their oil. But diplomacy with Iran is a pipe dream,” said Rosenberg.
I know this is a controversial subject and there is so much evidence out there. Though many have proved that diplomacy with Iran isn’t working, are Americans ready to step up and make a commitment to intervene? What we are left with is no other equitable, available plan of action. We have no other choice-- but to invade Iran.
We Can No Longer Ignore Iran
By Felicia Whatley
Things are really heating up in Iran and the United States can no longer ignore it. Iran is a time bomb waiting to explode in a tumultuous area; they hit the front pages every other week with a new absurdity. Politics and regimes are changing in the Middle East and North Africa for the better in some ways. Yet, the instability brings the inability to protect their borders, to help their own people from being stricken with severe poverty, and to provide basic public works for their people. Iranians lack the opportunity to live in a democratic nation and enjoy the human rights we all should have, as well as the ability to govern themselves. The human rights violations in Iran are shocking. When they had their so-called democratic elections, followed by the peaceful demonstrations that turned ugly, many were killed for just documenting the truth. And what about the American hikers that were held for so long; it was as if they were treated like POWs in a modern cold war.
As Iran nears the aptitude to have nuclear weapons, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran can no longer be ignored. United States needs to take action.
Although legally, the U.S.’s position on the Iranian nuclear program is not justifiable, because of the Non Proliferation Treaty; though politically, Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to U.S. interests.
A nuclear Iran would threaten the security of Israel, which is a strategic ally of the U.S., and it would create an imbalance in the regional politics. This would trigger a nuclear arms race in Middle East and endanger the U.S. interests in oil in the Persian Gulf. Though the people of Iran need nuclear power to assist in their basic needs, The U.S. should not trust Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a toaster, let alone nuclear capability.
The great leader of Iran is always poetic about saying terrible things. “We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbors the nations in this region. We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt. It is in your own interest to distance yourself from these criminals [Israel]…this is an ultimatum,” said Ahmadinejad on the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran Radio on October 20, 2006.
This statement was a direct threat to Europeans and Americans regarding their interests in Israel. Israel, hopefully, will always remain a U.S. ally and Ahmadinejad and his Iranian regime should never be trusted.
“Heated public rhetoric has filled the newspapers and radio broadcasts since the summer of 2003, warning that Iran is nearly ready to produce nuclear weapons and that, if she was ever to actually produce those weapons, she would be an unacceptable risk to her neighbors and to Israel through direct military confrontation. Further, Iran is said to be ready to supply global terrorists with nuclear weapons, thus posing a risk to the United States, to Great Britain, and to the European Unions,” stated an article in Cuttingedge.org.
Historically, Iran has isolated itself from the world's discussions on peace and their leaders antagonize for war. The President of Iran has been thrown out of worldwide peace conferences and shunned worldwide for the indignant things he says and the way he treats his own people. Let’s not forget the history of Iranians’ actions against Americans.
On November 4, 1979, the revolutionary group Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line reacted to the fact that the recently deposed Shah had been allowed into the United States for cancer treatment. The MSFIL occupied the American embassy in Tehran and took U.S. diplomats hostage. Fifty U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. America responded by freezing Iranian assets, which is still a sensitive topic for the Iranian government.
After the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran, the United States froze about $12 billion in Iranian assets, which included bank deposits, gold and other properties. According to U.S. officials, most of those were released in 1981 as part of the deal for the return of U.S. hostages taken in the embassy kidnappings. But the effects are still there; some assets—Iranian officials say $10 billion, U.S. officials’ account less—remain frozen pending resolution of legal claims in the aftermath of the revolution.
Then there was the tragedy in Lebanon. Victims from the Beirut bombing said their lawyers began looking for Iranian assets to seize after winning the $2.7 billion judgment in 2007. A federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Iran's intelligence Service, the Ministry of Information and Security, directly oversaw and assisted the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in coordination with Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. Before the September 11 attack, this terrorist attack was the largest ever inflicted on U.S. citizens, in which 241 servicemen died.
Then a more recent event, “Iran Frees U.S. Hikers Held As Spies” covered by the United Kingdom’s The Guardian, wrote by Saeed Kamali Dehghan said that after two years in captivity Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were held as supposed spies after they and Sarah Shourd hiked over the Iraqi Kurdish unmarked border in 2009. Shourd was released in 2010, but it took until September of 2011, $1 million in bail, and negotiations from Iraq and Oman for these hardy American hikers to make it home.
“Their release comes a week after Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told two U.S. media that the men had been granted a ‘unilateral pardon’, but the following day, the Iranian judiciary cast doubt on the release. Analysts interpreted the delay in the men’s release as the latest episode in a power struggle between the president and conservatives close to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Observers say the two Americans became victims of a feud between Ahmadinejad and his opponents. Some speculated that Iran kept the two in jail to use them as a means to put pressure on western powers, especially the U.S. and its allies,” printed The Guardian.
It is unclear why Ahmadinejad finally released them, but he has a reputation of accepting large bribes. To get Sarah Shourd out in 2009, the large sum was also half a million dollars in a similar deal. But what is clear is the power struggle of the Western nations and Iran throughout history. There is also the internal power struggle of the Ayatollah and Ahmadinejad that shows a weakness from within.
An article in USA Today quoted Barack Obama in 2008, "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons,”
The senator said it would be a ‘game-changing situation not just in the Mideast, but around the world,” because it would seriously undermine international agreements against the spread of nuclear weapons.”
He said, “This is our single most important threat, not only to Israel but to the United States." Obama also reiterated his calls for talks with Iranian leaders, without preconditions, but said nothing was ‘off the table’ in how he might respond as president if Iran developed nuclear weapons.
But Obama really has backed down on taking a clear stance against Iran getting nuclear power. He said every nation should have to right to have clean, nuclear power. Only recently has Obama declared that there needs to be tougher economic sanctions against Iran. But that isn't enough. Though they may have the legal right, Iran is not just any old nation. Ahmadinejad has proven to not be credible, reliable, or responsible. He clearly doesn’t act in the best intentions for his people, let alone the rest of the world.
When I served in Baghdad with the 65th Public Affairs Massachusetts Army National Guard in 2007, and the mortar rounds and Katyusha rockets flew into our Embassy compound, we KNEW they came from Iran. The Iranians not only supported manpower, but also weaponry to fight "the infidels". I cursed them. The border control was a mess. We had government contracted Peruvians, who spoke very little English in charge of the checkpoints and the border security in much of the country. They got paid very little to do a very dangerous job, but it was inadequate.
“A majority of the mortars recovered in 2007 in Iraq were stamped ‘made in Iran’. I felt frustrated, because there was nothing we could do about it. As for Iran getting nuclear power, that is one issue, but I think no country should have nuclear weapons. Look at the Cuban missile crisis. I would say that there is no way that we trust Iran with this. Look what they have done with every other type of weapon they have ever had,” said University of Massachusetts English Senior Katie Govoni. She is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq from 2007 to 2009 after being extended because “we had no way home”.
The people of Iran have had enough. They want a new leader and feel they did elect one. The election was rigged and the awful dictator reigned on. This madness has to stop! On June 12, 2009, Iran had its tenth election. Ahmadinejad ran against three others. Iran's official news agency announced that within hours that two-thirds of the votes had been counted and that Ahmadinejad had won the election with 62 percent of the vote, and that Mir- Hossein Mousavi (who was the popular candidate) had received 34%.
The world was in uproar. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and many other Western nations responded with speculation and concern over allegations of the contested votes. Meanwhile Russia, China, India, and Brazil congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory.
A former Israeli Army soldier of three-and-a half years, who would like to remain anonymous, had a lot to say about the situation in Iran. “As crazy as Ahmadinejad is, he is only a puppet for the Ayatollah. He tries to validate to the UN his beliefs, such as the idea that Jews in his country are safe. It is untrue. After the elections, over 117 people were massacred; women were beaten and killed by Iranian riot police with grenade launchers. Even the older veterans were affected.”
Mousavi said, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and urged his supporters to fight the decision, without committing acts of violence. Over 500,000 Iranian protesters took to the streets. Many of them were beaten and murdered. It is unknown exactly how many, because cameras were taken away from the journalists and Sharia law was in effect.
Like many awful speeches from Ahmadinejad, this past September, US delegates walked out on his speech at the United Nations in New York where he said that 9/11 was a “mystery.” As covered by the UK’s Daily Mail on September 23, 2011, they have noted some of his previous rants such as: “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals…we do not have this phenomenon.” “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging the invasion against Afghanistan.” He described Israel as a “fake regime” that “must be wiped off the map.” He has said, “Terror leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in Washington, D.C. because he was a previous partner of Mr. Bush.” He called “Zionists the most detested people in all humanity and called the Holocaust a myth.” He claimed, “Western countries were using special equipment to dump rain on their countries, leaving none for Iran.” This is like the third year in a row that delegates from all over the world have walked out on Ahmadinejad. This crazy mad man is an idiot!
Iran needs NATO intervention. The instability in the region and its state failure status is likely to start a necessary civil war, like what Libya just went through. I am ready to suit up and help where needed. It is just so important for the suffering Shiite Muslims, for the Jews and Arabs in Israel, and the Christians and Catholics all over the world. For the leader of Iran, he is full of religious hate. So, yes, I really think this would be a Holy War.
The West does have a problem. Iran is flagrantly defying the International Atomic Energy Agency and still pursuing nuclear capabilities, and thereby also defying the United Nations. So did Pakistan and India, and for Realists who believe that a democracy will not fight with another, they have obviously been proven wrong.
Although, I would not call Iran a democracy, it is the black robe’s interpretation of a democracy. God help you if you are an Iranian and disagree with the regime. A policy of confrontation only confirms the view of Iranian extremists that the Christian West is set on a path to intervention, and that everyone, is part of that struggle. We cannot allow this to happen. I wonder if Ahmadinejad really has a master plan to destroy Israel. That kind of mentality cannot be coddled.
I think the minute Iran gets nuclear energy; they will sell the configuration technology to Syria, amongst others and further destabilize the region. And what can Iraq do to defend themselves from that? Because of the Iran/Iraq war, the Iraqis still do not trust Iran’s intentions. For now, the insurgency in Iraq is mostly funded by Iranians to the south and Syrians to the north. I fear to think what would happen if they had that kind of power.
"If there is a revolution or civil war, there will be a massive slaughter. We [U.S.] are never going to hit Iran as long as Obama is in power. The people of Iran are not going to get help with our president having kissed the Ayatollah's hand. I don't think the people of Iran are really supportive of the overly religious fascist state ideals they are ruled by. I don't know how much America can help, because they aided in putting the Ayatollah in power in the late '80s. Perhaps the only hope they have is from Israel to hit their nuclear reactors, but they don't have the capacity to put boots on the ground like America does, despite Israel having one of the world's best air forces," said a anonymous former Israeli Special Forces soldier and sniper.
There is so much history--recent and from the 70's onward that shows why this political player has got to go and why what happens in Iran affects the rest of the world, not just the instability in the region. Reiterating, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that there is no such thing as gays in Iran, that the Holocaust never happened, and that we should just wipe Israel off the planet. This megalomaniac needed to go --yesterday. The youth have spoken and the nation needs intervention.
“Iran is much different than Iraq or Afghanistan. It is a big, semi-modern state of 80 million people, compared with 20 million each for Iraq and Afghanistan. Bombers can easily attack Kabul and Baghdad. Doing likewise to Tehran, a city the size of London, should be unthinkable. Iran's politics may be unstable but its national pride is fierce. To challenge it would be disastrous, a final sign that western democrats can no longer contain the globalized moral arrogance shown by their leaders,” said British journalist Simon Jenkins.
President Obama has made the comment that they should be allowed to have nuclear power. Gasp. Why? I know that nuclear power is good, relatively safe power that can help with much needed infrastructure, but I am afraid we cannot trust the man at the helm. As for the Supreme Ruler the Ayatollah and the rest of the black robes--they can take a long walk off a short pier.
"No, I would not trust Iran with nuclear power," said International Relations Graduate Professor Ursula Tafe.
At the UN Race Conference last year, diplomats from 33 countries got out of their seats and walked right out of the door during an Ahmadinejad racist speech. It was humorous, but sad because he really believes the untruths that he says.
“This shows the truth. Ahmadinejad takes to the podium at the Geneva conference on racism and as soon as he starts attacking Israel and the Jews, half the place walks out. (And neither the Americans nor the Israelis were even there),” said MJ Rosenberg in an article “Beautiful Moment: Delegates Jeer and Walk Out as Iranian President Spews Hate.” Rosenberg said, “I wish this type of reaction was inflicted on every racist demagogue in the world. But this is nice in and of itself."
He logically continues, “But if a democratic change can happen anywhere, it can happen in Iran, since it happened before with hope from the Shah. The Iranians have seen it in their lifetimes. If we are looking at it from the best interest of Americans, we would work to undermine the Ahmadinejad’s government, help see to it that a leader emerges who is friendly to the West, and treats their own citizens as human beings. Then we can invest in Iraq’s economy and again have access to their oil. But diplomacy with Iran is a pipe dream,” said Rosenberg.
I know this is a controversial subject and there is so much evidence out there. Though many have proved that diplomacy with Iran isn’t working, are Americans ready to step up and make a commitment to intervene? What we are left with is no other equitable, available plan of action. We have no other choice-- but to invade Iran.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Prayers for Virginia Tech
My goodness Virginia Tech, you have been through so much. Today was not a repeat of the 2007 massacre, but instead a notable disaster that continues to remind me what a difficult job policemen have. Today, December 8, 2011 a Virginia Tech policeman pulled over a man. Instead of getting his registration and license, he was shot to death. Then the man got out of car started running, shot another, and then himself. Why?
This spurred much conversation about gun control and self control at Cathay Pacific. Most murders in the U.S. are done with illegal weapons. And we all agreed that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Before guns, it was with swords and knives.
But what about accountability and self control. We can't blame this on stress for final exams, which it looks like Virginia Tech canceled. What about family values? It seems so premeditated to me. Like who just on a whim buys a gun, takes it with them loaded, and then jumps at the first impulse to unload? Can we blame it on a shitty upbringing where kids are not taught to respect the value of human life? I think that really is a part of it.
I don't think stricter gun laws need to be put in place, but with a background check, do they do a psychological assessment? I am a veteran and I do not own a gun and as a child who came from a hunting family, my brother and I were never allowed to have any type of toy gun--no nerf or swirt gun--because guns are not toys. I personally think we should ban some of the gore video games like Grand Theft Auto or the many shoot 'em and kill 'em games. Killing someone is not a game and it is not funny when the blood splirts everywhere.
I think the Virginia Tech did a good job reacting to the situation. The alarms were sounded and the campus when on lockdown. Students were encouraged to stay inside and wait out the situation. Email messages went out immediately to inform students that this was not a drill, but the real deal.
What makes someone snap like that? Should be looking at our friends, neighbors, and classmates more stringently? I know these attacks are rare, but can we find a way to prevent them altogether? I think it would over the top to do background checks on potential students, but we may get to a point when we have to.
If someone is applying to go to school and has priors like armed robbery, maybe that person shouldn't be admitted. A school is not that different than a business. New laws and procedures are put in place, only after a disaster happens. I suppose we will just have to see what the future entails. So sorry Virginia Tech. You have been through enough. You are a good school and people should not be afraid to enroll in your classes.
This spurred much conversation about gun control and self control at Cathay Pacific. Most murders in the U.S. are done with illegal weapons. And we all agreed that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Before guns, it was with swords and knives.
But what about accountability and self control. We can't blame this on stress for final exams, which it looks like Virginia Tech canceled. What about family values? It seems so premeditated to me. Like who just on a whim buys a gun, takes it with them loaded, and then jumps at the first impulse to unload? Can we blame it on a shitty upbringing where kids are not taught to respect the value of human life? I think that really is a part of it.
I don't think stricter gun laws need to be put in place, but with a background check, do they do a psychological assessment? I am a veteran and I do not own a gun and as a child who came from a hunting family, my brother and I were never allowed to have any type of toy gun--no nerf or swirt gun--because guns are not toys. I personally think we should ban some of the gore video games like Grand Theft Auto or the many shoot 'em and kill 'em games. Killing someone is not a game and it is not funny when the blood splirts everywhere.
I think the Virginia Tech did a good job reacting to the situation. The alarms were sounded and the campus when on lockdown. Students were encouraged to stay inside and wait out the situation. Email messages went out immediately to inform students that this was not a drill, but the real deal.
What makes someone snap like that? Should be looking at our friends, neighbors, and classmates more stringently? I know these attacks are rare, but can we find a way to prevent them altogether? I think it would over the top to do background checks on potential students, but we may get to a point when we have to.
If someone is applying to go to school and has priors like armed robbery, maybe that person shouldn't be admitted. A school is not that different than a business. New laws and procedures are put in place, only after a disaster happens. I suppose we will just have to see what the future entails. So sorry Virginia Tech. You have been through enough. You are a good school and people should not be afraid to enroll in your classes.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sustainable Norway and Failed State Pakistan
Sustainable Norway and Failed State Pakistan
Whether a country is sustainable or at a failed state is important in international affairs. As a contrast, we review a ‘sustainable state’ such as Norway against Pakistan to show the differences and the degrees to which Pakistan is verging on failure as a state. Norway has policies that allow it to gain high marks on issue areas such as environmental responsibility, military cooperation and fiscal responsibility with virtually low incidences of corruption. Pakistan, on the other hand, is the eleven most failed state and can’t be ignored as it is a detrimental liability to the international community-- not only a hot bed for terrorism, but unable to police its own borders and help its impoverished people. “Sustainable development means substantially reducing the pressure on the earth’s ecosystems, while lifting millions out of poverty. The Norwegian Government gives a high priority to this work. It sets ambitious goals and will be an important basis for our efforts in the years and it is imperative that sustainable development becomes an integrated part of al decision making processes,” stated Kristin Halvorsen, the Minister of Finance for Norway (www.regjeringen.no/upload/FIN/rapporter/R-0617E.pdf). Ideas of human rights, freedom of expression, and gender equality, as well as equitable distribution for a growing economy are valued aspects in many wealthy and developing nations, and they are building blocks to becoming a sustainable nation.
Sustainable development has been put firmly on the international agenda in response to the persistent poverty in many developing countries and growing pressure on the earth’s ecosystems, stated Halvorsen in (www.regjeringen.no/upload/FIN/rapporter/R-0617E.pdf) The most sustainable countries are Iceland, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway, Mauritius, France, Austria, Cuba, and Colombia; at least according to Yale and Columbia Universities. The Environmental Performance Index 2010 shows a comprehensive sustainability rating system where 163 countries were judged based on 25 stringent sustainability performance indicators. The outcomes of the research are surprising to say the least, especially when it comes to Cuba and Columbia. This is really a “green” rating. The Climate and Pollution Agency under the direction of the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment the database of environmental performance indicators and provides more information on the environmental performance of Norway’s being a sustainable country.
Norway has earned its way onto the list of the most sustainable countries in the world because of its active management and progressive environmental policies. However, though Norwegians have a very high level of affluence, it may prove difficult to attain the status of a sustainable country if the trending for consumption continues. This next chart shows that purchases abroad and purchases of "other goods and services" that has increased quite a bit over the last four decades. Consumption patterns are not sustainable and, if continued, could change Norway's ranking as one of the most sustainable countries.
On the other spectrum is Pakistan, a failed state. The top 20 failed states on the index are: Somalia, Chad, Sudan, Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Niger, Kenya, Burundi, Burma, Guinea-Bissau and Ethiopia “States fail when national governments lose control of part or all of their territory and can no longer ensure people’s security. Failing states often degenerate into civil war as opposing groups vie for power, (Brown)”. Another reason for governments to breakdown is their inability to provide food security. This has been an overwhelming problem for developing nations especially since the 2007 rise in food prices. Among the top 20 countries on the 2010 Foreign Policy Failed States list, most are losing the battle between food production and population growth. There are also demographic indicators that show the viability of future political instability. Pakistan is no stranger to this, with various military coups, assassinations, and tumultuous wars.
Pakistan is in fact a failed state. The term is often used to describe a state having failed politically or economically, where some of the basic conditions and responsibilities such as an erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions. It is not able to provide public services and effectively interact with the other states as a member of the international community. In a failed state, like Pakistan, there can be corruption, crime, and a stark downfall in the state’s economy. Pakistan, in being a failed state, is a threat internationally. The Taliban and Al Qaeda have their training camps within the country of Pakistan. “South Waziristan was a haven—and now the base from hundreds, perhaps thousands of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who had fled Afghanistan. Every major terrorist attack since 2004—London, Madrid, Bali, Casablanca, Istanbul, and Mumbai--has been traced back to the tribal areas of Pakistan,” (Weaver). The militias have too much power and the international community needs to get more involved, especially since the country has the 5th largest nuclear arsenal, and the Pakistani Army has admitted they do not have control over their government, their streets, and their cities, especially in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. As a failed state, the country is a threat to all other states in the destabilized region and all over the world.
Pakistan has been ranked 12th on a list of the “failed states” by Foreign Policy, a global magazine of politics, economics, and ideas. The report titled “The Failed States Index 2011” compiles a list of countries in terms of vulnerability. “From refugee flows to poverty, public services to security threats, the list takes together a country’s performance on this battery of indicators to reflect its stability, (The Express Tribune).” In both 2009 and 2010, Pakistan took the number 10 spot on this index, whereas in 2008 it was ranked number nine. The 2011 Failed State Index reported states that Pakistan has long been dubbed the “world’s most dangerous country” in Washington policy circles. The report cites terrorism and civilian deaths as one major reason for Pakistan’s position, adding that the 2010 floods displaced millions of people, adding to the instability of the country.”
This is a list of countries by order of appearance in the Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace Failed States Index
One of the leading challenges facing the international community is how to prevent that slide into chaos and not go on as business as usual. Within the U.S. government, efforts to deal with weak and failing states are not a joint effort. What we need is new policies and an agency that deals with just failed states, like a department of global security that would be in place to help weak nations. We can learn from what makes a nation sustainable like Norway to help diplomatically with Pakistan. Issues such as debt relief and market access would be at the forefront. Populations would need to be stabilized and environmental support systems put in place. We would hope to end poverty and strengthen security locally and nationally. These are humanitarian issues that aren’t going away. Pakistan is improving slightly having pushed up from the 10th most failed state last year to the 12th this year. Better oversight and cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan and the international community could really make a difference to help Pakistan become a sustainable country.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
UMB Veterans Day Dinner
This year the Veterans Day Dinner at UMass Boston felt especially nice, because I know this year will be my last year to attend. I got my picture taken with the Chancellor, listened to poem roastings of distinguished staff members, like my former boss Kevin Bowen, and ate a delicious meal surrounded by friends and co-workers, who have served in the Navy, Marines, Air Force and Army.
I brought my friend Colina from class, and I had a blast introducing her to the Provost Winston Langley, the VA Representative Gus St. Silva, and Upward Bound Director Barry Brodsky. Like me, she felt a sense of community here at UMass. Spending time with the folks that run UMB really gives you a chance to embrace a sense of ownership as a student here. Gus and I were cracking jokes about how awful the National Anthem singer last year was. This year we brought in some students from another university, I think in Framingham, to do justice to the colors. They were awsome.
Spinellis' did a great job feeding us. There had to be at least 100 people there, but since I knew so many of them the room felt smaller than it was. I liked the sausage the best. It was full of flavor and I had way too much coffee. I don't know how I slept that night. The cake was beautiful as well, made with real sweet frosting, like places used to make cakes.
Then there were the raffle tickets and unbelievable great gifts to win. Carole deSouza, you had me laughing so hard! She is a riot. As MC, Carole you had even the folks behind the podium cracking up. Someone had to sign for the IPAD and Gus commented "IPAD (winner) you just re-enlisted for another 4 more years."
I sat next to Colina and Dominque Powell, the 2009 JFK winner, who now works full-time at Upward Bound, goes to grad school at BU, and is in the Air Force Reserves. She was also a former Marine. The vet dinner just happened to fall on the date of the Marine Corps birthday. Someone behind the podium made sure to mention the special date and it was followed by much Hoorahs!
The guy in Army uniform smelled like he just came from the field. I laughed to myself about that. It was a fun night and I will miss these school events. The Chancellor's speech was honest and real like most of the crowd. All in all, it was a night to remember.
I brought my friend Colina from class, and I had a blast introducing her to the Provost Winston Langley, the VA Representative Gus St. Silva, and Upward Bound Director Barry Brodsky. Like me, she felt a sense of community here at UMass. Spending time with the folks that run UMB really gives you a chance to embrace a sense of ownership as a student here. Gus and I were cracking jokes about how awful the National Anthem singer last year was. This year we brought in some students from another university, I think in Framingham, to do justice to the colors. They were awsome.
Spinellis' did a great job feeding us. There had to be at least 100 people there, but since I knew so many of them the room felt smaller than it was. I liked the sausage the best. It was full of flavor and I had way too much coffee. I don't know how I slept that night. The cake was beautiful as well, made with real sweet frosting, like places used to make cakes.
Then there were the raffle tickets and unbelievable great gifts to win. Carole deSouza, you had me laughing so hard! She is a riot. As MC, Carole you had even the folks behind the podium cracking up. Someone had to sign for the IPAD and Gus commented "IPAD (winner) you just re-enlisted for another 4 more years."
I sat next to Colina and Dominque Powell, the 2009 JFK winner, who now works full-time at Upward Bound, goes to grad school at BU, and is in the Air Force Reserves. She was also a former Marine. The vet dinner just happened to fall on the date of the Marine Corps birthday. Someone behind the podium made sure to mention the special date and it was followed by much Hoorahs!
The guy in Army uniform smelled like he just came from the field. I laughed to myself about that. It was a fun night and I will miss these school events. The Chancellor's speech was honest and real like most of the crowd. All in all, it was a night to remember.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I miss the military
In writing my Veterans' Day articles for class and the Mass Media, I was overcome with grieve knowing this will be the first Veterans' Day in 11 years that I will not be in uniform. I miss it. I really do. Being a Soldier was part of who I was. It was an idenity, purpose, and an elite club all rolled into one. Sometimes I feel like it was really unfair to get a medical discharge.
So far, I have not received Compensation and Pension for my disabilities. Well I do get 10% for the lung damage, but that is nothing. My appeal for my other disabilities has been pending since 2009. Isn't that ridiculous? And times are tough. I could really use the money.
I heard the Army National Guard is now offering to pay off $50,000 of student loans for a 6 year part-time commitment. I am focusing on getting myself back in shape, but that sounds so enticing. But what unit would I go to? There is only one Public Affairs unit in the state and I deployed with them. I don't miss being in that unit. I don't understand why it is so difficult to take care of the troops. I always drempt of becoming an officer and being the type of leader I always wished I had.
Is my time in the military really over? I was honorably discharged in July and it is still difficult to swallow. I always wanted to be a combat journalist. When I was embedding and escorting journalists from all over while I was in Baghdad, I wished I had their job. I was a bit envious. Now with the troop withdrawls, I think it is too dangerous to do that job.
Perhaps now at the ripe age of 30, it is time to start a civilian career. I have been thinking of mixing my military background with a government job. Maybe something covert. I wonder if I will always see those in uniform and sigh. They say when God closes a door, he opens a window. When the window opens, I hope I am able to move on. God Bless America and Thank you troops for your service.
So far, I have not received Compensation and Pension for my disabilities. Well I do get 10% for the lung damage, but that is nothing. My appeal for my other disabilities has been pending since 2009. Isn't that ridiculous? And times are tough. I could really use the money.
I heard the Army National Guard is now offering to pay off $50,000 of student loans for a 6 year part-time commitment. I am focusing on getting myself back in shape, but that sounds so enticing. But what unit would I go to? There is only one Public Affairs unit in the state and I deployed with them. I don't miss being in that unit. I don't understand why it is so difficult to take care of the troops. I always drempt of becoming an officer and being the type of leader I always wished I had.
Is my time in the military really over? I was honorably discharged in July and it is still difficult to swallow. I always wanted to be a combat journalist. When I was embedding and escorting journalists from all over while I was in Baghdad, I wished I had their job. I was a bit envious. Now with the troop withdrawls, I think it is too dangerous to do that job.
Perhaps now at the ripe age of 30, it is time to start a civilian career. I have been thinking of mixing my military background with a government job. Maybe something covert. I wonder if I will always see those in uniform and sigh. They say when God closes a door, he opens a window. When the window opens, I hope I am able to move on. God Bless America and Thank you troops for your service.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Why Military Intelligence Lacks Intelligence
Why Military Intelligence Lacks Intelligence
By Felicia Whatley
What’s better than a leader that leads by example?
In a Massachusetts Intelligence Army unit the First Sergeant ordered a showdown inspection where everyone had to bring in all their gear. This time it wasn’t for accountability. He had them all load it up onto a flatbed truck and he got in it and in the middle of the weekend drill time drove it down to the nearest Army and Navy Depot store where he unloaded the gear and cashed it in for his gambling funds. This kleptomaniac also stole the unit’s only Public Affairs camera. Ass-clown.
Everybody is squared away and motivated in our unit, right? Then there is the Readiness Non-Commissioned Officer who not only sold the unit’s new shipment of M4 rifles to the French during pre-deployment training, but was also in charge of the unit’s pay system. And instead of paying the soldiers, he would direct deposit in funds for drill pay, then wait a week and gradually drain their accounts to pay child support for all his illegitimate children. I’m sure his wife loved that. And get this, he was never job qualified. Instead of passing the training, he paid off his Drill Sergeants. In the MI unit, they made him a Platoon Sergeant. Way to lead from behind!
Then there was the pee test lottery. Because everyone in the unit supposedly had secret clearances every month 10% of the unit would be drug tested. Funny thing, the guys administering the drug test would do cocaine and heroin every chance they could. So they would be high in uniform while they administered the drug test. Fan-fucking-tastic!
Then there were the mandatory government travel cards. The full-timers would use them to pay for their hookers at our expense. Way to put on the mileage guys!
Then there were the super motivated officers. They would be there for first formation to be accounted for then spend the rest of the day at the local bars in Harvard Square, then return trashed for final formation, and drive two hours home drunk. Since they weren’t getting paid anyways, I guess it really didn’t matter, just as long as they didn’t kill someone else on their ride home.
Let’s not forget about how serious Intelligence units are about appearances. Physical Fitness was always important. So important, that twice a year Lieutenant Zoo would pay the Training NCO to get his perfect 200 score. He was called out on it, so he showed up late, while we were already done with the push-ups, sit-ups and halfway done with the two-mile-run. He presoaked his shirt and did a few victory laps and finished when we finished, and yet still managed to achieve a perfect score and get promoted to Captain. Remember we are building America’s leaders here.
Then there is the overworked Supply Sergeant. He got his government issued cell phone taken away for not only spending 90% of his day on the phone, but calling internationally to a terrorist network in Puerto Rico. Because he is on the phone so much he has daily scheduled nervous breakdowns when it is 5 o’clock and he realizes he didn’t get anything done. His biggest fear is that he doesn’t look Hispanic enough so uses self-tanning lotion and changed his last name to a common Spanish name. This is the same guy that got kicked out of college for falsely exploiting of all the grants and programs for Hispanics.
We train like we fight! Then there are the covert operations at the nearby grocery store. The full-timers trio would lock and load semi-automatic rifles to go food shopping and then wonder why they would spend so many nights in the local Cambridge jail. Are you fucking kidding me?
My favorite asshole doushebag of the year award goes to the Training Non-Commissioned Officer, who felt the need to put his dick on the table every time he walked into the room. He would publicly drop soldiers to do push-ups for stupid shit. I explained to him that outside a training environment he would need to drop with the soldier. I had to do more push-ups for hurting his ego. And he didn’t drop with me. But that’s not why I hated him.
The unit received an unusually large amount of funding for schools and training this past year. Instead of putting his soldiers first, he put himself into four different schools ensuring his promotion and an empty desk so he didn’t have to do his real job. But character counts in the Army right? He would occasionally spend some time in jail as well for attempting to boost cars. When we deployed to Korea for a few weeks, he collected up the soldiers car keys and got arrested trying to sell our vehicles. So what did the unit do to punish him? Well promote him of course.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Bye Bye Gaddafi
So the Libyan dictator is dead and I am celebrating. Most students I talked to on campus are either indifferent or feel that it is somehow evil to celebrate someone's death. But now OUR troops can come home! Plus an evil asshole can no longer cause havoc and human rights attrocities. NATO will still assist the rebels to stabilize the government and provide security. I think we live in a very historic time and the end of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi rein is worth celebrating!
My mom was quick to point out that he purposely graphed skin from his ass to his face to make him look more mean. Um so would that make him a buttface? Just asking. Ok I am having fun looking at the Wikapedia info on him.
"He seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. Critics have long described him as Libya's autocrator demagogue, despite the Libyan state's denial of him holding any power In 2011, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya state he established was overthrown in a civil war which consisted of an uprising aided by a NATO intervention."
It goes on to say " In the 1980s, he started several wars and acquired chemical weapons, leading to the United Nations calling Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state and countries around the world imposing sanctions."
Then there was news of his demise. In February 2011, following revolutions in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, protest against Gaddafi's rule started. This escalated into a revolt with forces opposing Gaddafi was joined by the French, British and the U.S., eventually backing his removal from power and a Civil War in Libya. He was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by NATO warplanes as his hometown Sirte fell on the 20th of October of 2011. He was also killed that day. Whoo hoo!
I think it is worth celebrating.
My mom was quick to point out that he purposely graphed skin from his ass to his face to make him look more mean. Um so would that make him a buttface? Just asking. Ok I am having fun looking at the Wikapedia info on him.
"He seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. Critics have long described him as Libya's autocrator demagogue, despite the Libyan state's denial of him holding any power In 2011, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya state he established was overthrown in a civil war which consisted of an uprising aided by a NATO intervention."
It goes on to say " In the 1980s, he started several wars and acquired chemical weapons, leading to the United Nations calling Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state and countries around the world imposing sanctions."
Then there was news of his demise. In February 2011, following revolutions in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, protest against Gaddafi's rule started. This escalated into a revolt with forces opposing Gaddafi was joined by the French, British and the U.S., eventually backing his removal from power and a Civil War in Libya. He was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by NATO warplanes as his hometown Sirte fell on the 20th of October of 2011. He was also killed that day. Whoo hoo!
I think it is worth celebrating.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Globalization and Development
My studies are in international relations and so globalization, development, and its impact on the world is imperative to discuss. Class was very engaging today as we came to the conclusion that as a consumer based economy the world would crumble to its own demise as we selfishly use up our fossil fuels and financially collapse as the wants and needs continue to take over like an earth shattering earth quake that lasts infinitely until everything falls apart.
I am reading a story today on Wall Street Journal about Europe doing a massive overseeing of their financial situation and basically auditing all their banks. Inflation continues and borrowing is not a thing of the past. I too have some credit card debt I am chipping away at. After being unemployed for a few months, I quickly went through my savings and found the only way I could pay my bills was with my credit cards. Agoff. What a scary thing that was to get those bills in the mail and realize I had no idea how I was going to pay them.
Again I thank God for the jobs I do have now, though taxing and taking some of my energy from my studies, I see a means to an end. But my credit took a hit and that is traumatizing. Are there others out there trying to dig themselves out of a hole? Bit by bit I see hope. But it is our government and their terrible investment practices that have pretty much left themselves with no other choice but to go bankrupt. Why does the U.S. government weigh so heavily on the top 500 money making corporations? Perhaps they should not get so involved in big business.
So that is where the plot thickens and inside trading, false reports of earning, and lobbying can be negative things. Can we turn it around as journalists, investigators, and social sciences looking to implement policy? Yes I definitely think we can and we absolutely must or we will all be in the unemployment line looking for tidbits to survive off of. I laugh when I hear Obama say he has another "Stimulus Plan" . Or remember when Bush sent us checks in the mail for a few hundred bucks that was supposed to help the Trickle Down economy ideal. Yeah I spent that check alright and so did everyone else, which left us with more stuff and an even bigger disappointment. I can't even remember what I spent it on. Isn't that sad?
Capitalism is not dead it just needs a few EKG jolts and a reality check. We need to understand why we were downgraded from a AAA to a AA and what we need to do to avoid the impeding recession barking at our heals. We can't send everyone to college to learn a new skill and we can't afford not to outsource. So what is the solution? With these Occupy Boston pleas for less stratification. I stand tall and say "Why can't we have a flat tax?" Perhaps of say 10% of everyone's income. I don't care if it is a Republican, Democrat, or Social Nazi that proposes such a thing, but it really makes sense. Ten percent of what you make, whatever the number is would go towards social reforms.
I am not totally against Socialized medicine. I have VA and I think it wouldn't be much different. I am lucky to have VA health insurance. It has its downfalls like it won't cover ambulances or dental (only for the few), but I am getting free healthcare. I think we need some kind of hybrid of socialized medicine and privatization. We will see how Obama Care swims or sinks. If all else fails there is medical tourism, so once again an outsourcing , comes close to home. Or does it? Many organ recipients wait until they die in America before they have the chance to try on another organ. But if they got on the short waiting list in India they could pay half the price and survive. And in America if you don't have health insurance and you get cancer or something else serious, likely you will have to go bankrupt, because the hospital costs are ridiculous.
So as a solution, we need a flat tax and a health reform that an average Joe can afford. Companies should be held liable for not providing health care for their workers, a hospital or doctor visit should not cost that much, and yes banks like Bank of America should be audited by a huge oversight committees. I got 18 overdraft fees totaling $800 with Bank of America, because they would not freeze or close my account. They just keep resubmitting a check that I apparently had insufficient funds for.
I camped out in their office and demanded they close the account and give me a chance to pay the check. They wouldn't do it for almost two weeks this seize to my finances went on. Shame on them. Paying off the check was easy. I got paid a few days later, but those over draft fees chased me for 5 years. They are just evil. I feel taken advantage of. Banks like that have no right to operate. That was stealing as far as I am concerned. They were so big they thought they could get away with anything. Things have changed now Credit Unions are the big craze.
What are your solutions? I would like to hear, because I think Washington needs to as well.
I am reading a story today on Wall Street Journal about Europe doing a massive overseeing of their financial situation and basically auditing all their banks. Inflation continues and borrowing is not a thing of the past. I too have some credit card debt I am chipping away at. After being unemployed for a few months, I quickly went through my savings and found the only way I could pay my bills was with my credit cards. Agoff. What a scary thing that was to get those bills in the mail and realize I had no idea how I was going to pay them.
Again I thank God for the jobs I do have now, though taxing and taking some of my energy from my studies, I see a means to an end. But my credit took a hit and that is traumatizing. Are there others out there trying to dig themselves out of a hole? Bit by bit I see hope. But it is our government and their terrible investment practices that have pretty much left themselves with no other choice but to go bankrupt. Why does the U.S. government weigh so heavily on the top 500 money making corporations? Perhaps they should not get so involved in big business.
So that is where the plot thickens and inside trading, false reports of earning, and lobbying can be negative things. Can we turn it around as journalists, investigators, and social sciences looking to implement policy? Yes I definitely think we can and we absolutely must or we will all be in the unemployment line looking for tidbits to survive off of. I laugh when I hear Obama say he has another "Stimulus Plan" . Or remember when Bush sent us checks in the mail for a few hundred bucks that was supposed to help the Trickle Down economy ideal. Yeah I spent that check alright and so did everyone else, which left us with more stuff and an even bigger disappointment. I can't even remember what I spent it on. Isn't that sad?
Capitalism is not dead it just needs a few EKG jolts and a reality check. We need to understand why we were downgraded from a AAA to a AA and what we need to do to avoid the impeding recession barking at our heals. We can't send everyone to college to learn a new skill and we can't afford not to outsource. So what is the solution? With these Occupy Boston pleas for less stratification. I stand tall and say "Why can't we have a flat tax?" Perhaps of say 10% of everyone's income. I don't care if it is a Republican, Democrat, or Social Nazi that proposes such a thing, but it really makes sense. Ten percent of what you make, whatever the number is would go towards social reforms.
I am not totally against Socialized medicine. I have VA and I think it wouldn't be much different. I am lucky to have VA health insurance. It has its downfalls like it won't cover ambulances or dental (only for the few), but I am getting free healthcare. I think we need some kind of hybrid of socialized medicine and privatization. We will see how Obama Care swims or sinks. If all else fails there is medical tourism, so once again an outsourcing , comes close to home. Or does it? Many organ recipients wait until they die in America before they have the chance to try on another organ. But if they got on the short waiting list in India they could pay half the price and survive. And in America if you don't have health insurance and you get cancer or something else serious, likely you will have to go bankrupt, because the hospital costs are ridiculous.
So as a solution, we need a flat tax and a health reform that an average Joe can afford. Companies should be held liable for not providing health care for their workers, a hospital or doctor visit should not cost that much, and yes banks like Bank of America should be audited by a huge oversight committees. I got 18 overdraft fees totaling $800 with Bank of America, because they would not freeze or close my account. They just keep resubmitting a check that I apparently had insufficient funds for.
I camped out in their office and demanded they close the account and give me a chance to pay the check. They wouldn't do it for almost two weeks this seize to my finances went on. Shame on them. Paying off the check was easy. I got paid a few days later, but those over draft fees chased me for 5 years. They are just evil. I feel taken advantage of. Banks like that have no right to operate. That was stealing as far as I am concerned. They were so big they thought they could get away with anything. Things have changed now Credit Unions are the big craze.
What are your solutions? I would like to hear, because I think Washington needs to as well.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Occupy U.S.A.
As Occupy Boston, New York, and D.C. kick off the day with drizzling rain and a forecast of sporatic collectivism, I wonder if the effort is mute or I should hop on the Red Line and look for it. My feet hurt already thinking about standing for 12 hours at a warehouse supermarket tomorrow pushing cheesecakes. It is not exactly what I had in mind laboring over a bachelor's degree that took me eight years and various deployment interruptions to finish. As the student loans rack up as much as a managerial position's yearly income, I dred putting on my suit tomorrow and "sucking it up" to cheerfully sell my hard work, hopes, and dreams. But as the unemployment line thickens I count my lucky stars to at least have some income coming in.
How are you doing Occupy Boston? Tuesday over 100 people were arrested as a line of opposition Veterans for Peace protected the crowd from the police. Things are already starting to escalate. This nationwide movement inspires revolt and a desperate attempt to pull lobbyists, Senators, and law makers to get off their high horses and join the rest of us. The stratification is daunting and scares the shit out of me.
I got a packet in the mail from a debt consolidation firm. On one side of the packet it states "Welcome to your debt consolidation!" On the other side it gleefully says "Welcome to your bankruptcy". Oh gawd. I tuck myself in at night swallowing sleeping pills and pulling the blanket in tightly hoping the creditors don't rip the bed out from under me. So far, I am able to pay rent, but after I graduate, then what? I can't drug deal cakes forever. I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. Now I am an overweight Army veteran living paycheck to paycheck. Occupy Boston, things have got to be better than this!
I think I'll forget the too-toos and point shoes and put on that business suit and Dr. Scholls shoes and pray that someone in Capital Hill gets the message. Until then, reality has a bitter taste and the world needs more cheesecakes.
How are you doing Occupy Boston? Tuesday over 100 people were arrested as a line of opposition Veterans for Peace protected the crowd from the police. Things are already starting to escalate. This nationwide movement inspires revolt and a desperate attempt to pull lobbyists, Senators, and law makers to get off their high horses and join the rest of us. The stratification is daunting and scares the shit out of me.
I got a packet in the mail from a debt consolidation firm. On one side of the packet it states "Welcome to your debt consolidation!" On the other side it gleefully says "Welcome to your bankruptcy". Oh gawd. I tuck myself in at night swallowing sleeping pills and pulling the blanket in tightly hoping the creditors don't rip the bed out from under me. So far, I am able to pay rent, but after I graduate, then what? I can't drug deal cakes forever. I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. Now I am an overweight Army veteran living paycheck to paycheck. Occupy Boston, things have got to be better than this!
I think I'll forget the too-toos and point shoes and put on that business suit and Dr. Scholls shoes and pray that someone in Capital Hill gets the message. Until then, reality has a bitter taste and the world needs more cheesecakes.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
What's Going on in Somalia
Felicia Whatley
Somalia
Development and Globalization
Intro
Somalia is thought to be a stateless region known for its lawlessness and lack of government control of the region. Somalia is ranked as the number 1 in the 2010 Failed State Index, for their inability to provide public goods and services, instability in the government, and the violence, insurgency, and piracy that continues. It perplexes social scientists with its chaos, hunger, anarchy and yet a “free wheeling stateless capitalism” according to Peter D. Little’s Somalia: Economy Without State. The economic trends are difficult to track because the nation is very archaic and backwards, and yet it still surprises many because there is some agricultural economic growth and its desire to survive. Historians remember Somalia for the modern genocide that was overlooked for too long by the international communities. How did this happen and what were the ramifications for development and globalization? “Many observers hoped that the rescue of Somalia could be an example of a new type of internationalism with the collapse of old cold-war animosities. While the multilateral efforts of UNOSOM and the U.S. led Operation Restore Hope started with such spectacular optimism and helped to reduce the famine in Somalia, they bore few tangible outcomes in long run…Somalia did so much to shatter the hopes of the new world order,” (Little, 162).
Politics, Government and Background
Somalia is hot and arid in temperature where droughts are frequent. The country is thought to be geographically significant, because of its strategic location on the horn of Africa. The country is poor and has been through a coup. They have their own Somali language and modern education began to be offered free for all levels in the 1970s. By 1976 there was a 60 percent literacy level, but now Somalia is known as one of the poorest of nations with the lowest literacy levels (http://www.mapsofworld.com/somalia/information/facts.html). It is a war torn underdeveloped country that is in need of aid, development, and infrastructure. Only 2% of the population can afford a TV or a radio.
Islam is the national religion and the country is on a terrorist watch. Economic and cultural globalization is the defining characteristic in the 21st century. The Global economic and cultural dimensions of self-determination are far more important than previously recognized and cannot be reduced to greed, stated FitzGerald, Stewart and Venugopal, 1. Globalization and war has had a profound impact on Somalia. Often on the news there are Somalia pirates that attack foreign ships that are in international water. National Geographic writes “Mogadishu is ground zero for the failed state of Somalia, a place where pirates and terrorists rule. Yet to the north, the breakaway region of Somaliland is stable and at peace. What happened?”(Drapier, 2009.)
If you walk around the capital you can see the remains of the former American Embassy, the al Uruba Hotel, and the Shangaani district, which once teamed with life but is now blown away. And the homes are more of the same. This article is a case study of one 18-year-old who is forced to be a fisherman to bring some money to his family. His father was killed by mortar fire and if he is lucky he will get 3 or 4 dollars for his catch, so his family can eat that day. Most of his school friends have joined the Islamic extremist militia called al Shabaab. The al Shabaab is a militia that is backed by the United Nations and the Transitional Federal Governance. “For young males like Mohammed, al Shabaab is a tempting exit strategy from powerlessness. Then again, many of his former playmates are now dead,” (Drapier).
On Somalia's northern coastline one can see the Gulf of Aden into the Indian Ocean. This is where pirates prey on sea traffic between Europe and the East. Even though that is the most publicized lately, often the inner part of the country can be seen as more violent and scary because the insurgents and the government troops continue to fight there. The Ethiopian troops had invaded Somalia late in 2006 to oust a short-lived Islamic government and prop up the TFG, and then they pulled out in January 2009.” The chaos has invited a fresh flow of foreign fighters to Somalia, which has become a haven for terrorists who see themselves engaged in a global jihad. The Fund for Peace has ranked Somalia number one on its index of failed states for the past two years,” (Drapier).
The history of the country was shown in how Britain withdrew from their colony part of Somaliland in 1960 and this chance at sovereignty spurred the breakdown of the nation. The British intended to allow that area to join with Italian Somaliland and to form the new nation of Somalia. Then in 1969, a coup headed by Mr. Mohamed Siad Barre brought in an authoritarian socialist rule. There was some stability for Somalia, but when the regime collapsed in 1991, the country spun into turmoil. There was fighting and anarchy among factions. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland which included Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool areas. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections,
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/so-somalia.
Although Somalia was without a single central government throughout the 1990s,
politics, economics and development still existed despite the statelessness. In the early 1990s state fragmentation and a localization of political authority existed. Within the violence a variety of governance and authority emerged at community, district, and regional levels to create a makeshift centralized government. Then in 1998, the state came together in a way that was less violent with a broader base of political alliances than before. “Together they built polities—state like authorities –outside the old framework of decolonization and have done so amidst all of the international economic forces…in order to create places like Somalia,” (FitzGerald, Stewart, and Venugopal 148). There was differing political governance in Somaliland verses Puntland. The Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) then established an administration in the two southern regions of
Bay and Bakol; both been very insecure for most of the past decade. The Transitional National Government (TNG) in the capital of Mogadishu was the most profound political development of the decade. “Some of the politics ...especially the distribution of social control over violence and markets, unintentionally left some northern leaders with more social raw material to reconstruct a single polity after 1991—to self determine –compared with southern counterparts,” (FitzGerald, 148). Though, the lengthy peace process has the TNG crimpling southern Somalia for over a decade, The TNG’s acceptance in the UN General Assembly, the Arab League, and the former Organization of African Unity has given Somalia formal representation in these international bodies for the first time in a decade.
The political and economic decentralization that has taken place in Somalia over the last decade is unlikely to be totally reversed and the political entities are still fragile and evolving. Nevertheless, there are economic and social needs in Somalia that appear to demand more regulation and order like the cities of Hargeisa, Garowe, Bosasso, and Baidoa, that beg for a process of consolidation. The decrease in humanitarian needs since 1999 has shown a good level of growth because of improved security conditions and shows a positive change in Somalia.
The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug create of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998, but does not want independence. A two-year UN humanitarian effort in 1993 helped to sooth famine conditions in the southern tip of Somalia, but when the UN withdrew in 1995 after suffering many casualties, the Somalia’s government was still in shambles. After a two-year peace process, led by the Government of Kenya and the help of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ending in October 2004, the Somalis had elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. This interim government was the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFI) s. Somalia’s government had a 275-member parliamentary body, a transitional Prime Minister, and a 90-member cabinet. “He [Siad Barre] destroyed the civil and social structures—in fact laid the basis for what’s happening now—and according to Africa Watch probably killed fifty or sixty thousand people.,” (Chomsky, 31). We must not forget that the troops of Somalia committed genocide ordered by the President to annihilate their own, and it was more than just thousands of people who were systematically murdered. The world was criticized for not acting quick enough to intervene.
Globalization and Economy
Somalia has dealt with a long period of statelessness, perhaps longer than any other society in the world. Globalization is not just something that brings together nations but it can also be a divider. “Globalization creates differences. The unevenness of the process is creating inequalities within nations, regions, and communities; disparity and insecurity of incomes; rapid transmission of financial and political crises between different areas of the planet; the spread of crime, health threats and environmental degradation on a previously unknown scale,” (Marchal, R., Mubarak, J.A., Del Buono, M., Manzolillo, D.L.) The collapse of Somali and its civil war can be said to have impacts that are a consequence of globalization. In this country the global “interactions” were limited in the 20th century but then globalization became a dominate force with technology more so in the 21st century.
Globalization made a divide between the East and West in Somalia, but the competition between the two sides helped the economy. But the President Siad Barre was not aware of the changing international situation and the possibility that the country could miss out on strategic importance on the Horn of Africa and that they would soon lose some military aid. Many Somali leaders still today believe that if they Somalia have international recognition or a profound political structure then they can expound on international funding will increase. “The IMF (International Monetary Fund) could not ignore the existence of unemployment...Though some of the these models might provide some amusement within academia, they seemed particularly ill suited to understanding the problems of a country like South Africa, which has been plagued with unemployment rates in excess of 25 percent,” (Stiglitz, 35).
The United Nations intervention in 1992 through 1995 brought in many foreigners with their values, money, and a new type of globalization. For many who felt contempt for Westerners, soon found there were now jobs that weren’t there before. Another way that the UN tried to aid Somalia was to create local authorities and districts to bring order. This current trend of globalization shifted the political culture. “One symptom of globalization is a retreat of sovereignty in a market-driven global environment. Sovereignty operates in the context of political solutions to problems, but the market imposes economic realities that often assume primacy over national laws and wishes of the citizens,” (Marchal, R., Mubarak, J.A., Del Buono, M., Manzolillo, D.L.) UN tried to create order in a stateless state.
The main source of economy in Somalia is livestock and agriculture: cattle, sheep, goats, bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; fish. Regardless of the fact that the government is thought to be a failed state, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy most driven by agriculture, with money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture was the biggest sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. The GDP or purchasing power parity in 2009 is estimated to be $5.665 billion, in 2008 to be $5.524 billion, and in 2007 to be $5.387--showing an upward trend.
This is the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity is meant to be the (PPP) exchange rates of the sum value of all goods and services products per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions and use of resources around the world. Whereas the PPP estimates for some countries can be based on a different set of goods and services. For many developing countries like Somalia, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the wealthy industrialized countries were generally much smaller and should be considered differently than GDP.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Stock Market Woes
The stock market woes as I grab for the handle bars on this scary roller coaster. When the stock market plummets, the job market and economy takes a dump. It scares me. In three months I will be out of school and dumped into that job market. As it is now, I work two part time jobs and am working with a debt consolidation law firm to keep from going into bankruptcy. As a graduate student, I am so much student loan debt as well. I turned the big 3-0 this summer and when the stock market is hurting I feel wounded as well.
I grew up with the mentality that if you work hard, good things will happen. But in the real world, I have to make it happen. UMass Boston's career center is a joke. I had to reach out and find my own internship. I did an internship with the Coast Guard and I loved it, but now that I am out of the military the only military job I think I would want is as a civilian contractor. Those positions are so competitive and difficult to get. I apply on usajobs.gov over and over hoping to get a bite. No interviews yet!
I have recently taken on a marketing job. I only make money on commission. I had to do some training on walking away when they say "no" twice. I am very attentive and am willing to keep trying to sell the product, but they are right--at some point you need to walk away or you are wasting valuable time on people who are happy to sample the product but have no plan to buy it. I have a B.S. in journalism and for all the effort I put into getting that degree, I kick myself for not being able to make a career out of it. Most newspaper jobs pay $25,000- $30,000 a year. That's it. I have way more in student loan debt than that.
I think the job market in Boston is ridiculous anyways, because of the 70 colleges in Massachusetts and quarter of a million college students in the Boston area--I have a state school education. It's a snob market out there. But true enough, a master's degree at a state school still trumps a bachelors' degree from Harvard. But in all reality, I need to take my degree and move south, where it won't matter as much that I went to UMass Boston not Boston University. I think this school is great and I have loved every minute of it, but I'm being realistic.
As for the military, I miss it sometimes. I thought I would be a Soldier forever. My car is loaded up with Army National Guard stickers. The medical discharge shocked me. I put in 11 years. If I had four more years I would have gotten a medical retirement. Instead, I have no retirement, no 401 K, no life insurance plan, and now no dental insurance. All of that ended when I was pushed out. I also miss the Student Loan Repayment plan. Every year for six years the Army would pay back 15% of $20,000 of my student loans. I was three years into that program, when they pulled the plug. Sigh. Are you stressed out just reading this?
Well I just had my Jewish New Year. I think this year will be the beginning of many new things. My favorite Quincy psychic Pauline said she had not seen as good cards on anyone. She thought I would go from nothing to everything. She has been accurate so far. That sounds like a good plan to me. But like I said, I have to make it happen. I certainly cannot rely on the quagmatic stock market. It starts and ends with me.
I grew up with the mentality that if you work hard, good things will happen. But in the real world, I have to make it happen. UMass Boston's career center is a joke. I had to reach out and find my own internship. I did an internship with the Coast Guard and I loved it, but now that I am out of the military the only military job I think I would want is as a civilian contractor. Those positions are so competitive and difficult to get. I apply on usajobs.gov over and over hoping to get a bite. No interviews yet!
I have recently taken on a marketing job. I only make money on commission. I had to do some training on walking away when they say "no" twice. I am very attentive and am willing to keep trying to sell the product, but they are right--at some point you need to walk away or you are wasting valuable time on people who are happy to sample the product but have no plan to buy it. I have a B.S. in journalism and for all the effort I put into getting that degree, I kick myself for not being able to make a career out of it. Most newspaper jobs pay $25,000- $30,000 a year. That's it. I have way more in student loan debt than that.
I think the job market in Boston is ridiculous anyways, because of the 70 colleges in Massachusetts and quarter of a million college students in the Boston area--I have a state school education. It's a snob market out there. But true enough, a master's degree at a state school still trumps a bachelors' degree from Harvard. But in all reality, I need to take my degree and move south, where it won't matter as much that I went to UMass Boston not Boston University. I think this school is great and I have loved every minute of it, but I'm being realistic.
As for the military, I miss it sometimes. I thought I would be a Soldier forever. My car is loaded up with Army National Guard stickers. The medical discharge shocked me. I put in 11 years. If I had four more years I would have gotten a medical retirement. Instead, I have no retirement, no 401 K, no life insurance plan, and now no dental insurance. All of that ended when I was pushed out. I also miss the Student Loan Repayment plan. Every year for six years the Army would pay back 15% of $20,000 of my student loans. I was three years into that program, when they pulled the plug. Sigh. Are you stressed out just reading this?
Well I just had my Jewish New Year. I think this year will be the beginning of many new things. My favorite Quincy psychic Pauline said she had not seen as good cards on anyone. She thought I would go from nothing to everything. She has been accurate so far. That sounds like a good plan to me. But like I said, I have to make it happen. I certainly cannot rely on the quagmatic stock market. It starts and ends with me.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Nightmare in the Balkans, An Army Story
Nightmare in the Balkans, An Army Story
By Felicia Whatley
I enlisted in the Army Reserves from Albuquerque, New Mexico a few months from graduating high school. I had early acceptance into UMass Boston and joined the Reserves because I enjoyed Junior Marine Corps ROTC and my high school internship at Kirtland Air Force base. My independent attitude would have lasted five minutes in the Marines and the Air Force didn’t seem like enough of a challenge.
My recruiter understood I was going to college in Boston and explained to me the college benefits the Army offered. I was idealist and stupid. I made it quite clear that I didn’t want going to drill to be about the money. The detail I was firm about was being able to choose my job. I wanted to be a paralegal. I thought I was going to go school doing Pre-law and then eventually law school. It was the summer of 2000 and I had no idea how much life was going to change for me a year later.
There were no paralegal, or legal secretary positions available within a 50 mile radius to Boston. I figured with all the universities nearby other pre-law students had the same idea I had. So I thought about it and I asked if there was anything similar, something in the legal field. My recruiter thought about it and conducted a new search.
“There is a CID at Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. You could be a clerk in a Military Police Criminal Investigation Unit. You’d work for Special Agents.” That sounded very exciting and definitely in the legal field.
“You were in your school newspaper. Are you sure you don’t want to do Public Affairs?”
I immediately said, no. I thought there was no way I could write about what I wanted to in the military. So I took split option, which my boot camp would be that
So I did just that. The CID unit was great. The Special Agents had the same idea I did about military service. They had really good civilian jobs as cops, detectives, FBI, CIA and DEA agents. They didn’t need the Reserves for income; it was more of a hobby. Each agent handpicked their own two missions to do protective services for everybody but the president. But it was the ultimate boys club. I was the youngest, the only Private and one of two females. The other female was rather masculine and was a high ranking unit administrator. The men treated me well. They would read my newspaper articles, crack jokes with me, and when I got ready to head to admin school run with me for encouragement. They treated me like a little sister and the UA hated it. I was young and I didn’t fully understand it at first, but there was a bit of resentment and it had something to with sexual preferences.
One of the agents tried to explain it to me once. The UA Warrant officer Bucannon had an alternative lifestyle and men in the Army will always treat her differently. I was pretty and feminine and was treated favorably. The UA attempted to give me a counseling statement, a written statement, and in this case declaring fault, because I was late to drill. I didn’t have a car the first year of college and two of the agents, one coming from the Cape, would pick me up and drive me an hour to drill each month. This time Agent McLaughlin was running late, so we were all late. The UA pulled me into her office and was starting to unload a bunch of rules and regulations I messed up on McLaughlin and O’Connor came running into the office and stopped her mid-sentence. They said they were part of my chain of command and had a right to be there. She started up again and McLaughlin cut her off and explained how it was his entire fault. He dismissed me. I glanced at Bucannan on the way out. She was angry at me and furious she couldn’t reprimand me. I could see it in her face.
A similar situation happened a few months later. I can’t remember what the deficiency was but it was over before it even started, with the same result. I shrugged it off. Around this time, a couple of the guys were joking about “ate up” Army Postal units. Warrant Officer Smith was laughing about numerous EO complaints. I didn’t know what that was. I figured it just went along with the “going Postal” joke.
After 9/11, all of the agents were swept up immediately and sent to the Pentagon to clean up the mess. There were only five us left from the unit that hadn’t been activated for military service. It was the support staff: a few clerks, a couple of new military policemen waiting to get certified as agents, the unit administrator, and me. Even the commander got transferred and told he was to prepare for a mobilization with another unit. A new girl came into the unit this drill. She was going to be our new mechanic. The Unit Administrator was now the acting commander. She called a meeting.
She explained that the unit was transforming. Then she turned to me and the new girl and said, “This is a stepping stone for you two. I will not promote you.” I found myself nodding along and then it hit me like pile of bricks. I sat there. What could I do? What could I say? To make matters worse she wanted me in her office afterwards. She had that tone of voice like I was about to be reprimanded. This time there were no agents to rescue me.
She said I had an unprofessional attitude, and she had a list of rules and regulations I would have adhere to or I would loose rank and pay. I was a Private First Class by then. I swallowed hard. And then she said something strange. She said I was not allowed to put my civilian clothes on after drill to drive home in. She handed me the form and “Sign here.” I don’t know what possessed me but I looked at her square in the face and said “No.” Then I walked across the room straight to the trash can. I took the counseling statement and tore it into four pieces and threw it away. She was shocked and horrified. Before she could say anything I opened the door, grabbed my keys and walked out the building door. It was Saturday and the duty hours were almost over. For me, the day was definitely over. I got in my car and drove home.
The four of the MPs in training pulled me into an office the next day. They handed me a revised version of the counseling statement. It could have been a novel. This one was at least ten pages long. My parents had moved to Texas for the past year but the job was only temporary. He took a high paying, high risk job, hired in attempt to save a franchisee of Drug Emporium from bankruptcy. It was unsalvageable.
I decided not to go back to UMass. I moved home with my father but not without having one more fallout with Bucannon. I was the assistant news editor of the school paper and after 9/11, I got the CID unit to put me in for the military journalism school. I wasn’t needed as a clerk. I wanted to make a difference in something I knew I was I was good at. I was over my fear of being over edited. But I wasn’t going to the print journalism school. The UA Bucannon said, since I wasn’t coming back to Massachusetts, the Reserve center in Massachusetts shouldn’t have to pay for my training. She asked where I would be. My father was taking an upper management job in Winn Dixie in Charlotte, North Carolina and we were moving there soon. She said she would transfer me to a unit there.
My family moved to Charlotte Summer of 2002 and I moved with them. I transferred to Winthrop University pursuing a Communications degree. It was my first day of class on a Friday. I settled in for Com 101 and sat near the front. The professor began his introduction. He was starting to explain about his adventures and tribulations as a Vietnam journalist. All of a sudden my cell phone started ringing. I glanced at the number. It was a North Carolina number. Puzzled, I ran out of class and answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Where are you!? You are supposed to be at your Army drill! You are AWOL!” the angry female voice yelled.
“Um, who is this?”
“PFC Whatley, this is your First Sergeant Cahill of the 312th Postal Unit. We are in the field in Columbia today, tomorrow and Sunday. Why aren’t you here?”
I explained I was in class and would call back. I joined up the next day in the field after being issued a sleeping bag and a few items for the field. I met the First Sergeant in person. She was just as angry and short in person. I didn’t understand how I ended up in a postal unit. I was not postal qualified and did not have a secret clearance. I started asking questions on how I could get a transfer to a public affairs unit. Cahill just looked at me strange and dismissed my inquiry. She was black, southern, chubby and spoke with a deep accent. I could barely comprehend her, because she put her verbs at the end of the sentence.
Most of the unit was black and lived in the rural areas of North and South Carolina. I felt very isolated and out of place. We spent the rest of Friday running in the woods, in the rain. I didn’t get issued any raingear or flashlights. I was wet, cold, and I couldn’t see anything, but I was yelled at continuously, so I kept moving. This wasn’t boot camp. Why would they act like that?
The next morning after breakfast some Colonel who oversaw the Army Reserves in the Carolinas and Alabama told us to huddle in. He had an announcement. He congratulated us and told us we were deploying to Bosnia for a postal mission with Rebecca Cahill as the First Sergeant and Sarah Kuhaneck, a young Lieutenant as the commander.
Most of the unit was not physically fit or educated. Right after it was announced the unit would be deploying, half to Bosnia and then the other half to Iraq, twenty percent of the unit went AWOL absent with out leave; they basically stopped showing up for drill. Some even moved. Another twenty percent started pissing hot for drugs and a few conveniently and immediately got pregnant. There was no camaraderie, and discipline only through fear. I knew immediately that these people did not join the Army Reserves for the same reasons I did.
I was stunned and horrified. I began doing research on how I ended up in the unit and what I could do to change my situation. I was supposed to sign paperwork for the gaining unit. Bucannon bypassed that. I went to recruiters and job liaisons. They said all I needed was a letter of acceptance from another unit nearby. I got a letter of acceptance from the public affairs unit in North Carolina, willing to slot me as clerk and retrain me as a journalist. I brought it to drill the next month. I presented the documentation and spoke to two sergeants on how I wasn’t a postal clerk and just didn’t approve this transfer. They didn’t know what to say so they got the First Sergeant. She refused to sign the paperwork.
So I did a lot of thinking and decided I would put my paperwork in for active duty. I would rather do three years active duty and go to Iraq as a journalist than do a tour to Bosnia with this unit. The First Sergeant was always angry and chewed us all out whenever she addressed us. I couldn’t imagine ten months of that. I had a conditional release from the Reserves drafted. I met with First Sergeant Cahill and she refused to sign the paperwork.
The second month I was in the unit, we received official mobilization orders to begin January 1, 2003. The next weekend drill we were bused to Fort Bragg to begin intense soldier skills training. We were told nothing. I was anxious and scared. We were told to get all of our gas mask gear on quickly. I did so but there was something wrong. The mask would not seal. Air was escaping and entering around the sides. I couldn’t breath. I started hyperventilating and was anxiously trying to loosen the ties so I could get it off. I finally ripped it off by pulling the whole thing through my hair and over my head. I almost passed out. What went wrong? I looked at the mask and it said “L” for large. The supply sergeant issued me a large. I couldn’t have been more than 110 pounds. “We are preparing to deploy and they issued me a large gasmask. Does it LOOK like I need a large gasmask?”
A black female Staff Sergeant Jennings looked up and me and said, “Yeah. You need one. You have a big mouth.” A couple laugh and high five her.
“Great, so we are going be dead because we are unprepared, but its ok we’ll be happy because we’re all ghetto on the block. Is there ANY good leadership here?”
Jennings launches forward offended and pissed. She starts to open her mouth and a male’s voice coming up the stairs says, “Who said that?” We are called to attention as a high ranking officer enters the room. First Sergeant Cahill introduces the important Colonel from Fort Bragg. He asks his question again. I am pointed out and am told to follow him and the First Sergeant to his office. He asked me to explain what the problem was.
I explained the angry isolating climate, the incessant yelling all the time. We where never told what any of the plans were, not even the training schedule. We were dropped off at Convenience marts and told to “go find dinner” on multiple occasions. Spc. Racki was hospitalized for severe dehydration. The Lieutenant kept arguing with the doctors to release her and return her to training. After seven hours of harassment the doctors released Racki, still throwing up and returned her to the field. The equipment I have or haven’t been issued, like the rain gear or sensitive inspectable items, like the gas mask, have been too big or missing. These are safety and health and welfare issues. I didn’t feel safe in this unit.
“Bosnia has been a rotational deployment for years. The chain of command knew for at least a year when they were going and only now is preparing their unit to go. I’m not supposed to be in this unit in the first place, but since I’m not doing drugs, getting pregnant, or going AWOL, I’m trapped with the most miserable people I have ever met. I wouldn’t trust anyone in the unit with my tooth brush let alone my life.”
The Colonel tried to question my patriotism and soldierly skills. I asked if he had ever deployed. He said no and got quiet. “PFC Whatley will get her transfer and not deploy with the 312th. Agreed First Sergeant?”
“Yes, she will get her transfer soon,” said Cahill. He lied and she lied, and I knew it.
As we were waiting for formation, Cahill was standing with a lady I hadn’t seen before a Sergeant First Class Smith, a tall black lady with long red painted, unauthorized finger nails. They were laughing and Cahill pointed to me and said something, and then Smith retorted, “Oh yeah, she is definitely going.”
We were called to attention and the platoon filed into formation. Sergeant First Class Smith was introduced as a being from the headquarters in Alabama. She was in charge of making sure we got trained up for our deployment. She addressed us.
She told us how her brother died in Vietnam and she understood personal sacrifice. She said, “For those of you whining, if I were out there with you I would shoot you.”
I hastily finished up the semester. January came so quickly. We had a send off and promotion ceremony. All the Privates were made Specialists, including me. I didn’t fell like I earned it. I had difficulty breathing and didn’t pass my two-mile run.
So we deployed. We flew first to Germany for a month of postal training. I befriended Spc Racki, Spc. Ritchie, and Spc. Bee, and in the evenings we were released to do whatever we wanted. We were based near Amberg so we would take the cabs into the city and go to the local restaurants and pubs.
I made a phone call to my parents and showed up to the bowling alley a little later. Sgt Pew was outside and met me as I headed toward the door. It was five o’clock on a Sunday and he was already falling over drunk. “Get in the cab right now; we are leaving now,” he was yelling. He had to have been drinking all day.
“No, I don’t think I’m going to go,” I said turning to leave. He ran out in front of me and physically stopped me.
“Get in the car now. I own you Spc. Whatley!”
I got away from him and ran back to the barracks. I went to sleep depressed. I told a friend and she told the First Sergeant what happened. It didn’t matter. When I got to Bosnia, I was assigned first shift, the 4am shift, and Sgt. Pew was my first line supervisor. I felt uncomfortable around him.
I won the post 5 K run in my bracket and I found a way to write and publish. I wrote an essay to the Public Affairs commander on post why I wanted to contribute to the post paper. One-thousand words later, Major Wall called Lieutenant Kuhaneck and said, “My mission is more important than yours. I can either pull Spc. Whatley out from underneath you or you can let her come on her own time to write for us.” My commander was not happy, but agreed I could come on my off time. I did just that. I unloaded the trucks until noon and then did a few hours at the PA shop. I was tired, but it was worth it.
It was around the third month of the deployment. I got to the post office in the morning and First Sergeant was there. She was going to assist in unloading the truck. We opened up the back doors of the truck and Sgt. Pew jumped in. The First Sergeant looked at me and said, “Go get the belt. We always need to use a belt.” I looked at her, scratched my eyebrows and said, “Ah, what belt, Top?”
She was taken back and suddenly angry. “What? She then mumbled something, and then, “Go to the rooms and wake everybody up. Tell them they have five minutes to get dressed and be at the post office.”
So I did. Nobody was very happy about this. “Five minutes, are you serious?” said Racki.
When everybody got there the First Sergeant formed us up and addressed us. She was angry, slurring, and again putting her verbs at the end of the sentence. I still couldn’t tell if she was talking about a conveyer belt or lifting belts. Halfway through her ranting she turned to Sgt. Le and said in front of the entire platoon of enlisted, “How could you? You know how I feel about this.” Sgt. Le was probably one of the nicer sergeants I had worked with. But he had a communication issue. He was born and raised in Vietnam and his English was broken. She continued on for a few more minutes and then said, “Any questions or comments?”
Reluctantly, my hand went up. “With all due respect, I was born and raised in the U.S. and I still can’t understand you.”
A young enlisted Specialist on my shift said, “She just called the First Sergeant stupid.” There was some muffled laughter. The First Sergeant shrunk and stepped back. We were quickly released. I didn’t know what to say, but after that we started using both the conveyer belt and lifting belts on my shift.
My shift had three junior enlisted, all the youngest in the unit. We got up at 3am every morning to unload the truck with incoming mail for the troops on Eagle Base. Because I had no postal certification, I was legally not allowed to work in any other job, especially the ones that dealt with the transaction of money. Sgt. Pew was motivated, and the First Sergeant and Lieutenant rarely got involved and oversaw, so nobody on my shift got a day off. My shift went three months without a day off unloading 300-pound parcels, 70 pounds or less every day. The afternoon shift that loaded up the truck with outgoing mail each got a day and a half off every week. By the third month we were all exhausted, delusional and tired. We were talking strange and we started breaking physically. Spc. Guice pulled her back out and was on painkillers and muscle relaxers, Spc. Witiker had tendentious and arthritis, and Spc. Racki had shooting pains up her legs, muscle spasms, was and dropping packages.
About a weekend after the belt incident, Spc. Bee woke up cussing and frantically running around. “Look what time it is! I’m late for work. I’m going to get an Article 15,” she said.
Spc. Ritchie was a tough, robust, correctional officer back home. She got up from her bed more than mildly irritated said, “For God’s sakes, Bee. Go back to bed. It is your day off.”
A month later around 8’oclock I walked over to the Return-to-Sender desk, where I often worked in the middle of my shift after the truck was unloaded. Spc. Laney was there. He was on the phone with his wife. Laney was in his late 30s. He was always impeccably groomed and probably noticeably had the nicest set of teeth in the unit. He had two teenage kids. Laney was obviously having marital problems. I walked into some of the conversation. He was screaming calling his wife profanities, and said that she better be home when he called. It was strange because Laney was having an affair with another soldier in our unit who was stationed in Tazar, Hungary. In hindsight, the command separated them on purpose. Spc. Boyd was also married with children.
I was embarrassed to walk in on that. But I couldn’t go anywhere. After ten minutes of his angry threatening, I started getting concerned. I told my first line supervisor my concerns. It was taken up to the First Sergeant. She said she would handle it later. My shift ended and I headed to the PA shop. When I got back to the sleeping quarters later that day, Spc. Ritchie told me what happened after I left.
Laney locked and loaded his M16 and tried to force the driver out of the postal truck so he could drive to Tazar, three hours away to see his girlfriend. Two other Postal soldiers tackled him and took his weapon away. I was told the matter was to be handled internally.
What would you do? Should I continue to raise this issue to supervisors? Or keep this quiet to not cause more friction?
Well I didn't stay quiet. There were many "forced retirement parties" to attend to, and my unit was grateful for standing up for them. I was always taught to put your fellow soldiers' needs before your own. I did and life was very difficult for me. But I won in a way that I brought back moral. We pour our hearts and souls into what it means to be a good soldier. I follow another code: Integrity, which means you do what needs to be done. Well 312 Postal that was the most difficult mission I have ever been through. I will always remember that during those months far from home I found me and I am proud of me. God Bless America and thank you troops for pushing on.
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